What is an API call?

In Dataslayer we want to base our pricing on usage, as we offer unlimited data sources, unlimited reports, and unlimited users.

The way we measure tool usage is through API calls (on our Google Sheets and Looker Studio targets). That is why our plans are differentiated by the number of daily API calls that can be made.

API calls in Google Sheets & Microsoft Excel

An API call is every time our extension needs to “call” the connector chosen (Facebook, Google Analytics, Google Ads…) to bring data into your spreadsheet. Therefore, every time you make a query or refresh it, you are consuming 1 API call, no matter how many accounts, metrics, or dimensions you have selected.

For example, if you have a spreadsheet with 3 queries (tables) of different data sources like Facebook, Google Ads, and Instagram and it is set up to automatically refresh twice a day, it will make 6 API daily calls.

You can check how many API calls you are consuming, as well as your daily limit, in the My Activity section on our website, or at the end of the extension:

API calls in Looker Studio

In general, in Looker Studio each chart, widget, or table is equivalent to 1 API call. Every time you add, refresh, or edit one of them, API calls will be consumed (depending on how many elements you have on the page, it may consume more or fewer API calls). However, there are some times that 1 widget is NOT equivalent to 1 API call:

• Depending on the chart you've selected, Looker Studio can consume more than 1 API call per widget.
• The Grand total row, the Blend data connector, the filters, and the comparison dates options add + 1 more API call to any graph.
• If you share the document with your clients, every time they refresh the data or change an option in a control, the API calls associated with the Dataslayer account that manages the document will be consumed.

 

As always, please contact us via our live chat on our website or via email if you still have doubts or questions. We are happy to help!