Author picture Phil Leggetter

How to Solve Make.com Webhook Rate Limit Errors

Published

If you're using Make.com to receive webhooks from external platforms, you might encounter rate limit errors—especially during traffic spikes. This article explains why those errors occur and how you can solve them using the Hookdeck Event Gateway.

The Problems

Make 429 errors

Make error logs

Make.com allows you to create custom webhook URLs to trigger automations. However, these endpoints aren't designed for high-throughput or bursty traffic. When too many requests hit your Make webhook in a short time, Make will:

  • Respond with HTTP 429 Too Many Requests. This happeens if you hit the rate limit for your Make plan. By default this is 30 webhooks per second.
  • Respond with HTTP 400 "Queue is full." This can happen if your Make Scenario Connection fails to process a queued action. By default the queue size is 50.

Make's webhook restrictions are explicitly noted in Make's webhook documentation, which cautions against high-frequency webhook traffic.

Because webhook requests originate from external platforms (like Stripe, GitHub, or Iterable), Make cannot retry the request. Once rejected, the event is lost unless the sending platform is configured to retry on 429 responses.

This puts the burden on the webhook sender to manage retries and rate adjustments—which may not always be configurable or reliable.

The Solution: Hookdeck Event Gateway as a Serverless Webhook Queue

The Hookdeck Event Gateway sits between the webhook provider and Make.com, acting as a buffer, queue, and traffic controller. It ensures Make only receives traffic it can handle.

Benefits

  • Guaranteed Webhook Ingestions: The Event Gateway ensures that all webhook events are captured and processed, even if Make.com is temporarily overwhelmed.
  • Rate Limiting: Smooths out traffic spikes to avoid triggering Make 429 errors.
  • Queueing: Events are stored and released at a safe pace.
  • Retries: If Make becomes temporarily unavailable, Event Gateway will automatically retry delivery.
  • Visibility: Inspect and monitor webhook traffic through the Event Gateway's dashboard.

How to Use Hookdeck Event Gateway as a Serverless Webhook Queue

  1. Get your Make.com webhook URL Use the “Custom Webhook” module in your scenario and copy the generated URL.

    Make Webhook URL

  2. Create a Hookdeck Event Gateway Connection An Event Gateway Connection consists of:

    • Source : your webhook provider (e.g., Stripe, Iterable)
    • Destination : the Make.com custom webhook URL

    Event Gateway Connection

    Follow the create a connection docs for more details.

  3. Configure Delivery Rate Limiting

    • Go to your destination settings in the Event Gateway dashboard.
    • Enable Max Delivery Rate and set a limit for the Make webhook end point below the rate limit of your Make plan and based the limits of the Make Connection target. The Make webhook rate limit is 30, but your Make Connection may have a lower limit, so set the rate limit lower to be safe. Set Destination delivery rate limt

  4. Test Your Workflow

    • Send some test events from your source platform
    • Watch how the Event Gateway queues and dispatches them to Make, avoiding overload

    As an example, you can use the following JSON data and JavaScript script to simulate sending movie data to your Make.com webhook URL. This file contains a list of movies with their details, which you can use in your Event Gateway and Make setup.

    The script will send the events as quickly as it can to the Hookdeck Event Gateway with no rate limiting, so you can see how Event Gateway handles the traffic and ensures that Make.com receives the events without hitting rate limits.

    movies.json
    Copied 
    [
  {
    "title": "The Shawshank Redemption",
    "year": 1994,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Frank Darabont",
    "rating": 9.3
  },
  {
    "title": "The Godfather",
    "year": 1972,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Francis Ford Coppola",
    "rating": 9.2
  },
  {
    "title": "The Dark Knight",
    "year": 2008,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Christopher Nolan",
    "rating": 9.0
  },
  {
    "title": "Pulp Fiction",
    "year": 1994,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Quentin Tarantino",
    "rating": 8.9
  },
  {
    "title": "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King",
    "year": 2003,
    "genre": "Fantasy",
    "director": "Peter Jackson",
    "rating": 8.9
  },
  {
    "title": "Schindler's List",
    "year": 1993,
    "genre": "Biography",
    "director": "Steven Spielberg",
    "rating": 8.9
  },
  {
    "title": "12 Angry Men",
    "year": 1957,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Sidney Lumet",
    "rating": 9.0
  },
  {
    "title": "Inception",
    "year": 2010,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Christopher Nolan",
    "rating": 8.8
  },
  {
    "title": "Fight Club",
    "year": 1999,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "David Fincher",
    "rating": 8.8
  },
  {
    "title": "Forrest Gump",
    "year": 1994,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Robert Zemeckis",
    "rating": 8.8
  },
  {
    "title": "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring",
    "year": 2001,
    "genre": "Fantasy",
    "director": "Peter Jackson",
    "rating": 8.8
  },
  {
    "title": "Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back",
    "year": 1980,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Irvin Kershner",
    "rating": 8.7
  },
  {
    "title": "The Matrix",
    "year": 1999,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski",
    "rating": 8.7
  },
  {
    "title": "Goodfellas",
    "year": 1990,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Martin Scorsese",
    "rating": 8.7
  },
  {
    "title": "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest",
    "year": 1975,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Milos Forman",
    "rating": 8.7
  },
  {
    "title": "Seven Samurai",
    "year": 1954,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Akira Kurosawa",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Se7en",
    "year": 1995,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "David Fincher",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "City of God",
    "year": 2002,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "The Silence of the Lambs",
    "year": 1991,
    "genre": "Thriller",
    "director": "Jonathan Demme",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "It's a Wonderful Life",
    "year": 1946,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Frank Capra",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Life Is Beautiful",
    "year": 1997,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Roberto Benigni",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope",
    "year": 1977,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "George Lucas",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Saving Private Ryan",
    "year": 1998,
    "genre": "War",
    "director": "Steven Spielberg",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Spirited Away",
    "year": 2001,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Hayao Miyazaki",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "The Green Mile",
    "year": 1999,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Frank Darabont",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Interstellar",
    "year": 2014,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Christopher Nolan",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Parasite",
    "year": 2019,
    "genre": "Thriller",
    "director": "Bong Joon Ho",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "Léon: The Professional",
    "year": 1994,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Luc Besson",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "The Usual Suspects",
    "year": 1995,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Bryan Singer",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Harakiri",
    "year": 1962,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Masaki Kobayashi",
    "rating": 8.6
  },
  {
    "title": "The Lion King",
    "year": 1994,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Back to the Future",
    "year": 1985,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Robert Zemeckis",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "The Pianist",
    "year": 2002,
    "genre": "Biography",
    "director": "Roman Polanski",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Terminator 2: Judgment Day",
    "year": 1991,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "James Cameron",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "American History X",
    "year": 1998,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Tony Kaye",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Modern Times",
    "year": 1936,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Charles Chaplin",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Psycho",
    "year": 1960,
    "genre": "Horror",
    "director": "Alfred Hitchcock",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Gladiator",
    "year": 2000,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Ridley Scott",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "City Lights",
    "year": 1931,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Charles Chaplin",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "The Departed",
    "year": 2006,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Martin Scorsese",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "The Intouchables",
    "year": 2011,
    "genre": "Biography",
    "director": "Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Whiplash",
    "year": 2014,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Damien Chazelle",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "The Prestige",
    "year": 2006,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Christopher Nolan",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Grave of the Fireflies",
    "year": 1988,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Isao Takahata",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Once Upon a Time in the West",
    "year": 1968,
    "genre": "Western",
    "director": "Sergio Leone",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Casablanca",
    "year": 1942,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Michael Curtiz",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Cinema Paradiso",
    "year": 1988,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Giuseppe Tornatore",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Rear Window",
    "year": 1954,
    "genre": "Mystery",
    "director": "Alfred Hitchcock",
    "rating": 8.5
  },
  {
    "title": "Alien",
    "year": 1979,
    "genre": "Horror",
    "director": "Ridley Scott",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Apocalypse Now",
    "year": 1979,
    "genre": "War",
    "director": "Francis Ford Coppola",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Memento",
    "year": 2000,
    "genre": "Mystery",
    "director": "Christopher Nolan",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Raiders of the Lost Ark",
    "year": 1981,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Steven Spielberg",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "The Great Dictator",
    "year": 1940,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Charles Chaplin",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Django Unchained",
    "year": 2012,
    "genre": "Western",
    "director": "Quentin Tarantino",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "The Lives of Others",
    "year": 2006,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Paths of Glory",
    "year": 1957,
    "genre": "War",
    "director": "Stanley Kubrick",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Sunset Boulevard",
    "year": 1950,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Billy Wilder",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "WALL·E",
    "year": 2008,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Andrew Stanton",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Avengers: Infinity War",
    "year": 2018,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Anthony Russo, Joe Russo",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Witness for the Prosecution",
    "year": 1957,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Billy Wilder",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "The Shining",
    "year": 1980,
    "genre": "Horror",
    "director": "Stanley Kubrick",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse",
    "year": 2018,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb",
    "year": 1964,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Stanley Kubrick",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Oldboy",
    "year": 2003,
    "genre": "Action",
    "director": "Park Chan-wook",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Princess Mononoke",
    "year": 1997,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Hayao Miyazaki",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Your Name.",
    "year": 2016,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Makoto Shinkai",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Coco",
    "year": 2017,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Joker",
    "year": 2019,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Todd Phillips",
    "rating": 8.4
  },
  {
    "title": "Braveheart",
    "year": 1995,
    "genre": "Biography",
    "director": "Mel Gibson",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Toy Story",
    "year": 1995,
    "genre": "Animation",
    "director": "John Lasseter",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Amadeus",
    "year": 1984,
    "genre": "Biography",
    "director": "Milos Forman",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Inglourious Basterds",
    "year": 2009,
    "genre": "War",
    "director": "Quentin Tarantino",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi",
    "year": 1983,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Richard Marquand",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Reservoir Dogs",
    "year": 1992,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Quentin Tarantino",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Good Will Hunting",
    "year": 1997,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Gus Van Sant",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "2001: A Space Odyssey",
    "year": 1968,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Stanley Kubrick",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Requiem for a Dream",
    "year": 2000,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Darren Aronofsky",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Vertigo",
    "year": 1958,
    "genre": "Mystery",
    "director": "Alfred Hitchcock",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "M",
    "year": 1931,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Fritz Lang",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind",
    "year": 2004,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Michel Gondry",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Citizen Kane",
    "year": 1941,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Orson Welles",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Full Metal Jacket",
    "year": 1987,
    "genre": "War",
    "director": "Stanley Kubrick",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "North by Northwest",
    "year": 1959,
    "genre": "Adventure",
    "director": "Alfred Hitchcock",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "A Clockwork Orange",
    "year": 1971,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Stanley Kubrick",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Snatch",
    "year": 2000,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Guy Ritchie",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "The Kid",
    "year": 1921,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Charles Chaplin",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Lawrence of Arabia",
    "year": 1962,
    "genre": "Adventure",
    "director": "David Lean",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Taxi Driver",
    "year": 1976,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Martin Scorsese",
    "rating": 8.2
  },
  {
    "title": "Amélie",
    "year": 2001,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Jean-Pierre Jeunet",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Singin' in the Rain",
    "year": 1952,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "The Apartment",
    "year": 1960,
    "genre": "Comedy",
    "director": "Billy Wilder",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Metropolis",
    "year": 1927,
    "genre": "Sci-Fi",
    "director": "Fritz Lang",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Bicycle Thieves",
    "year": 1948,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Vittorio De Sica",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Rashomon",
    "year": 1950,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Akira Kurosawa",
    "rating": 8.2
  },
  {
    "title": "Double Indemnity",
    "year": 1944,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Billy Wilder",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Come and See",
    "year": 1985,
    "genre": "War",
    "director": "Elem Klimov",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "The Hunt",
    "year": 2012,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Thomas Vinterberg",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "Scarface",
    "year": 1983,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Brian De Palma",
    "rating": 8.3
  },
  {
    "title": "To Kill a Mockingbird",
    "year": 1962,
    "genre": "Drama",
    "director": "Robert Mulligan",
    "rating": 8.2
  },
  {
    "title": "L.A. Confidential",
    "year": 1997,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Curtis Hanson",
    "rating": 8.2
  },
  {
    "title": "Heat",
    "year": 1995,
    "genre": "Crime",
    "director": "Michael Mann",
    "rating": 8.2
  }
]

    The following script simulates sending a batch of movie data to your Make.com webhook URL using Hookdeck as the gateway.

    index.js
    Copied 
    const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');

// Read the endpoint URL from .env file
const HOOKDECK_URL = "<YOUR_HOOKDECK_WEBHOOK_URL>";

// Read and parse the movies JSON file
const moviesPath = path.join(__dirname, 'movies.json');
const movies = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(moviesPath, 'utf8'));

// Function to POST movie data
const postMovie = async (movie) => {
  try {
    const response = await fetch(HOOKDECK_URL, {
      method: 'POST',
      headers: {
        'Content-Type': 'application/json',
      },
      body: JSON.stringify(movie),
    });

    if (!response.ok) {
      throw new Error(`Request failed with status ${response.status}`);
    }

    const data = await response.json();
    console.log(`Successfully sent: ${movie.title}`, data);
  } catch (error) {
    console.error(`Error sending ${movie.title}:`, error.message);
  }
};

// Iterate through the movies and POST each one sequentially
(async () => {
  for (const movie of movies) {
    await postMovie(movie);
  }
})();

    The output of running this script will look similar to this:

    ...
Successfully sent: To Kill a Mockingbird {
  status: 'SUCCESS',
  message: 'Request handled by Hookdeck. Check your dashboard to inspect the request: https://dashboard.hookdeck.com/requests/req_ZTZquKcu4rIebuahSBgg',
  request_id: 'req_ZTZquKcu4rIebuahSBgg'
}
Successfully sent: L.A. Confidential {
  status: 'SUCCESS',
  message: 'Request handled by Hookdeck. Check your dashboard to inspect the request: https://dashboard.hookdeck.com/requests/req_g6iHyCvkZO2E29NNdk4F',
  request_id: 'req_g6iHyCvkZO2E29NNdk4F'
}
Successfully sent: Heat {
  status: 'SUCCESS',
  message: 'Request handled by Hookdeck. Check your dashboard to inspect the request: https://dashboard.hookdeck.com/requests/req_WxnishPVyaK3YBAGgr1p',
  request_id: 'req_WxnishPVyaK3YBAGgr1p'
}
...

    Events successfully delivered by the Event Gateway to Make:

    Hookdeck dashboard events list

    Successful scenario execution in Make.com after receiving webhooks from Hookdeck Event Gateway:

    Make success in dashboard after sending webhooks

    Successfully added movies to Google Sheets via Make.com after receiving webhooks from Event Gateway:

    Movies in Google Sheets

Optional: Add Filtering or Transformation

The Event Gateway can help tailor the webhook payload before it hits Make:

  • Filter only relevant events (e.g., only movies with a rating above 8.5). You can also your filters to route events to different destinations based on criteria like event type or content.
  • Transform the JSON body to match what your Make scenario expects

Common Platforms That Send Webhooks to Make.com

Make.com users frequently connect the platform with these webhook sources to trigger automations across categories like e-commerce, communication, forms, and DevOps:

E-Commerce & Payments

  • Shopify - Order creation, fulfillment, and inventory updates
  • Stripe - Payment success, refunds, and subscription changes

Messaging & Notifications

  • Slack - Event-based notifications and message automation
  • Discord - Trigger actions from server or channel events
  • ManyChat - Chatbot interactions forwarded to Make
  • Paubox - Secure email notifications and alerts

Email & Communication

  • Gmail - Send webhook-triggered email notifications
  • Facebook Lead Ads - Capture form data for automated lead flows
  • Facebook Pages - Automate content and updates

Forms & Surveys

  • Google Forms, Typeform, JotForm, Gravity Forms - Submit responses that trigger Make flows

Spreadsheets & Databases

  • Google Sheets - Add or update rows from webhook data
  • Airtable - Send record data to Make or sync across tools

Cloud Storage & Docs

  • Google Drive - Access, manage, or sync documents
  • Notion - Update databases or content via webhooks

AI & Automation

  • OpenAI (ChatGPT, DALL·E) - Trigger prompts or image generation
  • Zapier - Extend integration with other apps via webhook bridges

Scheduling

  • Calendly - Meeting bookings triggering workflows

CRM & Project Management

  • HubSpot CRM - Manage contacts, deals, and sales events
  • Monday.com - Automate board updates and workflows
  • ClickUp, Trello, Jira - Sync task changes or automate project tracking

Developer Tools

  • GitHub - React to PRs, commits, or issue activity
  • Autodesk - Connect BIM/CAD workflows through webhooks

Additional Resources

For more in-depth strategies on handling rate limit errors in Make.com, consider exploring the following resources:

Conclusion

Make.com is great for connecting APIs and automating workflows—but it’s not built to absorb bursts of webhook traffic. The Event Gateway solves that gap by acting as a serverless queue: rate-limiting, queueing, and retrying on your behalf.

With the Hookdeck Event Gateway in place, your Make scenarios can run smoothly, even when webhook traffic spikes.

How to Receive and Replay External Webhooks in Make with Hookdeck

This article explores how to leverage Hookdeck, an event gateway, to receive and replay webhooks to your Make workflows

Make Use Case