As our community and cloud usage have grown, cloud services have naturally become more expensive to run. We want to keep offering free cloud access to everyone, but to help cover the ongoing infrastructure costs—and keep things sustainable for the long haul—we’re introducing an optional new tier: Cloud Extend, which will become available in the coming days!
If you've been using our existing Cloud Backup service, you'll find that Cloud Extend is a reorganized and upgraded evolution of that offering, packed with even more value!
We want to be completely transparent: our free cloud offering is not going anywhere. If the current free tier meets your needs, you can keep using it just like you always have—at no cost.
However, for those of you who want extra capacity, smoother performance, and peace of mind, Cloud Extend provides a great optional upgrade while directly supporting the community infrastructure we all rely on.
Here is how Cloud Extend compares to the free offering:
| Feature | Free Offering | With Cloud Extend |
|---|---|---|
| Cloud requests (per hour, per hub) | 360 | 3,600 (10x more!) |
| Remote dashboard refresh | 5-minute timeout | No timeout |
| Cloud backups | None | Up to 10 |
Why Choose Cloud Extend?
With 10 times the hourly request allowance, Cloud Extend gives heavier cloud users plenty of breathing room for robust integrations and active remote control without running into roadblocks. Plus, removing the remote dashboard timeout and adding cloud backups makes managing your setup on the go much more seamless and secure.
Tips for Avoiding Rate Limits
Each hub’s hourly cloud request allowance is shared across its cloud activity. Frequent polling or several integrations making repeated requests can use that allowance quickly.
To reduce unnecessary traffic:
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Use longer polling intervals where frequent updates aren’t needed.
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Prefer event-driven updates when your integration supports them.
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Use local connections whenever possible for integrations running on your home network.
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Avoid repeated retries if a request is rate-limited; allow time before trying again.
