Slow API Responses
Why some requests take longer and how to optimize response times.
Most API calls complete in 2-5 seconds, but some can take longer. Here's why and how to optimize.
Why some requests are slow
Live lookups vs cache hits
- Cache hit — Returns in under 1 second. The data was already in our cache.
- Live lookup — Takes 2-15 seconds. We fetch fresh data from the source in real time.
The first request for any profile is always a live lookup. Subsequent requests within the cache window are fast cache hits.
Search endpoints are slower
Person Search and Company Search query large datasets and typically take 5-15 seconds. This is normal. Use pagination wisely — request larger page sizes to minimize the number of search calls.
Extra fields add time
Including optional fields (personal_email=include, personal_contact_number=include) adds verification steps that increase response time by 1-5 seconds each.
How to optimize
Use caching
use_cache=if-present&fallback_to_cache=on-errorThis serves cached data when available (fast) and falls back gracefully if a live lookup fails.
Set timeouts
Always set a timeout on your HTTP client. We recommend 30 seconds for enrichment calls and 60 seconds for search calls.
const controller = new AbortController();
setTimeout(() => controller.abort(), 30000);
const response = await fetch(url, {
headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${API_KEY}` },
signal: controller.signal
});Batch with parallelism
If you're enriching multiple profiles, run requests in parallel (up to your rate limit). Don't make them sequentially.
Pre-warm your cache
If you know which profiles you'll need, enrich them ahead of time. The cached results will be available instantly when your users need them.