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402
Client Error

402 Payment Required

Payment is required to access this resource.

Description

402 Payment Required was originally reserved for future use in digital payment schemes, but has since been adopted by many APIs and platforms to indicate that the user has exceeded a free tier or needs to upgrade their plan to access the resource.

Common in SaaS platforms, API gateways with usage limits, and premium content systems. The response typically includes information about how to make a payment or upgrade.

Common Causes

  • Free plan limit exceeded (API calls, storage, seats)
  • Subscription expired or cancelled
  • Accessing a paid feature on a free tier
  • Rate-limited API with pay-per-use model

How to Fix

  • Include a clear error message explaining what payment/upgrade is needed
  • Add a Retry-After or plan upgrade URL in the response
  • Show in-app upgrade prompts before the user hits this error
  • Log occurrences to identify conversion opportunities

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Related Status Codes

400
400 Bad Request
The server cannot process the request due to malformed syntax.
 401
401 Unauthorized
Authentication is required and has failed or not been provided.
 403
403 Forbidden
The server understood the request but refuses to authorize it.
 404
404 Not Found
The server cannot find the requested resource.
 405
405 Method Not Allowed
The HTTP method used is not allowed for this resource.
 406
406 Not Acceptable
The server cannot produce a response matching the client's Accept headers.

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