# 🧱 Compute Units (CU)

A **Compute Unit (CU)** is the standard unit of measurement for API usage. Each API call consumes a certain number of CUs, depending on the complexity of the operation and the amount of data being processed.

* **Why CUs?**\
  Instead of counting only the number of requests, CUs provide a fair way to measure actual computational cost. A simple request may consume fewer CUs, while decoding a large block with hundreds of transactions will consume more.
* **How CUs are counted:**
  * **Decode Transaction** → consumes a small number of CUs (lightweight operation).
  * **Decode Block** → consumes more CUs, since it decodes all transactions within a block.
* **Billing & Rate Limits:**
  * Your plan includes a monthly CU quota.
  * If you exceed the quota, requests may be throttled or billed as per your pricing plan.


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