diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 9220b66bd..d2900cc97 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -54,6 +54,7 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/).
 - MRF: Support for stripping avatars and banner images from specific instances (`mrf_simple`)
 - MRF: Support for running subchains.
 - Configuration: `skip_thread_containment` option
+- Configuration: `rate_limit` option. See `Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter` documentation for details.
 
 ### Changed
 - **Breaking:** Configuration: move from Pleroma.Mailer to Pleroma.Emails.Mailer
diff --git a/config/config.exs b/config/config.exs
index 95a0e9972..0642ee3c3 100644
--- a/config/config.exs
+++ b/config/config.exs
@@ -247,8 +247,6 @@ config :pleroma, :instance,
   skip_thread_containment: true,
   limit_unauthenticated_to_local_content: true
 
-config :pleroma, :app_account_creation, enabled: true, max_requests: 25, interval: 1800
-
 config :pleroma, :markup,
   # XXX - unfortunately, inline images must be enabled by default right now, because
   # of custom emoji.  Issue #275 discusses defanging that somehow.
@@ -505,6 +503,10 @@ config :pleroma, :env, Mix.env()
 config :http_signatures,
   adapter: Pleroma.Signature
 
+config :pleroma, :rate_limit,
+  search: [{1000, 10}, {1000, 30}],
+  app_account_creation: {1_800_000, 25}
+
 # Import environment specific config. This must remain at the bottom
 # of this file so it overrides the configuration defined above.
 import_config "#{Mix.env()}.exs"
diff --git a/config/test.exs b/config/test.exs
index 6d4fcf7d0..1c5eff794 100644
--- a/config/test.exs
+++ b/config/test.exs
@@ -60,7 +60,7 @@ config :pleroma, Pleroma.ScheduledActivity,
   total_user_limit: 3,
   enabled: false
 
-config :pleroma, :app_account_creation, max_requests: 5
+config :pleroma, :rate_limit, app_account_creation: {1000, 5}
 
 config :pleroma, :http_security, report_uri: "https://endpoint.com"
 
diff --git a/docs/config.md b/docs/config.md
index c61a5d8a3..b62b80490 100644
--- a/docs/config.md
+++ b/docs/config.md
@@ -114,12 +114,6 @@ config :pleroma, Pleroma.Emails.Mailer,
 * `skip_thread_containment`: Skip filter out broken threads. The default is `false`.
 * `limit_unauthenticated_to_local_content`: Limit unauthenticated users to search for local statutes and users only. The default is `true`.
 
-## :app_account_creation
-REST API for creating an account settings
-* `enabled`: Enable/disable registration
-* `max_requests`: Number of requests allowed for creating accounts
-* `interval`: Interval for restricting requests for one ip (seconds)
-
 ## :logger
 * `backends`: `:console` is used to send logs to stdout, `{ExSyslogger, :ex_syslogger}` to log to syslog, and `Quack.Logger` to log to Slack
 
@@ -568,7 +562,7 @@ config :ueberauth, Ueberauth,
   providers: [
     microsoft: {Ueberauth.Strategy.Microsoft, [callback_params: []]}
   ]
-  
+
 # Keycloak
 # Note: make sure to add `keycloak:ueberauth_keycloak_strategy` entry to `OAUTH_CONSUMER_STRATEGIES` environment variable
 keycloak_url = "https://publicly-reachable-keycloak-instance.org:8080"
@@ -616,3 +610,14 @@ To enable them, both the `rum_enabled` flag has to be set and the following spec
 `mix ecto.migrate --migrations-path priv/repo/optional_migrations/rum_indexing/`
 
 This will probably take a long time.
+
+## :rate_limit
+
+A keyword list of rate limiters where a key is a limiter name and value is the limiter configuration. The basic configuration is a tuple where:
+
+* The first element: `scale` (Integer). The time scale in milliseconds.
+* The second element: `limit` (Integer). How many requests to limit in the time scale provided.
+
+It is also possible to have different limits for unauthenticated and authenticated users: the keyword value must be a list of two tuples where the first one is a config for unauthenticated users and the second one is for authenticated.
+
+See [`Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter`](Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter.html) documentation for examples.
diff --git a/lib/pleroma/plugs/rate_limit_plug.ex b/lib/pleroma/plugs/rate_limit_plug.ex
deleted file mode 100644
index 466f64a79..000000000
--- a/lib/pleroma/plugs/rate_limit_plug.ex
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,36 +0,0 @@
-# Pleroma: A lightweight social networking server
-# Copyright © 2017-2019 Pleroma Authors <https://pleroma.social/>
-# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
-
-defmodule Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimitPlug do
-  import Phoenix.Controller, only: [json: 2]
-  import Plug.Conn
-
-  def init(opts), do: opts
-
-  def call(conn, opts) do
-    enabled? = Pleroma.Config.get([:app_account_creation, :enabled])
-
-    case check_rate(conn, Map.put(opts, :enabled, enabled?)) do
-      {:ok, _count} -> conn
-      {:error, _count} -> render_error(conn)
-      %Plug.Conn{} = conn -> conn
-    end
-  end
-
-  defp check_rate(conn, %{enabled: true} = opts) do
-    max_requests = opts[:max_requests]
-    bucket_name = conn.remote_ip |> Tuple.to_list() |> Enum.join(".")
-
-    ExRated.check_rate(bucket_name, opts[:interval] * 1000, max_requests)
-  end
-
-  defp check_rate(conn, _), do: conn
-
-  defp render_error(conn) do
-    conn
-    |> put_status(:forbidden)
-    |> json(%{error: "Rate limit exceeded."})
-    |> halt()
-  end
-end
diff --git a/lib/pleroma/plugs/rate_limiter.ex b/lib/pleroma/plugs/rate_limiter.ex
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..e02ba4213
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/pleroma/plugs/rate_limiter.ex
@@ -0,0 +1,87 @@
+# Pleroma: A lightweight social networking server
+# Copyright © 2017-2019 Pleroma Authors <https://pleroma.social/>
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: AGPL-3.0-only
+
+defmodule Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter do
+  @moduledoc """
+
+  ## Configuration
+
+  A keyword list of rate limiters where a key is a limiter name and value is the limiter configuration. The basic configuration is a tuple where:
+
+  * The first element: `scale` (Integer). The time scale in milliseconds.
+  * The second element: `limit` (Integer). How many requests to limit in the time scale provided.
+
+  It is also possible to have different limits for unauthenticated and authenticated users: the keyword value must be a list of two tuples where the first one is a config for unauthenticated users and the second one is for authenticated.
+
+  ### Example
+
+      config :pleroma, :rate_limit,
+        one: {1000, 10},
+        two: [{10_000, 10}, {10_000, 50}]
+
+  Here we have two limiters: `one` which is not over 10req/1s and `two` which has two limits 10req/10s for unauthenticated users and 50req/10s for authenticated users.
+
+  ## Usage
+
+  Inside a controller:
+
+      plug(Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter, :one when action == :one)
+      plug(Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter, :two when action in [:two, :three])
+
+  or inside a router pipiline:
+
+      pipeline :api do
+        ...
+        plug(Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter, :one)
+        ...
+      end
+  """
+
+  import Phoenix.Controller, only: [json: 2]
+  import Plug.Conn
+
+  alias Pleroma.User
+
+  def init(limiter_name) do
+    case Pleroma.Config.get([:rate_limit, limiter_name]) do
+      nil -> nil
+      config -> {limiter_name, config}
+    end
+  end
+
+  # do not limit if there is no limiter configuration
+  def call(conn, nil), do: conn
+
+  def call(conn, opts) do
+    case check_rate(conn, opts) do
+      {:ok, _count} -> conn
+      {:error, _count} -> render_error(conn)
+    end
+  end
+
+  defp check_rate(%{assigns: %{user: %User{id: user_id}}}, {limiter_name, [_, {scale, limit}]}) do
+    ExRated.check_rate("#{limiter_name}:#{user_id}", scale, limit)
+  end
+
+  defp check_rate(conn, {limiter_name, [{scale, limit} | _]}) do
+    ExRated.check_rate("#{limiter_name}:#{ip(conn)}", scale, limit)
+  end
+
+  defp check_rate(conn, {limiter_name, {scale, limit}}) do
+    check_rate(conn, {limiter_name, [{scale, limit}]})
+  end
+
+  def ip(%{remote_ip: remote_ip}) do
+    remote_ip
+    |> Tuple.to_list()
+    |> Enum.join(".")
+  end
+
+  defp render_error(conn) do
+    conn
+    |> put_status(:too_many_requests)
+    |> json(%{error: "Throttled"})
+    |> halt()
+  end
+end
diff --git a/lib/pleroma/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller.ex b/lib/pleroma/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller.ex
index 92cd77f62..46049dd24 100644
--- a/lib/pleroma/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller.ex
+++ b/lib/pleroma/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller.ex
@@ -46,14 +46,8 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.MastodonAPI.MastodonAPIController do
 
   require Logger
 
-  plug(
-    Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimitPlug,
-    %{
-      max_requests: Config.get([:app_account_creation, :max_requests]),
-      interval: Config.get([:app_account_creation, :interval])
-    }
-    when action in [:account_register]
-  )
+  plug(Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter, :app_account_creation when action == :account_register)
+  plug(Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter, :search when action in [:search, :search2, :account_search])
 
   @local_mastodon_name "Mastodon-Local"
 
diff --git a/mix.exs b/mix.exs
index a6481bab6..bfa9bf18b 100644
--- a/mix.exs
+++ b/mix.exs
@@ -141,7 +141,7 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Mixfile do
       {:quack, "~> 0.1.1"},
       {:benchee, "~> 1.0"},
       {:esshd, "~> 0.1.0", runtime: Application.get_env(:esshd, :enabled, false)},
-      {:ex_rated, "~> 1.2"},
+      {:ex_rated, "~> 1.3"},
       {:plug_static_index_html, "~> 1.0.0"},
       {:excoveralls, "~> 0.11.1", only: :test}
     ] ++ oauth_deps()
diff --git a/mix.lock b/mix.lock
index 1f30d0e99..de9d811e6 100644
--- a/mix.lock
+++ b/mix.lock
@@ -29,7 +29,7 @@
   "ex_aws_s3": {:hex, :ex_aws_s3, "2.0.1", "9e09366e77f25d3d88c5393824e613344631be8db0d1839faca49686e99b6704", [:mix], [{:ex_aws, "~> 2.0", [hex: :ex_aws, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}, {:sweet_xml, ">= 0.0.0", [hex: :sweet_xml, repo: "hexpm", optional: true]}], "hexpm"},
   "ex_doc": {:hex, :ex_doc, "0.20.2", "1bd0dfb0304bade58beb77f20f21ee3558cc3c753743ae0ddbb0fd7ba2912331", [:mix], [{:earmark, "~> 1.3", [hex: :earmark, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}, {:makeup_elixir, "~> 0.10", [hex: :makeup_elixir, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}], "hexpm"},
   "ex_machina": {:hex, :ex_machina, "2.3.0", "92a5ad0a8b10ea6314b876a99c8c9e3f25f4dde71a2a835845b136b9adaf199a", [:mix], [{:ecto, "~> 2.2 or ~> 3.0", [hex: :ecto, repo: "hexpm", optional: true]}, {:ecto_sql, "~> 3.0", [hex: :ecto_sql, repo: "hexpm", optional: true]}], "hexpm"},
-  "ex_rated": {:hex, :ex_rated, "1.3.2", "6aeb32abb46ea6076f417a9ce8cb1cf08abf35fb2d42375beaad4dd72b550bf1", [:mix], [{:ex2ms, "~> 1.5", [hex: :ex2ms, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}], "hexpm"},
+  "ex_rated": {:hex, :ex_rated, "1.3.3", "30ecbdabe91f7eaa9d37fa4e81c85ba420f371babeb9d1910adbcd79ec798d27", [:mix], [{:ex2ms, "~> 1.5", [hex: :ex2ms, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}], "hexpm"},
   "ex_syslogger": {:git, "https://github.com/slashmili/ex_syslogger.git", "f3963399047af17e038897c69e20d552e6899e1d", [tag: "1.4.0"]},
   "excoveralls": {:hex, :excoveralls, "0.11.1", "dd677fbdd49114fdbdbf445540ec735808250d56b011077798316505064edb2c", [:mix], [{:hackney, "~> 1.0", [hex: :hackney, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}, {:jason, "~> 1.0", [hex: :jason, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}], "hexpm"},
   "floki": {:hex, :floki, "0.20.4", "be42ac911fece24b4c72f3b5846774b6e61b83fe685c2fc9d62093277fb3bc86", [:mix], [{:html_entities, "~> 0.4.0", [hex: :html_entities, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}, {:mochiweb, "~> 2.15", [hex: :mochiweb, repo: "hexpm", optional: false]}], "hexpm"},
diff --git a/test/plugs/rate_limit_plug_test.exs b/test/plugs/rate_limit_plug_test.exs
deleted file mode 100644
index 2ec9a8fb7..000000000
--- a/test/plugs/rate_limit_plug_test.exs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,50 +0,0 @@
-defmodule Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimitPlugTest do
-  use ExUnit.Case, async: true
-  use Plug.Test
-
-  alias Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimitPlug
-
-  @opts RateLimitPlug.init(%{max_requests: 5, interval: 1})
-
-  setup do
-    enabled = Pleroma.Config.get([:app_account_creation, :enabled])
-
-    Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :enabled], true)
-
-    on_exit(fn ->
-      Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :enabled], enabled)
-    end)
-
-    :ok
-  end
-
-  test "it restricts by opts" do
-    conn = conn(:get, "/")
-    bucket_name = conn.remote_ip |> Tuple.to_list() |> Enum.join(".")
-    ms = 1000
-
-    conn = RateLimitPlug.call(conn, @opts)
-    {1, 4, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, ms, 5)
-    conn = RateLimitPlug.call(conn, @opts)
-    {2, 3, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, ms, 5)
-    conn = RateLimitPlug.call(conn, @opts)
-    {3, 2, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, ms, 5)
-    conn = RateLimitPlug.call(conn, @opts)
-    {4, 1, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, ms, 5)
-    conn = RateLimitPlug.call(conn, @opts)
-    {5, 0, to_reset, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, ms, 5)
-    conn = RateLimitPlug.call(conn, @opts)
-    assert conn.status == 403
-    assert conn.halted
-    assert conn.resp_body == "{\"error\":\"Rate limit exceeded.\"}"
-
-    Process.sleep(to_reset)
-
-    conn = conn(:get, "/")
-    conn = RateLimitPlug.call(conn, @opts)
-    {1, 4, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, ms, 5)
-    refute conn.status == 403
-    refute conn.halted
-    refute conn.resp_body
-  end
-end
diff --git a/test/plugs/rate_limiter_test.exs b/test/plugs/rate_limiter_test.exs
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..b3798bf03
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/plugs/rate_limiter_test.exs
@@ -0,0 +1,108 @@
+defmodule Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiterTest do
+  use ExUnit.Case, async: true
+  use Plug.Test
+
+  alias Pleroma.Plugs.RateLimiter
+
+  import Pleroma.Factory
+
+  @limiter_name :testing
+
+  test "init/1" do
+    Pleroma.Config.put([:rate_limit, @limiter_name], {1, 1})
+
+    assert {@limiter_name, {1, 1}} == RateLimiter.init(@limiter_name)
+    assert nil == RateLimiter.init(:foo)
+  end
+
+  test "ip/1" do
+    assert "127.0.0.1" == RateLimiter.ip(%{remote_ip: {127, 0, 0, 1}})
+  end
+
+  test "it restricts by opts" do
+    scale = 100
+    limit = 5
+
+    Pleroma.Config.put([:rate_limit, @limiter_name], {scale, limit})
+
+    opts = RateLimiter.init(@limiter_name)
+    conn = conn(:get, "/")
+    bucket_name = "#{@limiter_name}:#{RateLimiter.ip(conn)}"
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {1, 4, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {2, 3, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {3, 2, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {4, 1, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {5, 0, to_reset, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+
+    assert %{"error" => "Throttled"} = Phoenix.ConnTest.json_response(conn, :too_many_requests)
+    assert conn.halted
+
+    Process.sleep(to_reset)
+
+    conn = conn(:get, "/")
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {1, 4, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    refute conn.status == Plug.Conn.Status.code(:too_many_requests)
+    refute conn.resp_body
+    refute conn.halted
+  end
+
+  test "optional limits for authenticated users" do
+    Ecto.Adapters.SQL.Sandbox.checkout(Pleroma.Repo)
+
+    scale = 100
+    limit = 5
+    Pleroma.Config.put([:rate_limit, @limiter_name], [{1, 10}, {scale, limit}])
+
+    opts = RateLimiter.init(@limiter_name)
+
+    user = insert(:user)
+    conn = conn(:get, "/") |> assign(:user, user)
+    bucket_name = "#{@limiter_name}:#{user.id}"
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {1, 4, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {2, 3, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {3, 2, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {4, 1, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {5, 0, to_reset, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+
+    assert %{"error" => "Throttled"} = Phoenix.ConnTest.json_response(conn, :too_many_requests)
+    assert conn.halted
+
+    Process.sleep(to_reset)
+
+    conn = conn(:get, "/") |> assign(:user, user)
+
+    conn = RateLimiter.call(conn, opts)
+    assert {1, 4, _, _, _} = ExRated.inspect_bucket(bucket_name, scale, limit)
+
+    refute conn.status == Plug.Conn.Status.code(:too_many_requests)
+    refute conn.resp_body
+    refute conn.halted
+  end
+end
diff --git a/test/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller_test.exs b/test/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller_test.exs
index de32084bd..15d3fdb65 100644
--- a/test/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller_test.exs
+++ b/test/web/mastodon_api/mastodon_api_controller_test.exs
@@ -3551,24 +3551,6 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.MastodonAPI.MastodonAPIControllerTest do
   end
 
   describe "create account by app" do
-    setup do
-      enabled = Pleroma.Config.get([:app_account_creation, :enabled])
-      max_requests = Pleroma.Config.get([:app_account_creation, :max_requests])
-      interval = Pleroma.Config.get([:app_account_creation, :interval])
-
-      Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :enabled], true)
-      Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :max_requests], 5)
-      Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :interval], 1)
-
-      on_exit(fn ->
-        Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :enabled], enabled)
-        Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :max_requests], max_requests)
-        Pleroma.Config.put([:app_account_creation, :interval], interval)
-      end)
-
-      :ok
-    end
-
     test "Account registration via Application", %{conn: conn} do
       conn =
         conn
@@ -3671,7 +3653,7 @@ defmodule Pleroma.Web.MastodonAPI.MastodonAPIControllerTest do
           agreement: true
         })
 
-      assert json_response(conn, 403) == %{"error" => "Rate limit exceeded."}
+      assert json_response(conn, :too_many_requests) == %{"error" => "Throttled"}
     end
   end