Counter Node
The Counter node sets a numeric limit on how many profiles can proceed down a specific path in the flow. Profiles within the limit go down the Yes path. Once the limit is reached, all subsequent profiles go down the No path — until the counter resets (if a reset period is configured).
This makes it the go-to node for budget control, capacity management, and volume capping in automated flows.
In this article
How the Counter node works
The Counter node keeps a running tally. Each time a profile enters the node, the counter increments by one:
Path | What happens |
Yes ✓ | The counter is below the limit. The profile proceeds down the Yes path, and the counter increments by 1. For example: limit is 100, counter is at 73 → profile goes Yes, counter becomes 74. |
No ✗ | The counter has reached the limit. The profile proceeds down the No path. The counter stays at the limit. For example: limit is 100, counter is at 100 → profile goes No. |
💡 Good to know
The Counter node doesn't stop the flow — it redirects overflow traffic. Profiles that exceed the limit still continue through the flow, just down a different path. This means you always need to build out both the Yes and No paths with meaningful next steps.
When to use the Counter node
Use the Counter node whenever you need to limit how many profiles can take a specific action within a flow. Common reasons:
Budget control — cap the number of SMS messages sent to manage credit costs.
Capacity limits — restrict how many profiles can claim a limited offer, discount code, or event spot.
Volume management — prevent a high-volume flow from overwhelming a team with too many notifications or handoffs.
Controlled rollout — limit how many profiles receive a new message or experience before expanding.
Common use cases
Cap SMS sends to control budget
Counter node (limit: 500) → Yes: SMS node (sends the message). No: Email node (sends an email version instead, which doesn't cost credits). This ensures you never exceed 500 SMS per reset period.
Limit discount code distribution
Counter node (limit: 200, no reset) → Yes: Email with unique discount code. No: Email with a "sold out" message or general offer. Once 200 profiles have claimed the code, the rest get the alternative.
Cap daily notifications
Counter node (limit: 20, daily reset) → Yes: Notification node to team. No: Update Profile with tag "Queued " (for manual follow-up later). This prevents the team inbox from being flooded on busy days.
Manage subscription capacity
Counter node (limit: 50, no reset) → Yes: Email with subscription confirmation. No: Email with "Thank you - you are in waiting mode" message. Once 50 subscriptions are filled, new profiles are automatically "waitlisted".
Weekly SMS budget cap
Counter node (limit: 1000, weekly reset) → Yes: SMS node. No: Skip SMS, continue to next email step. Every Monday, the counter resets and the next 1,000 profiles can receive SMS again.
Setting up the Counter node
Drag the Counter node onto the canvas and click it to open the configuration panel. Two branches appear: Yes and No.
Set the limit. Enter a number (1 or higher). This is the maximum number of profiles that can go down the Yes path before the counter is full.
Optional: Set a reset period. Choose how often the counter should reset back to zero. See Understanding the reset period below.
Optional: Enable re-entry. Tick the re-entry checkbox to allow the same profile to enter the Yes path more than once. See Re-entry below.
Connect nodes to both paths. Build out the Yes path (what happens within the limit) and the No path (what happens when the limit is reached).
Understanding the reset period
The reset period determines how often the counter goes back to zero, allowing new profiles to go down the Yes path again. Without a reset period, the counter is permanent — once the limit is reached, all future profiles go down the No path forever (or until you manually edit the flow).
Reset options
Option | What happens |
No reset | The counter never resets. Once the limit is reached, all future profiles go down the No path. Use for one-time capacity limits (e.g. 200 discount codes, 50 event spots). |
Daily | The counter resets to zero once per day (at midnight in the flow's timezone). Use for daily volume caps (e.g. max 20 sales notifications per day).  |
Weekly | The counter resets to zero once per week on the weekday you choose. Use for weekly budget caps (e.g. max 1,000 SMS per week).  |
Monthly | The counter resets to zero on a monthly schedule on the days you define in the settings. Use for example for monthly budget controls.
One day selected (the 1st of every month): 
Multiple days per month selected: 
|
Reset period example: Daily reset with a limit of 20
Time | Counter | Path | What happens |
Mon 08:00 | 0 → 1 | Yes ✓ | First profile of the day. Counter starts at 0. |
Mon 14:00 | 19 → 20 | Yes ✓ | 20th profile. Counter reaches the limit. |
Mon 14:30 | 20 | No ✗ | 21st profile. Limit reached → goes down No path. |
Mon 23:59 | 20 | No ✗ | Any profile arriving before midnight still goes No. |
Tue 00:00 | 0 (reset) | — | Counter resets. Next profile goes Yes. |
Tue 09:00 | 0 → 1 | Yes ✓ | First profile of Tuesday. Fresh counter. |
⚠️ Important — Timezone
The reset period uses the timezone set in Flow Settings. Resets happen at midnight in that timezone. Make sure your flow's timezone is configured correctly — especially if your audience spans multiple time zones. See Navigate the Canvas.
Re-entry: same profile, multiple times
The re-entry setting controls whether the same profile can be counted toward the limit more than once. This fundamentally changes what the counter measures — unique profiles vs. total actions.
Re-entry OFF (default) — each profile counted at most once
With re-entry disabled, the Counter node tracks which profiles have already passed through the Yes path. A profile that has already been counted is blocked from the Yes path on any subsequent pass — regardless of whether the limit has been reached.
Scenario | Path | Example |
Limit not reached, new profile | Yes ✓ | "First 100 customers get a discount." Profile A submits a form for the first time → Yes → gets the email, counter goes up to 74. |
Limit not reached, returning profile | No ✗ | Profile A re-enters the flow and reaches the Counter node again. They've already been counted → No → no second email, counter unchanged. Prevents double-rewarding. |
Limit reached, any profile | No ✗ | The 100 spots are full. All new profiles go No → fallback message: "Sorry, offer has ended." |
Re-entry ON — same profile can be counted multiple times
With re-entry enabled, the Counter node doesn't track individual profiles. Every pass through the node increments the counter by 1, regardless of whether the profile has been counted before.
Scenario | Path | Example |
Limit not reached, any profile (new or returning) | Yes ✓ | "For the first 50 purchases today, give a loyalty bonus." Profile A buys on Monday (counted, Yes), buys again on Tuesday after reset (counted again, Yes). Each purchase is a distinct event that should be rewarded. |
Limit reached, any profile | No ✗ | 50 purchases have already been rewarded today. Profile A makes another purchase → No → no bonus. Protects against over-rewarding within the period, even for repeat customers. |
💡 Tip — When to enable re-entry
Unique profiles / one-time offers: Re-entry OFF. You care about unique people — one person claiming a discount code twice shouldn't use up two spots. Example: "First 100 customers get the offer."
Total actions / budget caps: Re-entry ON. You care about the total number of actions regardless of who performs them. Example: "Reward the first 50 purchases per day" (one person can earn multiple rewards if they buy multiple times).
How the reset period interacts with re-entry
The reset period and re-entry setting work together to create different behaviours:
Combination | Behaviour |
No reset + Re-entry OFF 
| Each profile gets the offer at most once, ever. The limit is permanent and profiles are permanently recorded. Use for truly one-time offers with a hard cap. |
No reset + Re-entry ON 
| The limit is permanent, but the same profile can be counted multiple times. Once the total action count reaches the limit, all traffic goes No — forever. Use for lifetime action caps across all profiles. |
Daily/Weekly/Monthly reset + Re-entry OFF 
| The counter value resets on schedule, reopening the limit. Profile records are also cleared by the reset, allowing profiles to go through the Yes path again in the next period. Effect: each profile gets the offer at most once per reset period. |
Daily/Weekly/Monthly reset + Re-entry ON 
| Both the counter value and the profile records reset. Any profile (new or returning) can be counted again. Effect: the limit applies to total actions per reset period, regardless of who performs them. |
⚠️ Technical note — Reset and profile records
When a reset period is configured, the reset clears both the counter value (reopening the limit) and the profile tracking records (allowing profiles to be counted again). These two operations are handled separately by the system.
If your use case depends on the exact timing of re-entry eligibility after a reset, we recommend testing with a known profile to verify the behaviour matches your expectations.
Counter vs. Split — what's the difference?
Both nodes manage traffic distribution, but they work very differently:
Node | How it routes | Use when… |
Counter | Routes based on a running total. First N profiles → Yes. All profiles after N → No. Sequential, not random. | You need a hard cap — only N profiles should receive this action, period. Budget limits, capacity, scarcity. |
Routes based on random percentage. Each profile has the same probability of going down each path, regardless of how many have gone before. | You want proportional distribution — an ongoing percentage split (e.g. 50/50 for A/B testing). No hard cap. |
💡 Examples
"Only the first 500 profiles should get an SMS" →Counter node (limit: 500).
"50% of all profiles should get email A and 50% should get email B, forever" →Split node (50/50).
"Send SMS to the first 500 per week" →Counter node (limit: 500, weekly reset).
Troubleshooting
All profiles going down the No path?
Check this | Why it matters |
Has the limit been reached? | Click the Counter node and check the Node Stats. If the Yes count equals the limit, the counter is full. All subsequent profiles go No until the counter resets (if a reset period is set). |
Is the reset period configured? | If you expect the counter to reset but it hasn't, check that a reset period is actually set. Without one, the limit is permanent. |
Has the reset period elapsed? | If you set a daily reset and the counter filled up at 14:00, new profiles won't go Yes until after midnight (in the flow's timezone). |
Is the limit set correctly? | A limit of 1 means only a single profile goes Yes before all others go No. Double-check the number you entered. |
Counter not resetting?
Check this | Why it matters |
Is a reset period configured? | If no reset period is set, the counter never resets — by design. Add a reset period if you need recurring capacity. |
Check the timezone | Resets happen at midnight (daily), start of week (weekly), or start of month (monthly) in the flow's timezone. If the timezone is wrong, the reset may seem delayed. Check Flow Settings. |
Is the flow Active? | If the flow is Paused or Stopped, the counter state is preserved but new profiles don't pass through. The reset still happens on schedule, but you won't see new Yes-path activity until the flow is resumed. |
Tips & best practices
Always build a meaningful No path. Profiles that exceed the limit still need a good experience. Don't just end the flow — offer an alternative (email instead of SMS, waitlist instead of registration, general offer instead of exclusive code).
Use the Counter node before SMS nodes to control costs. Place the Counter node right before the SMS node. Yes path → SMS. No path → skip SMS and continue to the next email step. This is the simplest way to cap SMS credit usage in an automated flow.
Combine Counter + Time Frame for precise control. Place a Time Frame node before the Counter to restrict profiles to business hours, then use the Counter to cap volume during those hours.
Match the reset period to your budget cycle. If your SMS budget is monthly, use a monthly reset. If your team can handle 20 notifications per day, use a daily reset with a limit of 20.
Monitor Node Stats regularly. On active flows, check the Counter node's stats to see how quickly the limit is being reached. If the counter fills up every day by 10:00, you may need to increase the limit or reduce the flow's entry volume.
Use Update Profile on the No path. When a profile is redirected to the No path, add an Update Profile node to tag them as "Counter overflow" or "SMS skipped". This lets you identify these profiles later for follow-up or reporting.
Be cautious with re-entry + no reset. If re-entry is enabled and there's no reset period, a small number of returning profiles can exhaust the limit quickly, blocking new unique profiles. Use this combination carefully.
Document the limit rationale. Use the Goals feature in the bottom bar to note why the limit is set to a specific number (e.g. "Limit: 1000/week based on monthly SMS budget of 4,000 credits"). This helps colleagues understand the flow without guessing.
Related articles
Marketing Automation Nodes — Overview of every node type.
Split Node — Random percentage distribution (vs. hard cap).
SMS Node — Often placed after a Counter node for budget control.
Notification Node — Cap team notifications with a Counter node in front.
Update Profile Node — Tag profiles on the No path for follow-up.
Time Node — Combine Time Frame + Counter for business-hours volume control.
SMS Credits — Calculation and Pricing — Understanding the costs the Counter node helps control.
Navigate the Canvas — Flow settings including timezone configuration.
Key Terms Glossary — Definitions for all Marketing Automation terms.