---
title: Sampling events
description: Configure event sampling in Elixir to control Insights data volume while maintaining statistical accuracy.
url: https://docs.honeybadger.io/lib/elixir/insights/sampling-events/
---

You can enable event sampling to reduce the number of events sent to Honeybadger. This is especially useful if you are hitting your daily event quota limit:

```elixir
config :honeybadger,
  # Sample 50% of events
  insights_sample_rate: 50
```

The `insights_sample_rate` option accepts a whole percentage value between 0 and 100, where 0 means no events will be sent and 100 means all events will be sent. The default is no sampling (100%).

Events are sampled by hashing the `request_id` if available in the event payload, otherwise random sampling is used. This deterministic approach ensures that related events from the same request are consistently sampled together.

## Per-event sampling

The sample rate is applied to all events sent to Honeybadger Insights, including automatic instrumentation events. You can also set the sample rate per event by adding the `sample_rate` key to the event metadata map:

```elixir
Honeybadger.event("user_created", %{
  user_id: user.id,
  _hb: %{sample_rate: 100}
})
```

The event sample rate can also be set within the `event_context/1` function. This can be handy if you want to set an overall sample rate for a process or ensure that specific instrumented events get sent:

```elixir
# Set a higher sampling rate for this entire process
Honeybadger.event_context(%{_hb: %{sample_rate: 100}})


# Now all events from this process, including automatic instrumentation,
# will use the 100% sample rate
Ecto.Repo.insert!(%MyApp.User{}) # This instrumented event will be sent
```

Remember that context is process-bound and applies to all events sent from the same process after the `event_context/1` call, until it’s changed or the process terminates.

When setting sample rates below the global setting, be aware that this affects how events with the same `request_id` are sampled. Since sampling is deterministic based on the `request_id` hash, all events sharing the same `request_id` will either all be sampled or all be skipped together. This ensures consistency across related events.

With that in mind, it’s recommended to default to the global sample rate and use per-event sampling for specific cases where you want to ensure events are sent regardless of the global setting, or you are setting the sample rate in the context where all events with the same `request_id` will also share the same sampling rate.

---

## Try Honeybadger for FREE

Intelligent logging, error tracking, and Just Enough APM™ in one dev-friendly platform. Find and fix problems before users notice.

[Start free trial](https://app.honeybadger.io/users/sign_up)

[See plans and pricing](https://www.honeybadger.io/plans/)