diff --git a/commafeed-server/config.dev.yml b/commafeed-server/config.dev.yml
index d521d20b..d5aa62de 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/config.dev.yml
+++ b/commafeed-server/config.dev.yml
@@ -60,7 +60,10 @@ app:
   
   # entries to keep per feed, old entries will be deleted, 0 to disable
   maxFeedCapacity: 500
-  
+
+  # limit the number of feeds a user can subscribe to, 0 to disable
+  maxFeedsPerUser: 0
+
   # cache service to use, possible values are 'noop' and 'redis'
   cache: noop
   
diff --git a/commafeed-server/config.yml.example b/commafeed-server/config.yml.example
index 1726bdac..f990e1d6 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/config.yml.example
+++ b/commafeed-server/config.yml.example
@@ -61,7 +61,10 @@ app:
   
   # entries to keep per feed, old entries will be deleted, 0 to disable
   maxFeedCapacity: 500
-  
+
+  # limit the number of feeds a user can subscribe to, 0 to disable
+  maxFeedsPerUser: 0
+
   # cache service to use, possible values are 'noop' and 'redis'
   cache: noop
   
diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/CommaFeedConfiguration.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/CommaFeedConfiguration.java
index 536b8d51..333fde04 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/CommaFeedConfiguration.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/CommaFeedConfiguration.java
@@ -124,6 +124,10 @@ public class CommaFeedConfiguration extends Configuration {
 		@Valid
 		private Integer maxFeedCapacity;
 
+		@NotNull
+		@Valid
+		private Integer maxFeedsPerUser;
+
 		@NotNull
 		@Min(0)
 		@Valid
diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/dao/FeedSubscriptionDAO.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/dao/FeedSubscriptionDAO.java
index b7a81598..53231851 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/dao/FeedSubscriptionDAO.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/dao/FeedSubscriptionDAO.java
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@ public class FeedSubscriptionDAO extends GenericDAO<FeedSubscription> {
 		return initRelations(subs);
 	}
 
+	public Long count(User user) {
+		return query().select(sub.count()).from(sub).where(sub.user.eq(user)).fetchOne();
+	}
+
 	public List<FeedSubscription> findByCategory(User user, FeedCategory category) {
 		JPQLQuery<FeedSubscription> query = query().selectFrom(sub).where(sub.user.eq(user));
 		if (category == null) {
diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/opml/OPMLImporter.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/opml/OPMLImporter.java
index e46a6ee1..2f5f0199 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/opml/OPMLImporter.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/opml/OPMLImporter.java
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@ import com.commafeed.backend.feed.FeedUtils;
 import com.commafeed.backend.model.FeedCategory;
 import com.commafeed.backend.model.User;
 import com.commafeed.backend.service.FeedSubscriptionService;
-import com.commafeed.backend.service.FeedSubscriptionService.FeedSubscriptionException;
 import com.rometools.opml.feed.opml.Opml;
 import com.rometools.opml.feed.opml.Outline;
 import com.rometools.rome.io.FeedException;
@@ -78,8 +77,6 @@ public class OPMLImporter {
 			// make sure we continue with the import process even if a feed failed
 			try {
 				feedSubscriptionService.subscribe(user, outline.getXmlUrl(), name, parent, position);
-			} catch (FeedSubscriptionException e) {
-				throw e;
 			} catch (Exception e) {
 				log.error("error while importing {}: {}", outline.getXmlUrl(), e.getMessage());
 			}
diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedSubscriptionService.java b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedSubscriptionService.java
index bb7637e2..23609e6c 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedSubscriptionService.java
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/main/java/com/commafeed/backend/service/FeedSubscriptionService.java
@@ -57,6 +57,13 @@ public class FeedSubscriptionService {
 			throw new FeedSubscriptionException("Could not subscribe to a feed from this CommaFeed instance");
 		}
 
+		Integer maxFeedsPerUser = config.getApplicationSettings().getMaxFeedsPerUser();
+		if (maxFeedsPerUser > 0 && feedSubscriptionDAO.count(user) >= maxFeedsPerUser) {
+			String message = String.format("You cannot subscribe to more feeds on this CommaFeed instance (max %s feeds per user)",
+					maxFeedsPerUser);
+			throw new FeedSubscriptionException(message);
+		}
+
 		Feed feed = feedService.findOrCreate(url);
 
 		// upgrade feed to https if it was using http
diff --git a/commafeed-server/src/test/resources/config.test.yml b/commafeed-server/src/test/resources/config.test.yml
index e8f26d23..3606668a 100644
--- a/commafeed-server/src/test/resources/config.test.yml
+++ b/commafeed-server/src/test/resources/config.test.yml
@@ -60,6 +60,9 @@ app:
   
   # entries to keep per feed, old entries will be deleted, 0 to disable
   maxFeedCapacity: 500
+
+  # limit the number of feeds a user can subscribe to, 0 to disable
+  maxFeedsPerUser: 0
   
   # cache service to use, possible values are 'noop' and 'redis'
   cache: noop
@@ -69,7 +72,7 @@ app:
   
   # user-agent string that will be used by the http client, leave empty for the default one
   userAgent:
-  
+
 # Database connection
 # -------------------  
 # for MySQL
@@ -92,8 +95,8 @@ database:
   properties:
     charSet: UTF-8
   validationQuery: "/* CommaFeed Health Check */ SELECT 1"
-    
-     
+
+
 logging:
   level: INFO
   loggers: