diff --git a/.github/dependabot.yml b/.github/dependabot.yml
index 24fae822e..64499107e 100644
--- a/.github/dependabot.yml
+++ b/.github/dependabot.yml
@@ -4,6 +4,10 @@ updates:
     directory: "/"
     schedule:
       interval: "daily"
+      # run these when most of our developers don't work, don't DoS our CI over the day
+      time: "22:00"
+      timezone: "Europe/Berlin"
+    open-pull-requests-limit: 3
     commit-message:
       prefix: "[no-test]"
     labels: