diff --git a/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py b/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py
index bc4caea46f8..27c2d2ab8f9 100644
--- a/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py
+++ b/ddtrace/_trace/tracer.py
@@ -234,9 +234,18 @@ def __init__(
         self._user_sampler: Optional[BaseSampler] = DatadogSampler()
         self._asm_enabled = asm_config._asm_enabled
         self._appsec_standalone_enabled = asm_config._appsec_standalone_enabled
-        self._sampler: BaseSampler = DatadogSampler()
-        self._maybe_opt_out()
         self._dogstatsd_url = agent.get_stats_url() if dogstatsd_url is None else dogstatsd_url
+        self._apm_opt_out = self._asm_enabled and self._appsec_standalone_enabled
+        if self._apm_opt_out:
+            self.enabled = False
+            # Disable compute stats (neither agent or tracer should compute them)
+            config._trace_compute_stats = False
+            # If ASM is enabled but tracing is disabled,
+            # we need to set the rate limiting to 1 trace per minute
+            # for the backend to consider the service as alive.
+            self._sampler: BaseSampler = DatadogSampler(rate_limit=1, rate_limit_window=60e9, rate_limit_always_on=True)
+        else:
+            self._sampler: BaseSampler = DatadogSampler()
         self._compute_stats = config._trace_compute_stats
         self._agent_url: str = agent.get_trace_url() if url is None else url
         verify_url(self._agent_url)
@@ -295,19 +304,6 @@ def __init__(
         config._subscribe(["tags"], self._on_global_config_update)
         config._subscribe(["_tracing_enabled"], self._on_global_config_update)
 
-    def _maybe_opt_out(self):
-        self._apm_opt_out = self._asm_enabled and self._appsec_standalone_enabled
-        if self._apm_opt_out:
-            # If ASM is enabled but tracing is disabled,
-            # we need to set the rate limiting to 1 trace per minute
-            # for the backend to consider the service as alive.
-            from ddtrace.internal.rate_limiter import RateLimiter
-
-            self._sampler.limiter = RateLimiter(rate_limit=1, time_window=60e9)  # 1 trace per minute
-            # Disable compute stats (neither agent or tracer should compute them)
-            config._trace_compute_stats = False
-            self.enabled = False
-
     def _atexit(self) -> None:
         key = "ctrl-break" if os.name == "nt" else "ctrl-c"
         log.debug(
@@ -502,12 +498,29 @@ def configure(
         if appsec_standalone_enabled is not None:
             self._appsec_standalone_enabled = asm_config._appsec_standalone_enabled = appsec_standalone_enabled
 
+        if self._appsec_standalone_enabled and self._asm_enabled:
+            self._apm_opt_out = True
+            self.enabled = False
+            # Disable compute stats (neither agent or tracer should compute them)
+            config._trace_compute_stats = False
+            # Update the rate limiter to 1 trace per minute when tracing is disabled
+            if isinstance(sampler, DatadogSampler):
+                sampler._rate_limit_always_on = True
+                sampler.limiter.rate_limit = 1
+                sampler.limiter.time_window = 60e9
+            else:
+                if sampler is not None:
+                    log.warning(
+                        "Overriding sampler: %s, a DatadogSampler must be used in ASM Standalone mode",
+                        sampler.__class__,
+                    )
+                sampler = DatadogSampler(rate_limit=1, rate_limit_window=60e9, rate_limit_always_on=True)
+            log.debug("ASM standalone mode is enabled, traces will be rate limited at 1 trace per minute")
+
         if sampler is not None:
             self._sampler = sampler
             self._user_sampler = self._sampler
 
-        self._maybe_opt_out()
-
         self._dogstatsd_url = dogstatsd_url or self._dogstatsd_url
 
         if any(x is not None for x in [hostname, port, uds_path, https]):
diff --git a/ddtrace/internal/rate_limiter.py b/ddtrace/internal/rate_limiter.py
index 63312911ecc..981701cd51b 100644
--- a/ddtrace/internal/rate_limiter.py
+++ b/ddtrace/internal/rate_limiter.py
@@ -12,7 +12,6 @@
 from ddtrace.vendor.debtcollector import deprecate
 
 from ..internal import compat
-from ..internal.constants import DEFAULT_SAMPLING_RATE_LIMIT
 
 
 class RateLimiter(object):
@@ -59,10 +58,6 @@ def __init__(self, rate_limit: int, time_window: float = 1e9):
 
         self._lock = threading.Lock()
 
-    @property
-    def _has_been_configured(self):
-        return self.rate_limit != DEFAULT_SAMPLING_RATE_LIMIT
-
     def is_allowed(self, timestamp_ns: Optional[int] = None) -> bool:
         """
         Check whether the current request is allowed or not
diff --git a/ddtrace/sampler.py b/ddtrace/sampler.py
index c5fd896acfe..9c78905a70b 100644
--- a/ddtrace/sampler.py
+++ b/ddtrace/sampler.py
@@ -203,7 +203,7 @@ class DatadogSampler(RateByServiceSampler):
     per second.
     """
 
-    __slots__ = ("limiter", "rules", "default_sample_rate")
+    __slots__ = ("limiter", "rules", "default_sample_rate", "_rate_limit_always_on")
 
     NO_RATE_LIMIT = -1
     # deprecate and remove the DEFAULT_RATE_LIMIT field from DatadogSampler
@@ -214,6 +214,8 @@ def __init__(
         rules=None,  # type: Optional[List[SamplingRule]]
         default_sample_rate=None,  # type: Optional[float]
         rate_limit=None,  # type: Optional[int]
+        rate_limit_window=1e9,  # type: float
+        rate_limit_always_on=False,  # type: bool
     ):
         # type: (...) -> None
         """
@@ -228,13 +230,16 @@ def __init__(
         # Use default sample rate of 1.0
         super(DatadogSampler, self).__init__()
         self.default_sample_rate = default_sample_rate
+        effective_sample_rate = default_sample_rate
         if default_sample_rate is None:
             if ddconfig._get_source("_trace_sample_rate") != "default":
-                default_sample_rate = float(ddconfig._trace_sample_rate)
+                effective_sample_rate = float(ddconfig._trace_sample_rate)
 
         if rate_limit is None:
             rate_limit = int(ddconfig._trace_rate_limit)
 
+        self._rate_limit_always_on = rate_limit_always_on
+
         if rules is None:
             env_sampling_rules = ddconfig._trace_sampling_rules
             if env_sampling_rules:
@@ -251,12 +256,12 @@ def __init__(
                 elif config._raise:
                     raise TypeError("Rule {!r} must be a sub-class of type ddtrace.sampler.SamplingRules".format(rule))
 
-        # DEV: Default sampling rule must come last
-        if default_sample_rate is not None:
-            self.rules.append(SamplingRule(sample_rate=default_sample_rate))
+        # DEV: sampling rule must come last
+        if effective_sample_rate is not None:
+            self.rules.append(SamplingRule(sample_rate=effective_sample_rate))
 
         # Configure rate limiter
-        self.limiter = RateLimiter(rate_limit)
+        self.limiter = RateLimiter(rate_limit, rate_limit_window)
 
         log.debug("initialized %r", self)
 
@@ -315,18 +320,22 @@ def sample(self, span):
         sampler = self._default_sampler  # type: BaseSampler
         sample_rate = self.sample_rate
         if matched_rule:
+            # Client based sampling
             sampled = matched_rule.sample(span)
             sample_rate = matched_rule.sample_rate
         else:
+            # Agent based sampling
             sampled, sampler = super(DatadogSampler, self)._make_sampling_decision(span)
             if isinstance(sampler, RateSampler):
                 sample_rate = sampler.sample_rate
-        # Apply rate limit
-        if sampled:
-            sampled = self.limiter.is_allowed()
-        if self.limiter._has_been_configured:
-            span.set_metric(SAMPLING_LIMIT_DECISION, self.limiter.effective_rate)
 
+        if matched_rule or self._rate_limit_always_on:
+            # Avoid rate limiting when trace sample rules and/or sample rates are NOT provided
+            # by users. In this scenario tracing should default to agent based sampling. ASM
+            # uses DatadogSampler._rate_limit_always_on to override this functionality.
+            if sampled:
+                sampled = self.limiter.is_allowed()
+                span.set_metric(SAMPLING_LIMIT_DECISION, self.limiter.effective_rate)
         _set_sampling_tags(
             span,
             sampled,
@@ -345,10 +354,8 @@ def _choose_priority_category_with_rule(self, rule, sampler):
             if provenance == "dynamic":
                 return _PRIORITY_CATEGORY.RULE_DYNAMIC
             return _PRIORITY_CATEGORY.RULE_DEF
-
-        if self.limiter._has_been_configured:
-            # If the default rate limiter is NOT used to sample traces
-            # the sampling priority must be set to manual keep/drop.
-            # This will disable agent based sample rates.
+        elif self._rate_limit_always_on:
+            # backwards compaitbiility for ASM, when the rate limit is always on (ASM standalone mode)
+            # we want spans to be set to a MANUAL priority to avoid agent based sampling
             return _PRIORITY_CATEGORY.USER
         return super(DatadogSampler, self)._choose_priority_category(sampler)
diff --git a/ddtrace/settings/config.py b/ddtrace/settings/config.py
index 086b09f06c9..a35111481e7 100644
--- a/ddtrace/settings/config.py
+++ b/ddtrace/settings/config.py
@@ -376,7 +376,18 @@ def __init__(self):
         self._debug_mode = asbool(os.getenv("DD_TRACE_DEBUG", default=False))
         self._startup_logs_enabled = asbool(os.getenv("DD_TRACE_STARTUP_LOGS", False))
 
-        self._trace_rate_limit = int(os.getenv("DD_TRACE_RATE_LIMIT", default=DEFAULT_SAMPLING_RATE_LIMIT))
+        rate_limit = os.getenv("DD_TRACE_RATE_LIMIT")
+        if rate_limit is not None and self._trace_sampling_rules in ("", "[]"):
+            # This warning will be logged when DD_TRACE_SAMPLE_RATE is set. This is intentional.
+            # Even though DD_TRACE_SAMPLE_RATE is treated as a global trace sampling rule, this configuration
+            # is deprecated. We should always encourage users to set DD_TRACE_SAMPLING_RULES instead.
+            log.warning(
+                "DD_TRACE_RATE_LIMIT is set to %s and DD_TRACE_SAMPLING_RULES is not set. "
+                "Tracer rate limitting is only applied to spans that match tracer sampling rules. "
+                "All other spans will be rate limited by the Datadog Agent via DD_APM_MAX_TPS.",
+                rate_limit,
+            )
+        self._trace_rate_limit = int(rate_limit or DEFAULT_SAMPLING_RATE_LIMIT)
         self._partial_flush_enabled = asbool(os.getenv("DD_TRACE_PARTIAL_FLUSH_ENABLED", default=True))
         self._partial_flush_min_spans = int(os.getenv("DD_TRACE_PARTIAL_FLUSH_MIN_SPANS", default=300))
 
diff --git a/docs/configuration.rst b/docs/configuration.rst
index 944308ee2e8..58eaa2e0e1b 100644
--- a/docs/configuration.rst
+++ b/docs/configuration.rst
@@ -240,10 +240,11 @@ The following environment variables for the tracer are supported:
      type: int
      default: 100
      description: |
-        Maximum number of traces per second to sample. Set a rate limit to avoid the ingestion volume overages in the case of traffic spikes.
-
+        Maximum number of traces per second to sample. Set a rate limit to avoid the ingestion volume overages in the case of traffic spikes. This configuration
+        is only applied when client based sampling is configured, otherwise agent based rate limits are used.
      version_added:
         v0.33.0:
+        v2.15.0: Only applied when DD_TRACE_SAMPLE_RATE, DD_TRACE_SAMPLING_RULES, or DD_SPAN_SAMPLING_RULE are set.
 
    DD_TRACE_SAMPLING_RULES:
      type: JSON array
diff --git a/releasenotes/notes/only-rate-limit-on-sampling-rules-6f807defa7d0f5f1.yaml b/releasenotes/notes/only-rate-limit-on-sampling-rules-6f807defa7d0f5f1.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..b469abb5809
--- /dev/null
+++ b/releasenotes/notes/only-rate-limit-on-sampling-rules-6f807defa7d0f5f1.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+---
+fixes:
+  - |
+    tracing: Ensures ``DD_TRACE_RATE_LIMIT`` environment variable is only applied to spans for which tracer sampling is configured. For spans not matching sampling rules default rate limits should be applied by the Datadog Agent.
diff --git a/tests/integration/test_sampling.py b/tests/integration/test_sampling.py
index 09de91d6ef5..04749e080ba 100644
--- a/tests/integration/test_sampling.py
+++ b/tests/integration/test_sampling.py
@@ -302,7 +302,8 @@ def test_rate_limiter_on_spans(tracer):
     """
     Ensure that the rate limiter is applied to spans
     """
-    tracer.configure(sampler=DatadogSampler(rate_limit=10))
+    # Rate limit is only applied if a sample rate or trace sample rule is set
+    tracer.configure(sampler=DatadogSampler(default_sample_rate=1, rate_limit=10))
     spans = []
     # Generate 10 spans with the start and finish time in same second
     for x in range(10):
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_extended_sampling_glob_multi_rule.json b/tests/snapshots/test_extended_sampling_glob_multi_rule.json
index 860a058fcbf..0535ab93778 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_extended_sampling_glob_multi_rule.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_extended_sampling_glob_multi_rule.json
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
       "test": "tag"
     },
     "metrics": {
+      "_dd.limit_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.rule_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.top_level": 1,
       "_dd.tracer_kr": 1.0,
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1.json b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1.json
index a225f518fea..e9ec59dbab2 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1.json
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
       "runtime-id": "10b45fb36ca3465fa2b6dbd7b10bdccf"
     },
     "metrics": {
+      "_dd.limit_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.rule_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.top_level": 1,
       "_dd.tracer_kr": 1.0,
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1_and_rule_1.json b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1_and_rule_1.json
index a51fd5a0251..6674e845323 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1_and_rule_1.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_default_sample_rate_1_and_rule_1.json
@@ -14,6 +14,7 @@
       "runtime-id": "10b45fb36ca3465fa2b6dbd7b10bdccf"
     },
     "metrics": {
+      "_dd.limit_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.rule_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.top_level": 1,
       "_dd.tracer_kr": 1.0,
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_rate_limit_3.json b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_rate_limit_3.json
index e097d4eace9..267c8e68033 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_rate_limit_3.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_rate_limit_3.json
@@ -9,15 +9,14 @@
     "type": "",
     "error": 0,
     "meta": {
-      "_dd.p.dm": "-3",
+      "_dd.p.dm": "-0",
       "language": "python",
       "runtime-id": "9d1cfdf7026e45dea46fc4c83768cc7b"
     },
     "metrics": {
-      "_dd.limit_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.top_level": 1,
       "_dd.tracer_kr": 1.0,
-      "_sampling_priority_v1": 2,
+      "_sampling_priority_v1": 1,
       "process_id": 9723
     },
     "duration": 71105,
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_sample_rate_1_and_rate_limit_3_and_rule_0.json b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_sample_rate_1_and_rate_limit_3_and_rule_0.json
index f4c5c03df9f..d8986904cf1 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_sample_rate_1_and_rate_limit_3_and_rule_0.json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/test_sampling_with_sample_rate_1_and_rate_limit_3_and_rule_0.json
@@ -14,7 +14,6 @@
       "runtime-id": "9d1cfdf7026e45dea46fc4c83768cc7b"
     },
     "metrics": {
-      "_dd.limit_psr": 1,
       "_dd.rule_psr": 0,
       "_dd.top_level": 1,
       "_dd.tracer_kr": 1.0,
diff --git a/tests/snapshots/tests.integration.test_trace_stats.test_single_span_sampling[sampling_rule1].json b/tests/snapshots/tests.integration.test_trace_stats.test_single_span_sampling[sampling_rule1].json
index f7a623c7439..bdc1f15cc14 100644
--- a/tests/snapshots/tests.integration.test_trace_stats.test_single_span_sampling[sampling_rule1].json
+++ b/tests/snapshots/tests.integration.test_trace_stats.test_single_span_sampling[sampling_rule1].json
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
       "runtime-id": "423178dbb29d4ca784743ac73e5678c8"
     },
     "metrics": {
+      "_dd.limit_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.rule_psr": 1.0,
       "_dd.top_level": 1,
       "_dd.tracer_kr": 1.0,
diff --git a/tests/tracer/test_sampler.py b/tests/tracer/test_sampler.py
index 52fc98a56a4..bdbd8f11537 100644
--- a/tests/tracer/test_sampler.py
+++ b/tests/tracer/test_sampler.py
@@ -659,6 +659,18 @@ def test_sampling_rule_sample_rate_0():
     ), "SamplingRule with rate=0 should never keep samples"
 
 
+@pytest.mark.subprocess(
+    env={"DD_TRACE_RATE_LIMIT": "2", "DD_TRACE_SAMPLING_RULES": ""},
+    err=b"DD_TRACE_RATE_LIMIT is set to 2 and DD_TRACE_SAMPLING_RULES is not set. "
+    b"Tracer rate limitting is only applied to spans that match tracer sampling rules. "
+    b"All other spans will be rate limited by the Datadog Agent via DD_APM_MAX_TPS.\n",
+)
+def test_rate_limit_without_sampling_rules_warning():
+    from ddtrace import config
+
+    assert config._trace_rate_limit == 2
+
+
 def test_datadog_sampler_init():
     sampler = DatadogSampler()
     assert sampler.rules == [], "DatadogSampler initialized with no arguments should hold no rules"