diff --git a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch-backoff.js b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch-backoff.js
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000000..cc3658bcf5407
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch-backoff.js
@@ -0,0 +1,140 @@
+/**
+ * @jest-environment node
+ */
+
+import nock from "nock"
+import fetchData from "../fetch"
+import { createPluginConfig } from "../plugin-options"
+
+const host = `localhost`
+const options = {
+  spaceId: `12345`,
+  accessToken: `67890`,
+  host,
+  contentfulClientConfig: {
+    retryLimit: 2,
+  },
+}
+
+const baseURI = `https://${host}`
+
+const start = jest.fn()
+const end = jest.fn()
+const mockActivity = {
+  start,
+  end,
+  tick: jest.fn(),
+  done: end,
+}
+
+const reporter = {
+  info: jest.fn(),
+  verbose: jest.fn(),
+  warn: jest.fn(),
+  panic: jest.fn(e => {
+    throw e
+  }),
+  activityTimer: jest.fn(() => mockActivity),
+  createProgress: jest.fn(() => mockActivity),
+}
+
+const pluginConfig = createPluginConfig(options)
+
+describe(`fetch-backoff`, () => {
+  afterEach(() => {
+    nock.cleanAll()
+    reporter.verbose.mockClear()
+    reporter.panic.mockClear()
+    reporter.warn.mockClear()
+  })
+
+  test(`backoffs page limit when limit is reached`, async () => {
+    jest.setTimeout(30000)
+    const scope = nock(baseURI)
+      // Space
+      .get(`/spaces/${options.spaceId}/`)
+      .reply(200, { items: [] })
+      // Locales
+      .get(`/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/locales`)
+      .reply(200, { items: [{ code: `en`, default: true }] })
+      // Sync with 1000 (to much)
+      .get(
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=1000`
+      )
+      .times(1)
+      .reply(400, {
+        sys: { type: `Error`, id: `BadRequest` },
+        message: `Response size too big. Maximum allowed response size: 512000B.`,
+        requestId: `12345`,
+      })
+      // Sync with 666 (still to much)
+      .get(
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=666`
+      )
+      .times(1)
+      .reply(400, {
+        sys: { type: `Error`, id: `BadRequest` },
+        message: `Response size too big. Maximum allowed response size: 512000B.`,
+        requestId: `12345`,
+      })
+      // Sync with 444
+      .get(
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=444`
+      )
+      .reply(200, { items: [] })
+      // Content types
+      .get(
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/content_types?skip=0&limit=1000&order=sys.createdAt`
+      )
+      .reply(200, { items: [] })
+
+    await fetchData({ pluginConfig, reporter })
+
+    expect(reporter.panic).not.toBeCalled()
+    expect(reporter.warn.mock.calls).toMatchInlineSnapshot(`
+      Array [
+        Array [
+          "The sync with Contentful failed using pageLimit 1000 as the reponse size limit of the API is exceeded.
+
+      Retrying sync with pageLimit of 666",
+        ],
+        Array [
+          "The sync with Contentful failed using pageLimit 666 as the reponse size limit of the API is exceeded.
+
+      Retrying sync with pageLimit of 444",
+        ],
+        Array [
+          "We recommend you to set your pageLimit in gatsby-config.js to 444 to avoid failed synchronizations.",
+        ],
+      ]
+    `)
+    expect(scope.isDone()).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+
+  test(`does not backoff page limit when limit is not reached`, async () => {
+    jest.setTimeout(30000)
+    const scope = nock(baseURI)
+      // Space
+      .get(`/spaces/${options.spaceId}/`)
+      .reply(200, { items: [] })
+      // Locales
+      .get(`/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/locales`)
+      .reply(200, { items: [{ code: `en`, default: true }] })
+      // Sync with 1000 (no limit exceeded)
+      .get(
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=1000`
+      )
+      .reply(200, { items: [] })
+      // Content types
+      .get(
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/content_types?skip=0&limit=1000&order=sys.createdAt`
+      )
+      .reply(200, { items: [] })
+
+    await fetchData({ pluginConfig, reporter })
+
+    expect(reporter.panic).not.toBeCalled()
+    expect(reporter.warn).not.toBeCalled()
+    expect(scope.isDone()).toBeTruthy()
+  })
+})
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch-network-errors.js b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch-network-errors.js
index 27c7045dadd87..8f3d0a2db687a 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch-network-errors.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch-network-errors.js
@@ -57,17 +57,17 @@ describe(`fetch-retry`, () => {
       .reply(200, { items: [{ code: `en`, default: true }] })
       // Sync
       .get(
-        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=100`
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=1000`
       )
       .times(1)
       .replyWithError({ code: `ETIMEDOUT` })
       .get(
-        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=100`
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=1000`
       )
       .reply(200, { items: [] })
       // Content types
       .get(
-        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/content_types?skip=0&limit=100&order=sys.createdAt`
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/content_types?skip=0&limit=1000&order=sys.createdAt`
       )
       .reply(200, { items: [] })
 
@@ -90,7 +90,7 @@ describe(`fetch-retry`, () => {
       .reply(200, { items: [{ code: `en`, default: true }] })
       // Sync
       .get(
-        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=100`
+        `/spaces/${options.spaceId}/environments/master/sync?initial=true&limit=1000`
       )
       .times(3)
       .reply(
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch.js b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch.js
index 8301d5f03a4f3..4ef6d088992cc 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/__tests__/fetch.js
@@ -157,7 +157,7 @@ it(`calls contentful.getContentTypes with default page limit`, async () => {
 
   expect(reporter.panic).not.toBeCalled()
   expect(mockClient.getContentTypes).toHaveBeenCalledWith({
-    limit: 100,
+    limit: 1000,
     order: `sys.createdAt`,
     skip: 0,
   })
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/fetch.js b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/fetch.js
index 3e09e4ce23243..795256a743b98 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/fetch.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/fetch.js
@@ -196,22 +196,55 @@ ${formatPluginOptionsForCLI(pluginConfig.getOriginalPluginOptions(), errors)}`,
   }
 
   let currentSyncData
-  const basicSyncConfig = {
-    limit: pageLimit,
-    resolveLinks: false,
-  }
+  let currentPageLimit = pageLimit
+  let lastCurrentPageLimit
+  let syncSuccess = false
   try {
     syncProgress = reporter.createProgress(
       `Contentful: ${syncToken ? `Sync changed items` : `Sync all items`}`,
-      pageLimit,
+      currentPageLimit,
       0
     )
     syncProgress.start()
-    reporter.verbose(`Contentful: Sync ${pageLimit} items per page.`)
-    const query = syncToken
-      ? { nextSyncToken: syncToken, ...basicSyncConfig }
-      : { initial: true, ...basicSyncConfig }
-    currentSyncData = await client.sync(query)
+    reporter.verbose(`Contentful: Sync ${currentPageLimit} items per page.`)
+
+    while (!syncSuccess) {
+      try {
+        const basicSyncConfig = {
+          limit: currentPageLimit,
+          resolveLinks: false,
+        }
+        const query = syncToken
+          ? { nextSyncToken: syncToken, ...basicSyncConfig }
+          : { initial: true, ...basicSyncConfig }
+        currentSyncData = await client.sync(query)
+        syncSuccess = true
+      } catch (e) {
+        // Back off page limit if responses content length exceeds Contentfuls limits.
+        if (
+          e.response?.data?.message.includes(`Response size too big`) &&
+          currentPageLimit > 1
+        ) {
+          lastCurrentPageLimit = currentPageLimit
+          // Reduce page limit by a arbitrary 1/3 of the current limit to ensure
+          // the new and bigger entries are synced without exceeding the reponse size limit
+          currentPageLimit = Math.floor((currentPageLimit / 3) * 2) || 1
+          reporter.warn(
+            [
+              `The sync with Contentful failed using pageLimit ${lastCurrentPageLimit} as the reponse size limit of the API is exceeded.`,
+              `Retrying sync with pageLimit of ${currentPageLimit}`,
+            ].join(`\n\n`)
+          )
+          continue
+        }
+        throw e
+      }
+      if (currentPageLimit !== pageLimit) {
+        reporter.warn(
+          `We recommend you to set your pageLimit in gatsby-config.js to ${currentPageLimit} to avoid failed synchronizations.`
+        )
+      }
+    }
   } catch (e) {
     reporter.panic({
       id: CODES.SyncError,
diff --git a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/plugin-options.js b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/plugin-options.js
index 2d2a965fc731c..7319b2432d230 100644
--- a/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/plugin-options.js
+++ b/packages/gatsby-source-contentful/src/plugin-options.js
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ const chalk = require(`chalk`)
 
 const _ = require(`lodash`)
 
-const DEFAULT_PAGE_LIMIT = 100
+const DEFAULT_PAGE_LIMIT = 1000
 
 const defaultOptions = {
   host: `cdn.contentful.com`,