diff --git a/docs/02_concepts/05_retries.mdx b/docs/02_concepts/05_retries.mdx
index 6b290f46..54cf2562 100644
--- a/docs/02_concepts/05_retries.mdx
+++ b/docs/02_concepts/05_retries.mdx
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ By default, the client retries a failed request up to 4 times. The retry interva
 
 You can customize this behavior using the following options in the <ApiLink to="class/ApifyClient">`ApifyClient`</ApiLink> constructor:
 
-- `max_retries`: Defines the maximum number of retry attempts.
+- `max_retries`: Defines the maximum number of retry attempts. Set it to `0` to disable retries.
 - `min_delay_between_retries`: Sets the minimum delay between retries as a `timedelta`.
 
 Retries with exponential backoff help reduce the load on the server and increase the chances of a successful request.
diff --git a/src/apify_client/_apify_client.py b/src/apify_client/_apify_client.py
index 73beadef..e0b0a00e 100644
--- a/src/apify_client/_apify_client.py
+++ b/src/apify_client/_apify_client.py
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ def __init__(
                 as well.
             api_public_url: The globally accessible URL of the Apify API server. Should be set only if `api_url`
                 is an internal URL that is not globally accessible. Defaults to https://api.apify.com.
-            max_retries: How many times to retry a failed request at most.
+            max_retries: How many times to retry a failed request at most. Set to 0 to disable retries.
             min_delay_between_retries: How long will the client wait between retrying requests
                 (increases exponentially from this value).
             timeout_short: Default timeout for short-duration API operations (simple CRUD operations, ...).
@@ -150,7 +150,13 @@ def __init__(
             headers: Additional HTTP headers to include in all API requests.
             compression: Compression algorithm for request bodies. Pass a string literal to select an algorithm,
                 or an `HttpCompressor` instance for finer-grained control.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If `max_retries` is negative.
         """
+        if max_retries < 0:
+            raise ValueError(f'max_retries must be a non-negative integer, got {max_retries}')
+
         # We need to do this because of mocking in tests and default mutable arguments.
         api_url = DEFAULT_API_URL if api_url is None else api_url
         api_public_url = DEFAULT_API_URL if api_public_url is None else api_public_url
@@ -504,7 +510,7 @@ def __init__(
                 as well.
             api_public_url: The globally accessible URL of the Apify API server. Should be set only if `api_url`
                 is an internal URL that is not globally accessible. Defaults to https://api.apify.com.
-            max_retries: How many times to retry a failed request at most.
+            max_retries: How many times to retry a failed request at most. Set to 0 to disable retries.
             min_delay_between_retries: How long will the client wait between retrying requests
                 (increases exponentially from this value).
             timeout_short: Default timeout for short-duration API operations (simple CRUD operations, ...).
@@ -514,7 +520,13 @@ def __init__(
             headers: Additional HTTP headers to include in all API requests.
             compression: Compression algorithm for request bodies. Pass a string literal to select an algorithm,
                 or an `HttpCompressor` instance for finer-grained control.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If `max_retries` is negative.
         """
+        if max_retries < 0:
+            raise ValueError(f'max_retries must be a non-negative integer, got {max_retries}')
+
         # We need to do this because of mocking in tests and default mutable arguments.
         api_url = DEFAULT_API_URL if api_url is None else api_url
         api_public_url = DEFAULT_API_URL if api_public_url is None else api_public_url
diff --git a/src/apify_client/http_clients/_base.py b/src/apify_client/http_clients/_base.py
index 5ffa6551..6d448689 100644
--- a/src/apify_client/http_clients/_base.py
+++ b/src/apify_client/http_clients/_base.py
@@ -136,12 +136,18 @@ def __init__(
             timeout_medium: Default timeout for medium-duration API operations (batch operations, listing, ...).
             timeout_long: Default timeout for long-duration API operations (long-polling, streaming, ...).
             timeout_max: Maximum timeout cap for any single request attempt, including tier and per-call timeouts.
-            max_retries: Maximum number of retries for failed requests.
+            max_retries: Maximum number of retries for failed requests. Set to 0 to disable retries.
             min_delay_between_retries: Minimum delay between retries.
             statistics: Statistics tracker for API calls. Created automatically if not provided.
             headers: Additional HTTP headers to include in all requests.
             http_compressor: Compressor used to compress request bodies. Defaults to `GzipHttpCompressor`.
+
+        Raises:
+            ValueError: If `max_retries` is negative.
         """
+        if max_retries < 0:
+            raise ValueError(f'max_retries must be a non-negative integer, got {max_retries}')
+
         self._http_compressor = http_compressor if http_compressor is not None else GzipHttpCompressor()
         self._timeout_short = timeout_short
         self._timeout_medium = timeout_medium
@@ -598,9 +604,6 @@ def _retry_with_exp_backoff(
         random_factor: float = 1,
     ) -> T:
         """Retry a function with exponential backoff and jitter."""
-        if max_retries < 1:
-            raise ValueError(f'max_retries must be at least 1, got {max_retries}')
-
         random_factor = min(max(0, random_factor), 1)
         backoff_factor = min(max(1, backoff_factor), 10)
         swallow = True
@@ -825,9 +828,6 @@ async def _retry_with_exp_backoff(
         random_factor: float = 1,
     ) -> T:
         """Retry an async function with exponential backoff and jitter."""
-        if max_retries < 1:
-            raise ValueError(f'max_retries must be at least 1, got {max_retries}')
-
         random_factor = min(max(0, random_factor), 1)
         backoff_factor = min(max(1, backoff_factor), 10)
         swallow = True
diff --git a/src/apify_client/http_clients/_httpx2.py b/src/apify_client/http_clients/_httpx2.py
index 48eac9d9..ca833955 100644
--- a/src/apify_client/http_clients/_httpx2.py
+++ b/src/apify_client/http_clients/_httpx2.py
@@ -75,7 +75,7 @@ def __init__(
             timeout_medium: Default timeout for medium-duration API operations (batch operations, listing, ...).
             timeout_long: Default timeout for long-duration API operations (long-polling, streaming, ...).
             timeout_max: Maximum timeout cap for any single request attempt, including tier and per-call timeouts.
-            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests.
+            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests. Set to 0 to disable retries.
             min_delay_between_retries: Minimum delay between retries (increases exponentially with each attempt).
             statistics: Statistics tracker for API calls. Created automatically if not provided.
             headers: Additional HTTP headers to include in all requests.
@@ -179,7 +179,7 @@ def __init__(
             timeout_medium: Default timeout for medium-duration API operations (batch operations, listing, ...).
             timeout_long: Default timeout for long-duration API operations (long-polling, streaming, ...).
             timeout_max: Maximum timeout cap for any single request attempt, including tier and per-call timeouts.
-            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests.
+            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests. Set to 0 to disable retries.
             min_delay_between_retries: Minimum delay between retries (increases exponentially with each attempt).
             statistics: Statistics tracker for API calls. Created automatically if not provided.
             headers: Additional HTTP headers to include in all requests.
diff --git a/src/apify_client/http_clients/_impit.py b/src/apify_client/http_clients/_impit.py
index 5d01b2c2..6b1c82bb 100644
--- a/src/apify_client/http_clients/_impit.py
+++ b/src/apify_client/http_clients/_impit.py
@@ -71,7 +71,7 @@ def __init__(
             timeout_medium: Default timeout for medium-duration API operations (batch operations, listing, ...).
             timeout_long: Default timeout for long-duration API operations (long-polling, streaming, ...).
             timeout_max: Maximum timeout cap for any single request attempt, including tier and per-call timeouts.
-            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests.
+            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests. Set to 0 to disable retries.
             min_delay_between_retries: Minimum delay between retries (increases exponentially with each attempt).
             statistics: Statistics tracker for API calls. Created automatically if not provided.
             headers: Additional HTTP headers to include in all requests.
@@ -171,7 +171,7 @@ def __init__(
             timeout_medium: Default timeout for medium-duration API operations (batch operations, listing, ...).
             timeout_long: Default timeout for long-duration API operations (long-polling, streaming, ...).
             timeout_max: Maximum timeout cap for any single request attempt, including tier and per-call timeouts.
-            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests.
+            max_retries: Maximum number of retry attempts for failed requests. Set to 0 to disable retries.
             min_delay_between_retries: Minimum delay between retries (increases exponentially with each attempt).
             statistics: Statistics tracker for API calls. Created automatically if not provided.
             headers: Additional HTTP headers to include in all requests.
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_client_errors.py b/tests/unit/test_client_errors.py
index 39696147..1536ff2d 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_client_errors.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_client_errors.py
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@
 import pytest
 from werkzeug import Response
 
+from apify_client import ApifyClient, ApifyClientAsync
 from apify_client.errors import (
     ApifyApiError,
     ConflictError,
@@ -25,7 +26,6 @@
     from pytest_httpserver import HTTPServer
     from werkzeug import Request
 
-    from apify_client import ApifyClient, ApifyClientAsync
     from apify_client.http_clients import HttpClient, HttpClientAsync
 
 pytestmark = pytest.mark.usefixtures('http_client_classes')
@@ -195,7 +195,7 @@ def test_apify_api_error_dispatches_5xx_to_server_error(
     httpserver.expect_request('/server_error').respond_with_json(
         {'error': {'type': 'internal-error', 'message': 'boom'}}, status=503
     )
-    client = http_client_class(max_retries=1)
+    client = http_client_class(max_retries=0)
 
     with pytest.raises(ServerError) as exc:
         client.call(method='GET', url=str(httpserver.url_for('/server_error')))
@@ -204,6 +204,32 @@ def test_apify_api_error_dispatches_5xx_to_server_error(
     assert exc.value.status_code == 503
 
 
+def test_max_retries_zero_makes_single_attempt(httpserver: HTTPServer) -> None:
+    """With `max_retries=0`, a retryable server error is requested once and raised as `ServerError`."""
+    httpserver.expect_request('/v2/datasets/ds-1').respond_with_json(
+        {'error': {'type': 'internal-error', 'message': 'boom'}}, status=500
+    )
+    client = ApifyClient(token='test', api_url=httpserver.url_for('/').removesuffix('/'), max_retries=0)
+
+    with pytest.raises(ServerError):
+        client.dataset('ds-1').get()
+
+    assert len(httpserver.log) == 1
+
+
+async def test_max_retries_zero_makes_single_attempt_async(httpserver: HTTPServer) -> None:
+    """With `max_retries=0`, a retryable server error is requested once and raised as `ServerError`."""
+    httpserver.expect_request('/v2/datasets/ds-1').respond_with_json(
+        {'error': {'type': 'internal-error', 'message': 'boom'}}, status=500
+    )
+    client = ApifyClientAsync(token='test', api_url=httpserver.url_for('/').removesuffix('/'), max_retries=0)
+
+    with pytest.raises(ServerError):
+        await client.dataset('ds-1').get()
+
+    assert len(httpserver.log) == 1
+
+
 def test_apify_api_error_falls_back_for_unmapped_status(
     httpserver: HTTPServer, http_client_class: type[HttpClient]
 ) -> None:
@@ -242,8 +268,8 @@ def test_apify_api_error_dispatches_all_mapped_statuses(
     httpserver.expect_request('/dispatch_all').respond_with_json(
         {'error': {'type': 'some-type', 'message': 'msg'}}, status=status_code
     )
-    # Use max_retries=1 so retryable statuses (429) don't loop during the test.
-    client = http_client_class(max_retries=1)
+    # `max_retries=0` keeps retryable statuses (429) from being retried.
+    client = http_client_class(max_retries=0)
 
     with pytest.raises(expected_cls) as exc:
         client.call(method='GET', url=str(httpserver.url_for('/dispatch_all')))
@@ -272,7 +298,7 @@ def test_apify_api_error_falls_back_for_unparsable_body(
 ) -> None:
     """When the body can't be parsed, status-based dispatch still applies and `.type` is None."""
     httpserver.expect_request('/unparsable').respond_with_data('<not json>', status=418, content_type='text/html')
-    client = http_client_class(max_retries=1)
+    client = http_client_class(max_retries=0)
 
     with pytest.raises(ApifyApiError) as exc:
         client.call(method='GET', url=str(httpserver.url_for('/unparsable')))
diff --git a/tests/unit/test_http_clients.py b/tests/unit/test_http_clients.py
index f00b5da5..00d07b9a 100644
--- a/tests/unit/test_http_clients.py
+++ b/tests/unit/test_http_clients.py
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 import impit
 import pytest
 
+from apify_client import ApifyClient, ApifyClientAsync
 from apify_client._consts import MIN_COMPRESSION_SIZE
 from apify_client._logging import logger_name
 from apify_client._statistics import ClientStatistics
@@ -210,6 +211,24 @@ def test_base_http_client_initialization() -> None:
     assert isinstance(client2._statistics, ClientStatistics)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    'client_class',
+    [
+        pytest.param(ApifyClient, id='ApifyClient'),
+        pytest.param(ApifyClientAsync, id='ApifyClientAsync'),
+        pytest.param(ConcreteHttpClient, id='custom HttpClient'),
+        pytest.param(ImpitHttpClient, id='ImpitHttpClient'),
+        pytest.param(ImpitHttpClientAsync, id='ImpitHttpClientAsync'),
+        pytest.param(Httpx2HttpClient, id='Httpx2HttpClient'),
+        pytest.param(Httpx2HttpClientAsync, id='Httpx2HttpClientAsync'),
+    ],
+)
+def test_negative_max_retries_is_rejected_at_construction(client_class: Callable[..., object]) -> None:
+    """A negative `max_retries` raises `ValueError` from the constructor, before any request is made."""
+    with pytest.raises(ValueError, match='max_retries must be a non-negative integer, got -1'):
+        client_class(max_retries=-1)
+
+
 def test_http_client_init_headers_override_defaults_case_insensitively() -> None:
     """Constructor headers replace same-named default headers even when their casings differ."""
     client = ConcreteHttpClient(token='default_token', headers={'authorization': 'Bearer custom'})