diff --git a/api/v1alpha1/const.go b/api/v1alpha1/const.go
index fdc28905..ae20f6c2 100644
--- a/api/v1alpha1/const.go
+++ b/api/v1alpha1/const.go
@@ -62,7 +62,7 @@ var KeyKillCmd = func(x string) string {
 // the standard resources used by the `init`, `sidecar` and built-in step containers.
 var standardResources = corev1.ResourceRequirements{
 	Limits: corev1.ResourceList{
-		"cpu":    resource.MustParse("500m"),
+		"cpu":    resource.MustParse("200m"),
 		"memory": resource.MustParse("256Mi"),
 	},
 	Requests: corev1.ResourceList{
diff --git a/api/v1alpha1/step_types_test.go b/api/v1alpha1/step_types_test.go
index 46c7d278..a2f7c558 100644
--- a/api/v1alpha1/step_types_test.go
+++ b/api/v1alpha1/step_types_test.go
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ func TestStep_GetPodSpec(t *testing.T) {
 				{Name: "ARGO_DATAFLOW_POD", ValueFrom: &corev1.EnvVarSource{FieldRef: &corev1.ObjectFieldSelector{FieldPath: "metadata.name"}}},
 				{Name: "ARGO_DATAFLOW_PIPELINE_NAME", Value: "my-pl"},
 				{Name: "ARGO_DATAFLOW_REPLICA", Value: fmt.Sprintf("%d", replica)},
-				{Name: "ARGO_DATAFLOW_STEP", Value: `{"metadata":{"creationTimestamp":null},"spec":{"name":"main","cat":{"resources":{"limits":{"cpu":"500m","memory":"256Mi"},"requests":{"cpu":"100m","memory":"64Mi"}}},"scale":{},"sidecar":{"resources":{}}},"status":{"phase":"","replicas":0,"lastScaledAt":null}}`},
+				{Name: "ARGO_DATAFLOW_STEP", Value: `{"metadata":{"creationTimestamp":null},"spec":{"name":"main","cat":{"resources":{"limits":{"cpu":"200m","memory":"256Mi"},"requests":{"cpu":"100m","memory":"64Mi"}}},"scale":{},"sidecar":{"resources":{}}},"status":{"phase":"","replicas":0,"lastScaledAt":null}}`},
 				{Name: "ARGO_DATAFLOW_UPDATE_INTERVAL", Value: "1m0s"},
 				{Name: "GODEBUG"},
 			}