Best Baseball APIs in 2026

The baseball data APIs developers actually use: who covers it, what it costs to start and what the community says.

How this list is built: Providers that list baseball explicitly, then the strongest multi-sport feeds, ordered by the SportDex Score. SportDex Score explained. No provider pays to be here.

Short answer: Retrosheet (55/100), Lahman Baseball Database (48/100) and BALLDONTLIE (79/100) lead this list of 15 providers in 2026. Last checked 2026-11-04.

1
1. Retrosheet
Free / open data
Volunteer-run archive of major league baseball history offering downloadable CSV play-by-play, game logs, schedules and biographical files back to the 19th century.
Free tier6 discussions347 GitHub reposMostly positive
55Score
What developers say
Volunteer-run archive of MLB play-by-play, game logs and schedules as downloadable files, not a hosted API. Recommended on HN and betting forums for model building and ETL practice, and widely used by tools such as Chadwick and boxball Docker images. Free and deep history back to 1914; you must parse and host it yourself.
Liked
- + Free play-by-play back to the early 1900s
- + Strong ecosystem of parsers and database images
Watch out
- − Files only, no live API; needs parsing
Free tierFull profile Website
2
2. Lahman Baseball Database
Free / open data
Free downloadable database of major league baseball batting, pitching, fielding, standings, managers and postseason records from 1871 through 2025, including Negro Leagues.
Free tier61 GitHub reposNeutral
48Score
What developers say
Free downloadable MLB history database (1871 onward) with R and Python packages and SQL ports. Mostly cited as a data source in side projects, tutorials and chart videos, often alongside the MLB Stats API and Retrosheet. Little direct opinion; it is a static dataset, not a live API.
Liked
- + Deep historical coverage
- + Packages for R and Python
Free tierFull profile Website
3
3. BALLDONTLIE
Sports data API
Unified REST API for scores, box scores, stats, odds and player props across 20+ leagues (NBA, NFL, MLB, NHL, soccer, tennis, golf, F1, MMA, esports), plus webhooks and an MCP server.
Free tier2-day trialfrom $9.99/moLive data15 discussions902 GitHub reposMostly positive
79Score
What developers say
Long-popular free NBA stats API, now covering NBA, NFL, MLB and EPL with a free tier and paid keys. Beginners use it for tutorials, React projects and portfolio apps; betting and fantasy builders pair it with odds feeds. Recommended as an alternative to nba_api and API-Sports. Little discussion of reliability or pricing.
Liked
- + Free tier and easy start for learners
- + Simple REST endpoints with decades of NBA history
Watch out
- − Free tier limited to subset of endpoints
- − CORS issues for browser apps
from $9.99/moFull profile Website
4
4. API-Sports / API-Football
Sports data API
Family of per-sport REST APIs (football first) with fixtures, live scores, standings, player stats and pre-match odds, sold self-serve with a daily-request free plan.
Free tierfrom $19/mo60 discussions1.6k GitHub reposMixed
66Score
What developers say
Very widely used for football side projects, prediction models and live-score apps, praised for broad league coverage, decent docs and low price (about $19/month). Complaints: free plan limited to past seasons and 100 requests/day, inconsistent or missing stats, closing odds gaps, a reported quality drop, and thin non-football depth.
Liked
- + Broad league coverage
- + Cheap paid plans
Watch out
- − Free plan lacks current season
- − Inconsistent or missing stats
from $19/moFull profile Website
5
5. The Odds API
Odds API
Bookmaker odds for dozens of sports via a simple JSON API, covering moneyline, spreads, totals, outrights and some player props, plus scores and historical snapshots. Credit-based billing.
Free tierfrom $30/moLive data159 discussions2.4k GitHub reposMostly positive
83Score
What developers say
Widely used for pulling bookmaker odds into fantasy tools, arbitrage scanners and betting models; many GitHub repos and tutorials build on it. Users like the free tier and breadth of markets and books. Complaints: modest refresh rate, historical odds limited to one day per call and gaps in snapshots, no prop results or match outcomes, some books paid-only.
Liked
- + Free tier for quick odds checks
- + Broad sports and bookmaker coverage
Watch out
- − Refresh rate not the best
- − Historical odds fetched one day at a time
from $30/moFull profile Website
6
6. SharpAPI
Odds API
Real-time odds aggregation API for major US sportsbooks with REST, SSE and WebSocket delivery, plus built-in +EV, arbitrage, middles and line-shopping endpoints.
Free tier3-day trialfrom $79/mo⚡ Streaming3 discussions14 GitHub repos
60Score
What developers say
Real-time sports odds API for US sportsbooks with +EV and arbitrage endpoints, launched in 2026 with a free beta tier. Material is mostly the founder's own launch posts plus one user using it for an arb tool and praising its sharp-book coverage versus The Odds API. Repos are few; sample data, R client and MCP server exist.
Liked
- + Covers sharp books beyond what The Odds API offers
from $79/moFull profile Website
7
7. FastballAPI
Sports data API
Baseball API for MLB since 2015 and college baseball: pitches, plate appearances, spray charts, box scores, standings, injuries, sportsbook odds, player props and line movement via REST and MCP.
Free tierfrom $19/mo
48Score
What developers say
Baseball API with REST and a hosted MCP server. Only the vendor's own MCP directory submissions, its MCP repo and an API-profile listing appear. No independent user feedback on quality, price or reliability was found.
from $19/moFull profile Website
8
8. MySportsFeeds
Sports data API
RESTful feeds for NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL with schedules, scores, boxscores, standings, play-by-play, injuries, DFS and odds; free for limited personal use, paid for commercial.
Free tierfrom C$25/moLive data6 discussions88 GitHub reposMixed
57Score
What developers say
Cheap feeds for the four major US leagues, with wrappers and many hobby and fantasy repos. Most early praise is the owner's own pitch. Later users report unresponsive support and missing college basketball data, and a 2021 asker found no college or soccer coverage.
Liked
- + Low price
- + Mature, organized API
Watch out
- − Unresponsive support reported
- − Narrow coverage (no college or soccer)
from C$25/moFull profile Website
9
9. SportsGameOdds
Odds API
Odds API priced per event rather than per market or bookmaker, covering 67+ leagues with props, alternate lines, scores and results, plus an optional realtime WebSocket stream.
Free tierfrom $99/mo⚡ Streaming7 discussions46 GitHub reposMixed
59Score
What developers say
Per-event-priced odds API with props and alternate lines, mentioned by algobetting users comparing it with The Odds API and similar vendors. Reported weaknesses: inconsistent or missing Fliff odds, only main markets for Australian books, and upstream errors in one project. Several wrappers, MCP servers and dashboards build on it.
Liked
- + Props and alternate lines included
- + Considered alongside The Odds API
Watch out
- − Fliff odds inconsistent or missing
- − Thin market depth for Australian books
from $99/moFull profile Website
10
10. SportsDataIO
Sports data API
Commercial sports data provider offering scores, odds, projections, news, historical data, IDs and widgets for 75+ sports and 1,500+ competitions through developer APIs.
Demo accessLive data44 discussions776 GitHub reposMixed
60Score
What developers say
Commercial provider widely used for US sports, especially NFL fantasy tools that pull projections and stats from it. A free trial key makes prototyping easy. Developers on a budget repeatedly call it and Sportradar too expensive, and one user reported inaccurate season stats. Hobbyists look at JsonOdds or MySportsFeeds instead.
Liked
- + Free trial key for prototyping
- + Strong US sports and fantasy projections coverage
Watch out
- − Too expensive for bootstrapped projects
- − Reported inaccurate player season stats
Price not publicFull profile Website
11
11. FantasyPros API
Fantasy platform
REST API for fantasy rankings, projections, player news, injuries and lineups across NFL, MLB, NBA and NHL, with consensus data aggregated from many experts.
Free tierfrom $8.99/mo9 discussions212 GitHub reposMixed
54Score
What developers say
FantasyPros consensus rankings, ADP and projections are widely used in fantasy tools and community wrappers (R and Python packages, browser extensions). Developers note the official API is paid, and some projects scrape the HTML instead, which proves fragile. Discussion is mostly about the site rather than the API itself.
Liked
- + Widely used consensus ranking data
- + Community wrappers and packages exist
Watch out
- − Official API is paid
- − Scraping alternatives are fragile
from $8.99/moFull profile Website
12
12. Highlightly
Sports data API
Sports API combining live scores, fixtures, standings, lineups, player stats, odds and predictions with video highlight clips. Covers football, US leagues, cricket, rugby, volleyball and handball.
Free tierfrom $12.49/moLive data43 GitHub repos
57Score
What developers say
Sports API pairing scores and stats with video highlights. Little independent opinion exists: a few freelance requests to build sites on it, one repo issue comparing it with cheaper providers for backtesting, and AI-generated football video channels crediting it as a data source. Adoption seems modest and unproven.
from $12.49/moFull profile Website
13
13. Lumify
Odds API
REST and MCP API for scores, schedules, odds, betting splits and AI bet analysis across eight sports; pay-per-credit pricing with a free credit allotment and a flat Growth plan.
Free tierDemo accessfrom $5 /usage⚡ Streaming12 GitHub repos
54Score
What developers say
Newly launched sports intelligence API with an MCP server, aimed at AI agents (odds, betting splits, bet analysis). All material found is the vendor's own Show HN post and catalog submissions; no independent user opinions on pricing, quality or reliability exist yet.
from $5 /usageFull profile Website
14
14. All Sports API
Sports data API
Livescore and sports data API covering football, basketball, cricket, tennis, hockey, baseball and American football, with widgets, a WordPress plugin and beta websockets. Per-sport subscription plans.
Free tier14-day trialfrom $74/mo⚡ Streaming48 GitHub repos
53Score
What developers say
Little real discussion exists. Nearly all hits are the generic phrase 'all sports' or Indian resellers' promo videos. Only a couple of directory listings and a few small GitHub apps for live scores reference allsportsapi.com. Nothing is known about pricing, quality or reliability from users.
from $74/moFull profile Website
15
15. Polymarket
Betting exchange
Prediction market exchange whose public Gamma API lists markets and events, including sports, without credentials; separate trading APIs and SDKs exist.
Free tier52 discussions4.5k GitHub reposMostly positive
67Score
What developers say
Widely used as a free, no-key source of prediction-market prices (Gamma and CLOB APIs) for sports arbitrage bots, wallet trackers and odds aggregators, with many GitHub clients and MCP servers. Users note thin or missing historical data and the need to match events across Kalshi and sportsbooks; live-score speed is a concern.
Liked
- + Public market data without credentials
- + Large ecosystem of SDKs and bots
Watch out
- − Historical data hard to find, especially before 2024
- − Manual cross-venue event matching
Free tierFull profile Website