Cheapest paid sports APIs in 2026

Paid sports APIs with a public monthly price of $50 or less. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so check what the plan includes.

How this list is built: Lowest public USD monthly plan of $50 or less, cheapest first. SportDex Score explained. No provider pays to be here.

Short answer: CollegeBasketballData.com (51/100), ParlayAPI (57/100) and 5DollarFootballAPI (50/100) lead this list of 15 providers in 2026. Last checked 2026-11-04.

1
1. CollegeBasketballData.com
Free / open data
College basketball data service with a free personal API key, CSV exporter, analytics tools and a paid historical starter pack; sister project of the CFBD football API.
Free tierfrom $1/mo42 GitHub repos
51Score
What developers say
College basketball API from the CFBD team with a free personal key and official Python and R clients. A community Node wrapper exists, and one betting-model video holds it up as a clean, cheap alternative to maintaining scrapers. Little other independent discussion, so detailed quality or limit feedback is missing.
Liked
- + Free personal API key
- + Official Python and R clients
from $1/moFull profile Website
2
2. ParlayAPI
Odds API
Real-time odds API covering 30+ sportsbooks and prediction-market exchanges, with player props, line movement, arbitrage, +EV, historical data, SSE and WebSocket streaming; partly compatible with The Odds API request shapes.
Free tierfrom $5/mo⚡ Streaming4 discussions21 GitHub repos
57Score
What developers say
Young odds aggregator pitched as a cheaper drop-in for The Odds API, with a free 1,000-credit tier, prediction-market books and MCP tooling. Nearly everything found is vendor-written posts, directory submissions or the founder's own repos. No independent user feedback on reliability, accuracy or support, so little is actually known.
from $5/moFull profile Website
3
3. 5DollarFootballAPI
Odds API
Football API offering fixtures, results, standings and Bet365 and other bookmaker odds history including corners and cards, from a free top-5-league tier up to all 1,600+ leagues.
Free tierfrom $5/moLive data15 GitHub repos
50Score
What developers say
Low-cost football API with odds history. The only discussion is a post by someone affiliated with it, and most repos are the vendor's own examples and an MCP server. Listings on API directories exist, but there is no independent user feedback on quality or reliability yet.
from $5/moFull profile Website
4
4. CricketData.org (CricAPI)
Sports data API
Cricket scores, fixtures, series, matches, players and fantasy data via a hit-based API. Free tier of 100 hits per day with near-live data; paid tiers raise the daily cap.
Free tierfrom $5.99/moLive data3 discussions346 GitHub reposMixed
61Score
What developers say
CricketData.org (formerly CricAPI) is a cheap, popular choice for cricket hobby apps, with a free 100-hits-per-day tier and many beginner tutorials, Chrome extensions and small GitHub projects. Developers report reliability problems for live scores, even at about $12 a month, and an older complaint said live scores were missing. Few detailed reviews exist.
Liked
- + Free tier of 100 hits per day
- + Low-cost paid plans
Watch out
- − Live data reliability questioned
- − Hit-based daily caps
from $5.99/moFull profile Website
5
5. 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
6
6. TheSportsDB
Sports data API
Crowd-sourced sports database with artwork, teams, players, events and league tables. Free API with tight limits; paid keys add livescores, highlight links and higher rate limits.
Free tierfrom $9/mo5 discussions919 GitHub reposMixed
65Score
What developers say
Crowd-sourced sports database popular for hobby apps, tutorials, student projects and Plex metadata agents, with many wrappers in several languages. Praised as free and good for artwork. The free tier is tight, paid keys are needed for more, and developers report image and RapidAPI access problems and gaps in per-season artwork.
Liked
- + Free tier for hobby use
- + Strong artwork and metadata
Watch out
- − Tight free limits
- − Artwork gaps and access errors reported
from $9/moFull profile Website
7
7. PropLine
Odds API
Player-prop and game odds from 100+ sportsbooks and exchanges across 73 sports, with graded prop results, line history, cross-book +EV and webhook or websocket alerts. Billed per request, compatible with The Odds API format.
Free tierfrom $9/mo⚡ Streaming20 GitHub repos
59Score
What developers say
Per-request-billed player-prop and odds API that mimics The Odds API format and grades props against box scores. Digest holds only a Show HN post, directory import and the vendor's own SDK, MCP and tool repos. No independent user opinion on accuracy, limits or cost, so little is known.
from $9/moFull profile Website
8
8. 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
9
9. Live Tennis API
Sports data API
Tennis API for ATP, WTA, Challenger and ITF with live point-by-point scores, match history, market odds, rankings and an AI win-probability field, over REST and WebSocket.
Free tierfrom $9.99/mo⚡ Streaming8 discussions80 GitHub repos
56Score
What developers say
Tennis feed (REST and WebSocket) with point-by-point scores, odds and win probability. Most mentions are vendor-authored issues and promotions. A few independent users say they use it for tennis models or a match-simulation app and find the data detailed, but there is no real feedback on price, reliability or latency.
Liked
- + Point-by-point data and win probability
- + MCP server and open-source clients
from $9.99/moFull profile Website
10
10. Owls Insight
Odds API
Odds API aggregating books and exchanges with REST and Socket.io WebSocket delivery, player props, EV and fair-line signals, and history on higher plans; four monthly tiers plus a WebSocket add-on.
3-day trialfrom $9.99/mo⚡ Streaming4 discussions
49Score
What developers say
New sports odds API launched in early 2026. Only the founder's posts exist: beta-tester calls and a revenue claim of roughly 11 paying customers. No independent user feedback on data quality, latency or price.
from $9.99/moFull profile Website
11
11. Sportsbook API
Odds API
Odds API for US-focused sportsbooks, exchanges and prediction markets across NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, soccer and more, with built-in +EV, arbitrage and middle feeds, sold through RapidAPI.
Free tierfrom $10/moLive data4 discussions
39Score
What developers say
Mostly the solo maker's own posts: a US sportsbook odds API sold via RapidAPI, reportedly earning a modest few hundred dollars a month alongside a companion odds tool. No independent user reviews or GitHub adoption found; other hits are generic sportsbook-API questions unrelated to this vendor.
from $10/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. OpenFoot API
Sports data API
Football REST API with fixtures, standings, lineups, live events, shot-level xG and derived odds and form; free tier, with SSE streams, webhooks and MCP tools on paid plans.
Free tierDemo accessfrom $14/mo⚡ Streaming
49Score
What developers say
Newer football API with a free tier and low-priced paid plans. Only one thread names it, listing it at about $14 a month among cheap options for post-match stats next to Sportmonks and API-Football. A community MCP server and a couple of hobby repos use it; no hands-on reviews yet.
Liked
- + Low-priced paid plan
- + MCP server available
from $14/moFull profile Website
14
14. 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
15
15. DunkAPI
Sports data API
Basketball API with 19 endpoints for NBA games, play-by-play, shot charts, standings, injuries, sportsbook odds and player props, over REST or MCP with credit-based quotas.
Free tierfrom $19/mo
49Score
What developers say
Basketball data API (NBA, WNBA, college) with REST and remote MCP access, offering play-by-play, shot locations and odds. Digest contains only the maker's own registry submissions and repos; no independent feedback on pricing, quality or reliability.
from $19/moFull profile Website