APIs you can use commercially in 2026

Providers whose public terms allow commercial use, at least on paid plans. Always confirm the exact plan before launch.

How this list is built: Commercial use allowed or allowed on paid plans in the public terms, ordered by the SportDex Score. SportDex Score explained. No provider pays to be here.

Short answer: The Odds API (83/100), BALLDONTLIE (79/100) and Sportmonks (69/100) lead this list of 15 providers in 2026. Last checked 2026-11-04.

1
1. 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
2
2. 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
3
3. Sportmonks
Sports data API
REST API for football with live scores, fixtures, lineups, xG, predictions and odds across 2,200+ leagues, plus separate cricket and Formula 1 APIs.
Free tier14-day trialfrom €29/moLive data40 discussions207 GitHub reposMixed
69Score
What developers say
Widely used paid football data API for side projects, dashboards and betting models, with many wrappers and GitHub repos. Users like the stats depth and reasonable price versus Opta or Sportradar, but call it pricey for hobby use, say premium odds lack player props, and report unreliable live data and sales or custom-plan frustrations.
Liked
- + Solid football stats and many leagues
- + Cheaper than Opta or Sportradar
Watch out
- − Pricey for side projects
- − Live data felt unreliable or slow
from €29/moFull profile Website
4
4. nflverse
Free / open data
Community open-source NFL data project: play-by-play since 1999, rosters, schedules and player stats distributed as downloadable files with R and Python loader packages. Data mostly CC-BY 4.0.
Free tier4 discussions3.4k GitHub reposMostly positive
67Score
What developers say
Open-source NFL data (play-by-play, rosters, schedules, player stats) distributed as files with R and Python loaders, under CC-BY. Widely used by fantasy dashboards, dynasty tools, waiver-wire content and sportsdataverse packages; chosen as a free primary source or schedule fallback. Not a live REST API, so real-time needs require other providers.
Liked
- + Free open data with deep play-by-play history
- + R and Python packages and many dependent projects
Free tierFull profile Website
5
5. 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
6
6. PandaScore
Esports data
Esports statistics and odds provider covering 13 titles such as LoL, CS, Dota 2 and Valorant, with REST API for fixtures and history plus WebSocket live feeds.
Free tierfrom €400/mo⚡ Streaming8 discussions195 GitHub repos
65Score
What developers say
Esports data provider with REST API covering LoL, CS, Dota and others. Seen in dev questions for upcoming-match apps and a few GitHub wrappers and bots. Community remarks are sparse and mostly old: one user notes odds are paywalled, and it appears as one of few usable esports APIs. No real user verdict on quality or pricing.
Liked
- + One of few dedicated esports APIs
- + Used for LoL and CS match schedules
Watch out
- − Odds data not free
from €400/moFull profile Website
7
7. 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
8
8. Cricsheet
Free / open data
Free structured ball-by-ball cricket data for international and league matches, plus people and venue identifier registers, offered as bulk downloads in JSON, YAML and CSV.
Free tier3 discussions827 GitHub reposMostly positive
61Score
What developers say
Free ball-by-ball cricket data in JSON, YAML and CSV, widely used for analytics packages, IPL analysis repos and dashboards, with millions of deliveries loaded into projects. Users value it as a free, detailed source. Limits: bulk file downloads only, with no live scores, so people look elsewhere for live APIs.
Liked
- + Free ball-by-ball data
- + Open bulk formats
Watch out
- − Bulk downloads only, no live feed
Free tierFull profile Website
9
9. 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
10
10. 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
11
11. 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
12
12. CollegeFootballData.com
Free / open data
College football API with games, team and player stats, recruiting, betting lines and advanced metrics; free key with monthly cap, higher tiers via Patreon, plus basketball API.
Free tier1.1k GitHub reposNeutral
57Score
What developers say
Free college football API behind a Python wrapper and the cfbfastR R package, shown in public-API lists, tutorials and BI-tool walkthroughs. Used for scores, betting lines and play-by-play. One user notes plays lack formation data. Little direct opinion beyond that, so assessment is mostly adoption-based.
Liked
- + Free and widely wrapped (Python, R)
- + Includes scores, lines and play-by-play
Watch out
- − Play data lacks formations
Free tierFull 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. openfootball
Free / open data
Community-maintained public-domain football database holding league and cup fixtures, results and goals in plain-text Football.TXT files and JSON on GitHub.
Free tier13 discussions17 GitHub reposNeutral
53Score
What developers say
Free public-domain (CC0) football fixtures and results published as plain text and JSON files on GitHub, with no key needed. Developers use it for World Cup apps, prediction models and tutorials. Limits: static files rather than a live API, and Hacker News commenters debated whether its plain-text format is easy to parse.
Liked
- + Public domain, no API key
- + Handy for World Cup and league fixtures
Watch out
- − Static files, no live data
- − Custom plain-text format questioned
Free tierFull profile Website