Most used on GitHub in 2026

Ranked by how many public GitHub repositories mention the provider: wrappers, bots, dashboards and side projects.

How this list is built: Number of public repositories whose README or description mentions the provider. SportDex Score explained. No provider pays to be here.

Short answer: football-data.org (64/100), nba_api (NBA Stats) (63/100) and Polymarket (67/100) lead this list of 15 providers in 2026. Last checked 2026-11-04.

1
1. football-data.org
Sports data API
Football API with fixtures, scores, league tables, lineups, scorers and squads; free plan for 12 competitions, paid plans extend competitions, live scores and rate limits, with add-ons for odds and match statistics.
Free tierfrom €12/moLive data31 discussions9.0k GitHub reposMixed
64Score
What developers say
Popular free-tier choice for hobby football projects: World Cup predictors, score trackers, league tables, and a fallback when API-Football quota runs out. Developers like the free key and simple docs. Complaints: free tier gives fixtures and final scores but no shots, xG or lineups, history starts around 2019, and a low request rate.
Liked
- + Free API key good for fixtures and results
- + Frequently chosen for side projects
Watch out
- − No detailed match stats or xG on free tier
- − Limited history before 2019
from €12/moFull profile Website
2
2. nba_api (NBA Stats)
Free / open data
MIT-licensed Python package wrapping many unofficial NBA.com stats endpoints, returning data for games, players and teams; not an official or hosted API.
Free tierLive data80 discussions6.3k GitHub reposMixed
63Score
What developers say
Unofficial Python wrapper around NBA.com stats endpoints, widely used in Reddit data-viz posts, tutorials and many GitHub projects. Users like the clear docs and easy start, but report that NBA header changes break endpoints, timeouts occur, and 2025-26 pulls stopped working for some. Alternatives mentioned: balldontlie, API-Sports; commercial use raises legal questions.
Liked
- + Easy to use with good docs
- + Large community and many projects built on it
Watch out
- − Breaks when NBA changes headers or blocks requests
- − Bulk pulls are slow or time out
Free tierFull profile Website
3
3. 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
4
4. football-data.co.uk
Free / open data
Free downloadable CSV archive of historical football results, match statistics and bookmaker odds for many leagues, updated through the season.
Free tier7 discussions3.6k GitHub reposMostly positive
60Score
What developers say
Long-standing free CSV archive of results, match stats and bookmaker odds, the default starting point for football modelling and used by thousands of GitHub projects. Users value the free historical odds, but say league coverage is limited (few lower or secondary leagues) and files are downloads, not a live API.
Liked
- + Free historical results and odds
- + Widely used in models and scrapers
Watch out
- − Limited league coverage
- − Not live or an API
Free tierFull profile Website
5
5. 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
6
6. Riot Games API
Esports data
Official Riot Games developer API giving League of Legends player, match-history, ranked and live-game data, with free developer keys and a production approval path.
Free tier70 discussions2.9k GitHub repos
56Score
What developers say
Official Riot API for League of Legends, TFT and Legends of Runeterra data, with free dev keys. Mentions are mostly old announcements: launch, an early scraping ban pushing developers to the API, match-history deadlines, and API challenges. Libraries such as Cassiopeia show lasting use, but there is little recent user opinion on limits or quality.
Liked
- + Official API with free developer keys
- + Long-lived community libraries and contests
Watch out
- − Scraping not allowed, API-only policy
Free tierFull profile Website
7
7. 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
8
8. Jolpica-F1
Free / open data
Volunteer-run open source Formula 1 API with endpoints backward compatible with the retiring Ergast service, free to use and funded by donations.
Free tier1.6k GitHub reposNeutral
50Score
What developers say
Free, volunteer-run Formula 1 API that took over from the retired Ergast service with compatible endpoints. Widely adopted: roughly thirty GitHub repos, popular F1 data-visualisation posts, and projects that integrate it for historical results and standings. Little explicit praise or criticism in discussion; no pricing or reliability complaints surfaced.
Liked
- + Free and donation funded
- + Ergast-compatible endpoints
Free tierFull profile Website
9
9. 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
10
10. Kalshi
Betting exchange
Regulated prediction-market exchange whose API gives access to event-contract markets, order books and trading over REST, WebSocket and FIX; sports contracts are among its markets.
Demo access⚡ Streaming32 discussions1.4k GitHub reposMixed
49Score
What developers say
Regulated prediction-market exchange with REST, WebSocket and FIX access; sports contracts are used by many arbitrage and trading bots, with clients in C++ and others. Users note the historical API lacks order-book depth, and live-score milestones can show goals later cancelled by VAR. Often paired with Polymarket aggregators.
Liked
- + REST, WebSocket and FIX access
- + Settled markets, trades and candlesticks available
Watch out
- − No historical order-book depth for backtesting
- − Live score milestones may reflect cancelled goals
Price not publicFull profile Website
11
11. Fantasy Premier League API
Free / open data
Unofficial use of the Premier League's fantasy game JSON endpoints: players, fixtures, gameweeks, teams and points data without a key. Not documented or supported by the league.
Free tier11 discussions1.4k GitHub reposMixed
38Score
What developers say
Unofficial FPL JSON endpoints used for dashboards, ML team pickers, MCP servers and YouTube stat channels; public data needs no key. Developers struggle with undocumented behaviour, CORS errors and login/CSRF token flows for personal team data, and one project reports the login host no longer resolving. Community guides fill the documentation gap.
Liked
- + No API key for public data
- + Many open-source tools built on it
Watch out
- − Undocumented and unsupported
- − Authentication for private data is painful
Free tierFull 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. 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
14
14. 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
15
15. 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