Sports APIs with a free trial in 2026

Paid APIs that let you try the full product first: the fastest way to check coverage and data quality on your own use case.

How this list is built: A free trial period or demo access stated by the provider, ordered by the SportDex Score. SportDex Score explained. No provider pays to be here.

Short answer: BALLDONTLIE (79/100), Sportmonks (69/100) and SportsDataIO (60/100) lead this list of 15 providers in 2026. Last checked 2026-11-04.

1
1. 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
2
2. 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
3
3. 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
4
4. 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
5
5. 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
6
6. 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
7
7. API-Tennis
Sports data API
Tennis data API with fixtures, livescores, standings, players, head-to-head, draws and pre-match and in-play odds, delivered over REST and WebSocket.
14-day trialfrom $40/mo⚡ Streaming57 GitHub reposMixed
53Score
What developers say
Tennis API with livescores, fixtures, odds and WebSocket, used in around thirty small GitHub projects and tutorial apps. Users describe it as pricey compared with RapidAPI options, and one developer found it only a results feed, with no draw sheet, seeds or bracket positions. Compared with Matchstat; little other direct feedback.
Liked
- + Live scores and odds over REST and WebSocket
- + Used in many hobby projects
Watch out
- − Considered pricey
- − No full draw sheet, seeds or bracket data
from $40/moFull profile Website
8
8. Entity Sport
Sports data API
Cricket-first sports data provider also offering football, basketball, baseball, NFL, NHL, tennis and kabaddi feeds, with live scores, play-by-play, fantasy points and an exchange odds API. Plans priced per sport.
Demo accessfrom $150/mo⚡ Streaming3 discussions14 GitHub repos
51Score
What developers say
Cricket-first provider used in a number of hobby cricket and IPL score sites, with a community SDK on GitHub. The one user opinion says it covers part of what a developer wanted for deep cricket stats but not all. Other hits are vendor-style posts; nothing on pricing, reliability or support.
Liked
- + Used in cricket live-score projects
Watch out
- − Does not cover advanced cricket analytics like wagon wheel
from $150/moFull profile Website
9
9. DATA.BET
B2B data feed
Sportsbook supplier offering a managed odds feed, risk management, widgets and prediction markets for sports, esports and virtual sports, integrated through a documented partner API.
Demo access581 GitHub repos
50Score
What developers say
B2B sportsbook odds feed supplier. The only digest items are GitHub repos matched on a generic name, with nothing showing they use this provider. No community discussion, reviews or pricing feedback was found.
Contact salesFull profile Website
10
10. TheStatsAPI
Sports data API
Football API with fixtures, results, match and player stats, xG, lineups, heatmaps and pre-match/live odds from five bookmakers, across 150 competitions (up to 1,196 on request) with 10 years of history.
7-day trialfrom $50/moLive data3 discussions23 GitHub reposMostly negative
50Score
What developers say
Football API with stats, xG and odds. Feedback is thin and unfavourable: one user reported more than twenty missing odds and stats datapoints across top leagues and no reply from support, and another let their subscription lapse while shopping for cheaper options like API-Football, Sportmonks and football-data.org. A handful of small repos use it.
Watch out
- − Missing odds and stats datapoints reported
- − Support slow to respond
from $50/moFull profile Website
11
11. OpticOdds
Odds API
Real-time and historical odds from 200+ sportsbooks across many sports, with streaming, odds screen, bet builder and trading tools. Aimed at operators, apps and media; access by license request.
Demo access⚡ Streaming3 discussionsMixed
49Score
What developers say
Enterprise odds feed from 200+ sportsbooks. One long-time client likes the broad book coverage and simple API, while others who looked at it for Pinnacle or arbitrage feeds found it solid but too expensive. Compared with The Odds API and OddsPapi; a betting YouTuber used it to pull historical closing lines.
Liked
- + Data from very many sportsbooks
- + Simple API
Watch out
- − Too expensive for hobbyists and small projects
Contact salesFull profile Website
12
12. 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
13
13. 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
14
14. 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
15
15. FanLine Wire
Odds API
Third-party feed of FanDuel Sportsbook odds, pre-match and live, with REST discovery and a push WebSocket on the top plan; includes player props for major US leagues and ready-made bet-slip links.
Free tierDemo accessfrom $29/mo⚡ Streaming
48Score
What developers say
Only vendor-originated material: a promotional video claiming very low latency for a FanDuel odds feed, and an API-directory profile. No independent user feedback, so quality, pricing and legality of the data source are unverified.
from $29/moFull profile Website