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5DollarFootballAPI vs Goalserve (2026)
Short answer: 5DollarFootballAPI scores slightly higher (50 vs 45). Goalserve is the better pick for teams wanting XML or JSON soccer feeds, with odds, injuries and historical stats, bought as separate per-feed subscriptions.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose 5DollarFootballAPI if you…
Odds API
Best for: Football betting models and hobby projects that want bookmaker odds history, including corners and cards, at very low monthly prices with a free tier.
- ✓ want to start on a free tier
- ✓ want a lower entry price ($5/mo vs $150/mo)
- ✓ need commercial use allowed in the public terms
Not ideal for: Projects that need sports other than football or a large request volume without paying more.
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.
Choose Goalserve if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Teams wanting XML or JSON soccer feeds, with odds, injuries and historical stats, bought as separate per-feed subscriptions.
- ✓ need American football, Golf
- ✓ want WebSocket push instead of polling
- ✓ care most about what developers report in practice
Not ideal for: Budget projects or those wanting a permanent free tier; paid feeds start at 150 USD per month and there is only a trial.
What developers say
Per-feed sports data subscriptions in XML/JSON. Few real opinions: people shopping for sportsbook-grade data call it and similar providers costly, and note it lacks live bet settlement. Older Stack Overflow questions show developers consuming its in-play soccer feed. A handful of small bot and app repos use it.
Side by side
| 5DollarFootballAPI | Goalserve | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 50/100 (#50) | 45/100 (#87) |
| Popularity | 22 | 34 |
| Community & reliability | Not enough data | 52 |
| Transparency | 100 | 70 |
| Developer experience | 48 | 32 |
| Type | Odds API | Sports data API |
| Starting price | from $5/mo | from $150/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sports | Football (soccer) | Multi-sport (40+), Football (soccer), American football, Golf |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Odds, Results, Live scores, Standings | Fixtures, Historical data, Injuries, Lineups, Odds, Results, Live scores, Standings, Team stats |
| Delivery | Polling only (REST) | Streaming (WebSocket) |
| Protocols | REST | REST, WebSocket, Webhooks |
| Live / in-play | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Commercial: Allowed | Commercial: not disclosed |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: not disclosed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 2 | 5 |
| GitHub repos | 15 | 7 |
| Community tone | Too little discussion | Mixed |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is 5DollarFootballAPI or Goalserve better?
- 5DollarFootballAPI scores slightly higher (50 vs 45). Goalserve is the better pick for teams wanting XML or JSON soccer feeds, with odds, injuries and historical stats, bought as separate per-feed subscriptions.
- Which is cheaper, 5DollarFootballAPI or Goalserve?
- 5DollarFootballAPI: from $5/mo. Goalserve: from $150/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do 5DollarFootballAPI and Goalserve have a free tier?
- 5DollarFootballAPI: yes. Goalserve: no.