vsBALLDONTLIE vs API-Sports / API-Football (2026)
Short answer: BALLDONTLIE scores clearly higher overall (79 vs 70). API-Sports / API-Football is the better pick for football-first apps that want self-serve REST access with fixtures, live scores, lineups, stats and pre-match odds, starting from a free daily-request plan.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose BALLDONTLIE if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Developers building sports apps, dashboards or AI-assisted projects who want stats, box scores and odds for many leagues from one REST API with a free entry plan.
- ✓ want a lower entry price ($9.99/mo vs $19/mo)
- ✓ need Tennis, Golf, Esports
- ✓ build a betting product and need that allowed in the public terms
- ✓ care most about what developers report in practice
Not ideal for: Companies that want to offer a competing sports-data API or feed built on its data, which the terms forbid.
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.
Choose API-Sports / API-Football if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Football-first apps that want self-serve REST access with fixtures, live scores, lineups, stats and pre-match odds, starting from a free daily-request plan.
- ✓ need Australian football, Handball, College sports
Not ideal for: Betting, TV or mass-media products that need licensed data; the provider grants no publication licence and leaves rights clearance to you.
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.
Side by side
| BALLDONTLIE | API-Sports / API-Football | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 79/100 (#2) | 70/100 (#3) |
| Popularity | 74 | 79 |
| Community & reliability | 81 | 49 |
| Transparency | 100 | 100 |
| Developer experience | 62 | 53 |
| Type | Sports data API | Sports data API |
| Starting price | from $9.99/mo | from $19/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | 2 days | Not stated |
| Sports | Basketball, American football, Baseball, Ice hockey, Football (soccer), Tennis, Golf, Formula 1, MMA, Esports | Football (soccer), Australian football, Baseball, Basketball, Formula 1, Handball, Ice hockey, MMA, American football, College sports, Rugby, Volleyball |
| Data | Historical data, Odds, Play-by-play, Player props, Player stats, Live scores, Team stats | Fixtures, Injuries, Lineups, Odds, Player stats, Predictions, Live scores, Standings, Team stats |
| Delivery | Webhooks + polling | Polling only (REST) |
| Protocols | REST, Webhooks | REST |
| Live / in-play | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Commercial: Allowed | Commercial: Allowed |
| Betting products | Betting: Allowed | Betting: Licence required |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 15 | 60 |
| GitHub repos | 902 | 1.6k |
| Community tone | Mostly positive | Mixed |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is BALLDONTLIE or API-Sports / API-Football better?
- BALLDONTLIE scores clearly higher overall (79 vs 70). API-Sports / API-Football is the better pick for football-first apps that want self-serve REST access with fixtures, live scores, lineups, stats and pre-match odds, starting from a free daily-request plan.
- Which is cheaper, BALLDONTLIE or API-Sports / API-Football?
- BALLDONTLIE: from $9.99/mo. API-Sports / API-Football: from $19/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do BALLDONTLIE and API-Sports / API-Football have a free tier?
- BALLDONTLIE: yes. API-Sports / API-Football: yes.