vs
CollegeFootballData.com vs CollegeBasketballData.com (2026)
Short answer: CollegeFootballData.com scores slightly higher (57 vs 51). CollegeBasketballData.com is the better pick for College basketball analysts and developers who want a free personal API key, CSV exports and historical data, with commercial use allowed.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose CollegeFootballData.com if you…
Free / open data
Best for: College football analysts, hobbyists and apps that need games, play-by-play, recruiting and betting-line history through a free key.
- ✓ need American football
- ✓ value a large open-source ecosystem of wrappers and examples
Not ideal for: Projects that need other leagues, redistribution of the data, or live data on the free tier; higher tiers run through Patreon.
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.
Choose CollegeBasketballData.com if you…
Free / open data
Best for: College basketball analysts and developers who want a free personal API key, CSV exports and historical data, with commercial use allowed.
Not ideal for: Projects needing odds, live scores or sports other than college basketball and football; redistribution of the data is not allowed.
What developers say
College basketball API from the CFBD team with a free personal key and official Python and R clients. A community Node wrapper exists, and one betting-model video holds it up as a clean, cheap alternative to maintaining scrapers. Little other independent discussion, so detailed quality or limit feedback is missing.
Side by side
| CollegeFootballData.com | CollegeBasketballData.com | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 57/100 (#26) | 51/100 (#45) |
| Popularity | 46 | 21 |
| Community & reliability | Not enough data | Not enough data |
| Transparency | 65 | 90 |
| Developer experience | 68 | 64 |
| Type | Free / open data | Free / open data |
| Starting price | Free tier | from $1/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sports | College sports, American football, Basketball | Basketball, College sports |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Odds, Play-by-play, Player stats, Results, Team stats | Fixtures, Historical data, Player stats, Results, Standings, Team stats |
| Delivery | Polling only (REST) | Polling only (REST) |
| Protocols | REST, GraphQL | REST, CSV download |
| Live / in-play | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Commercial use | Commercial: Allowed | Commercial: Allowed |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: not disclosed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 2 | 1 |
| GitHub repos | 1.1k | 42 |
| Community tone | Neutral | Too little discussion |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is CollegeFootballData.com or CollegeBasketballData.com better?
- CollegeFootballData.com scores slightly higher (57 vs 51). CollegeBasketballData.com is the better pick for College basketball analysts and developers who want a free personal API key, CSV exports and historical data, with commercial use allowed.
- Which is cheaper, CollegeFootballData.com or CollegeBasketballData.com?
- CollegeFootballData.com: Free tier. CollegeBasketballData.com: from $1/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do CollegeFootballData.com and CollegeBasketballData.com have a free tier?
- CollegeFootballData.com: yes. CollegeBasketballData.com: yes.