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FastF1 vs CollegeFootballData.com (2026)
Short answer: The two score about the same (58 vs 57). CollegeFootballData.com is the better pick for College football analysts, hobbyists and apps that need games, play-by-play, recruiting and betting-line history through a free key.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose FastF1 if you…
Free / open data
Best for: Python users analysing Formula 1 lap timing, telemetry, tyres and weather, such as hobbyist and research notebooks.
- ✓ need Formula 1, Motorsport
- ✓ care most about what developers report in practice
Not ideal for: Non-Python projects or hosted-API needs; it is a Python library, not a web service, and most data needs an F1TV subscription.
What developers say
Popular unofficial Python package giving F1 timing, telemetry and results as DataFrames; the go-to for analysis posts, student projects and dashboards, with a large GitHub following. Other projects borrow its live-timing client. Caveats: most data needs F1TV access, a network-blocking issue was reported, and beginners hit version-related errors. Often paired with Jolpica or OpenF1.
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 College sports, American football, Basketball
- ✓ need commercial use allowed in the public terms
- ✓ 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.
Side by side
| FastF1 | CollegeFootballData.com | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 58/100 (#23) | 57/100 (#26) |
| Popularity | 35 | 46 |
| Community & reliability | 78 | Not enough data |
| Transparency | 65 | 65 |
| Developer experience | 65 | 68 |
| Type | Free / open data | Free / open data |
| Starting price | Free tier | Free tier |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sports | Formula 1, Motorsport | College sports, American football, Basketball |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Results, Team stats, Tracking data | Fixtures, Historical data, Odds, Play-by-play, Player stats, Results, Team stats |
| Delivery | SDK only | Polling only (REST) |
| Protocols | SDK only | REST, GraphQL |
| Live / in-play | Not disclosed | Not disclosed |
| Commercial use | Commercial: not disclosed | Commercial: Allowed |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: not disclosed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 10 | 2 |
| GitHub repos | 118 | 1.1k |
| Community tone | Mostly positive | Neutral |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is FastF1 or CollegeFootballData.com better?
- The two score about the same (58 vs 57). CollegeFootballData.com is the better pick for College football analysts, hobbyists and apps that need games, play-by-play, recruiting and betting-line history through a free key.
- Which is cheaper, FastF1 or CollegeFootballData.com?
- FastF1: Free tier. CollegeFootballData.com: Free tier. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do FastF1 and CollegeFootballData.com have a free tier?
- FastF1: yes. CollegeFootballData.com: yes.