vs
football-data.org vs iSports API (2026)
Short answer: football-data.org scores clearly higher overall (64 vs 45). iSports API is the better pick for football and basketball apps that need livescores, fixtures, lineups, odds and history from a self-serve API with a free trial.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose football-data.org if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Football apps and side projects that need fixtures, tables and scores for major European leagues, with a free tier and small monthly upgrades.
- ✓ want to start on a free tier
- ✓ value a large open-source ecosystem of wrappers and examples
- ✓ care most about what developers report in practice
Not ideal for: Projects that need sports other than football, or detailed live and event data on the free plan.
What developers say
Popular free-tier choice for hobby football projects: World Cup predictors, score trackers, league tables, and a fallback when API-Football quota runs out. Developers like the free key and simple docs. Complaints: free tier gives fixtures and final scores but no shots, xG or lineups, history starts around 2019, and a low request rate.
Choose iSports API if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Football and basketball apps that need livescores, fixtures, lineups, odds and history from a self-serve API with a free trial.
- ✓ need Basketball
Not ideal for: Projects needing other sports; the product pages cover football and basketball only.
What developers say
Asian football and basketball data API with livescore, odds and history. Evidence is thin: a few beginner questions and hobby repos use it, and a competitor's spam posts claim its mid-tier plans cost about double. No substantive independent reviews of quality, latency or support.
Side by side
| football-data.org | iSports API | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 64/100 (#11) | 45/100 (#86) |
| Popularity | 65 | 35 |
| Community & reliability | 55 | Not enough data |
| Transparency | 85 | 75 |
| Developer experience | 55 | 32 |
| Type | Sports data API | Sports data API |
| Starting price | from €12/mo | from $49/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Demo access |
| Sports | Football (soccer) | Football (soccer), Basketball |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Lineups, Odds, Live scores, Standings, Team stats | Fixtures, Historical data, Injuries, Lineups, Odds, Player stats, Results, Live scores, Standings, Team stats, Widgets |
| Delivery | Polling only (REST) | Polling only (REST) |
| Protocols | REST | REST |
| Live / in-play | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Commercial: not disclosed | Commercial: not disclosed |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: not disclosed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 31 | 4 |
| GitHub repos | 9.0k | 7 |
| Community tone | Mixed | Too little discussion |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is football-data.org or iSports API better?
- football-data.org scores clearly higher overall (64 vs 45). iSports API is the better pick for football and basketball apps that need livescores, fixtures, lineups, odds and history from a self-serve API with a free trial.
- Which is cheaper, football-data.org or iSports API?
- football-data.org: from €12/mo. iSports API: from $49/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do football-data.org and iSports API have a free tier?
- football-data.org: yes. iSports API: no.