vs
TheStatsAPI vs Goalserve (2026)
Short answer: TheStatsAPI 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 TheStatsAPI if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Football apps and models that need fixtures, player stats, xG and odds from five bookmakers at a fixed monthly price, with a 7-day trial.
- ✓ want a 7-day free trial before paying
- ✓ want a lower entry price ($50/mo vs $150/mo)
- ✓ need commercial use allowed in the public terms
- ✓ value a large open-source ecosystem of wrappers and examples
Not ideal for: Projects needing sports other than football, or that plan to resell raw data; the licence limits use to the customer's own end-user apps.
What developers say
Football API with stats, xG and odds. Feedback is thin and unfavourable: one user reported more than twenty missing odds and stats datapoints across top leagues and no reply from support, and another let their subscription lapse while shopping for cheaper options like API-Football, Sportmonks and football-data.org. A handful of small repos use it.
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
| TheStatsAPI | Goalserve | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 50/100 (#47) | 45/100 (#84) |
| Popularity | 34 | 34 |
| Community & reliability | 26 | 52 |
| Transparency | 100 | 70 |
| Developer experience | 58 | 32 |
| Type | Sports data API | Sports data API |
| Starting price | from $50/mo | from $150/mo |
| Free tier | No | No |
| Free trial | 7 days | Not stated |
| Sports | Football (soccer) | Multi-sport (40+), Football (soccer), American football, Golf |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Lineups, Odds, Player stats, Results, Live scores, Team stats, xG | 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 | 3 | 5 |
| GitHub repos | 23 | 7 |
| Community tone | Mostly negative | Mixed |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is TheStatsAPI or Goalserve better?
- TheStatsAPI 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, TheStatsAPI or Goalserve?
- TheStatsAPI: from $50/mo. Goalserve: from $150/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do TheStatsAPI and Goalserve have a free tier?
- TheStatsAPI: no. Goalserve: no.