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TheSportsDB vs iSports API (2026)
Short answer: TheSportsDB scores clearly higher overall (65 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 TheSportsDB if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Hobby and early-stage apps that need team, player and event metadata plus artwork across many sports, at a low monthly price.
- ✓ want to start on a free tier
- ✓ want a lower entry price ($9/mo vs $49/mo)
- ✓ value a large open-source ecosystem of wrappers and examples
- ✓ care most about what developers report in practice
Not ideal for: Projects that need live scores on the free tier, licensed logos or photos, or a published app without a paid key.
What developers say
Crowd-sourced sports database popular for hobby apps, tutorials, student projects and Plex metadata agents, with many wrappers in several languages. Praised as free and good for artwork. The free tier is tight, paid keys are needed for more, and developers report image and RapidAPI access problems and gaps in per-season artwork.
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 live / in-play data
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
| TheSportsDB | iSports API | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 65/100 (#8) | 45/100 (#86) |
| Popularity | 70 | 35 |
| Community & reliability | 54 | Not enough data |
| Transparency | 85 | 75 |
| Developer experience | 52 | 32 |
| Type | Sports data API | Sports data API |
| Starting price | from $9/mo | from $49/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | Demo access |
| Sports | Multi-sport (40+) | Football (soccer), Basketball |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Images, Results, Live scores, Standings, Team stats, Video | 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 | Not disclosed | Yes |
| Commercial use | Commercial: Paid plans only | Commercial: not disclosed |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: not disclosed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 5 | 4 |
| GitHub repos | 919 | 7 |
| Community tone | Mixed | Too little discussion |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is TheSportsDB or iSports API better?
- TheSportsDB scores clearly higher overall (65 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, TheSportsDB or iSports API?
- TheSportsDB: from $9/mo. iSports API: from $49/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do TheSportsDB and iSports API have a free tier?
- TheSportsDB: yes. iSports API: no.