nflverse vs MoneyPuck Data (2026)
Short answer: nflverse scores clearly higher overall (67 vs 54). MoneyPuck Data is the better pick for analysts, students and journalists who want free NHL shot-level and game-by-game CSV downloads with history from 2007.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose nflverse if you…
Free / open data
Best for: Analysts and modellers who want free NFL play-by-play since 1999 and stats via R and Python packages.
- ✓ need American football
- ✓ need commercial use allowed in the public terms
- ✓ value a large open-source ecosystem of wrappers and examples
Not ideal for: Live apps needing real-time feeds or a hosted REST API; data is distributed as files through loader packages.
What developers say
Open-source NFL data (play-by-play, rosters, schedules, player stats) distributed as files with R and Python loaders, under CC-BY. Widely used by fantasy dashboards, dynasty tools, waiver-wire content and sportsdataverse packages; chosen as a free primary source or schedule fallback. Not a live REST API, so real-time needs require other providers.
Choose MoneyPuck Data if you…
Free / open data
Best for: Analysts, students and journalists who want free NHL shot-level and game-by-game CSV downloads with history from 2007.
- ✓ need Ice hockey
Not ideal for: Commercial products, live data or API access: downloads are non-commercial, updated nightly and delivered as zip files.
What developers say
Free downloadable NHL shot-level and expected-goals data, widely used in hobbyist betting models, xG projects and MCP or Python helpers, usually alongside the NHL API. Praised for real xG and long history. One bettor found the files hard to download. Non-commercial terms apply, and there is no live API.
Side by side
| nflverse | MoneyPuck Data | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 67/100 (#5) | 54/100 (#33) |
| Popularity | 48 | 28 |
| Community & reliability | 72 | 69 |
| Transparency | 90 | 85 |
| Developer experience | 69 | 51 |
| Type | Free / open data | Free / open data |
| Starting price | Free tier | Free tier |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sports | American football | Ice hockey |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Play-by-play, Player stats, Results, Team stats | Historical data, Player stats, Results, Team stats |
| Delivery | CSV download, SDK only | CSV download |
| Protocols | CSV download, SDK only | CSV download |
| Live / in-play | Not disclosed | No |
| Commercial use | Commercial: Allowed | Commercial: Licence required |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: not disclosed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 4 | 3 |
| GitHub repos | 3.4k | 232 |
| Community tone | Mostly positive | Mostly positive |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is nflverse or MoneyPuck Data better?
- nflverse scores clearly higher overall (67 vs 54). MoneyPuck Data is the better pick for analysts, students and journalists who want free NHL shot-level and game-by-game CSV downloads with history from 2007.
- Which is cheaper, nflverse or MoneyPuck Data?
- nflverse: Free tier. MoneyPuck Data: Free tier. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do nflverse and MoneyPuck Data have a free tier?
- nflverse: yes. MoneyPuck Data: yes.