vs
OpenF1 vs RaceHooks (2026)
Short answer: OpenF1 scores clearly higher overall (66 vs 49). RaceHooks is the better pick for Motorsport apps and bots that want live F1 timing, race control and analytics pushed by webhook or SSE, with a free tier and monthly plans.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose OpenF1 if you…
Free / open data
Best for: Hobby projects, dashboards and analysis of Formula 1 sessions that need free historical lap, telemetry and position data over a keyless REST API.
- ✓ want WebSocket push instead of polling
- ✓ value a large open-source ecosystem of wrappers and examples
- ✓ care most about what developers report in practice
Not ideal for: Commercial products needing official F1 data or guaranteed uptime; it is an unofficial project and live data needs a paid sponsorship for personal use.
What developers say
Free open-source F1 API (lap times, telemetry, positions, weather, race control) used heavily in fan dashboards, replay tools, videos and analysis posts; historical data from 2023 needs no key, live access is paid. Users note it is unofficial, lacks pre-2023 data, has had outages that forced self-hosting, and deprecates fields. FastF1 and Jolpica are common alternatives.
Choose RaceHooks if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Motorsport apps and bots that want live F1 timing, race control and analytics pushed by webhook or SSE, with a free tier and monthly plans.
- ✓ need commercial use allowed in the public terms
- ✓ build a betting product and need that allowed in the public terms
Not ideal for: Settling bets or cases needing official league data; data is not official, and redistribution is governed by an AUP not saved.
What developers say
Thin evidence: the vendor submitted an MCP server for F1 and IndyCar data to a marketplace, and one small hobby repo (a desktop extension) appears to use it. No independent user opinions on pricing, latency or quality.
Side by side
| OpenF1 | RaceHooks | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 66/100 (#7) | 49/100 (#59) |
| Popularity | 54 | 15 |
| Community & reliability | 72 | Not enough data |
| Transparency | 85 | 100 |
| Developer experience | 62 | 58 |
| Type | Free / open data | Sports data API |
| Starting price | from €9.90/mo | from $99/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sports | Formula 1, Motorsport | Formula 1, Motorsport |
| Data | Historical data, Results, Live scores, Standings, Team stats, Tracking data | Historical data, Predictions, Live scores, Team stats, Tracking data |
| Delivery | Streaming (WebSocket) | Streaming (SSE) |
| Protocols | REST, WebSocket | REST, Webhooks, SSE |
| Live / in-play | Yes | Yes |
| Commercial use | Commercial: not disclosed | Commercial: Allowed |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: Allowed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 10 | 0 |
| GitHub repos | 675 | 10 |
| Community tone | Mostly positive | Too little discussion |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is OpenF1 or RaceHooks better?
- OpenF1 scores clearly higher overall (66 vs 49). RaceHooks is the better pick for Motorsport apps and bots that want live F1 timing, race control and analytics pushed by webhook or SSE, with a free tier and monthly plans.
- Which is cheaper, OpenF1 or RaceHooks?
- OpenF1: from €9.90/mo. RaceHooks: from $99/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do OpenF1 and RaceHooks have a free tier?
- OpenF1: yes. RaceHooks: yes.