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Retrosheet vs Sportradar (2026)
Short answer: Retrosheet scores slightly higher (55 vs 51). Sportradar is the better pick for sportsbooks, media companies and leagues that need official multi-sport live data, odds feeds and trading services under a sales contract.
From public data checked . How we know
Choose Retrosheet if you…
Free / open data
Best for: Baseball researchers and hobbyists who want free bulk MLB play-by-play, game logs and schedules as downloadable CSV files.
- ✓ want to start on a free tier
- ✓ care most about what developers report in practice
Not ideal for: Apps that need a live API or current-day data; Retrosheet offers bulk file downloads only, with a copyright notice on the data.
What developers say
Volunteer-run archive of MLB play-by-play, game logs and schedules as downloadable files, not a hosted API. Recommended on HN and betting forums for model building and ETL practice, and widely used by tools such as Chadwick and boxball Docker images. Free and deep history back to 1914; you must parse and host it yourself.
Choose Sportradar if you…
B2B data feed
Best for: Sportsbooks, media companies and leagues that need official multi-sport live data, odds feeds and trading services under a sales contract.
- ✓ need live / in-play data
- ✓ need an enterprise feed with a contract and SLA-style support
Not ideal for: Hobby projects or buyers who need public, self-serve pricing; production pricing is by request volume through sales.
What developers say
Seen as the benchmark enterprise sports data supplier, used via trial keys in hobby projects, wrappers and tutorials. Developers repeatedly call it too expensive (thousands per month), opaque on pricing, sometimes unwilling to sell to small buyers, and not fast enough for live use. Common cheaper alternatives mentioned: SportsDataIO, Genius, Opta, Sportmonks.
Side by side
| Retrosheet | Sportradar | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 55/100 (#31) | 51/100 (#43) |
| Popularity | 36 | 69 |
| Community & reliability | 69 | 52 |
| Transparency | 75 | 35 |
| Developer experience | 51 | 36 |
| Type | Free / open data | B2B data feed |
| Starting price | Free tier | Price not public |
| Free tier | Yes | Not disclosed |
| Free trial | Not stated | Not stated |
| Sports | Baseball | Multi-sport (40+) |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Play-by-play, Results, Team stats | Fixtures, Historical data, Odds, Play-by-play, Player stats, Results, Live scores, Standings, Team stats, Video, Widgets |
| Delivery | CSV download | Streaming (Push feed) |
| Protocols | CSV download | REST, Push feed, XML feed |
| Live / in-play | No | Yes |
| Commercial use | Commercial: not disclosed | Commercial: not disclosed |
| Betting products | Betting: not disclosed | Betting: not disclosed |
| Documentation | Docs | Docs |
| Developer discussions | 6 | 33 |
| GitHub repos | 347 | 237 |
| Community tone | Mostly positive | Mixed |
Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that the feature is missing.
Quick answers
- Is Retrosheet or Sportradar better?
- Retrosheet scores slightly higher (55 vs 51). Sportradar is the better pick for sportsbooks, media companies and leagues that need official multi-sport live data, odds feeds and trading services under a sales contract.
- Which is cheaper, Retrosheet or Sportradar?
- Retrosheet: Free tier. Sportradar: Price not public. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do Retrosheet and Sportradar have a free tier?
- Retrosheet: yes. Sportradar: not disclosed.