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TheSportsDB vs StatPal (2026)
Short answer: TheSportsDB scores clearly higher overall (65 vs 43). StatPal is the better pick for Scoreboards, betting tools and fantasy apps that need live scores and odds across many sports and 1,000+ soccer leagues at flat monthly prices, with a 14-day 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 $29/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 StatPal if you…
Sports data API
Best for: Scoreboards, betting tools and fantasy apps that need live scores and odds across many sports and 1,000+ soccer leagues at flat monthly prices, with a 14-day trial.
- ✓ need live / in-play data
Not ideal for: Free-tier projects; there is no free plan. Usage rights for revenue-generating products are unclear in the terms.
What developers say
Sports API with flat monthly plans and a soccer xG feature. One bettor tried it as an xG source claimed to rival Sportmonks. A sports project's issues report endpoints (teams, injuries, rosters) returning 404 and soccer livescores being routed to the wrong API version, suggesting integration pitfalls or version changes. Little else known.
Side by side
| TheSportsDB | StatPal | |
|---|---|---|
| SportDex Score | 65/100 (#8) | 43/100 (#99) |
| Popularity | 70 | 7 |
| Community & reliability | 54 | Not enough data |
| Transparency | 85 | 85 |
| Developer experience | 52 | 65 |
| Type | Sports data API | Sports data API |
| Starting price | from $9/mo | from $29/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | No |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| Sports | Multi-sport (40+) | Football (soccer), American football, Basketball, Baseball, Ice hockey, Formula 1, Motorsport, Golf |
| Data | Fixtures, Historical data, Images, Results, Live scores, Standings, Team stats, Video | Fixtures, Historical data, Lineups, News, Odds, Predictions, Results, Live scores, Standings, Team stats |
| 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 | 1 |
| GitHub repos | 919 | 0 |
| 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 StatPal better?
- TheSportsDB scores clearly higher overall (65 vs 43). StatPal is the better pick for Scoreboards, betting tools and fantasy apps that need live scores and odds across many sports and 1,000+ soccer leagues at flat monthly prices, with a 14-day trial.
- Which is cheaper, TheSportsDB or StatPal?
- TheSportsDB: from $9/mo. StatPal: from $29/mo. Entry plans differ in limits and coverage, so compare what each plan includes.
- Do TheSportsDB and StatPal have a free tier?
- TheSportsDB: yes. StatPal: no.