# Riot Games API

> Official Riot Games developer API giving League of Legends player, match-history, ranked and live-game data, with free developer keys and a production approval path.

Canonical page: https://sportdex.net/providers/riot-games-api/  
Last checked: 2026-11-03  
SportDex Score: 56/100 (rank 29; popularity 51, community n/a, transparency 65, developer experience 54)

## Facts
- Type: Esports data
- Website: https://developer.riotgames.com
- Documentation: https://developer.riotgames.com/
- Pricing page: unknown
- Country: United States
- Sports: Esports
- Data types: Historical data, Player stats, Results, Team stats
- Protocols: REST
- Delivery: Polling only (REST)
- Live / in-play: not disclosed
- Free tier: yes
- Cheapest public paid plan: not public
- Authentication: api key

## Plans
| Plan | Price | Requests | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Developer key | Free | — | Free dev key, rate-limited; production key requires application |

## Who it is for

Best for: League of Legends tools that need player, ranked and match history data from the official Riot API.

Not ideal for: Betting or esports tournament feeds, and other games: this is League of Legends game data only.

Use cases: Player stat trackers; Match history viewers; Ranked ladder tools

Limitations:
- Free dev key is rate-limited
- Production use needs an approved application
- Rate limits are not on the saved page
- Saved text does not cover commercial or betting rules

## Quick answers

**What is Riot Games API best for?** League of Legends tools that need player, ranked and match history data from the official Riot API. Not ideal for: Betting or esports tournament feeds, and other games: this is League of Legends game data only.

**How much does Riot Games API cost?** Riot Games API does not publish prices on the pages we checked.

**Does Riot Games API have a free tier?** Yes. Riot Games API lists a free plan called "Developer key".

**What does Riot Games API cover?** Riot Games API is a esports data. Its sports: Esports; data: Historical data, Player stats, Results, Team stats.

**Does Riot Games API have a WebSocket or streaming API?** No streaming is listed. Riot Games API delivers data by REST, so you poll for updates.

**What do developers say about Riot Games API?** Official Riot API for League of Legends, TFT and Legends of Runeterra data, with free dev keys. Mentions are mostly old announcements: launch, an early scraping ban pushing developers to the API, match-history deadlines, and API challenges. Libraries such as Cassiopeia show lasting use, but there is little recent user opinion on limits or quality.

**What are the alternatives to Riot Games API?** Close alternatives in the SportDex catalog: OpenDota, PandaScore, Abios, Data Sports Group, Cito API.

## What developers say

Official Riot API for League of Legends, TFT and Legends of Runeterra data, with free dev keys. Mentions are mostly old announcements: launch, an early scraping ban pushing developers to the API, match-history deadlines, and API challenges. Libraries such as Cassiopeia show lasting use, but there is little recent user opinion on limits or quality.

Praised for: Official API with free developer keys; Long-lived community libraries and contests

Complaints: Scraping not allowed, API-only policy

## Method
Facts were read from the provider's own pages on 2026-11-03. Empty fields mean the provider does not say, not that a feature is missing. Method: https://sportdex.net/methodology/