Alternatives to API-Sports API
Checked on . Prices change; see each provider's page.
API-Sports runs a family of REST APIs (API-Football and APIs for AFL, baseball, basketball, Formula 1, handball, hockey, MMA, NBA, NFL & NCAA, rugby and volleyball). API-Football lists 1,219 leagues and cups, 20 years of data and odds from 31 bookmakers. source
Below is a side-by-side with Realtime Sports API, built from API-Sports's public pages and our own plan limits, followed by where each one is the better fit. We publish this page, so read it with that in mind.
API-Sports vs Realtime Sports API
| API-Sports | Realtime Sports API | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid plans | API-Football: Pro $19 (7,500 requests/day), Ultra $29 (75,000/day), Mega $39 (150,000/day) per month; higher volumes up to 1.5M requests/day. Plans are listed per sport API. source | Starter $29, Growth $49, Pro $99, Scale $299 per month (10,000 / 25,000 / 50,000 / 500,000 calls/month); annual billing $290 / $490 / $990 / $2,990 per year |
| Free tier / trial | Free plan with 100 requests per day; the daily quota resets at 00:00 UTC. source | 1,000 calls in the first 30 days, then 125 calls/month at 1 request/s; WebSocket preview of 500 messages/month. No card required. |
| Sports and leagues | Football (soccer) with 1,219 leagues and cups, plus separate APIs for AFL, baseball, basketball, Formula 1, handball, hockey, MMA, NBA, NFL & NCAA, rugby and volleyball. source | 29 leagues monitored live: NFL, college football, NBA, men's college basketball, MLB, NHL and 23 soccer competitions. |
| Push delivery (webhooks / WebSocket) | Not listed on their public football API page. source | Webhooks and WebSocket on every paid plan, from Starter at $29/month. The free plan has a WebSocket preview but no webhooks. |
| Betting odds | Pre-match odds from 31 bookmakers in API-Football. source | Current spread, moneyline and total (single source book). |
| AI assistant (MCP) support | Not listed on their public football API page. source | Hosted MCP server at https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/mcp with 14 tools, for Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients. |
API-Sports details are from their public pages as of October 18, 2026 and may have changed. Realtime Sports API details are from our pricing page. Data is aggregated from public sources and is typically 20-30 seconds behind live play (about 1 second after our source). There is no SLA. Not suited to in-play betting that needs sub-second data. Odds come from a single source book.
Where API-Sports is the better choice
- Soccer depth is the priority: 1,219 leagues and cups with 20 years of data, far more competitions than we monitor. source
- You want a low price for high volume: $19/month buys 7,500 requests a day. source
- You need sports we do not cover, such as AFL, Formula 1, handball, MMA, rugby or volleyball. source
- You want free embeddable widgets; they say their widgets work on every plan, including free. source
Where Realtime Sports API may fit better
- One API key covers NFL, college football, NBA, men's college basketball, MLB, NHL and 23 soccer competitions (29 leagues monitored live), with no per-sport pricing.
- Webhooks and WebSocket are included on every paid plan, starting at $29/month.
- A hosted MCP server (14 tools) lets Claude, Cursor and other assistants query live games directly.
- Game data beyond odds in the same schema: live scores, play-by-play, box scores, schedules, rosters, injuries and news.
Other API-Sports alternatives
- Sportmonks: Sportmonks is a football (soccer) data API covering more than 2,200 leagues, with add-ons for odds, predictions, xG and news, plus separate cricket and Formula 1 APIs. Prices are published and billed month to month or yearly.
- football-data.org: football-data.org is a RESTful football (soccer) data API with a free-forever plan covering 12 top competitions, and paid tiers that add live scores, deeper data and more competitions.
- Goalserve: Goalserve has sold sports data feeds since 2005: live scores, game stats, historical data and pre-match and in-play odds for 20+ sports, in XML and JSON.
See the full table of providers on our compare page.
FAQ
How much does API-Football cost?
A free plan with 100 requests/day, then Pro $19, Ultra $29 and Mega $39 per month (7,500, 75,000 and 150,000 requests/day), as listed on their football API page. source
Does API-Sports have webhooks?
Their public football API page lists REST endpoints and widgets; it does not list webhooks or a WebSocket stream. source
What is a good alternative to API-Sports?
It depends on what you need. Realtime Sports API is one option, with 29 leagues monitored live: NFL, college football, NBA, men's college basketball, MLB, NHL and 23 soccer competitions. Webhooks and WebSocket on every paid plan, from Starter at $29/month. The free plan has a WebSocket preview but no webhooks. Other alternatives covered on our compare pages include Sportmonks and football-data.org and Goalserve.
How much does Realtime Sports API cost?
Starter $29, Growth $49, Pro $99, Scale $299 per month (10,000 / 25,000 / 50,000 / 500,000 calls/month); annual billing $290 / $490 / $990 / $2,990 per year. Free tier: 1,000 calls in the first 30 days, then 125 calls/month at 1 request/s; WebSocket preview of 500 messages/month. No card required.
How fresh is Realtime Sports API data?
Data is aggregated from public sources and is typically 20-30 seconds behind live play (about 1 second after our source). There is no SLA. Not suited to in-play betting that needs sub-second data. Odds come from a single source book.
Sources
Checked on . Prices change; see each provider's page. All trademarks belong to their owners. Spotted an error? Email austin@elcodev.com and we'll fix it.