Alternatives to football-data.org API
Checked on . Prices change; see each provider's page.
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. source
Below is a side-by-side with Realtime Sports API, built from football-data.org'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.
football-data.org vs Realtime Sports API
| football-data.org | Realtime Sports API | |
|---|---|---|
| Paid plans | Free w/ Livescores €12, Free + Deep Data €29, Standard €49 (30 competitions), Advanced €99 (50), Pro €199 (100+) per month; add-ons for odds and statistics from €15. 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 forever: 12 competitions, delayed scores and schedules, fixtures and league tables, 10 calls/minute. 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) only: from 12 competitions on the free plan up to 100+ on Pro. 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 pricing 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 | Odds add-on (€15/month): pre-match home/draw/away odds for 40 competitions. source | Current spread, moneyline and total (single source book). |
| AI assistant (MCP) support | Not listed on their public pricing page. source | Hosted MCP server at https://www.realtimesportsapi.com/api/mcp with 14 tools, for Claude, Cursor and other MCP clients. |
football-data.org 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 football-data.org is the better choice
- You only need soccer and a free plan is enough: the Premier League, Champions League and 10 more competitions free forever. source
- You want cheap live soccer scores: €12/month adds live scores to the 12 free competitions. source
- You need lower-tier European soccer: their Pro plan covers 100+ competitions. source
Where Realtime Sports API may fit better
- US sports and soccer under one key: 29 leagues monitored live: NFL, college football, NBA, men's college basketball, MLB, NHL and 23 soccer competitions.
- 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 football-data.org 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.
- API-Sports: 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.
- TheSportsDB: TheSportsDB is an open, crowd-sourced sports database with a free sports API for data and artwork.
See the full table of providers on our compare page.
FAQ
Is football-data.org free?
Yes. Their pricing page says the free plan is free forever, with 12 competitions, delayed scores and 10 calls per minute. Live scores start at €12/month, as of October 18, 2026. source
What is a good alternative to football-data.org?
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 API-Sports and TheSportsDB.
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.