SportsDataIO Developer APIs

Free Trial

What it is: Scrambled but structurally identical data for exploring the API and building integration code.

How to get it: Sign up for a free trial — instant access, no credit card required.

Data characteristics:

• Same JSON/XML response shapes, field names, and relationships as production
• Player names, scores, and stats are scrambled — realistic but not real
• All endpoints and all 13 sports available

Please Note:

• Data is not real — cannot be used for analysis or display
• Small daily call limit
• No SLA or dedicated support

Use cases:

• Explore endpoint structure and response formats
• Build and test parsing logic
• Prototype UI components with realistic data shapes
• Evaluate API coverage before committing

Replay

What it is: Real data from past games replayed on the live feed schedule, simulating a live game day.

How to get it: Self-serve at sportsdata.io/developers/replay.

Data characteristics:

• Real historical data — actual scores, stats, and play-by-play
• Delivered on the same schedule as live production feeds
• Same response format as production

Please Note:

• Only available for select sports
• Replays historical games, not current-day events
• Session-based access

Use cases:

• Test live-data handling and real-time update logic during the off-season
• Validate WebSocket or polling implementations against real data patterns
• QA live scoreboards, tickers, and alerts without waiting for game day

Dev Key

What it is: Scrambled data with no call limits, intended for serious integration builds toward production.

How to get it: Contact sales — requires a conversation about your use case and mutual fit.

Data characteristics:

• Same scrambled data as Free Trial
• No daily call limits — build and test at production scale
• All endpoints and all 13 sports available

Please Note:

• Data is not real — same scrambled data as Free Trial
• Not available on-demand — requires sales approval and a realistic path to a commercial agreement
• Scrambled data is suitable for integration work but not for final QA — plan to switch to real data for the last phase of development

Use cases:

• Build core integration logic with production-level call volumes while working toward a commercial agreement
• Load-test your application against the API
• Validate endpoint coverage and response handling across all sports before going live

Discovery Lab

What it is: Self-serve access to real sports data at an affordable price point, designed for personal projects and hobby apps.

How to get it: Purchase directly at discoverylab.sportsdata.io.

Data characteristics:

• Real data — actual scores, stats, odds, and fantasy projections
• Next-day delayed (not live)
• 8 sports: NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, College Football, College Basketball, Golf, NASCAR

Please Note:

• Data is delayed by one day — not suitable for live applications
• 100–1,000 API calls per day depending on tier
• 8 sports only (no Soccer, Tennis, MMA, WNBA, or College Women’s Basketball)
• No SLA or dedicated support
• Not licensed for commercial redistribution

Pricing:

The free tier provides access to last season’s data.

Use cases:

• Personal projects and hobby apps with real data
• Fantasy sports tools for personal use
• Odds analysis and model building
• Learning and experimenting with sports data

Leagues API

What it is: Full commercial access to deep, in-game coverage of 13 sports with real-time live data, SLA, and dedicated support.

How to get it: Contact sales — requires a commercial agreement.

Data characteristics:

• Real-time live data with in-game updates
• Unlimited API calls
• 13 sports with deep per-sport coverage
• Full endpoint access including play-by-play, injuries, lineups, odds from 10+ sportsbooks, fantasy projections, and player news

Please Note:

• Requires a sales conversation and commercial agreement
• Pricing based on use case, volume, and sports

Use cases:

• Commercial fantasy sports platforms
• Sports betting applications and trading desks
• Media companies with live scoreboards and tickers
• Mobile apps with real-time scores and alerts

Global Sports API

What it is: Ultra-consistently-formatted basic coverage (schedules and scores) across 100+ sports worldwide.

How to get it: Contact sales — requires a commercial agreement.

Data characteristics:

• Schedules and scores for 100+ sports globally
• Consistent response format across all sports — same structure whether you’re pulling soccer, handball, or darts
• Real-time score updates

Please Note:

• Top-line coverage only — schedules and scores, not the deep stats, odds, fantasy, or play-by-play available in the Leagues API
• Requires a sales conversation and commercial agreement
• No self-serve free trial

Use cases:

• Multi-sport platforms that need breadth over depth
• Global scoreboards and results pages covering niche and international sports
• Applications that need a single, predictable data format across many sports

Vault / Historical Data

What it is: 10+ years of historical sports data for research, backtesting, and analytics.

How to get it: Contact sales. See the Vault product page and support article for details.

Data characteristics:

Historical data is accessed through two patterns:

1. Most feeds (scores, stats, schedules, standings, game lines, matchups): Use the same production API endpoints — just change the season parameter to pull prior seasons.
2. Props & Futures for Big Six sports (NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, CFB, CBB): Stored in a separate data warehouse with separate endpoints and a separate API key. Production performance is maintained by moving data older than 30 days to this archive.

Please Note:

• Requires sales-enabled access

Use cases:

• Backtesting betting models and strategies
• Academic and commercial sports research
• Historical trend analysis and visualization
• Training machine learning models on sports data

Learn About Vault Contact Sales