TheSportsDB: Sports Data JSON API
TheSportsDB helps software companies and developers integrate sports data into their applications. It is designed for those who need sports metadata and event highlights via a JSON API.
At a glance
- Category
- Data & Analytics
- Best for
- Software Companies, App Developers, Startups, Fantasy League Creators
- Pricing
- Pricing starts at $9/month for Single Developers, with Small Business and Business plans at $20/month. Lifetime memberships are available for $295 (individual) or $999 (business).
- Key use cases
- Application Metadata Integration, Live Score Tracking, Event Highlight Aggregation, AI Contextualization
- Official website
- thesportsdb.com
TheSportsDB is a crowd-sourced sports database that provides sports data via a JSON API. It contains metadata, artwork, and results for over 250,000 players, 20,000 teams, and 1.5 million events across 500+ global leagues.
The service is designed for developers and software companies building applications that require sports-related information, such as home theatre apps or fantasy leagues.
Buyers can choose between a basic free API and premium tiers that offer higher rate limits, header-based authentication, and specialized data like live scores and YouTube highlights. The platform also supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP) for connecting AI models to its data sources.
Buyers should confirm if the rate limits of the specific plan align with their application's traffic needs and verify if the crowd-sourced nature of the data meets their specific accuracy requirements.
Key Features
Provides a V1 API for basic use and a V2 API with header-based authentication for premium users.
A community-driven repository containing data on over 250,000 players and 1.5 million events.
Provides access to JPEG fanart and transparent PNG badges and logos.
Premium tiers provide 2-minute live scores for major sports including Soccer, NFL, NBA, MLB, and NHL.
Provides links to YouTube highlights for sports events via the API.
Supports the Model Context Protocol to connect AI models to sports data sources.
Use Cases
Retrieving sports-related metadata and fanart to populate sports apps or home theatre interfaces.
Integrating scores for major professional leagues into a user dashboard.
Accessing YouTube highlight links to provide users with video recaps of sports events.
Using the MCP protocol to provide an LLM with sports data as context.
Best For
Pricing
Pricing starts at $9/month for Single Developers, with Small Business and Business plans at $20/month. Lifetime memberships are available for $295 (individual) or $999 (business).
FAQ
Yes, there is a free V1 API available, though it has lower rate limits and fewer available methods than the premium version.
V1 is a simpler version compatible with web browsers. V2 is a more modern API with secure header-based authentication, available only to premium subscribers.
Free users are limited to 30 requests per minute, Premium users to 100 per minute, and Business users to 120 per minute.
Yes, it supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), which provides a standardized way to connect AI models to its data sources.
Source category: Data & Analytics
Source subcategory: API Development
