Best football API for a live score app
A live score app shows today’s matches and updates the score while games are being played.
You need fixtures (what’s on), live scores, and ideally match events like goals and cards so you can show a timeline. Watch out for free tiers that only give you delayed scores.
What you need
- Fixtures — the list of upcoming and finished matches (listed by 13 of 17 providers)
- Live scores — the score while the match is being played (listed by 12 of 17 providers)
- Match events — goals, cards and substitutions for a match timeline (listed by 10 of 17 providers)
- Lineups — the starting XI shown before kick-off (listed by 9 of 17 providers)
Not every app needs every item. Start with the first two or three.
Good places to start
How we chose: each pick must have a self-serve way to start (free plan, trial with stated limits, or a public price); and live scores listed. Facts below are quoted from the provider's public pages, checked 2026-10-19.
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API-Football (API-Sports)
Free plan: Yes · From: $19/mo
- Start: Free plan "Free" — $0/mo: 100 requests/day; free plans limited in available seasons.
- Paid plans from $19/mo.
- Lists: fixtures, live scores, match events, lineups.
- Confirmed leagues: Premier League, Championship, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Primeira Liga, MLS, Champions League.
- Coverage: 1,249 leagues & cups (coverage page, list updated 2026-10-18); all competitions on all plans.
Watch out
- All 9 tracked leagues are listed on the coverage page (updated 2026-10-18). How much data each league has (events, lineups, stats) is not confirmed.
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football-data.org
Free plan: Yes · From: €12/mo
- Start: Free plan "Free" — €0/mo: 12 competitions; scores delayed; 10 calls/min.
- Relevant plan: Free w/ Livescores — €12/mo (12 competitions; live scores; 20 calls/min).
- Paid plans from €12/mo.
- Lists: fixtures, live scores, match events, lineups.
- Confirmed leagues: Premier League, Championship, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Primeira Liga, MLS, Champions League.
- Coverage: ~100 competitions in full list; 12 on free tier.
Watch out
- Live scores: paid (free is delayed).
- Match events: goals/cards/subs on paid tiers.
- Lineups: paid tiers.
- Free tier includes PL, Championship, Primeira Liga, LaLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, Ligue 1, CL; MLS on paid tiers.
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Highlightly
Free plan: Yes · From: $9.49/mo
- Start: Free plan "Basic" — $0: 100 requests/day; no credit card.
- Paid plans from $9.49/mo.
- Lists: fixtures, live scores, match events (live events), lineups.
- Coverage: 950+ leagues, 170+ countries (9 sports).
Watch out
- Per-league coverage not confirmed on public pages — check their coverage page.
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SportDevs
Free plan: Yes · From: €19
- Start: Free plan "Free" — €0: up to 300 requests/day; up to 10 major leagues.
- Paid plans from €19.
- Lists: fixtures, live scores, match events (incidents), lineups.
- Coverage: up to 130 (Worldwide) / all (Enterprise); total not stated.
Watch out
- Per-league coverage not confirmed on public pages — check their coverage page.
- Which 10 'major leagues' not listed on the page fetched.
- Docs URL not found on public pages.
Recommendations are based only on public data we've checked; nobody pays for placement. Always check the provider's terms (especially for commercial use and betting).
Budget option and if you grow
- Budget option: Cheapest paid plan among these picks: Highlightly, from $9.49/mo (face value; € and $ aren't converted).
- If you grow: API-Football (API-Sports)'s clear public monthly prices run from Pro at $19/mo (7,500 requests/day) to Mega at $39/mo (150,000 requests/day).
- If you grow: football-data.org's clear public monthly prices run from Free w/ Livescores at €12/mo (12 competitions; live scores; 20 calls/min) to Pro at €199/mo (100 competitions; deep data; 120 calls/min).
- If you grow: Highlightly's clear public monthly prices run from Pro at $9.49/mo (7,500 requests/day; 12 requests/second) to Mega at $45.99/mo (65,000 requests/day; 100 requests/second).
- If you grow: SportDevs's clear public monthly prices run from Major at from €19 (5,000–1,000,000 requests/day; 10 major leagues) to Enterprise at from €129 (all leagues).
Other providers that also match
These pass the same rules from our data. They're not ranked.
- Entity Sports — free plan: Trial, cheapest paid: $250/mo
- Goalserve — free plan: Trial, cheapest paid: $150/mo
- iSports API — free plan: Trial, cheapest paid: $299/mo
- OpenLigaDB — free plan: Yes, cheapest paid: Free only
- Sportmonks — free plan: Yes, cheapest paid: €29/mo
- SportsGameOdds — free plan: Yes, cheapest paid: $99/mo
- TheSportsDB — free plan: Yes, cheapest paid: $9/mo
Next steps
- Open a pick's page and copy its Build with AI starter prompt.
- Sign up on the provider's site and get an API key — here's what that means.
- Paste the prompt into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor or Lovable, and put your key in the tool's secrets or environment variables — never in the chat.