Developer & Modelling API Comparison · REST, CSV & MCP
API-Football & Sportmonks alternative for model builders, spreadsheets & AI agents
Most football APIs are designed for live-score apps: deeply nested fixture/event JSON, complex per-league or xG add-on packs, and zero modelling outputs. Football Charts is built specifically for quantitative analysts, indie developers and AI toolchains who want one flat schema across 98 leagues in 46 countries — with results, goal timing, per-match xG & shots, calibrated probabilities, Monte Carlo projections, native CSV and a hosted MCP server included on every plan.
Architecture & pricing comparison
| Criterion | Football Charts API | API-Football (API-Sports) | Sportmonks Football |
|---|---|---|---|
| Primary design target | Statistical modelling, backtesting, spreadsheets & AI agents (daily updates ~06:00 UTC) | Live-score apps, widgets & broad fixture coverage | Enterprise sports media, fantasy & custom league bundles |
| Free tier | 25/day keyless (no signup) · 200/day with a free key across all 98 leagues (current + previous season) | 100/day, restricted season window on free plan | 2-league free trial (Scottish & Danish leagues) |
| Entry paid tier (all leagues + xG) | €9/month Personal or €49 one-off 2026/27 Season Pass — all 98 leagues, 2020+ history & xG/shots included (5,000/day) | ~$19–$29/mo tiers by daily quota | €39–€129+/mo depending on European/worldwide pack + xG add-on |
| Commercial / production licence | €39/month (€390/yr) — 25,000/day, all 98 leagues, clear terms for apps, bots & channels | Higher quota plans ($29–$65+/mo) | Custom / Worldwide + xG add-ons (€199+/mo) |
| Response ergonomics | Flat JSON + native ?format=csv on tables, fixtures & results + OpenAPI 3 spec | Multi-call nested JSON (separate fixture & statistics calls per match) | Include-based JSON pagination (JSON only) |
| Probabilities & season simulations | Calibrated Dixon–Coles probabilities (settled public ledger at /track-record) + daily 10,000-run Monte Carlo projections | Heuristic advice endpoint; no calibrated Brier/log-loss ledger or Monte Carlo table sims | Paid predictions add-on |
| AI / LLM integration (MCP) | Official hosted Streamable HTTP MCP server (https://mcp.football-charts.com/mcp) + npm package footballcharts-mcp | Build your own wrapper | Build your own wrapper |
Try it right now — zero SDK, warm responses in ~0.1s
Every endpoint works keyless up to 25 calls/day so you can inspect the exact payload in your terminal before even registering an email:
curl -s "https://footballcharts-backend.onrender.com/api/v1/leagues/premier/projection/" | head -c 500
# 1 request returns all 380 matches (+ home/away xG, shots & passes on paid key) curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_your_key" \ "https://footballcharts-backend.onrender.com/api/v1/leagues/premier/results/?season=2025-2026"
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer fc_your_key" \ "https://footballcharts-backend.onrender.com/api/v1/leagues/cha/table/?format=csv&season=2026-2027"
claude mcp add football-charts \ -e FC_API_KEY=fc_your_key \ -- npx -y footballcharts-mcp
Notice point #2 above: fetching a 380-match season with per-match xG, box shots and pass accuracy costs 1 request on /results/, not 381 separate fixture-statistics requests. Full endpoint & OpenAPI 3 reference: /developers.
Generate a free 200 req/day API key
Instant key shown on screen and emailed to you. Upgrade the same key any time to Personal (€9/mo), the one-off 2026/27 Season Pass (€49), or Commercial (€39/mo) with zero code changes.
Plans & one-off options — same API key, zero formula or code changes
Start with a free key in 10 seconds. Upgrading flips one flag on your existing key so historical ?season= calls and per-match xG/stat columns unlock immediately.
Free Key
€0no card
200 requests/day
- • All 98 leagues (men's, lower tiers & women's)
- • Current + previous season
- • CSV, Google Sheets, REST JSON & MCP
- • FT/HT scores, first-goal minute, tables & probabilities
2026/27 Season Pass
No subscription€49one-off · through July 2027
or €9 / month cancel any time
5,000 requests/day
- • Every season back to 2020 across all 98 leagues
- • 34 per-match stat columns: xG (25 leagues), shots, box shots, passes & cards (~64 leagues)
- • Single payment, zero auto-renewal
- • Personal & academic/modelling use
Historical Odds Archive
€291 league · €199 all 98
Bulk CSV + Parquet download
- • 2020-21 to 2025-26 opening & closing bookmaker odds
- • 1X2, Asian handicap & Over/Under ladders, BTTS, CS
- • ~3 books/match, bet365 named (no Pinnacle in 2020–26 pack)
- • Free Germany 2 & Estonia sample zips included
Building an app, site, bot or paid channel that other people use? See the Commercial API plan (€39/month, 25,000 requests/day).