The Odds API

The Odds API is a sports betting odds service whose home page lists a Starter plan at no charge with 500 credits per month, covering all sports, most bookmakers and all betting markets, and four paid plans in US dollars from $30 to $249 per month. The company states it has operated since 2017, was founded in Melbourne and is now headquartered in Sydney, Australia, and names no individual owner.

Bookmakers are grouped by region, with US, Canada, UK, EU and Australian names listed. The v4 API returns JSON and offers endpoints for sports, odds, scores, events, markets, participants and historical odds. Usage is metered in credits rather than raw requests, so what a call costs depends on the markets and regions chosen.

• Credit-based plans. Starter gives 500 credits per month at no charge. Paid plans are 20K at $30, 100K at $59, 5M at $119 and 15M at $249, all billed monthly in US dollars.
• Bookmakers by region. Coverage is grouped as US (DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars, BetRivers, theScore), Canada, UK, EU (1xBet, Pinnacle) and Australia (Sportsbet, TAB, Neds), among others, with regions selectable per request.
• Wide sports list. Sports include American football, soccer leagues such as the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A, basketball, baseball, ice hockey, cricket, rugby league, golf majors, tennis and US presidential politics odds.
• Historical odds. Historical odds run from 6 June 2020 and are stated as available only on paid plans. Each call costs 10 credits per market per region, so a research job needs a credit budget.
• Scores endpoint. Scores cost one credit, or two with daysFrom set. Live scores update approximately every 30 seconds, and the guide says sport coverage for scores is limited and expanding.
• Quota visibility. Each response carries x-requests-remaining and x-requests-used headers, empty responses do not count, and the sports list is free of quota, which makes spending easy to track.
• Flexible formats. Odds come in decimal by default or American on request, and timestamps in ISO 8601 or Unix. Authentication is an apiKey query parameter or x-api-key header against api.the-odds-api.com.

• A developer prototyping an odds comparison page. The Starter plan's 500 monthly credits cover all sports and most bookmakers, enough to test one market in one region many times before paying.
• A betting tipster tracking line movement. Paid plans include Historical Odds back to June 2020, so a tipster can study past prices, keeping in mind that each historical call costs 10 credits per market per region.
• A media site showing live scores. The scores endpoint refreshes roughly every 30 seconds and costs one credit per call, though the guide warns that coverage varies by sport.

Choose the Starter plan on the home page to receive an API key, then pass it as an apiKey query parameter or an x-api-key header to api.the-odds-api.com. The v4 guide describes the sports list endpoint first; it does not count against the quota, so it is a safe first call.

From there, request odds for one sport with a chosen market and a region such as us, us2, uk, au or eu. Check the x-requests-remaining header after each call to see how fast credits are used. The guide also links an OpenAPI specification for building clients.

The Odds API sells bookmaker prices, not match statistics. A free plan gives 500 credits a month; four paid plans run from 20,000 to 15 million credits and add historical odds.

Each request spends credits by market and region, so the bill climbs with coverage. Scores refresh about every 30 seconds, the page calls score coverage limited, and no support channel is named.

In our sports data apis ranking The Odds API stands at #2 of 13: the products next to it are football-data.org above and BALLDONTLIE below. The first three places are reserved for challengers where a category has them, which is why we publish no numeric score.

Asia-Pacific is home to 2 of the 13 vendors, The Odds API among them (Australia).

Empty responses do not count and headers report what remains.

Bookmakers are grouped into US, Canada, UK, EU and Australia, from DraftKings and FanDuel to Pinnacle and Sportsbet.

Historical odds start in June 2020.

The company says it began in 2017 in Melbourne and now sits in Sydney.

Pricing as recorded: Published monthly credit plans; starter allowance at no charge; historical odds on paid plans only.

Prices are in US dollars and billed monthly. Starter is free with 500 credits per month, covering all sports, most bookmakers and all betting markets, without Historical Odds. The paid plans are 20K at $30 per month (20,000 credits), 100K at $59 (100,000 credits), 5M at $119 (5 million credits) and 15M at $249 (15 million credits). All four include all sports, all bookmakers, all betting markets and Historical Odds. Billing starts immediately and renews on the same day each month. Credits are consumed at one per market per region for odds, one for scores (two with daysFrom) and 10 per market per region for historical odds. Each request returns games for one sport, one market and one bookmaker region.

Basis: the-odds-api.com, read for the Best Sports Data APIs in 2026 guide (reviewed 13 November 2026).

The pages we read describe the data product rather than security controls: no certifications, encryption statements or hosting locations are given. Access is controlled by an API key sent as a query parameter or header, and responses are JSON.

The v4 guide states no rate limits and names no support channel. Historical odds are stated as available only on paid usage plans, which restricts that data to paying accounts. The company states Sydney headquarters and a Melbourne founding, but names no individual owner.

Integrations the vendor names (10):

• REST API v4
• OpenAPI specification
• JSON responses
• apiKey query parameter
• x-api-key header
• US bookmakers
• UK bookmakers
• EU bookmakers
• Australian bookmakers
• AI-assistant API reference

The choice below rests on shared catalogue tags, price model, free plan and region, with rank distance as the tie-break.

• football-data.org (#1 of 13): Aimed at: Football apps that need a cheap, clearly priced start with a few top competitions.
• BALLDONTLIE (#3 of 13): Multi-sport API with per-league tiers and a plan at no charge. Watch out: per-league billing means a multi-sport product pays once per league until it reaches the all-access tier.
• Highlightly (#5 of 13): A good match for: Media and app builders who want highlight clips next to live scores.
• Pandascore (#7 of 13): A good match for: Esports media and fantasy teams covering a handful of game titles. (France)
• Goalserve (#9 of 13): Aimed at: Sportsbook and score sites wanting broad league and odds feeds on trial first.

Read from the vendor’s own pages on 12 November 2026.

• the-odds-api.com: Plans, prices, bookmakers, sports, company history
• the-odds-api.com: Billing start and renewal, plan inclusions, Historical Odds not listed for Starter
• the-odds-api.com/liveapi/guides/v4: Endpoints, credit costs, response headers, formats and regions
• the-odds-api.com/liveapi/guides/v4: Historical data from 6 June 2020, API key method, absence of rate limits and support channel

The same four questions are asked of every sports data apis product: time to value, real cost, the way out and the intended buyer. The Odds API ends up at #2 among 13. Method and commercial relationships are in our editorial process.