An API-Football and Sportmonks alternative, and when not to switch
API-Football and Sportmonks are established football data providers. If you need broad raw data, many sports or the cheapest entry price, they may suit you better. PredictIQ Pro is narrower: football only, built around bookmaker odds, odds history and one probability per match, so you don’t compute them yourself.
Side by side
| PredictIQ Pro | API-Football | Sportmonks | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Main strength | One probability per match, odds history and market analysis, plus an MCP server for AI agents | A very large, low-priced data feed across many sports | Broad league coverage (2,300+ on Enterprise) and add-on data bundles |
| Free access | 14-day trial of the Developer plan, no card. No free-forever plan | Free plan: 100 requests a day, all endpoints | A free tier is mentioned; paid plans have a 14-day trial |
| Entry paid price | $14 a month (odds access from the $39 Developer plan) | $19 a month | €29 a month (5 leagues) |
| Match probabilities | Served on every match, with a basis field: market_consensus where odds exist, statistical_model where they do not | Predictions from its own statistical model, updated hourly | Odds & Predictions bundle, from €15 a month |
| Odds history | Recorded odds snapshots per fixture and bookmaker, kept (not deleted) once recorded; coverage varies by fixture | Pre-match odds update every 3 hours; only the last 7 days of odds history are kept | Premium Odds Feed from €129 a month for extended markets and bookmakers |
| Markets and sports | Football only, 1X2 odds only | Football plus 11 other sports products on one account | Football, with extra bundles (xG, news, transfers) |
| AI agents (MCP) | Hosted MCP server and a local script | Not covered in the sources we checked | Not covered in the sources we checked |
Competitor details are taken from their own public pages as of October 2026: API-Football’s getting-started guide and Sportmonks plans and pricing. Plans change, so check their pages before you decide. If something here is out of date, tell us and we will fix it.
Where they are stronger
- You want a free plan to build on indefinitely. We offer a 14-day trial, not a free-forever plan.
- You need many sports, more leagues, or markets beyond 1X2. We cover football and the 1X2 market only.
- Price is your main concern for raw data. Their entry plans are priced for volume.
Where PredictIQ Pro fits better
- You want a match probability you can use as it comes. Where bookmaker odds exist it is the average across bookmakers with each margin removed, because our own testing showed our model adds nothing measurable on top. Every response has a
basisfield saying which source was used. - You need to see how odds moved over time for a fixture, with opening and current prices per bookmaker. See the football odds API.
- You are building an AI agent or an LLM workflow. The MCP server lets an agent call the data as tools.
- You want the method and track record in public: see the methodology and the accuracy page, including where we fall short.
Use both
Many projects don’t need to switch. You can keep a broad data provider for fixtures and stats, and add PredictIQ Pro only for odds, odds history and probabilities. The 14-day trial needs no card, so you can compare on your own matches.
FAQ
Compare it on your own matches
Probabilities, odds, fixtures and live scores as JSON over one REST API. Try it free for 14 days, no card needed.
curl https://api.predictiqpro.com/odds/FIXTURE_ID \ -H "Authorization: Token YOUR_API_KEY"