Comparison
Statshawk vs theOddsAPI, SportRadar, and nba_api, a side-by-side for evaluators.
Honest read
This page exists because every dev evaluates two or three options before committing to a sports-data layer. We'd rather lay it out ourselves than lose the conversation to a Reddit thread.
The short version: Statshawk is the shortest path to an LLM-grounded, normalized sports backend, including pregame contest and person odds boards. If you want live multi-book aggregation across 100+ books, use theOddsAPI. If you want enterprise data with hand-holding, use SportRadar. If you're single-league and don't mind scraping, nba_api is free.
Feature matrix
| Capability | Statshawk | theOddsAPI | SportRadar | nba_api |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCP server (LLM-native) | ✓ hosted, OAuth | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| REST normalized across leagues | NBA, MLB, NFL, NHL, KBO, NCAA, soccer (EPL→NWSL→Copas), golf, tennis, F1/NASCAR/IndyCar, UFC, AFL, rugby league, lacrosse | only odds | yes (paid) | NBA only |
| Auth | API key + OAuth (MCP) | API key | API key + IP allowlist | none (scraper) |
| Pricing model | usage units | per-month per-market | enterprise quote | free |
| In-progress score updates | every 5 min for US leagues, hourly for soccer (REST polling) | n/a (odds only) | yes (push feeds, per Sportradar) | yes (NBA Stats lag) |
| Statcast / pitch data | yes | ✗ | yes (separate SKU) | ✗ |
| Pre-computed analysis cards | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Self-serve signup | ✓ | ✓ | ✗ (sales call) | ✓ (open source) |
| Time-to-first-curl | < 60 s | < 60 s | 1–2 weeks | local install |
| Time-to-first-MCP-call | < 60 s | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Pregame odds boards | ✓ (contest/person spot + paged history) | live + historical, 100+ books | yes (paid SKU) | ✗ |
| Bring-your-own odds line | ✓ (?line= on analysis) | n/a | ✗ | ✗ |
When to pick which
What we are not
- A live odds aggregator: we publish pregame contest/person boards and paged history
(discovery 1× · spot board 5× · history page 10×). We do not serve in-play ticks or
100+ bookmaker regions. Analysis cards still accept a
?line=you supply. - A real-time push service: REST polling only at v1.
- A betting platform: we serve data; you build the app.
- Officially licensed: for regulated use you'll want a tier-1 provider.
If you've tried us and one of these gaps is a blocker, email
hello@statshawk.ai. We read everything.