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The Most Detailed Comparison of Top 5 Cricket APIs for Live Score Apps (2025)

Aug. 22, 2025

The ultimate guide for CEOs, founders, and business owners in the fantasy sports and live score industry-this blog dissects every key provider with accurate, up-to-date info on plans, pricing, features, latency, and best-fit use cases. All recommendations and data are based on verified sources, provider documentation, and direct pricing pages.

Provider Overview Table

Provider Monthly Starter Price Free Tier? Latency Uptime SLA Global Coverage Ideal Use Case
Roanuz Cricket $192 (Essential) None (consult for trial) ~300ms 99.9% 400+ leagues Enterprise fantasy, large live score apps
Entity Sports $150 (Starter) 2 months w/ annual ~500ms 99.5% 50+ leagues, Intl Fantasy, betting, multi-sport platforms
Sportmonks Starting at €25(Starter) 14-day trial + free <15 seconds 99% 140+ global leagues Global, multi-sport, developer-first
CricketData.org $0/free (With Limitations) Yes, generous free plan but again with limitations. Unspecified N/A International basic Hobby, prototyping, very small apps
Goalserve $125 (live scores) 3 free months on annual <1 sec 99% 140+ leagues, 20+ sports Betting, multi-sport, media

1. Roanuz Cricket API

Overview: Roanuz powers over 90% of top fantasy platforms and is the gold standard for enterprise reliability and advanced data features.
  • Pricing (USD, monthly):
    • Essential: $192 (100 matches/ 400,000 API requests per month)
    • Business: $343 (200 matches/800,000 API requests)
    • Business Plus: $583 (unlimited matches/ 1,600,000 API requests)
    • Enterprise: Custom
  • Latency: ~300ms for live updates (industry best)
  • Uptime SLA: 99.9% financial guarantee
  • Key Features:
    • Live scores, advanced analytics, Custom support
    • Extensive historical data (ICC, IPL, BBL, etc.)
    • Fantasy points, Match insights
    • Dedicated Whatsapp/Slack/E-mail support
    • Priority support, high concurrency for traffic spikes
  • Ideal For: Large fantasy platforms, high-traffic live score sites, media houses
  • Use Cases: (Fantasy app scoring, media score widgets, OTT/cricket broadcasts)

2. Entity Digital Sports

Overview: Designed for fantasy platforms and betting operators with bulletproof data accuracy.
  • Pricing (USD, monthly):
    • Starter: $150 (500,000 hits)
    • Pro: $250 (1,000,000 hits)
    • Elite: $450 (2,000,000 hits)
    • Elite Commentary: $750 (4,000,000 hits)
  • Free Tier: 2 months free with annual subscription
  • Latency: ~500ms (after moving to Akamai cloud, can sustain 30M hits/day)
  • Uptime SLA: 99.5% SLA on core packages
  • Key Features:
    • Manual data review for contest accuracy
    • International/domestic coverage by plan
    • Fantasty points, odds, Hindi language, widgets
    • Dedicated email/WhatsApp support
    • Multiple affordable plans, add-ons for coverage
  • Use Cases: (Fantasy point calculation, betting app data, live commentary integrations)

3. Sportmonks Cricket API

Overview: Trusted by startups, media, and global multi-sport platforms for flexibility and pricing.
  • Pricing:
    • Major: $25/month (limited leagues)
    • World: $69/month (major leagues)
    • Enterprise: Custom
    • Free: 14-day trial, or perpetual free plan (lower request cap)
  • Latency: ~400ms (industry average)
  • Uptime SLA: 99%
  • Key Features:
    • Ball-by-ball updates, historical databases, predictions apis
    • Global league coverage, developer wrapper packages, top-tier docs
    • Custom plans for specific leagues (contact for pricing)
  • Use Cases: (Global fantasy sports, live scoring for media, betting platforms, IPL-specialized apps)

4. CricketData.org (Formerly CricAPI)

Overview: The original free cricket API for hobbyists, small businesses, and prototyping.
  • Pricing (USD, monthly):
    • Free: Lifetime, 100 hits/day
    • S: $5.99 (2,000/day)
    • M: $12.99 (10,000/day)
    • L: $29.99 (100,000/day)
    • U: $64.99 (unlimited)
  • Latency: Not specified (basic near-live, slight delay for free tier)
  • Uptime SLA: None formal (community-supported model)
  • Key Features:
    • Free live scores, player profiles, schedules
    • Paid plans for higher usage, fantasy data available in paid tier
    • Open developer support, flexible JSON endpoints
  • Use Cases: (News sites, hobby projects, early prototypes, educational)

5. Goalserve Sports Data API

Overview: The veteran of sports APIs, highly popular with betting operators and large media networks.
  • Pricing (USD):
    • 1-month: $125 (live only)
    • 6-month: $550
    • 12-month: $1000 (discounted, includes 3 months free with annual)
  • Latency: Near real-time (<1 second, ball-by-ball), robust for low-latency applications
  • Uptime SLA: 99%, 24/7 support
  • Key Features:
    • 140+ cricket leagues + 20 other sports
    • Bookmaker odds, live push updates, multi-format (JSON/XML)
    • High-frequency, low-latency data ideal for real-time betting needs
    • 3 independent data centers for redundancy
  • Use Cases: (Live odds syndication, multi-sport media, sportsbook integrations, international coverage)

In-Depth Comparison CricketAPI Proivder Table

Roanuz Entity Sports Sportmonks CricketData.org Goalserve
Starter Price $192/mo $150/mo $25/mo Free $125/mo
Free Trial Custom/demo 2 months w/ annual 14 days/free plan Yes (100 hits/day) 3 months w/ annual
API Hits/Month 400K-1.6M 500K - 4M 2K/hr/free, higher paid 100-100K Unlimited
Latency ~300ms ~500ms ~400ms Unspecified <1sec
Uptime SLA 99.9% 99.5% 99% None 99%
Coverage 400+ leagues 50+ leagues 140+ leagues Global/basic 140+ leagues
Main Features fast live, deep historical data Fantasy points, multi-language, live odds Global, ball-by-ball, easy docs Free scoring, paid fantasy, JSON Odds, live push, multi-sport

Key Features to Consider When Choosing

  1. Data Coverage: India's fantasy platforms need IPL, domestic, and international-Roanuz, Entity, and Goalserve excel here. Sportmonks offers more on the global side.
  2. Latency: For fantasy or betting, lower latency means a better experience and more bets placed-Roanuz FTW, followed by Goalserve.
  3. Pricing Transparency: All providers offer clear packages; Entity offers annual discounts, Sportmonks lowest starter.
  4. Scalability: Roanuz and Goalserve reliably handle heavy traffic spikes at World Cup/IPL finals.
  5. Developer Documentation & Support: Sportmonks best for developers; Entity and Roanuz excel for businesses with live human support.
  6. Odds & Betting Data: Unique to Entity and Goalserve.
  7. Widget & Integration Options: Roanuz and Entity provide ready widgets-speed up development.

Practical Use Cases

  • Fantasy Platforms: Reliable contest results (Roanuz), cost-effective start (Sportmonks)
  • Live Score Portals: Real-time ball-by-ball updates (Goalserve, Roanuz)
  • Media/OTT Apps: Widgets, historical stats for advanced overlays (Roanuz, Entity)
  • Betting Platforms: Odds, live push feeds, multi-league betting (Goalserve, Entity)
  • Startups/Education: Free to low-cost, easy integration for quick MVPs (CricketData.org, Sportmonks)

Q&A

  • Which cricket API is best for fantasy sports in India?
    • Roanuz (enterprise) and Entity Sports (fantasy-specific).
  • What is the cheapest commercial cricket API?
    • Sportmonks ($25/month starter) offers a robust free tier for testing.
  • Which API supports real-time betting data?
    • Goalserve and Entity Sports.
  • Do I need an enterprise SLA?
    • For large platforms and any app that drives revenue from live scores-yes, Roanuz is recommended.
  • What if my traffic spikes during IPL?
    • Roanuz and Goalserve are proven to scale, with documented high concurrency support.
  • Can I build for zero budget?
    • CricketData.org offers a free plan (with limited requests)-great for learning and testing.

Conclusion

For maximum reliability and advanced features-Roanuz Cricket API is the leader. For fantasy-specific platforms and betting integrations-Entity Digital Sports is recommended. For startups and global platforms needing flexibility-Sportmonks offers unbeatable value. For very small projects and free testing-CricketData.org is your go-to. For sportsbooks, international media, and multi-sport/demanding apps-Goalserve is the enterprise veteran.