the-odds-api vs PropLine

An honest head-to-head,
not a sales pitch.

We're PropLine. The-odds-api is the established player. Both APIs return JSON odds for sports betting and the response shapes are nearly identical — but the products are aimed at different jobs. Here's the worked-out math, a feature scorecard, and a decision tree so you can pick the right one in 5 minutes.

Jump to scorecardJust tell me which to pick

Prices and feature snapshots accurate as of May 2026. We'll keep this page updated.

The 30-second answer

PropLine wins on price, prop depth, resolution, +EV, and webhooks. The-odds-api wins on book count, global coverage, and historical depth. Match the winners against the part of your build that matters most.

Pick PropLine if…

  • You're building a prop-betting product
  • You need graded resolution (won / lost / push)
  • You want cross-book +EV with no-vig fair lines
  • You want push webhooks, not polling
  • You want predictable per-request pricing

Pick the-odds-api if…

  • You need 60+ books across regions
  • You need broad UK / EU / AU coverage or Betfair Exchange
  • You need 70+ sports incl. cricket / darts / AFL
  • You need years of historical data today

Feature-by-feature scorecard

DimensionWinnerWhy
Starter pricePropLine$9/mo (Hobby) vs $30/mo (Starter)
Free tier headroomPropLine1,000 req/day (~30K/mo) vs 500 req/month — about 60× more before you pay
Per-request vs per-creditPropLinePropLine charges per request. the-odds-api charges credits where each market = 1–10 credits. The same MLB call costs 1 debit on us, 5–15 on them.
Period markets (1Q, 1H, F5)PropLinePropLine returns period markets via ?period=q1|h1|p1|f5 on the same endpoint — one request, no credit multiplier. the-odds-api lists each period as a separate billable market key (h2h_q1, totals_q1, spreads_h1, …), so scanning full-game + 1H + 1Q on the same event multiplies credits roughly 3×.
Sportsbook countthe-odds-api60+ books across regions vs our 11 books + 5 exchanges (BetMGM, BetRivers, Bovada, DraftKings, FanDuel, Pinnacle, Unibet, 1xBet, TAB AU + PrizePicks & Underdog DFS, plus 5 exchanges — Kalshi, Polymarket, Matchbook, Smarkets, Novig)
Geographic coveragethe-odds-apiUS, UK, EU, FR, SE, AU vs our near-US-only data (plus TAB AU)
Sport breadththe-odds-api70+ sports incl. AFL, cricket, darts, snooker vs our 38 (US-focused)
Player prop depthPropLine60+ prop markets with alt lines (3+ / 5+ / 6+ K, alt totals, alt spreads) returned in one response. Theirs is thinner per sport and burns 5–10 credits per market.
Prop resolution (won/lost/push)PropLineEvery prop graded against the actual box-score stat — they don't offer this at any tier
Cross-book +EV with no-vig fair linesPropLinePinnacle-anchored, vig-removed EV% per book on /ev — they don't offer this
Webhooks / push deliveryPropLineHMAC-signed line-movement + resolution webhooks from Streaming Lite ($39/mo). They are pull-only.
Historical line movementPropLineIncluded from Hobby ($9) at full snapshot resolution. Theirs is a premium add-on.
Historical depththe-odds-apiYears of multi-season data vs our ~2 months — they're ahead today, gap closes daily
Exchanges (Betfair, Smarkets, Kalshi, Polymarket)TieWe carry 5 exchanges — Kalshi, Polymarket, Matchbook, Smarkets, Novig. They add Betfair Exchange, which we don't have yet. Roughly even; pick by which exchange you need.
Drop-in API compatibilityTiePropLine mirrors the-odds-api's bookmakers[].markets[].outcomes[] response shape — code that consumes one works on the other after a base-URL swap
Official SDKsPropLinePython (pip install propline) + Node/TS (npm install propline) — both first-party. They have an official Python client; Node is community-maintained.
MCP server (Claude Desktop / agents)PropLinenpx -y propline-mcp — first-party. They don't ship one.
Bulk CSV exportsPropLinePro tier streams /v1/exports/resolved-props with every graded outcome. They don't offer bulk export.

Worked-out pricing math

Pricing comparison is messy because the-odds-api charges credits (where each market = 1–10 credits) and PropLine charges requests. Here's what three concrete builds cost on each side.

Hobby project

Personal +EV scanner, polling 5 MLB events / 30 minutes / 6 markets each — about 1,440 calls/day.

PropLine

$0 / mo

Free tier covers 1,000 req/day — bump polling to /15min to stay free, or step up to Hobby at $9/mo for 5K req/day, which comfortably covers this.

the-odds-api

Paid only

Free tier is 500/month total. 1,440/day is ~43K/mo, so you're on Starter ($30/mo for 100K credits) — and each market burns 1–10 credits, so realistically you'd hit overage fast.

Production prop tool

Live betting tool: poll every minute across MLB + NBA + NHL, ~12K req/day, store every snapshot for line-movement charts.

PropLine

$19 / mo

Pro ($19/mo) gives 25K req/day with full historical line movement included. No per-market multiplier.

the-odds-api

$59–$119 / mo

12K req/day × ~5 credits/req ≈ 1.8M credits/mo. Lands on the 5M-credit tier ($119/mo). Historical add-on is extra.

High-volume / B2B

Customer-facing app, 500K req/day, line-movement webhooks, full prop resolution feed.

PropLine

$79 / mo

Streaming tier: 1,000,000 req/day, HMAC-signed webhooks for line movement + resolution, all the moat features.

the-odds-api

$249+ / mo

500K req/day × ~5 credits ≈ 75M credits/mo. Their published 15M-credit tier is $249. You'd need a custom Enterprise quote — no webhooks at any tier.

Want to plug in your own numbers? The cost calculator on our switch page lets you set request volume + market count and see both sides side-by-side.

What “drop-in compatible” actually means

We mirror the-odds-api's response shape so the bulk of any migration is a base-URL swap and a sanity test. Sport keys are identical (baseball_mlb, basketball_nba, soccer_epl) and both APIs accept ?apiKey= or X-API-Key auth.

the-odds-api

GET https://api.the-odds-api.com/v4
  /sports/baseball_mlb/odds
  ?markets=h2h,spreads,totals
  &apiKey=$KEY

→ [
    {
      "id": "...",
      "home_team": "NYY",
      "away_team": "BOS",
      "bookmakers": [
        {
          "key": "draftkings",
          "markets": [{
            "key": "h2h",
            "outcomes": [...]
          }]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]

PropLine

GET https://api.prop-line.com/v1
  /sports/baseball_mlb/odds
  ?markets=h2h,spreads,totals
  &apiKey=$KEY

→ [
    {
      "id": "...",
      "home_team": "NYY",
      "away_team": "BOS",
      "bookmakers": [
        {
          "key": "draftkings",
          "markets": [{
            "key": "h2h",
            "outcomes": [...]
          }]
        }
      ]
    }
  ]

Same on both sides

  • · Sport keys (baseball_mlb, basketball_nba, …)
  • · bookmakers[].markets[].outcomes[] nesting
  • · American odds in price field
  • · Auth via ?apiKey= or X-API-Key header

Where we extend

  • · resolution + actual_value on graded outcomes
  • · /ev endpoint for cross-book +EV
  • · /odds/history with full snapshot history on Pro
  • · Webhooks for line movement + resolution (Streaming Lite+)

Decision tree

Find the row that describes your build. The recommendation column is what we'd actually pick if we were in your seat.

If you…PickWhy
I'm building a prop-betting product (player props are the core)PropLine60+ prop markets with alt lines in one response, no per-market credit math, plus graded resolution and +EV. The-odds-api charges per market and prop coverage is thinner.
I need to know if a prop hit (won / lost / push)PropLineEvery Over/Under is graded against the actual MLB / NBA / NHL / ESPN box score. The-odds-api gives you the odds but never the graded outcome.
I'm building a +EV scannerPropLine/ev returns Pinnacle-anchored no-vig fair lines + EV% per book. They don't offer fair-line / EV math.
I want webhooks instead of pollingPropLineStreaming Lite ($39/mo) and up ships HMAC-signed line-movement + resolution webhooks with retry/backoff. They're pull-only.
I need predictable, per-request pricingPropLine1 request = 1 debit, regardless of how many markets the response covers. Their credit model varies 1–10× per request.
I need 60+ books across the US, UK, EU, and AUthe-odds-apiWe're at 11 books + 5 exchanges (BetMGM, BetRivers, Bovada, DraftKings, FanDuel, Pinnacle, Unibet, 1xBet, TAB AU, PrizePicks, Underdog + Matchbook, Smarkets, Novig, Kalshi, Polymarket). If breadth-of-books is the product, they're still ahead.
I specifically need Betfair Exchangethe-odds-apiWe carry 5 exchanges (Kalshi, Polymarket, Matchbook, Smarkets, Novig) but not Betfair. If Betfair specifically is the requirement, theirs is the path.
I'm targeting UK / EU / AU end usersthe-odds-apiNearly all our books are US-licensed (TAB AU is our one Australian book). For broad UK / EU / AU coverage, theirs is the right pick.
I need 70+ sports, including cricket / darts / snooker / AFLthe-odds-apiWe focus on the 38 sports where prop resolution makes sense. They cover the long tail.
I'm backtesting models against multi-season historical datathe-odds-apiWe launched in early April 2026 and have ~2 months of history. They have years. Re-evaluate in 12 months as our depth grows.

Honestly? Try both.

Both APIs offer free tiers. The-odds-api gives you 500 requests/month; PropLine gives you 1,000 requests/day. Spend an afternoon hitting both with a small script and look at the actual JSON for the markets you care about. Whichever response shape lets you ship faster is the right answer for your build.

If you're already paying for the-odds-api and want to take PropLine seriously, we'll knock 50% off Pro for 3 months in exchange for a screenshot of your invoice — effectively $9.50/mo so you can run both side-by-side risk-free.

Get a free PropLine key

1,000 requests / day, no credit card. Hobby at $9/mo unlocks resolution, history, and +EV.

Free tier includes 1,000 requests/day. Upgrade anytime.