Comparison
Fast Odds API vs theoddsapi.com: an alternative built around Australian bookmakers
theoddsapi.com: No company or country named on its pages; not the same site as The Odds API (the-odds-api.com), despite the name. Its strength is a cheap operator-style feed (US$29) with in-play AFL and NRL and a 30-second refresh claim. Here is how it lines up against Fast Odds API on twelve facts, each read from the provider's own page on 12 Oct 2026 and linked beside it. The verdict at the end says when theoddsapi.com is the better pick.
| Fast Odds API (SockOdds) | theoddsapi.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Australian bookmakers | 37 Australian books and exchanges, each priced separately, from Sportsbet, TAB and Ladbrokes to the small books; brands that copy one shared price board are flagged as such sockodds.com/bookmakers | None named: "50+ sportsbooks" across "US, UK, EU, AU" theoddsapi.com/sports/afl |
| Other sources | Pinnacle, Matchbook, ProphetX, Kalshi and Polymarket in the same response: 42 bookmaker keys sockodds.com/bookmakers | "50+ sportsbooks" theoddsapi.com |
| Free plan | 2,500 objects a month, 10 requests a minute, AFL, NRL, NFL and MLB from Sportsbet, TAB and Ladbrokes; no card, no expiry sockodds.com/pricing | US$0: 25 requests a day, NFL, NBA and MLB, head to head only theoddsapi.com/pricing |
| Paid plans | Rookie US$99 a month (100,000 objects, every league, 10 books); Pro US$299 (unlimited objects, every book, history); Platform custom; 20% off annually sockodds.com/pricing | Professional US$29 (20,000 requests a month, 25+ sports, head to head, spreads, totals); Business US$99 (200,000, all sports, props, alternates, period markets) theoddsapi.com/pricing |
| What a plan counts | Event objects returned: one game with every market and bookmaker inside it is one object sockodds.com/pricing | Requests per month, reset daily theoddsapi.com/pricing |
| How fresh | About every 5 minutes, pre-match first; every quote carries the time it was seen sockodds.com/faq | "Odds refresh as frequently as every 30 seconds" theoddsapi.com |
| In-play | No: live games carry a live status, but prices move on the same five-minute cycle sockodds.com/faq | Yes: "upcoming and in-play AFL events" theoddsapi.com/sports/afl |
| Price history | Recorded price changes per event, and opening and closing prices, on Pro, since 14 August 2026 sockodds.com/docs | A full archive on Business theoddsapi.com |
| Racing | No sockodds.com/faq | Not mentioned theoddsapi.com |
| Australian codes | AFL, AFLW, NRL, NRLW, the Rugby League World Cup, rugby union internationals, the NBL and the IPL; no A-League or Big Bash as named leagues sockodds.com/leagues | AFL and NRL on Professional and Business; AFL props (disposals, goals, marks, tackles) on Business theoddsapi.com/sports/afl |
| Fair (no-vig) price | No fair price field: Pinnacle and Betfair Exchange prices sit beside the bookmakers', so you remove the margin with the method you choose sockodds.com/docs | Not stated theoddsapi.com |
| Streaming | WebSocket snapshots on Pro, refreshed every 15 seconds sockodds.com/docs | Not stated theoddsapi.com |
Every fact read from the linked pages on 12 Oct 2026. Out of date? Email [email protected] and we will correct and re-date it. The full field: every Australian odds API compared.
Fair verdict
When each one is the better pick
Choose theoddsapi.com for a low-cost feed where which Australian books are behind the prices does not matter to you. A cheap operator-style feed (US$29) with in-play AFL and NRL and a 30-second refresh claim.
Choose Fast Odds API for products that need the whole Australian market, props and alternate lines included, with sharp prices to measure every quote against. Every Australian book priced separately in one response, Pinnacle and the Betfair Exchange beside them, and a bill that does not grow with markets or bookmakers.
Watch for, with theoddsapi.com: it names no Australian bookmaker anywhere, no company stands behind the site, and the free plan is 25 calls a day on three US leagues. With us: a five-minute refresh (not an in-play feed), no racing, and a price archive that only began in August 2026.
If you switch
What changes in your code
It does not say which Australian books it reads, so a comparison table cannot name them; ours names all 37. Its plans count requests per day; ours count events per month.
Both have a way to try before paying, so the honest test is a day of your own requests against each. Our quickstart gets you to a first response in minutes.
Questions
Moving from theoddsapi.com
Does Fast Odds API cover the same bookmakers as theoddsapi.com?
theoddsapi.com: None named: "50+ sportsbooks" across "US, UK, EU, AU". Fast Odds API: 37 Australian books and exchanges, each priced separately, from Sportsbet, TAB and Ladbrokes to the small books; brands that copy one shared price board are flagged as such. Compare the named lists rather than the headline numbers, because providers count different things.
How do the bills compare?
theoddsapi.com counts requests per month, reset daily. We count event objects returned: one game with every market and bookmaker inside it is one object. Put your real request shape through both before deciding; a narrow request can be cheaper on a credit meter, a wide one is cheaper per event.
Can I run both while I decide?
Yes. US$0: 25 requests a day, NFL, NBA and MLB, head to head only on theoddsapi.com; 2,500 objects a month, 10 requests a minute, AFL, NRL, NFL and MLB from Sportsbet, TAB and Ladbrokes; no card, no expiry here. Point both at the same games for a day and compare the named books, the prices and the timestamps.
Start now
Your first Australian price is one request away.
Free key, no card, AFL and NRL included. Keys are issued on sockodds.com.