FBref is a reference website: you open it, you read the numbers, you close the tab. That is a perfectly good tool for reading. The search for an alternative usually starts when the job changes: you want the data in a spreadsheet, in a database, in a model, or inside a product you are building, in bulk, in a format a machine can use, under a licence that lets you use it.
Dribble is built for that second job. It is the same class of football data (Opta-sourced, with pre-shot xG and event-level XY coordinates) delivered as products you can actually take away: CSV downloads, a REST API, and BigQuery tables you query from your own Google Cloud project.
Reading Stats vs Owning Data
| The job | Reading a reference site | Dribble |
|---|---|---|
| Check a player's season numbers | Yes, in the browser | Yes, plus 90,582 players in structured datasets |
| Download match data in bulk | Not the product's purpose | Legacy Archive: 10 CSV datasets, 6 seasons, $49 one-time |
| Query with SQL | No | BigQuery: 57M+ event rows, from $49/mo |
| Call from code | No | REST API: 8 datasets, from $19/mo |
| xG in your own model | Read the value on the page | Pre-shot xG (Opta qualifier 321) in player-match, team-match, and event data |
| Build a commercial product | Not licensed for that | Commercial licences on API Elite and Flite, BigQuery Pro and Max |
What You Get Instead
Downloads, for the spreadsheet and notebook crowd. The Legacy Archive is $49 one-time: 1.25M+ player-match rows (306 columns), 70,927 team-match rows (303 columns), 41,017 matches, transfers, managers, referees, and reference tables, across 6 completed seasons (2020/21 through 2025/26) and 31 competitions. The files stay yours forever. Updates ($9.99/mo) add monthly current-season snapshots.
BigQuery, for analysts who think in SQL. Entity, match, appearance, transfer, and event tables, with 57M+ event rows carrying Opta XY coordinates, across 32 competitions from 2020 to the present. You query from your own GCP billing project (BigQuery Job User role required); Google charges $5/TB after the 1TB monthly free tier. Starter is $49/mo (personal and academic), Pro is $149/mo (commercial licence, weekly refresh), Max is $499/mo (daily snapshots, revision history).
An API, for builders. 8 datasets behind one base URL (https://dribble360.com/api/v1/), JSON and CSV, from $19/mo for personal and research use, with the commercial licence on Elite ($49/mo) and white-label on Flite ($149/mo). Trial keys are free for 3 days.
The Licence Difference Is the Real Difference
Reference sites are for reading, and their terms reflect that. Dribble's tiers state the licence up front: personal and research use on all paid plans; commercial derived products (apps, dashboards, models, published research) on API Elite and Flite and BigQuery Pro and Max; raw-data redistribution only with a separately signed order form and data-licence addendum (Terms, sections 6 and 8). If the numbers are going into anything other people will see or pay for, that licence line is the whole decision.
One honest limit, stated the same way on every Dribble page: our xG is pre-shot (Opta qualifier 321). Post-shot xG is specified but not yet live. And our data is post-match, not live.
Frequently Asked
What is the best FBref alternative for downloadable data? For files: Dribble's Legacy Archive ($49 one-time, 6 seasons, 31 competitions, files stay yours). For SQL: Dribble on BigQuery (57M+ event rows, from $49/mo). For code: the Dribble API (from $19/mo).
Does Dribble have xG like FBref? Yes, pre-shot expected goals from Opta (qualifier 321), in the player-match, team-match, and event data, consistent across all competitions and seasons. Post-shot xG is not yet live.
Can I use Dribble data in a commercial product? Yes, on the commercial tiers: API Elite ($49/mo) and Flite ($149/mo), BigQuery Pro ($149/mo) and Max ($499/mo). Downloads carry a personal, research, and editorial licence.
How far back does the data go? Six completed seasons, 2020/21 through 2025/26, in the archive and API. BigQuery runs from 2020 to the present, and custom tiers can deliver 10-season batches per competition, including competitions outside the standard 32.
Can I try it before paying? Yes: API trial keys are free for 3 days, the subscriber workspace includes sample CSVs with the full schema, and free sample data is published on Kaggle (Dribble360 Football Data Samples).
Take the data with you. Start with the $49 archive, 3 free days on the API, or BigQuery from $49/mo. See Plans and Pricing