10 Trading Card Game APIs Compared (2026)

Building a trading card game app? You need pricing data — but choosing the right API matters. Some only cover one game, others have painful rate limits, and a few have shut down entirely.

We compared every TCG pricing API available to developers in 2026. Here’s the honest breakdown.

The Landscape

The TCG data API space is surprisingly thin. TCGPlayer’s API closure in late 2024 left a massive gap, and only a handful of alternatives have stepped in. Most focus on a single game (usually Pokemon or MTG), and very few offer multi-game coverage.

1. TCG API

Website: tcgapi.dev

Games: 89+ (every game on TCGPlayer)
Free tier: 100 requests/day
Pricing: Free / $9.99 / $19.99 / $49.99 / $99.99 per month
Update frequency: Daily for top 7 games, every 3 days for others
Data: Market prices, per-printing (Normal/Foil), price changes, sealed products, search
Auth: API key (Bearer token)
Bulk endpoints: Yes (Pro+)
Price history: Yes (Hobby+)

Pros: Widest game coverage of any API. Per-printing prices. Simple REST API with generous free tier. Active development.

Cons: Newer service. No webhook support yet.

2. TCGPlayer API (Legacy)

Website: tcgplayer.com

Games: 89+ (if you have an existing key)
Free tier: Application-based
Status: Closed to new developers
Data: Comprehensive pricing, product catalog

Pros: The original data source. Most complete catalog.

Cons: No new API access. Existing keys being deprecated. No timeline for reopening. Now owned by eBay with uncertain future.

3. Scryfall API

Website: scryfall.com

Games: Magic: The Gathering only
Free tier: Unlimited (community project)
Rate limit: 10 requests/second
Data: Card data, images, rulings, prices (from TCGPlayer/CardKingdom)
Auth: None required

Pros: Excellent MTG data. Free forever. Great documentation. Card images included.

Cons: MTG only — no Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, or other games. Pricing data is secondary to card metadata. Not suitable for building price-focused tools.

4. Pokemon TCG API

Website: pokemontcg.io

Games: Pokemon only
Free tier: 1,000 requests/day (with API key)
Pricing: Free / $2.99 / $4.99 per month (Patreon)
Data: Card data, images, prices (from TCGPlayer), HP, attacks, weaknesses
Auth: API key (header)

Pros: Purpose-built for Pokemon. Includes card images and game mechanics. Free tier is generous.

Cons: Pokemon only. Price data lags behind market. No sealed product prices. No per-printing differentiation.

5. Yu-Gi-Oh! Prices API (YGOPRODeck)

Website: db.ygoprodeck.com

Games: Yu-Gi-Oh! only
Free tier: Unlimited
Data: Card data, images, prices (from TCGPlayer/Cardmarket)
Auth: None required

Pros: Comprehensive Yu-Gi-Oh! data. Completely free. Includes card images and game data.

Cons: Yu-Gi-Oh! only. Rate limits are strict. Price data may lag. API stability varies.

6. JustTCG

Website: justtcg.com

Games: ~3 (Pokemon, MTG, limited others)
Free tier: Limited
Data: Search and price comparison across marketplaces

Pros: Compares prices across multiple marketplaces (TCGPlayer, eBay, etc.).

Cons: Very limited game coverage. More of a search engine than a data API. Limited developer documentation.

7. Card Trader API

Website: cardtrader.com

Games: Multiple (MTG, Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh!, others)
Free tier: Marketplace sellers only
Data: Marketplace listings, prices, inventory

Pros: Real marketplace data. Multiple games.

Cons: Designed for marketplace integration, not general pricing data. Requires seller account. Not a general-purpose pricing API.

8. MTGJson

Website: mtgjson.com

Games: Magic: The Gathering only
Free tier: Unlimited (data files)
Data: Complete MTG card database, prices (aggregated)

Pros: The most comprehensive MTG database. Downloadable JSON files. Community maintained.

Cons: MTG only. Bulk data files rather than a REST API. Prices are aggregated snapshots, not real-time.

9. Cardmarket API

Website: cardmarket.com

Games: Multiple (European market)
Free tier: Application-based
Data: European marketplace prices

Pros: The definitive source for European TCG prices.

Cons: European market only (prices in EUR). Application process required. Not suitable for US/global pricing.

10. BinderPOS API

Website: binderpos.com

Games: Multiple
Free tier: Requires BinderPOS subscription
Data: Inventory management, pricing

Pros: Full POS integration. Multiple games.

Cons: Requires store POS subscription. Not a standalone pricing API. Designed for brick-and-mortar stores.

Comparison Table

API	Games	Free Tier	Per-Printing	Price History	Sealed Products	Bulk Fetch
TCG API	89+	100/day	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
TCGPlayer	89+	Closed	Yes	Limited	Yes	Limited
Scryfall	MTG only	Unlimited	No	No	No	Yes
Pokemon TCG	Pokemon	1K/day	No	No	No	No
YGOPRODeck	Yu-Gi-Oh!	Unlimited	No	No	No	Yes
JustTCG	~3	Limited	No	No	No	No
Card Trader	Multiple	Sellers only	N/A	No	N/A	No
MTGJson	MTG only	Unlimited	No	Snapshots	No	Yes
Cardmarket	Multiple	Application	Yes	No	Yes	Limited
BinderPOS	Multiple	POS sub	Yes	No	Yes	No

The Bottom Line

If you need multi-game pricing data with a modern REST API, your realistic options in 2026 are:

TCG API — Best overall for developers who need multiple games. 89+ games, free tier, active development.
Scryfall — Best for MTG-only projects. Free, well-documented, but no pricing focus.
Pokemon TCG API — Best for Pokemon-only projects. Free, includes card images.

For everything else — One Piece, Lorcana, Flesh and Blood, Star Wars: Unlimited, Digimon, and 60+ more games — TCG API is currently the only option with a developer-friendly API.

Need help choosing? Join our Discord and ask the community.