Adding an API to a website is relatively simple -- you just add new URLs and views to your existing web site. It leverages the existing HTTP request infrastruct

Adding an API to a website is relatively simple -- you just add new URLs and views to your existing web site. It leverages the existing HTTP request infrastructure. A database dump is an entirely different beast, and requires an entirely new process. Labor needs to be devoted to deciding the format of the dump, filtering the data, generating the dumps (or designing a new system to generate such dumps automatically), and file hosting needs to be allocated. Whenever schema changes, the process needs to be revised. I'm not saying these things are hard, just that they don't fit smoothly with what's already in place for most websites, so it becomes an additional expense. Most companies aren't flush with cash and resources for every feature under the sun.