7 Letterboxd alternatives, picked by why you're leaving

Serializd is the closest thing to Letterboxd for TV, Trakt and Simkl go deepest on tracking, and Limelight adds streaming availability to both. Which one you want depends on what is missing: TV tracking, ad-free logging, availability, or a break from performing your taste in public.

A cozy living room lit by the glow of a television on a movie night

Disclosure

I build Limelight, the first app below. I've also written a straight Letterboxd and Limelight comparison which says in print that Letterboxd's community is better than anything I will ever build. This list plays by the same rules.

Start here

Start with your reason

"It doesn't track TV"Serializd or LimelightTV-only social, or movies and TV in one
"The free tier has ads"Limelight or SerializdNo ads, and no paywall to remove them
"It won't tell me where to stream"Limelight or JustWatchAvailability built into every search
"The social part exhausts me"Limelight or SimklPrivate tracking, no audience
"I want deeper data"TraktEpisode-level everything, open API
"I'm on Android and want native"MoviebaseThe most complete Android tracker

The options

Seven alternatives worth your time

1. Limelight

Mine

iPhone, iPad, and Mac · Free, Limelight+ $2.99/mo or $24.99/yr

For tracking and streaming, minus the audience.

Limelight is built on a different premise than Letterboxd: your watch history is a tool rather than a performance. It tracks movies and TV, tells you where anything streams the moment you search it, and keeps a Watchlist you'll actually consult, privacy focused with no ads and no social feed to maintain. Limelight+ adds what Letterboxd never will: streaming Top 10 charts for 107 countries and Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, Metacritic and TMDB ratings side by side. What you give up is exactly what Letterboxd is for, which is the reviews, the friends and the culture. If that trade reads as a relief, you're my user. If it reads as a loss, stay put.

2. Serializd

The Letterboxd of TV

iOS, Android, web · Free

The most common Letterboxd complaint has an app-shaped answer.

"Why can't I log shows?" is the question, and Serializd is the answer: TV logging with Letterboxd's social DNA, meaning season reviews with actual voice, lists, and people worth following, all free. Plenty of film folks run Letterboxd for movies and Serializd for TV and consider the problem solved.

3. Trakt

For the data-driven

iOS, Android, web · Free (limited), VIP $60/yr

Where Letterboxd is a diary, Trakt is a database.

Episode-level tracking, watch calendars, automation through integrations, and an open API. It's the right answer if you want your history to do things. Know the 2026 economics going in, because VIP renewals now run $60 a year and the free tier tightened. Don't expect Letterboxd's warmth either. Nobody has ever called Trakt charming.

4. Simkl

For automatic logging

iOS, Android, web · Free, optional VIP

The least effort of anything on this list.

Simkl tracks movies, TV and anime, and can scrobble automatically from Netflix, Plex, Kodi and VLC. No performance, no feed anxiety, just a history that builds itself. The interface is utilitarian, but if Letterboxd started feeling like homework, Simkl is the opposite of homework.

5. JustWatch

If availability was the point

iOS, Android, web · Free with ads

Some "Letterboxd alternative" searches are really availability searches.

If that's you, and logging isn't the priority, JustWatch answers the streaming question across hundreds of services in more than 100 countries. It's ad-supported and its tracking is shallow, and I've compared the philosophies in Limelight vs JustWatch vs Letterboxd, but as a pure reference tool it's excellent.

6. Moviebase

The Android answer

Android · Free with premium

A tracker first and social never.

Letterboxd runs on Android, but if you want a tracker that feels native there, with episode tracking, rich stats and Trakt sync for data portability, Moviebase is the deepest option on the platform. For this list's purposes, its lack of a social layer may be exactly right.

7. Matinee

The modern all-rounder

iOS, Android · Free

The newest name here, and easy to like.

Movies and TV in one feed, streaming availability, free on both platforms. It has no Letterboxd-style community and hasn't yet proven the staying power of the veterans, a consideration that got very real when TV Time shut down this July, but as a fresh low-commitment tracker it does the job well.

Empty cinema seats in a dark auditorium lit by a single projector beam

Conclusion

The bottom line

Nothing on this list replaces Letterboxd's community, and anyone who claims otherwise is selling something. For most people the right move is to delegate rather than defect. Keep Letterboxd for the social film diary if you love it, and add the tool that covers the gap that sent you searching: Serializd for TV culture, Trakt or Simkl for deep tracking, Limelight for the practical question of what to watch and where.

Two apps that each do one thing properly will nearly always beat one app that does both badly. That's true whichever one of these you pick, and it's true of mine.

The gap Limelight fills

If what Letterboxd doesn't do is tell you where a film is streaming, or track the shows you watch, that's the shape of the app I build.

Movies and TV together

One watchlist for both, instead of two apps and two habits.

No ads, no feed

Nothing to perform, nothing to scroll past. Free tier included.

Multi-source ratings

Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, Metacritic and TMDB on one screen.

Download for free on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Limelight+ is $2.99 a month or $24.99 a year. There is no social network in Limelight, so if Letterboxd's community is what you want, keep it.

FAQ

Common questions

Serializd: free, social, season and episode logging, deliberately Letterboxd-flavored. If you'd rather track movies and TV in one app, Limelight, Trakt and Simkl all do.

Limelight has no ads in any tier, including free, and Serializd is free with no ads. Letterboxd states that no tier carries third-party ads.

Letterboxd lets you export your data as CSV files, which is to its credit, and Trakt and Simkl can import it. Wherever you land, keep using apps that let you leave. This year's TV Time shutdown showed why.

If the community is your reason for being there, no. Add a second app for the gap instead. If you never engaged with the social side, you were only ever using a fraction of Letterboxd, and a purpose-built tracker will fit better.

Tracking without the performance

Limelight is free on iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Movies and TV, streaming availability, no ads and no feed. Your watch history working for you instead of an audience.

Download Limelight on the App Store
Limelight on two iPhones showing personalized recommendations and a film detail page