If you’ve ever finished a great show and couldn’t remember whether you watched the finale, or recommended a film only to realize you’d already seen it twice, you need a watch tracker. These apps let you log every movie and episode, rate what you’ve seen, build a watchlist for what’s next, and even discover new titles based on your taste.
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The good news: there are several excellent options, each with a different strength. The right pick depends on whether you’re mostly a movie person, a TV binge-watcher, or both — and how social you want your tracking to be. Here’s a clear breakdown of the best apps in 2026, what each one does best, and which combo most serious viewers actually use.
Quick Answer
For movies, Letterboxd is the gold standard — it has the best community and diary features. For TV shows, Trakt (if you want automatic tracking) or Serializd (if you want a clean, Letterboxd-style experience) are the top picks. Many dedicated viewers use Letterboxd for films and one TV-focused app alongside it, plus JustWatch to find where something streams.
Best Apps for Tracking Movies
Letterboxd is the most popular dedicated movie tracker for good reason. You can log every film you watch in a diary, rate it, write a review, create themed lists, and follow friends and critics to see what they’re watching. The free tier is generous — unlimited logging, ratings, and lists with no paywall. Upgrading to Pro (around $20 per year) removes ads, unlocks detailed personal stats, and lets you filter your watchlist by which streaming services you subscribe to. There’s also a Patron tier with additional customization. Letterboxd covers films only, so if you watch a lot of TV you’ll need a second app.
IMDb’s built-in watchlist is a decent fallback if you already use IMDb for lookups, but it’s basic — no diary, no reviews, no social layer. Think of it as a sticky note rather than a proper tracker.
Best Apps for Tracking TV Shows
Trakt is the power-user choice for TV. Its standout feature is automatic scrobbling: connect Trakt to Plex, Kodi, Emby, or streaming apps and it logs episodes as you watch them without any manual entry. The free tier covers the core tracking, while Trakt VIP (around $60 per year) adds no ads, advanced filtering, unlimited personal lists, year-in-review stats, and the ability to log rewatches. If you watch a lot of different shows across many platforms, the automation alone makes Trakt worth considering.
Serializd is the newer, cleaner alternative — often described as ‘Letterboxd for TV.’ It’s free, has a polished interface, and lets you write season-level reviews rather than just ticking off episodes. It lacks scrobbling, so you log manually, but the community is growing quickly and the design is genuinely pleasant to use. It’s ideal if you want a low-friction, social-style TV diary without a subscription fee.
TV Time is another free option with a strong community angle — you can react to individual episodes and see how other fans responded. It’s good for following currently-airing shows where the social buzz around each episode matters to you.
Best App for Tracking Both Movies and TV
Trakt handles both movies and TV shows under one roof, so if you want a single app for everything and don’t mind a less social experience, it’s the most complete all-in-one tracker. Moviebase is another strong option — particularly on Android — letting you manage movies and series, follow season progress, and monitor upcoming releases in one place.
JustWatch deserves a mention here even though it’s not really a tracker: it’s a ‘where to watch’ search engine that covers streaming services across most countries. Type in any movie or show and it tells you which service currently has it. Pair JustWatch with any tracker above and you’ll never waste time hunting for something that isn’t available to you.
Tips and Common Mistakes
Don’t try to maintain two full tracking apps for the same type of content — it becomes a chore fast and you’ll abandon both. Pick one app per media type and commit: Letterboxd for films, Trakt or Serializd for TV, done. The most common regret is not starting sooner; once your log has a few months of history, the stats and recommendations get genuinely useful.
If you choose Trakt, spend fifteen minutes connecting your streaming services and media players up front. The automatic scrobbling is the whole point — manually logging every episode defeats the purpose. For Letterboxd, use the ‘diary’ view rather than just the watchlist; the date-stamped diary is what makes your history actually searchable and meaningful later. Finally, use JustWatch before adding something to your watchlist so you’re only queuing up things you can actually watch right now.
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watch tracking apps FAQs
Is Letterboxd only for movies?
Yes — Letterboxd tracks films only, not TV shows or episodes. For TV tracking you’ll need a separate app like Trakt or Serializd.
Can Trakt automatically log what I watch on Netflix or Max?
Trakt supports automatic scrobbling (auto-logging) for many platforms including Netflix and Max when connected through browser extensions, Plex, Kodi, or Emby. Setup takes a few minutes but then works hands-free.
What’s the best free option if I want to track both movies and TV shows?
Trakt’s free tier handles both movies and TV with solid core features. Alternatively, pair the free version of Letterboxd for films with the free Serializd for TV — both have no hard paywalls on basic logging.
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Photo by Mathieu Improvisato on Unsplash.
