Best Letterboxd Alternatives in 2026: Movie & TV Trackers Compared
Letterboxd is genuinely great for movies. Beautiful design, an incredible community, and the best movie logging experience on the web. But if you track anything beyond films — TV shows, books, games — you are out of luck. Here are the best alternatives for people who want more.
What Makes Letterboxd Great
Before looking at alternatives, Letterboxd deserves honest credit. It is the gold standard for movie-only tracking, and for good reason.
- Stunning UI — The poster-grid design is beautiful. Every profile, list, and review page looks like it was designed by someone who actually cares about movies.
- Active community — Real reviews from real people. Not algorithm-generated summaries, not spam. The community is opinionated and engaged.
- Diary-style logging — Log the date you watched a film, add a rating and short review, and build a personal viewing history over time.
- Curated lists — User-created lists (best horror of the 80s, every A24 film ranked) are a discovery engine in themselves.
- Social features — Follow friends, see what they are watching, compare ratings. Letterboxd turns movie watching into a shared experience.
If all you track is movies, Letterboxd is hard to beat. The problem starts when your media consumption extends beyond film.
Where Letterboxd Falls Short
Letterboxd does one thing exceptionally well. But that narrow focus creates real gaps if you consume multiple types of media.
- Movies only — No TV series support (miniseries get partial coverage, but full shows do not). No books. No games. No podcasts.
- Flat watchlist — Your watchlist is a single list. There is no way to organize by priority, group by genre, or separate "definitely watching this weekend" from "maybe someday."
- Stats behind a paywall — Basic viewing stats require Letterboxd Pro ($19/yr) or Patron ($49/yr). The free tier gives you logging but no analytics.
- No Kanban or priority system — You cannot drag movies between columns like Backlog, In Progress, and Completed. It is watched or not watched — nothing in between.
- No cross-media view — Even if you pair Letterboxd with Goodreads and Backloggd, there is no single place to see your entire media backlog.
Best Letterboxd Alternatives
Trakt
Trakt is the closest alternative if your main frustration with Letterboxd is the lack of TV show tracking. It covers both movies and TV series, with detailed episode-by-episode progress. The standout feature is auto-scrobbling — connect Trakt to Plex, Kodi, or Emby and it logs what you watch automatically.
The VIP tier ($60/yr) adds advanced filtering, custom lists, and detailed stats. The calendar view showing upcoming episodes is genuinely useful for keeping up with airing shows.
Strengths: Excellent TV tracking, automatic scrobbling, strong integrations with media servers.
Weaknesses: The UI is functional but clunky compared to Letterboxd. Setup is more complex. No support for books, games, or other media types.
Simkl
Simkl covers TV, movies, and anime with auto-sync from streaming services. The interface is cleaner than Trakt, and the anime database is stronger — pulling from AniDB and MyAnimeList in addition to TMDB.
If anime is a significant part of your watchlist, Simkl handles it better than Trakt or Letterboxd. The tracking is straightforward: mark episodes as watched, track progress through seasons, and see what is airing next.
Strengths: Clean interface, strong anime database, auto-sync with streaming apps.
Weaknesses: Smaller community than Letterboxd or Trakt. No book or game tracking. The social features are limited.
TV Time
TV Time is the most popular dedicated TV tracking app, with millions of users tracking episodes and seasons. The social features are built around TV — reaction tracking, episode discussions, and a feed of what friends are watching.
Episode-by-episode tracking is its core strength. You check off episodes as you watch them, track how far behind you are on current shows, and get notifications for new episodes.
Strengths: Strong TV series tracking, large community, episode-level granularity.
Weaknesses: Owned by a large corporation (Whip Media), which has led to monetization changes. Movie tracking is basic. No support for books, games, or other media.
JustWatch
JustWatch is primarily a "where to stream" search engine. Type in a movie or show and it tells you which streaming service has it in your country. It also has a basic watchlist feature.
It is useful for a specific problem — figuring out where something is streaming — but it is not really a tracker. There is no organization system, no progress tracking for TV shows, no logging history, and no community features.
Strengths: Knows exactly which streaming service has which title. Available in many countries.
Weaknesses: Not a true tracking app. No backlog management, no Kanban, no reviews, no social features.
BacklogBox
BacklogBox takes a fundamentally different approach from the alternatives above. Instead of going deeper on movies or TV, it gives you Kanban boards for all your media — movies, TV series, books, games, and podcasts — in a single app.
Each media type gets its own board with drag-and-drop columns: Wishlist, Backlog, In Progress, and Completed. Search auto-fills metadata from TMDB (movies and TV), OpenLibrary (books), IGDB (games), and Apple Podcasts. You also get custom lists for tracking anything else — wine, restaurants, travel destinations.
The Discover page surfaces trending titles, recommendations, and upcoming releases across all media types. Public profiles let you share your boards. The pricing is $7.99/mo or $69/yr with a 14-day free trial, no credit card required.
Strengths: All media in one place, visual Kanban organization, auto-fill metadata, custom lists for anything.
Different from Letterboxd: Less community and review focused, more organization and backlog management focused. If social reviews are your priority, Letterboxd is still the better choice for movies specifically.
Comparison Table
| Feature | Letterboxd | Trakt | Simkl | BacklogBox |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Movies | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TV Series | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Books | No | No | No | Yes |
| Games | No | No | No | Yes |
| Kanban Boards | No | No | No | Yes |
| Auto-fill Metadata | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Public Profile | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Community/Reviews | Excellent | Basic | Limited | No |
| Custom Lists | Movie lists only | Movie/TV lists | Limited | Yes (anything) |
When to Stay with Letterboxd
If you only watch movies and love the community, stay with Letterboxd. It is unbeatable at what it does. The reviews are better than any alternative. The lists are a discovery goldmine. The social features turn solo viewing into a shared experience.
If social reviews and curated lists are your primary feature — the reason you open the app — nothing matches Letterboxd for movies. The alternatives listed above are stronger in other areas, but none of them replicate Letterboxd's community.
When to Switch (or Use Both)
Consider an alternative if any of these apply to you:
- You track multiple media types and are tired of maintaining separate apps for movies, TV, books, and games.
- You want Kanban-style organization — dragging items between Backlog, In Progress, and Completed instead of a flat watchlist.
- You care more about backlog management than social reviews. You want to know what to watch next, not discuss what you already watched.
You do not have to choose one or the other. Many people keep Letterboxd for the movie community and use BacklogBox for the actual backlog management across all their media. They serve different purposes.
Track movies alongside your books, games, and TV shows
BacklogBox gives you Kanban boards for every media type — plus custom lists for anything else.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is there a free Letterboxd alternative?
Letterboxd itself is free for basic movie logging. For alternatives, Trakt offers a free tier with movie and TV tracking. BacklogBox offers a 14-day free trial with full access to all features — no credit card required.
What is the best Letterboxd alternative for TV shows?
For TV-specific tracking with auto-scrobbling, Trakt is the strongest option. If you want TV tracking alongside books, games, and podcasts in one app, BacklogBox covers all media types with Kanban boards.
Can I use Letterboxd and another tracker together?
Yes, and many people do. Letterboxd is excellent for the movie community, reviews, and social features. An all-in-one tracker like BacklogBox handles the organizational side — managing your backlog across movies, TV, books, and games in one place.
Is Letterboxd worth paying for?
Letterboxd Pro ($19/yr) adds stats, filters, and custom posters. Patron ($49/yr) adds even more. If you are a dedicated movie logger who wants analytics, it is worth it. The core logging and community features are free.