PixlRun Comparison Verified July 2026
TV & Movie Trackers · Weighted Comparison

Trakt vs Simkl (2026)

Trakt
$5.99/mo or $59.99/yr (VIP)
1M+ titles
Catalog size (titles indexed)
The sync backbone other trackers plug into — free core, but your own stats cost VIP.
Simkl
$2.91/mo billed yearly (PRO), or $5.83/mo billed twice yearly (VIP)
1.3M+ titles
Catalog size (titles indexed)
Free forever for the stuff Trakt paywalls — plus the better anime tracking of the two.

At a glance: Trakt wins on third-party ecosystem reach and is what most other trackers sync against; Simkl wins on free-tier generosity, giving away lifetime stats and anime tracking that Trakt reserves for VIP.

Read the methodology note
Pricing and features verified July 2026 from trakt.tv's own Apple/Google app-store listings and PWA manifest, simkl.com's official /vip and /apps/import pages, and TechCrunch/AlternativeTo coverage of the TV Time shutdown. Per-metric 0-100 scores are illustrative editorial estimates for the weighting demo, not vendor-published benchmarks.

Current winner
—
balanced weights
Decision engine

Tell it what matters. It re-ranks live.

Set the importance of each factor from 0 to 100. Every metric is normalized, weighted, and summed — the ranking updates instantly as you drag.

Set your priorities

Price to unlock full features 50
Automatic tracking & sync 50
Anime support 50
Third-party integrations & community 50
Overall value for TV Time refugees 50
Best for youTop match
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Weighted score: 0 / 100
Full spec grid

Only see what actually differs

Rows where all tools are essentially tied are muted by default — flip the toggle to reveal them.

11 of 11 rows differ meaningfully
Specification
Trakt
Simkl
≠Cheapest paid tier (per year)
$59.99/yr (VIP — no cheaper tier)
$34.99/yr (PRO)
≠Full-featured paid tier (per year)
$59.99/yr (VIP)
~$69.98/yr (VIP, billed $34.99 x2)
≠Free automatic tracking / scrobbling
Yes — Plex, Kodi, Emby & more
Yes — Plex, Kodi, VLC, Netflix, Crunchyroll & more
≠All-time watch stats on the free tier
No — All-Time Stats require VIP
Yes — free forever
≠Dedicated anime catalog
No — anime sits inside the general TV/movie index
Yes — 14,787 anime titles with dub/sub info
≠TV Time listed as an official import source
Yes — per Trakt's own app-store listing
Yes — one of 23 supported import services
≠Unlimited custom lists on the free tier
No — unlimited lists require VIP
No — caps rise on PRO/VIP; 15 default watchlists are free
≠Ad-free on the free tier
No — VIP removes ads
No — PRO/VIP remove ads
≠Third-party app / plugin ecosystem depth
Deepest — Kodi, Plex, Emby native plugins for over a decade
Solid — apps for Android/iOS/Chrome/Windows/Kodi/Plex, imports from 23 services
≠One-time lifetime-payment option
No — subscription only
Yes — $249 one-time Lifetime VIP
≠Data source
TheTVDB + TMDB
TMDB
Specification
Trakt
Simkl
≠Cheapest paid tier (per year) $59.99/yr (VIP — no cheaper tier) ●$34.99/yr (PRO)
≠Full-featured paid tier (per year) ●$59.99/yr (VIP) ~$69.98/yr (VIP, billed $34.99 x2)
≠Free automatic tracking / scrobbling Yes — Plex, Kodi, Emby & more Yes — Plex, Kodi, VLC, Netflix, Crunchyroll & more
≠All-time watch stats on the free tier No — All-Time Stats require VIP Yes — free forever
≠Dedicated anime catalog No — anime sits inside the general TV/movie index Yes — 14,787 anime titles with dub/sub info
≠TV Time listed as an official import source Yes — per Trakt's own app-store listing Yes — one of 23 supported import services
≠Unlimited custom lists on the free tier No — unlimited lists require VIP No — caps rise on PRO/VIP; 15 default watchlists are free
≠Ad-free on the free tier No — VIP removes ads No — PRO/VIP remove ads
≠Third-party app / plugin ecosystem depth ●Deepest — Kodi, Plex, Emby native plugins for over a decade Solid — apps for Android/iOS/Chrome/Windows/Kodi/Plex, imports from 23 services
≠One-time lifetime-payment option No — subscription only Yes — $249 one-time Lifetime VIP
≠Data source TheTVDB + TMDB TMDB
Verified July 2026 by the PixlRun team from trakt.tv / App Store / Google Play listings, simkl.com's official pricing and import pages, and TechCrunch/AlternativeTo TV Time shutdown coverage.
The verdict, by use case

Best for your actual job, not a generic score

Each card's bars are that tool's own strengths, on its own terms.

Best for deep third-party integrations and syncing
$5.99/mo or $59.99/yr (VIP)
Trakt

The sync backbone other trackers plug into — free core, but your own stats cost VIP.

Auto-tracking depth
80
Free lifetime stats
35
Anime support
35
List & watchlist flexibility
55
Third-party app sync
95
Social & community features
85
Strengths: The sync standard other apps (Kodi, Plex, Emby, even Simkl) plug into
Best for free lifetime stats and anime tracking
$2.91/mo billed yearly (PRO), or $5.83/mo billed twice yearly (VIP)
Simkl

Free forever for the stuff Trakt paywalls — plus the better anime tracking of the two.

Auto-tracking depth
88
Free lifetime stats
95
Anime support
92
List & watchlist flexibility
70
Third-party app sync
78
Social & community features
70
Strengths: All-time stats free forever, dedicated anime catalog, free auto-scrobbling
Deep dive

What each tool is actually like to use

Past the spec sheet: where each one genuinely wins, where it genuinely loses, who should skip it entirely.

Trakt
Trakt, Inc. · $5.99/mo or $59.99/yr (VIP) · 1M+ titles
Skip it if: You want your lifetime watch stats for free, or you track mostly anime — Simkl gives away what Trakt charges VIP for.
$5.99/mo
VIP monthly, or $59.99/yr
1M+
Shows & movies indexed
TheTVDB + TMDB
Data sources

Where it wins

The de facto sync backbone for Kodi/Plex/Emby plugins Officially imports TV Time metadata Large, long-running community with comments & ratings 1M+ shows & movies indexed

Where it loses

All-Time Stats and Year in Review are locked behind VIP ($5.99/mo or $59.99/yr)
Unlimited custom lists also require VIP
No dedicated anime section — titles sit inside the general TV/movie index
Read the full take on Trakt
Trakt has been the plumbing behind TV tracking since 2011 — its API is what Kodi's trakt add-on, countless Plex and Emby plugins, and even Simkl's own import tool sync against, which makes it a safe long-term home if you want your data portable. Core tracking, automatic sync, calendars and TV Time metadata import are free. The catch is Trakt's monetization: All-Time Stats, Year in Review, unlimited lists and advanced filters all sit behind Trakt VIP ($5.99/mo or $59.99/yr), and there's no dedicated anime section — anime titles are indexed like any other show via TheTVDB and TMDb, with no dub/sub info or MyAnimeList sync. For someone who wants the single most-integrated tracker and doesn't mind paying for their own stats, Trakt is hard to beat.
Simkl
Simkl · $2.91/mo billed yearly (PRO), or $5.83/mo billed twice yearly (VIP) · 1.3M+ titles
Skip it if: You already run Kodi/Plex/Emby plugins built around Trakt, or you want the single most widely-integrated tracker — Trakt's third-party footprint is deeper.
$34.99/yr
PRO tier (cheapest paid)
14,787
Anime titles in the catalog
23
Services you can import from

Where it wins

All-time stats free forever Dedicated anime catalog (14,787 titles) with dub/sub info Free automatic scrobbling from Netflix, Plex, Kodi, VLC, Crunchyroll Built-in TV Time import, one of 23 supported services

Where it loses

VIP tier ($34.99 billed twice a year, ~$69.98/yr) can cost more per year than Trakt VIP
Third-party plugin ecosystem is smaller than Trakt's decade-plus footprint in Kodi/Plex/Emby
2-way MyAnimeList sync sits behind VIP, not free
Read the full take on Simkl
Simkl covers what Trakt charges for: All-Time Stats are free forever, automatic scrobbling works out of the box with Plex, Kodi, VLC, Netflix and Crunchyroll, and anime gets its own catalog of 14,787 titles with dub/sub language info — a real gap in Trakt's lineup. Simkl's official import tool lists TV Time as one of 23 supported sources, so migrating your history is a first-party flow, not a workaround. Paid tiers exist — PRO at $34.99/yr removes ads and unlocks recommendations, VIP at roughly $69.98/yr (billed twice yearly) adds iCal sync and JSON backup — but none of it is required for the core TV Time replacement experience. The trade-off is a smaller third-party plugin ecosystem than Trakt's decade-plus footprint.
Head-to-head

The matchups, decided

Skipping the multi-way math — here is the direct call for each pair.

TraktvsSimkl

Ecosystem reach vs. free-tier generosity — Trakt is what other trackers sync against and wins on third-party integrations; Simkl gives away stats and anime tracking that Trakt charges VIP for.

Pick Trakt if
  • Already uses Kodi/Plex/Emby plugins built for Trakt
  • Wants the largest, longest-running community
  • Doesn't mind paying for stats
Pick Simkl if
  • Wants lifetime stats for free
  • Tracks anime and wants dub/sub info
  • Wants the cheapest entry-level paid tier
Which one is for you

Pick the persona closest to you

Click a card to load a matching weight profile into the decision engine above.

Clicking a card sets the sliders in the decision engine and scrolls you back up to the result.
The fine print that actually bites

Limits & gotchas nobody puts on the pricing page

This is the stuff Reddit threads are actually complaining about — not the headline specs.

01

Trakt paywalls your own watch-history stats

All-Time Stats and Year in Review — a summary of everything you've watched — require Trakt VIP ($5.99/mo or $59.99/yr). Simkl's equivalent is free forever.

Read the rest
If the main reason you're leaving TV Time is to keep seeing your own stats, that specific feature is not free on Trakt.
02

Simkl's VIP tier can cost more per year than Trakt's

Simkl VIP bills $34.99 twice a year (~$69.98/yr), more than Trakt VIP's flat $59.99/yr. Simkl's cheaper PRO tier ($34.99/yr) skips VIP-only extras like iCal sync and JSON backup.

Read the rest
Compare what you actually need — PRO removes ads and unlocks recommendations; VIP adds the sync/backup extras.
03

If you didn't export before July 15, there's nothing left to migrate

TV Time's GDPR export tool closed with the app. tvtime.com now shows a static farewell page with no login — Whip Media said personal data is being deleted, not resold.

Read the rest
Your only path is starting fresh on Trakt or Simkl and rebuilding your history by search, or waiting for Bingers, a new tracker from TV Time's founder.
FAQ

Questions people actually ask

The same questions answered in the structured data above, laid out so you can actually read them.

Which is better for someone who just left TV Time?
It depends what you valued most. If it was seeing your own stats and history for free, Simkl matches that — All-Time Stats are free forever there, VIP-only on Trakt. If you care more about the widest network of apps and plugins syncing to your tracker, Trakt has the deeper third-party ecosystem.
Do Trakt and Simkl both import TV Time data?
Yes. Trakt's own app-store listing advertises TV Time metadata import alongside IMDb, Plex and Letterboxd. Simkl lists TV Time as one of 23 official import sources on its dedicated import page.
Is either service fully free?
Both have a real free tier. Trakt's core tracking, sync and TV Time import are free, but stats and unlimited lists need VIP. Simkl's core tracking, auto-scrobbling, TV Time import and all-time stats are free forever; ads, iCal sync and JSON backup are what you pay PRO or VIP for.
What if I never exported my TV Time data before the shutdown?
There's no recovery path. TV Time's website now shows only a farewell message with no login, and Whip Media said personal data would be deleted rather than resold. You'll need to rebuild your watch history from scratch on whichever tracker you pick.
If you read nothing else
The short version
Get Trakt

The sync backbone other trackers plug into — free core, but your own stats cost VIP.

Get Simkl

Free forever for the stuff Trakt paywalls — plus the better anime tracking of the two.

Still unsure? The decision engine at the top does the math for you.