Comparison
8 Best Letterboxd Alternatives in 2026
Letterboxd is great, until you want to rank shows, get tired of star ratings, or just need something different. Here are the apps actually worth switching to.
The best Letterboxd alternative is Shortlist if you want a ranking, Serializd if you want TV, and Trakt if you want automatic tracking. Those are the three things Letterboxd does not do, and almost every "Letterboxd alternative" search is really one of them. Shortlist is first here because it is the only one of the eight that hands you an ordered list in an app rather than a pile of scores, and it covers TV as well. Flickchart is the only other one that ranks by comparison, and it is a website, films only.
A Letterboxd alternative is any app that covers what Letterboxd leaves out: television, a definitive ordered ranking rather than a 5-star score, or automatic tracking from your streaming apps. Seven of the eight below are free to start, Mubi being the exception.
The Best Letterboxd Alternatives
#1
Shortlist
Built for ranking, not logging
Where Letterboxd treats every film as a 1-5 star rating, Shortlist asks you to compare two movies head-to-head. Pick your favorite, and the algorithm builds a real ranked list, not another cluster of 4-star ratings. It also handles TV shows, which Letterboxd refuses to do.
Best for: People who want a definitive ranked list instead of a watch log
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#2
Serializd
For TV-first watchers
The closest thing to "Letterboxd for TV." Episode-level tracking, season reviews, and a community that actually uses it. If your problem with Letterboxd is just that it ignores television, Serializd is the easy switch.
Best for: TV-only watchers who already love the Letterboxd format
#3
IMDb
The original, still the largest database
Less of a social platform, more of a reference. IMDb has the biggest database of any film site, plus user ratings, trivia, and cast info. Useful as a backup, but the social and ranking features feel ancient compared to Letterboxd.
Best for: Reference, trivia, and basic watchlist tracking
#4
Flickchart
The other head-to-head ranker
Flickchart has asked "which of these two is better?" since 2006, and it is the closest thing to a direct answer to the star-rating problem besides Shortlist. It is a website rather than an app, and films only, so it is a desk tool rather than a sofa one. If you want your ranking on your phone, or you want TV in it, that is the line between the two.
Best for: Ranking film history in a browser
#5
Trakt
For data nerds and Plex users
Trakt scrobbles automatically: connect it to Plex, Kodi, or your streaming apps and it tracks everything you watch in the background. Less social than Letterboxd, more about the data. The interface is rough but the integrations are unmatched.
Best for: Self-hosted media setups and stat junkies
#6
Mubi
For arthouse and curated picks
Mubi is half streaming service, half film community. The catalog rotates daily with hand-picked arthouse and international films. The social layer is smaller than Letterboxd but the taste is sharper.
Best for: Cinephiles who want curation alongside community
#7
JustWatch
For "where can I stream this?"
Not really a Letterboxd alternative for ranking, but it solves the one problem Letterboxd doesn't: telling you where to actually watch a film. Pair it with Shortlist or Serializd for a full setup.
Best for: Companion app for finding what's streaming where
#8
Reelgood
For streaming discovery + tracking
Reelgood unifies your streaming services into a single watchlist and recommendation engine. Lighter on community than Letterboxd, heavier on "what should I watch tonight."
Best for: Subscribers juggling 5+ streaming services
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The Three Gaps Letterboxd Leaves
Letterboxd built a great social film platform, but three gaps drive most of the switching. It's movies-only. The 5-star scale clusters everything you genuinely liked around 3.5 and 4 stars, so it records that you enjoyed a film without ever recording which one you enjoyed more. And the features people want most sit behind a subscription (Pro $19/year, Patron $49/year).
Here is where each alternative stands on those three, with Letterboxd itself as the baseline row. The middle column is the one worth reading twice: seven of these nine hand you back a score or a log, which is the same artifact Letterboxd already gives you. Two hand you an order, and only one of those two is an app.
| App | Covers TV | Gives you an order | Free to start |
|---|---|---|---|
| Letterboxd baseline | No, films only | No, 5-star ratings | Yes, with limits |
| Shortlist | Movies and TV | Yes, head to head | Yes |
| Serializd | TV only | No, scores and reviews | Yes |
| IMDb | Movies and TV | No, 10-point ratings | Yes |
| Flickchart | Films | Yes, head to head | Yes, with limits |
| Trakt | Movies and TV | No, automatic scrobbling | Yes, with limits |
| Mubi | Films | No, curation and ratings | No |
| JustWatch | Movies and TV | No, streaming search | Yes |
| Reelgood | Movies and TV | No, unified watchlists | Yes, with limits |
Exact prices are on each card above. Mubi is the only one that is not free to start, at $14.99/month, because it is a streaming service with a film community attached rather than a tracking app.
Which Letterboxd Alternative Should You Pick?
Use this quick guide based on what you actually want:
- Want a definitive ranking instead of star ratings? Shortlist
- Want TV shows too? Shortlist or Serializd
- Already use Plex or Kodi? Trakt
- Want curation and arthouse? Mubi
- Just want to know where to stream something? JustWatch or Reelgood
- Want the biggest database for reference? IMDb
Why Shortlist Is the Best Letterboxd Alternative for Ranking
The single biggest complaint about Letterboxd is the rating system. When you rate hundreds of films on a 5-star scale, almost everything you genuinely liked ends up at 3.5 or 4 stars. You can't tell what you actually loved most.
Shortlist fixes this with head-to-head comparisons. You're shown two movies (or shows) at a time and pick the one you prefer. After enough comparisons, your full ranked list builds itself: every position earned through direct competition. Your #1 actually beat your #2. Your S-tier means something.
The cost is lower than it sounds, and we measured it rather than estimating it. Ranking five titles takes 6 to 8 choices, which is the exhaustive result over all 120 possible orders through the same ranker running below. Ten titles takes about 22. You never rate anything, and there is no scale to calibrate.
Try it here before you install anything
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Five films, head-to-head. Tap the one you prefer and we will build your order, then label it S through D.
Which do you prefer?
Tap your favorite
You can read more about how head-to-head ranking works in our movie tier list guide, compare it to other apps in our full movie ranking app comparison, or see the method applied to television in our TV show tier list guide.
Can I Use Multiple Apps Together?
Most serious watchers do. A common stack:
- Shortlist for ranking your favorites
- Letterboxd or Serializd for logging and reviews
- JustWatch for finding where to stream
- Trakt for automatic scrobbling if you have a media server
No app does everything well. The real question isn't "what's the one Letterboxd replacement?": it's "what's the right tool for what I'm trying to do right now?"
Letterboxd Alternatives: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best Letterboxd alternative?
It depends which gap you are trying to close. For a definitive ranked list instead of star ratings, Shortlist, which is the only app in this comparison that asks you to pick between two titles and builds the order for you. For television, Serializd, which is the closest thing to Letterboxd for TV. For automatic tracking from Plex or your streaming apps, Trakt. Those three cover almost every reason people go looking.
Is there a Letterboxd for TV shows?
Serializd is the closest match in format: episode-level tracking, season reviews and a working community. Shortlist covers movies and TV together and ranks both by head-to-head comparison rather than by score. IMDb, Trakt, JustWatch and Reelgood all cover TV as well. Letterboxd itself is films only and has stayed that way deliberately.
Is there a free Letterboxd alternative?
Seven of the eight are. Shortlist, JustWatch and Serializd are free with no paid tier for the core features. IMDb is free and ad-supported. Flickchart, Trakt and Reelgood are free with an optional paid tier. Mubi is the one exception at 14.99 dollars a month, because it is a streaming service with a film community attached rather than a tracking app. Letterboxd itself is free too, with Pro at 19 dollars a year and Patron at 49.
Is there a Letterboxd alternative for Android?
Yes, and seven of the eight ship one. Shortlist has been on Google Play since July 2026, alongside the iPhone app, so head-to-head ranking is no longer iOS only. Serializd, IMDb, Trakt, Mubi, JustWatch and Reelgood are all on Android too, as is Letterboxd itself. Flickchart is the exception: it runs in a browser and has no Android app.
Why do all my Letterboxd ratings end up the same?
Because a 5-star scale has ten steps including half stars, and you are asking it to separate hundreds of films you mostly liked. Everything you genuinely enjoyed lands at 3.5 or 4, which records that you liked a film without recording which one you liked more. Head-to-head comparison sidesteps the problem: you are never asked what a film is worth on its own, only which of two you prefer, and the ordering falls out of the answers.
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Try the ranking-first alternative
Shortlist is free on iPhone and Android. Rank movies and shows with head-to-head comparisons, no star ratings, no clutter.