TV Time shut down on July 15, 2026
Simkl is arguably the most generous free alternative: automatic tracking, lists, imports and full history cost nothing. It's also one of the few to seriously cover anime, on top of shows and movies.
Checked on July 24, 2026
| Criterion | Simkl | WatchTrail |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free core; VIP for a few $/month (lifetime option) | Free, no ads |
| Automatic tracking | Yes — browser extension (Netflix, Crunchyroll…) | No: you tick (or a whole season in one click) |
| Anime | Very well covered | Covered like any other show (no specialization) |
| Ads | Present on free, removed with VIP | None |
| Learning curve | Dense: lots of options and screens | Deliberately focused on tracking |
If you watch a lot of anime, or if free automatic tracking is your number one criterion, Simkl is probably the better pick — and honestly, it does things we don't.
WatchTrail targets the user who wants exactly the TV Time gesture back — tick your episode, see what's airing, know where to watch — in an interface that needs no learning, with no ads and no paid tier. The trade-off: tracking stays manual.
Yes, with one limit that comes from Simkl rather than from us: its export does not contain the episode-by-episode history, only the LAST episode watched per show. We infer that the earlier ones in that season were watched — which is what Simkl itself states — but only one date is known, that of the last view. Movies, followed shows and watchlists come over as they are, matched by identifier.
The essentials, yes: automatic tracking, lists, import and full history. VIP, a few dollars a month, mainly adds advanced filters, deeper statistics and ad removal.
Yes, Simkl tracks movies, shows and anime in one place — one of its advantages over shows-only alternatives.
Whatever tool you pick, check that it takes your TV Time export — and how. On WatchTrail, every show is matched by its ID, not by its title.
See how to move my historyOther services' pricing and features change over time: this page shows when it was last checked. When in doubt, the service's own page is authoritative.