WatchTrail
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WatchTrail — the free alternative to track shows and movies.·BlogAboutFAQPrivacyTerms·The Movie Database (TMDB)This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

TV Time shut down on July 15, 2026

Trakt vs Simkl: which one after TV Time?

These are the two most-cited replacements, and they are less alike than people say. The difference is not about features — both track very well — but about what you pay, and what you lose if you do not.

Checked on August 15, 2026

Trakt et Simkl and WatchTrail, point by point

CriterionTrakt et SimklWatchTrail
The free tierTrakt: 100 items per watchlist and collection, 2 personal lists. Simkl: free core, with adsTracking, calendar, statistics and import, uncapped
The price to lift the limitsTrakt: VIP at $60 a year, doubled since 2025. Simkl: three tiers, free, PRO and VIPThere is none
What paying addsSimkl: ad-free, automatic backups, calendar sync and two-way sync with MyAnimeListNothing: the core is complete, and ad-free
Extended universes—MCU, Star Wars, DC checklists, with dual order

What Trakt et Simkl does better than us

  • **Trakt has the richest ecosystem out there**: dozens of third-party apps connect to it, and nothing matches that.
  • **Simkl covers Japanese animation remarkably well**, with a two-way MyAnimeList sync nobody else offers.
  • **Both import from TV Time**, and both track episode by episode without reproach.
  • Simkl keeps an uncapped free core, where Trakt tightened its own.

Where Trakt et Simkl falls short

  • At Trakt, the free tier tightened and VIP doubled in 2025: that is the point to check before committing.
  • At Simkl, ads are the price of free — they are removed by VIP.

Trakt et Simkl is the right pick if…

If you want to plug in your media centre, your box or ten third-party apps, take Trakt: its ecosystem has no equivalent, and VIP is justified in that case. If you watch a lot of Japanese animation, take Simkl.

So where does WatchTrail fit?

WatchTrail sits where neither of those goes: extended universes, films and shows in one checklist, and a core with neither caps nor ads — so no feature to buy back later. What we do not have: their third-party app ecosystem, and that is worth knowing before choosing.

Frequently asked questions

Does Trakt really cost $60 a year?

$60 is the full price ($5/month billed yearly). Trakt shows a first-period discount: $47.88 for the first year, or $71.76 for two years. The free account remains usable, with its caps.

Is Simkl free?

Its core is, with ads. VIP removes them and adds backups and syncs.

Can I move between them?

Both export, and our importer reads a spreadsheet with the right columns.

The real criterion: your history

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 history

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  • Is the IMDb watchlist enough to follow TV shows?
  • Is the Netflix list enough to follow your shows?
  • The Plex watchlist vs a real tracker
  • Notion or a spreadsheet to track your shows: what it really costs
  • The free TV Time alternatives in 2026

Other 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.