Puck reported this week that Letterboxd’s owners have opened early sale talks with Netflix, Sony, Paramount Skydance, and private equity giant TPG, with investment bank LionTree floating a $250 million valuation. Softonic picked the story up, and Reddit’s r/Letterboxd went into full backup mode within hours. Anyone who has watched Netflix acquire a niche service before knows how these stories tend to end for the review culture that made the site worth buying, so the search for durable Letterboxd alternatives has picked up hard.
This piece covers the 7 best swaps on desktop: web apps, PWAs, and native clients that run on Windows, macOS, and Linux browsers. For the Android-focused version of the same shortlist, see the mobile edition. Each pick below is judged on tracking depth, review culture, streaming discovery, and how cleanly a Letterboxd CSV export lands on the other side.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Free plan | Paid starting price | Runs on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trakt | Auto-scrobbling through Plex, Kodi, Jellyfin | Yes (limited) | VIP $6/mo or $60/yr | Web, PWA |
| IMDb | Definitive film and TV reference | Yes | Free | Web |
| Serializd | Letterboxd’s diary model for TV | Yes | Free | Web, PWA |
| TV Time | Was a social TV tracker (shutting down) | Yes | Was ad-free tier | Web |
| Simkl | Movies, TV, and anime in one tracker | Yes | VIP ~$70/yr | Web, PWA |
| JustWatch | Finding where a film streams tonight | Yes (ad-supported) | Free | Web |
| Moviebase | Free Trakt-synced tracker with a PWA | Yes | Optional premium | Web PWA |
Why people leave Letterboxd
The acquisition rumor is the loudest reason today, but it lands on top of a stack of older complaints from the community. The Pro tier at $19.99 per year and Patron at $39.99 per year gate features that competing trackers give away, including streaming service filtering, personal stats, and activity feed filters. Letterboxd covers feature films only, so anyone who watches as much TV as cinema is running two apps by default. Popular releases fill the timeline with hundreds of identical one-line reactions, drowning the longer reviews the site was built for. And with 30 million members and an offer letter in the door, the platform’s independence is not a given for the next 12 months.
The 7 best Letterboxd alternatives for desktop
Trakt, best overall alternative for people who use Plex or Jellyfin
Trakt is the closest thing to an automated film and TV diary on desktop. The web app tracks both films and series in one place, and its real power is scrobbling: connect Plex Media Server, Kodi, or Jellyfin through the official plug-in and every watch is logged with zero manual input. The public API is open enough that third-party clients, calendar widgets, and analytics dashboards plug in without friction. Letterboxd vs Trakt on tracking automation is a landslide for Trakt.
Where it falls short: Trakt raised its VIP price to $6 per month in 2025 and tightened free-tier limits at the same time. The review community is smaller and lighter than Letterboxd’s, so long-form film criticism is thin on the ground.
Pricing:
- Free: history, ratings, custom lists, scrobbling with rate limits
- Paid: VIP at $6 per month or $60 per year for advanced stats, filters, and calendar sync
- vs Letterboxd: comparable annual cost, more automation, less writing culture
Download: trakt.tv (Web, installable as a PWA on Windows, macOS, and Linux)
Bottom line: Pick Trakt if you already run Plex, Kodi, or Jellyfin and want to stop logging by hand.
IMDb, best for the widest film and TV database
IMDb covers more than 10 million titles across film, television, shorts, and games, which is a bigger reference set than any other pick on this list. The desktop site holds full cast and crew, box office data, filming locations, trivia, and community ratings from millions of general users. The Watchlist syncs across devices signed into the same Amazon account and the What to Watch section surfaces titles available on services you select in settings.
Where it falls short: The social layer is threadbare, review culture is closer to Amazon reviews than to Letterboxd essays, and the ad load on the free web tier is noticeably heavy on any page with a trailer.
Pricing:
- Free: full site with third-party ads
- Paid: none for the tracker itself
- vs Letterboxd: broader database, thinner community
Download: imdb.com (Web, works in any desktop browser)
Bottom line: Pick IMDb when the database matters more than the community around it.
Serializd, best Letterboxd-style diary for TV
Serializd applies Letterboxd’s diary and review model directly to television. Season-level and per-episode logging, half-star ratings, custom lists, and a community feed of written reviews all come with a free account. The desktop site loads fast, imports its catalogue from TMDB, and hands out extras that Letterboxd paywalls, including profile banners and username changes.
Where it falls short: Film tracking is not the focus, so the movie side is thinner than the TV catalogue. The community is smaller than Letterboxd’s, so any given series has fewer reviews per episode.
Pricing:
- Free: every feature currently in the app
- Paid: no paid tier
- vs Letterboxd: cheaper by definition, better for series, weaker for films
Download: serializd.com (Web, installable as a PWA)
Bottom line: Pick Serializd if TV is where you spend more time than cinema and you want a Letterboxd-style writing culture around it.
TV Time, formerly a strong social TV tracker
TV Time was one of the most-recommended TV trackers on desktop for years, with a social timeline, episode countdowns, and a large member base. The service announced on July 1, 2026 that it would cease operations after July 15, 2026, and the web app and mobile clients will stop working that day. It is listed here for readers already searching for it, not as a live recommendation.
Where it falls short: The service is shutting down three days after this article is dated. Export your data before July 15 and land it on Simkl or Serializd, both of which accept TV Time imports.
Pricing:
- Free: still available until the shutdown date
- Paid: subscriptions have been halted
- vs Letterboxd: no longer a viable long-term swap
Download: app.tvtime.com (Web, closing July 15, 2026)
Bottom line: Do not start a diary on TV Time. Migrate any existing data out and pick one of the other options on this list.
Simkl, best for tracking movies, TV, and anime together
Simkl is built from the ground up to treat films, television, and anime as equal citizens, which sets it apart from every other tracker on this list. The desktop web app scrobbles from Plex, Emby, Jellyfin, Kodi, VLC, Netflix, and Crunchyroll, and the import tool accepts data from Trakt, Letterboxd, TV Time, MAL, AniList, IMDb, and Netflix. That import matrix is the widest in the category.
Where it falls short: The interface holds more information per page than Letterboxd or Serializd, which pushes the aesthetic in an older, denser direction. VIP is the priciest recurring plan on this list.
Pricing:
- Free: full tracking across films, TV, and anime with ads
- Paid: VIP at $34.99 billed every six months, roughly $70 per year, ad-free with extra stats
- vs Letterboxd: broader catalogue coverage, higher paid tier
Download: simkl.com (Web, installable as a PWA on Windows, macOS, and Linux)
Bottom line: Pick Simkl if you follow anime alongside films and shows and want a single history for all three.
JustWatch, best for finding where to watch tonight
JustWatch indexes availability from more than 300 streaming services across 90,000-plus titles and updates the data daily. The desktop site filters by services you subscribe to, genre, release year, rating, and rental price, which turns the “where is this streaming” question from a five-tab search into a single query. Price Drops flags cheaper rentals and purchases day to day.
Where it falls short: There is no diary, no personal review layer, and social features are minimal. It solves discovery, not logging or writing.
Pricing:
- Free: full search and watchlist, ad-supported
- Paid: none for the core product
- vs Letterboxd: complementary rather than a replacement, better run alongside a diary app
Download: justwatch.com (Web, runs on any desktop browser)
Bottom line: Pick JustWatch as a companion to a tracker, not as a swap for Letterboxd’s diary.
Moviebase, best free Trakt-synced tracker with a PWA
Moviebase started on Android and has grown a web PWA that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux browsers. The tracker is ad-free where it counts, powered by TMDB, and syncs cleanly with Trakt, so history, ratings, and watchlists move between Moviebase and any other Trakt-connected client. Statistics, multiple watchlists, episode tracking, and TMDB discovery come free.
Where it falls short: The desktop PWA is newer and less polished than the mobile clients. Some interface areas still feel mobile-first when scaled to a full browser window.
Pricing:
- Free: unlimited tracking, watchlists, Trakt sync, notifications
- Paid: optional premium removes ads and adds cosmetic extras, no core feature is locked
- vs Letterboxd: substantially cheaper, less writing community, more automation via Trakt
Download: moviebase.app (Web PWA installable on Windows, macOS, Linux)
Bottom line: Pick Moviebase if you want a free tracker with a modern web app and Trakt as the backbone.
How to choose
Pick Trakt if you already run Plex, Kodi, or Jellyfin at home and want to stop opening a tracker to log what you just finished watching.
Pick IMDb if you want the deepest reference database and are indifferent to the community layer around it.
Pick Serializd if TV is more than half of your viewing and you want Letterboxd-style reviews for series.
Pick Simkl if anime sits alongside films and shows in your habit and one history for all three matters.
Pick JustWatch when the question is where a film is streaming right now, not what you thought of it three years ago.
Pick Moviebase if you want a free tracker with a browser-installable PWA and are happy for Trakt to handle sync in the background.
Stay on Letterboxd if the film-review community is the reason you use it. No alternative on this list matches the writing culture Letterboxd has grown over 15 years. If the Netflix sale closes and the culture shifts, at least your CSV export gives you a clean path out.
FAQ
Is Letterboxd actually being bought by Netflix?
Not yet. Puck reported that Letterboxd’s majority owner Tiny is in early talks with Netflix, Sony, Paramount Skydance, and TPG, with a $250 million valuation being floated by LionTree. Nothing is signed, but the article makes clear the site is on the market. Export your data now regardless of who ends up buying, since ownership changes can rewrite feature roadmaps quickly.
Can I import my Letterboxd diary to another tracker?
Yes. Letterboxd’s Settings page exports your diary, ratings, and watchlist as CSV. Trakt and Simkl accept Letterboxd CSVs directly through their import tools. Serializd does not import films from Letterboxd yet. IMDb and JustWatch have no direct importer, so watchlists need to be rebuilt or run through a third-party conversion script.
What is the best free Letterboxd alternative on desktop?
Serializd is the best free swap for the review-and-diary format if TV is your focus. IMDb is the strongest free film reference. Moviebase is the best free tracker for films and series with a PWA and Trakt sync. Trakt’s free tier covers history and ratings but caps advanced features.
Does any Letterboxd alternative run natively on Linux?
Most of the tools on this list run in any modern Linux browser and can be installed as PWAs from Chromium, Firefox, or a Chromium-based browser like Brave. Trakt, Simkl, Serializd, and Moviebase all install cleanly as PWAs. There are no native compiled Linux packages, but the web apps are near-parity with the mobile clients.
Should I still use TV Time?
No. TV Time is closing on July 15, 2026. If you have an account, export your data and move it to Simkl or Serializd before the shutdown date. Both accept TV Time exports and cover the same viewing habits.
