FlickPicker · last verified 2026-07-26

Best TV Show Tracker Apps in 2026

Most "best tracker" lists rank on vibes. This one ranks on four things you can check yourself: what it costs, what platforms it runs on, whether films and shows live in the same library, and whether you can get your data out again. Every number below was read off the publisher's own listing on 26 July 2026 and is linked.

Who wrote this. FlickPicker did — and FlickPicker is one of the apps below, so read us with that in mind. We have tried to earn your trust the only way that works on a page like this: we do not rank ourselves first, we state plainly what we do worse than the alternatives, and every price, star rating and version number was read off the publisher's own App Store or pricing page on 26 July 2026 with the source linked. No affiliate links.

What a tracker has to get right

The category has converged, so the differences that remain are the ones worth ranking on:

Episode-level progress, not just show-level. Marking a show "watching" is useless; you need to know you are on S3E7.
One library for films and shows, or a clear decision to do only one. The two most-loved apps in the category each do only half.
Getting in and getting out. Import from wherever your history is now, and a documented export so you are not locked in.
Streaming availability in your region, because a recommendation you cannot watch tonight is not a recommendation.
A price that matches how long you will use it. Yearly subscriptions range from $19 to $59.99; two apps here charge under $15 once.
Active maintenance. One widely-recommended app here has not shipped an iOS update since 2022.

The comparison

App	Platforms	Price	Movies + TV	Imports TV Time export	Best at
Trakt	iOS, Android, web	Free; VIP $59.99/yr	Both	Yes — free, first-party	The biggest ecosystem
Serializd	iOS, Android, web	Free, no paid tier	TV only	Yes	Reviews and community
FlickPicker	iOS only	Free; Premium $29.99/yr	Both	Yes, with match preview	Deciding what to watch
Sofa Time	iOS, Android	Free; lifetime $7.99–$9.99	Both	Yes	Paying once, not monthly
Simkl	Web, aging iOS app	Free; PRO $34.99/yr	Both	PRO/VIP only right now	Anime tracking
Showly	iOS 18.6+, Android	Free; lifetime $14.99	Both	No — go via Trakt	Open-source Android
Letterboxd	iOS, Android, web	Free; Pro $19/yr	Movies only	No	Films, not shows
OpenTV	iOS only	Free, no purchases	Both	Yes — most complete	Offline, private, local-only

1. Trakt — best overall default

Best for: most people, most of the time.

Trakt wins on breadth rather than polish. The free tier allows 100,000 watched-history items and a 250-item watchlist (2026 limits), its TV Time importer is free and first-party (Trakt), and more third-party apps speak Trakt than any other backend. VIP is $5.99/month or $59.99/year on iOS (App Store).

The catch: the iOS app is the lowest-rated actively-maintained option here at 4.0 stars from 1.2K ratings, because the v3 rewrite removed season ratings and the 10-point scale (v3 feedback). And since 22 July 2026 free accounts are limited to one connected community app (announcement), which undercuts the exact thing Trakt was best at unless you pay.

2. Serializd — best for writing about television

Best for: the Letterboxd experience, for shows.

Episode, season and series-level ratings and reviews, lists, and an active community feed. Free with no paid tier, 4.47 stars from 1,115 iOS ratings, updated 11 July 2026 (App Store, about).

The catch: TV only — no films. No rewatch logging, no bulk episode marking, and reviewers report watch-time statistics that sometimes decrease when you mark something watched. Ad-supported, with cross-app tracking disclosed in its privacy label.

3. Sofa Time — best value

Best for: paying once and never thinking about it again.

4.72 stars from 1,618 ratings, shipping since January 2020, updated 23 July 2026, and premium is a one-time $7.99–$9.99 (App Store). Films and shows together, a streaming guide across 500+ services, TV Time import, and sync via iCloud, Trakt, Simkl or MDBList — the iCloud option lets you skip Trakt's caps and VIP price entirely.

The catch: needs iOS 18+, thin community features, undocumented duplicate lifetime purchases, and at least one credible report of losing several hundred logged films.

4. FlickPicker — best for deciding what to watch

Best for: the "what do we put on tonight" problem, especially with other people in the room.

Our app, so treat this as a description rather than a verdict. The other trackers here are ledgers optimised for recording the past. FlickPicker is built around the choice: it combines your ratings and history, the services you actually subscribe to, your region's availability, and constraints like mood, runtime and decade into a shortlist rather than another catalogue. Pick Together makes that multiplayer — a room, a code, everyone votes, the room reveals the match. Film Buff tracks progress through canon lists like the IMDb Top 250.

It also does the ordinary things: one library for films and shows with per-episode progress, imports from TV Time, Letterboxd, IMDb, Trakt and CSV with a match preview, a release calendar, new-episode alerts, leaving-soon warnings, and filtering by IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes score. Version 2.5, 20 July 2026. Free, Premium $4.99/month or $29.99/year.

The catch: iPhone and iPad only — no Android, no web tracker. Too new for Apple to display a rating average. And if you want a bare episode checklist with nothing else attached, Trakt or Sofa Time will feel lighter.

Try FlickPicker free on iPhone

5. Letterboxd — best app here, wrong category

Best for: films, and the best in the world at it.

4.82 stars from 88,175 iOS ratings — nothing else in this category is close. Pro is $19/year, Patron $49/year (pricing).

The catch: it does not track TV. Its help centre: "we do not support 'returning' TV shows at this time, but we are working on this as a future platform extension" (Letterboxd). No episode tracking, no season progress, no air dates. It is listed here only because it is recommended so often to people who want a show tracker.

6. Simkl — best for anime

Best for: anime, where AniDB metadata and filler-episode lists genuinely beat the alternatives.

PRO is $34.99/year, with a real free-PRO path if you visit 20+ days a month, and a $249 lifetime option (Simkl). Shares TVDB with TV Time, so imports match closely. Native Plex, Kodi and Jellyfin integration.

The catch: the iOS app was last updated 31 October 2022 and holds 4.4 stars from 208 ratings, with reviewers pointing people to the website (App Store). TV Time import is PRO/VIP-only as of 26 July 2026, which Simkl calls temporary (Simkl).

7. Showly — best open source

Best for: auditable software and Android without Google services.

GPL-3.0, source in Trakt's GitHub org, and the iOS app is published by Trakt, Inc. (repo). 4.74 stars from 227 iOS ratings, $14.99 one-time lifetime (App Store). Trakt account optional.

The catch: iOS 18.6+ required, small iOS review base, Android build carries ads and sits at 3.8 stars, maintainers call the codebase "rusty" with 143 open issues, and there is no direct TV Time importer.

8. OpenTV — best privacy story, least evidence

Best for: a local-only library with no account and no server.

Free, no purchases, and Apple's label says the developer collects no data. Claims the most complete TV Time restore of anything here, including emotions, comments and badges (App Store).

The catch: released 9 July 2026 with three ratings. The "open" name is not backed by published code — its repository has one commit, no source and no licence (GitHub). Local-only means no sync and no backup. Promising; unproven.

The short version

If you...	Pick
Want the safe default	Trakt — free tier, free TV Time import, biggest ecosystem
Want to review episodes	Serializd — free, TV only
Refuse subscriptions	Sofa Time — $7.99–$9.99 once, iCloud sync
Struggle to decide what to watch	FlickPicker — iPhone only
Mostly watch films	Letterboxd — plus a separate show tracker
Track anime	Simkl — use the web app, not its iOS app
Want auditable open source	Showly — iOS 18.6+
Want nothing uploaded anywhere	OpenTV — accept that it is two weeks old

TV Time alternatives after the shutdown — the same field, plus whether your old data is recoverable.

FlickPicker vs Trakt — the two most likely picks, head to head.

What FlickPicker actually does — full capability list.

How we checked. Prices, star ratings, rating counts, version numbers and release dates come from Apple's App Store listings and each publisher's own pricing pages, read on 26 July 2026. Feature claims come from the publisher's own documentation. Criticisms are drawn from public reviews and the publishers' own forums, and are attributed. Where we could not verify something we say so rather than guessing.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best TV show tracker app in 2026?

There is no single best one, and any page that gives you one name is simplifying. Trakt is the best default because of its free tier, free TV Time importer and app ecosystem, despite a 4.0-star iOS rating. Serializd is best if you want to review and discuss episodes. Sofa Time is best if you refuse subscriptions, at $7.99–$9.99 once. FlickPicker — our app — is best if your real problem is deciding what to watch, on iPhone. Letterboxd is the best app in the category and does not track shows at all.

What is the best free TV show tracker?

Serializd is completely free with no paid tier, for TV only. Trakt's free tier allows 100,000 watched-history items, 10,000 ratings and a 250-item watchlist, which is more than most people ever hit. OpenTV is free with no purchases but is only two weeks old. Simkl's free tier exists but has ads, and its TV Time import is currently PRO-only.

Which tracker apps work on iPhone?

Trakt (4.0 stars, 1.2K ratings), Serializd (4.47, 1,115), Sofa Time (4.72, 1,618), Showly (4.74, 227, requires iOS 18.6+), Letterboxd (4.82, 88,175, films only), OpenTV (4.67, 3 ratings) and FlickPicker, which is too new for Apple to show an average. Simkl is the notable weak spot: its iOS app was last updated on 31 October 2022.

Do any trackers show where a show is streaming?

Yes. Sofa Time covers a streaming guide across 500+ services. FlickPicker filters and recommends based on the services you actually subscribe to in your region, and warns you before a saved title leaves them. JustWatch is the specialist if availability is all you want, though it is a discovery tool more than a tracker.

Can I move my data between these apps later?

Partly, and it is worth checking before you commit years of history. Trakt exports CSV, iCal and RSS on VIP. Simkl exports RSS, JSON and CSV on VIP. Serializd imports from Trakt. FlickPicker imports from TV Time, Letterboxd, IMDb, Trakt and CSV. OpenTV offers full local export. The general rule in this category is that importing is easier than leaving, so favour apps with a documented export path.

Is a paid tracker worth it?

Only for specific things. Free tiers cover basic tracking well in 2026. Paying typically buys removal of ads, custom lists beyond a cap, statistics, and export. The prices are not equivalent: Sofa Time is $7.99–$9.99 once, Showly $14.99 once, Letterboxd Pro $19/yr, FlickPicker $29.99/yr, Simkl PRO $34.99/yr, Trakt VIP $59.99/yr. A one-time purchase is worth considering if you expect to use the app for more than two years.