The Letterboxd team kicked off a crowdfunding campaign earlier this year to stay independent after years of acquisition rumours, and the response says a lot about the state of movie apps: viewers are tired of watching their favourite tools get bought out, then bloated with ads and trackers. IMDb has been an Amazon property since 1998 and the strain shows. The Android app now opens with a video ad block, the “Watch on Prime” carousels push subsidiary content that lives outside your subscription, and the social features (lists, message boards, reviews) have not had a serious update in years. If you still rely on IMDb for ratings and release dates but the experience is wearing thin, there are better tools for almost every job IMDb used to own. We tested seven IMDb alternatives across ratings depth, where-to-watch coverage, review culture, and ad load.
Why people leave IMDb
- The ad load is heavy and the placement is aggressive. The Android app autoplays a video ad on launch in most regions, full-screen interstitials trigger between page transitions, and ratings now sit below a “More like this” carousel that mixes Prime Video promos with the actual recommendations. Users on r/movies and r/androidapps regularly complain that the app feels heavier than it did three years ago for the same screen.
- Message boards are still gone. Amazon shut down IMDb’s discussion forums in 2017 and they have not been replaced. The “Reviews” tab survives, but it is a flat list of long submissions with no threading, no real moderation, and no way to follow specific reviewers.
- IMDbPro is the only path to detailed data. Box office grosses past opening weekend, contact info, full-credit search, and several filter combinations now require an IMDbPro subscription at around $19.99 per month. That data used to be free.
- Where-to-watch coverage is Amazon-first. The “Where to Watch” panel surfaces Prime Video and Freevee aggressively even when a title is also on Netflix, Max, or Disney Plus. JustWatch and Reelgood show the full picture; IMDb hides parts of it.
- TV-show structure is a maze. Series pages mix episodes, cast, trivia, and user reviews into one long scroll. Users on Reddit regularly point out that it is faster to search a show’s Wikipedia page than to find the episode air-date list in IMDb’s Android app.
If any of those problems sound familiar, here are 7 IMDb alternatives worth installing.
Which app should you choose?
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Letterboxd if you want a film-focused community with serious review writing. The diary, lists, and social feed are everything IMDb’s reviews tab never became.
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TMDB if you want the database without the Amazon storefront. Open data, no ads in the community app, and the same backbone many other trackers use.
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JustWatch if your most common question is “where can I watch this tonight”. Honest cross-service availability across more than 300 streamers.
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Reelgood if you pay for four or more streaming services and want one watchlist that deep-links into each app. The universal remote is the killer feature.
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Plex if you run a home server, or you want a free ad-supported library plus a Discover layer in one app. Discover indexes your subscriptions and your personal library together.
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Trakt if you watch through Plex, Kodi, Jellyfin, or Infuse. Scrobbling logs every play automatically, with film and TV in one place.
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TV Time if most of your viewing is TV series. Episode-level check-ins, premiere countdowns, and reliable new-episode notifications.
Stay on IMDb if you mostly need cast and crew lookups for older films, want the largest aggregate rating sample, or follow industry news through IMDbPro. Nothing else matches its depth on filmographies stretching back to the silent era.
Comparison table
| App | Best for | Free plan | Standout feature | Platforms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Letterboxd | Film reviews and diary | Yes | Written-review community at scale | Android, iOS, web |
| TMDB | Open community database | Yes | Same data IMDb uses, without the storefront | Android, iOS, web |
| JustWatch | Where-to-watch search | Yes | Real-time availability across 300+ services | Android, iOS, web |
| Reelgood | Multi-service watchlist | Yes | Universal remote with deep-link playback | Android, iOS, web |
| Plex | Server + Discover | Yes | Free ad-supported TV plus personal library | Android, iOS, web, smart TV |
| Trakt | Auto-tracking via media players | Yes | Plex/Kodi/Jellyfin scrobbling | Android, iOS, web |
| TV Time | TV-series tracking | Yes | Episode countdowns and premiere alerts | Android, iOS |
1. Letterboxd -- the IMDb you actually want to write on
Letterboxd is the film community IMDb never built. Diary entries, star ratings out of five, written reviews, lists, and a social feed of friends and critics make it the default film tracker for anyone who treats movies as more than background noise. The catalogue covers around a million feature films, shorts, and miniseries, pulled and cross-linked with TMDB data. The activity feed surfaces longer-form reviews from the people you follow, not just thumbs-up reactions.
IMDb vs Letterboxd on ratings, IMDb wins for sample size (millions of voters per major release). Letterboxd wins on usefulness: a four-star review from a critic you follow tells you more than 800,000 strangers averaging out to 7.2.
Where it falls short: TV shows are not tracked at all, this is feature films and shorts only. Some watchlist filters and the year-end stats sit behind the Pro subscription at around $19 per year.
Pricing:
- Free: full logging, lists, ratings, reviews, social feed
- Paid: Pro at around $19 per year removes ads and unlocks filter options; Patron at around $49 per year adds custom posters and bonus features
- vs IMDb: free tier is more capable for film logging; the paid tier costs roughly the same as a single month of IMDbPro
Migrating from IMDb: IMDb watchlists and ratings can be exported as CSV from the IMDb web view (Your Lists section). Letterboxd accepts CSV import directly through its Import page, mapping titles to its own database. Ratings transfer cleanly. Estimate around 10 minutes for a watchlist of a few hundred titles.
Bottom line: Pick Letterboxd if film reviews and a real community matter to you. Skip it if you mainly watch TV series.
2. TMDB -- the open database under the hood of half the trackers you use
TMDB (The Movie Database) is the open-data alternative IMDb pretends does not exist. Run by a small team since 2008, it powers metadata for Plex, Jellyfin, Kodi, Letterboxd, Reelgood, and dozens of other apps. The Android app on Aptoide gives you direct access to the same database (around 700,000 movies and 150,000 shows), with ratings from a community that overlaps heavily with the Letterboxd and Reddit crowds rather than the IMDb mainstream. No autoplaying ads, no Amazon storefront, no Pro tier hiding box office numbers.
IMDb vs TMDB on data ownership, TMDB wins decisively. IMDb’s data is locked behind Amazon’s terms of service; TMDB exposes a free public API that you can self-host against. IMDb wins on sheer aggregate rating volume.
Where it falls short: The official mobile app interface is functional but plain compared to Letterboxd’s. Community size is smaller, so individual ratings move more on niche titles. There is no diary or social feed in the IMDb-style sense.
Pricing:
- Free: full database access, ratings, lists, watchlist
- Paid: no paid tier; the project runs on donations and API subscriptions for commercial use
- vs IMDb: structurally cheaper because it is entirely free; the data quality is comparable for mainstream titles and better for international cinema
Migrating from IMDb: No direct importer. CSV export from IMDb can be reformatted with a short script to match TMDB’s list import format. For most viewers, the simpler path is to import IMDb data into Letterboxd or Trakt (both of which use TMDB as their source) and keep TMDB as a reference tool.
Bottom line: Pick TMDB if you want IMDb-style reference data without the Amazon ad surface, or if you contribute to open data. Skip it if you need a polished social diary.
3. JustWatch -- where to watch this, in your country, right now
JustWatch answers the single question IMDb handles worst: where is this streaming in my region tonight. The app indexes more than 300 services and updates daily, so a search returns every subscription, rental, and purchase option side by side. Filter to only the services you already pay for, set price alerts on digital purchases, and the New In tab lists what just dropped on each platform this week. The watchlist syncs across phone, tablet, and web.
IMDb vs JustWatch on streaming availability, JustWatch wins clearly. IMDb biases toward Prime Video and Freevee; JustWatch shows every legal option without favouring an owner.
Where it falls short: Watch history and diary tools are thin. No social or review layer to speak of. Some smaller regional streamers can lag a day or two when content rotates.
Pricing:
- Free: full search, watchlist, price alerts (with a small ad bar)
- Paid: one-time purchase to remove ads in some regions
- vs IMDb: free, and the free tier is more useful for the “what should we watch” question
Migrating from IMDb: No direct importer for IMDb watchlists, but JustWatch’s watchlist accepts manual additions in seconds (search, tap, save). Most users rebuild watchlists from scratch and find the cross-service filtering makes the rebuild worth it. Estimate 15 to 20 minutes for around 100 titles.
Bottom line: Pick JustWatch if you keep three or more streaming subscriptions and need impartial cross-service search. Skip it if you want logging and reviews in the same app.
4. Reelgood -- one watchlist, every streaming app, deep-link playback
Reelgood takes JustWatch’s where-to-watch data and adds a universal watchlist plus a universal remote. Add a title once, tap “Watch Now”, and the app deep-links straight into Netflix, Disney Plus, Max, Prime, Hulu, Paramount Plus, Peacock, or Apple TV Plus, opening at the right page. Personalised recommendations score titles against your ratings history rather than serving the same generic “trending” row everyone else sees. The free tier covers the full watchlist and most filters.
IMDb vs Reelgood on multi-service discovery, Reelgood wins. IMDb’s watchlist sits inside one walled garden; Reelgood treats every subscription as part of the same library.
Where it falls short: US coverage is strongest; international support is improving but lags JustWatch in some markets. The deepest filter options and CSV export are behind the Premium tier.
Pricing:
- Free: full watchlist, search, basic recommendations
- Paid: Premium at around $4.99 per month for advanced filters, CSV export, and ad removal
- vs IMDb: free tier is more functional for “where do I watch this”; paid tier is roughly a quarter of IMDbPro’s cost
Migrating from IMDb: No direct CSV importer. Reelgood does pull rating signals from your linked services where APIs allow (Netflix history through Chrome extensions, for example). For most viewers, the practical migration is to manually re-add the titles you actually plan to watch (often 10 to 20, not 200) and let the recommender learn from there.
Bottom line: Pick Reelgood if you live in the US and pay for four or more streaming services. Skip it if you are outside North America or only need a single-service watchlist.
5. Plex -- Discover, free TV, and a personal library in one app
Plex has quietly turned into one of the strongest IMDb replacements for households that already stream across services. Plex Discover indexes around 15 streaming services and builds a unified watchlist. Universal search returns titles in your personal Plex library, in your subscriptions, and in Plex’s free ad-supported live TV catalogue (which carries hundreds of channels). For anyone running a Plex server at home, the same app handles personal content, streaming Discover, and free live TV.
IMDb vs Plex on Discover-style cross-service browsing, Plex wins. IMDb has nothing comparable; the closest IMDb feature is the “Watch on Prime” tab, which only shows one platform’s catalogue.
Where it falls short: The app’s identity as a server-first product can be confusing for people who only want Discover. Some streaming integrations and DVR features sit behind Plex Pass.
Pricing:
- Free: Plex Discover, free ad-supported streaming, universal watchlist, basic remote-server access
- Paid: Plex Pass at around $4.99 per month (billed annually), $9.99 per month, or $119.99 lifetime, unlocks DVR, mobile sync, hardware transcoding, and intro/credit skipping
- vs IMDb: free tier handles more discovery work; paid tier costs less than half of IMDbPro and serves a completely different (server-focused) audience
Migrating from IMDb: No direct importer. Plex’s universal watchlist can be built from search results in a few minutes, and titles added to the watchlist show up across Plex apps on phone, TV, and web automatically. Ratings do not transfer from IMDb.
Bottom line: Pick Plex if you already run a server or want one app for Discover, free TV, and personal media. Skip it if you have no interest in personal libraries or DVR features.
6. Trakt -- automatic logging from Plex, Kodi, and Jellyfin
Trakt solves the manual-logging problem entirely for home-media viewers. Connect Trakt to Plex, Kodi, Jellyfin, Infuse, VLC, or similar players and every film and episode you watch is scrobbled to your history automatically. The free tier includes complete watch history, ratings, watchlists, and a two-week calendar. Trakt VIP at around $30 per year adds unlimited custom lists, calendar history past two weeks, advanced filters, and ad removal.
IMDb vs Trakt on tracking what you actually watched, Trakt wins. IMDb has no scrobbler and no concept of a “watched” list beyond the manual watchlist toggle.
Where it falls short: The official Android app is functional but plain, and many power users prefer third-party clients like Traktly or Sequel. Streaming-where data is present but less comprehensive than JustWatch.
Pricing:
- Free: full tracking, basic watchlist, limited custom lists, two-week calendar
- Paid: VIP at around $30 per year
- vs IMDb: free tier is substantially more useful for habitual viewers; VIP is around an eighth the cost of IMDbPro
Migrating from IMDb: Trakt accepts IMDb CSV exports directly through its Settings, Connections, Import page. Watchlists, ratings, and watched history transfer cleanly when the IMDb CSV includes those fields. Estimate around 5 minutes for the upload; Trakt processes large histories within a day.
Bottom line: Pick Trakt if you watch through Plex, Kodi, Jellyfin, or Infuse and want everything logged without lifting a finger. Skip it if you stream exclusively through Netflix and Disney Plus on a phone (no scrobblers reach those services).
7. TV Time -- the TV-first tracker IMDb never bothered to build
TV Time is built around television series, with episode-level check-ins, a home tab that shows what to watch next across your active shows, and a countdown to each show’s next episode pulled from broadcast and streaming schedules. The catalogue covers hundreds of thousands of titles, push notifications fire reliably on premieres and finales, and the social timeline shows what friends and people you follow are watching. Movies are present but treated as a secondary feature.
IMDb vs TV Time on TV-series tracking, TV Time wins. IMDb’s series pages are reference documents; TV Time’s are progress trackers with a community attached.
Where it falls short: Film coverage is shallow and the movie diary is not on Letterboxd’s level. The free tier serves ads, which have grown more aggressive in recent updates. A few users on Reddit have noted that calendar export and ad removal both sit behind the subscription.
Pricing:
- Free: full tracking, social timeline, notifications
- Paid: TV Time Pro at around $4.99 per month removes ads and unlocks calendar export
- vs IMDb: free tier is far more useful for active TV watchers; paid tier is a quarter of IMDbPro’s price
Migrating from IMDb: No direct importer. TV Time’s search-and-add flow is fast for active shows because most people only track 10 to 30 series at a time. Add the shows you are currently watching plus a short backlog, and the home screen takes over from there. Estimate 5 to 10 minutes for a realistic TV list.
Bottom line: Pick TV Time if television is most of your viewing diet. Skip it if you mainly watch films or care about deep critical reviews.
How to choose
Pick Letterboxd if you read or write film reviews and a real community matters more to you than the size of the rating sample. The diary culture has no peer.
Pick TMDB if you want the same data IMDb uses, in an open project, with no ads and no Amazon storefront. Pair it with Trakt or Letterboxd for the social layer.
Pick JustWatch if your biggest IMDb frustration is the Amazon-first “Where to Watch” panel. JustWatch shows every service fairly and updates daily.
Pick Reelgood if you stream across four or more services in the US and you want one watchlist that deep-links into the right app on tap.
Pick Plex if you already run a Plex server, or you want Discover plus free ad-supported TV in one app rather than four.
Pick Trakt if your viewing flows through Plex, Kodi, Jellyfin, or Infuse. Scrobbling is the closest thing to a Spotify Wrapped for movies.
Pick TV Time if television is most of your watching and you want the cleanest “what episode is next” home screen on Android.
A common stack we have settled on: Letterboxd plus Trakt plus JustWatch covers reviews, history, and where-to-watch with very little overlap. Add Reelgood if you are US-based with five or more subscriptions, or Plex if you also run a server. None of these need IMDbPro to work.
Stay on IMDb if you regularly look up older films, you need cast and crew connections that other databases miss, or you follow industry data through IMDbPro for work. For everything else, one of the seven above does the job with fewer ads and a clearer interface.
FAQ
What is the best free IMDb alternative?
Letterboxd is the best free pick for films and reviews, TMDB is the best free pick for raw reference data, and JustWatch is the best free pick for where-to-watch. All three have full free tiers with no major features locked behind a paywall.
Can I import my IMDb watchlist and ratings to another app?
Yes, from the IMDb web view (not the Android app). Go to Your Lists, open your Watchlist or Ratings list, and pick Export. The CSV file imports directly into Trakt (Settings, Connections, Import) and Letterboxd (Settings, Import). TMDB, JustWatch, and Reelgood do not have first-party CSV importers, so titles need to be re-added manually or through community scripts.
Is Letterboxd better than IMDb?
For film reviews and a social diary, Letterboxd is clearly better. For the largest rating sample, the deepest cast and crew database, and reference data on older or obscure titles, IMDb is still ahead. Most people end up using both: Letterboxd for tracking and writing, IMDb for quick lookups.
What do people use instead of IMDb for ratings?
Letterboxd ratings (out of five stars) and Rotten Tomatoes scores are the most commonly cited alternatives. TMDB has its own community rating system that powers many other apps. Trakt aggregates ratings from its own community plus IMDb and TMDB.
Is there an ad-free version of IMDb?
The IMDb Android app does not offer an ad-free tier on the consumer side. IMDbPro at around $19.99 per month is aimed at industry users and does not strip ads from the consumer app. Most readers find it cheaper to switch to Letterboxd Pro, Plex Pass, or TV Time Pro for an ad-free experience.
Which IMDb alternative has the most accurate “where to watch” data?
JustWatch and Reelgood are the two strongest, both updating daily across publisher feeds. JustWatch covers more than 300 services and has the broader international footprint. Reelgood is the strongest in the US and is the only one with universal-remote deep-link playback into Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Max, Prime, and similar apps.
