If you play games, this free crowdsourced time-tracker is an easy yes for pacing purchases and finishing backlogs. Skip it if you need guaranteed-accurate times, an official API, or anything business-grade.
Confidence
Medium. Based on ~20 public sources; most user feedback comes from Reddit threads and third-party integration repos.
Ratings
Value for money
Ease of use
Feature depth
Support quality
Security postureNo vulnerability data in reviewed sources
Pricing
$0
Free
ModelNot disclosed
Monthly feesNot disclosed
HardwareNot disclosed
Free tierYes
Best for
→Gamers pacing a purchase or backlog
→Completionists logging hours
→Busy players deciding what's worth finishing
→Researchers using playtime data
Not for
×Non-gamers — a game-length site has no work use
×Teams wanting an official API or SLA
×Anyone expecting guaranteed-accurate times
×Deal hunters — it tracks hours, not prices
Gotchas - check before you buy
medium
No official API — third-party tools scrape the site and break when it changes
medium
Spam and lookalike sites reuse the brand name; verify you're on
low
Times are user-submitted medians; casual vs. completionist pace differs wildly
Pros and cons
Pros
+Crowdsourced completion times across a huge game catalog
+Free, with personal lists, stats, reviews, and forums
None: Official API (Community-built unofficial wrappers fill the gap)
3+ studies: Academic use (Cited in published games research)
Value for money: 5/5. Free, no paywall found
Ease of use: 4/5. Simple look-up; casually recommended for years
Feature depth: 3/5. Times, lists, stats, forums; no official API
Support quality: 2/5. Community forum only, no formal channel
What to use instead
Backloggd: Social backlog tracker; many pair it with HLTB for times https://backloggd.com
Backloggery: Minimal completion tracker favored by completionists https://backloggery.com
Grouvee: Game collection tracker with shelf-style organization https://www.grouvee.com
Completionator: Completion-focused tracker compared directly with HLTB https://completionator.com
Sources
1.How accurate is How Long To Beat for you? — r/pcgaming https://www.reddit.com/r/pcgaming/comments/1eenry1/how_accurate_is_how_long_to_beat_for_you/
2.Do you find the times relatable? — r/playstation https://www.reddit.com/r/playstation/comments/1q2wwsy/do_you_find_the_times_on_howlongtobeat_relatable/
3.How accurate is howlongtobeat? — r/JRPG https://www.reddit.com/r/JRPG/comments/1twdrag/how_accurate_is_howlongtobeat/
4.Why howlongtobeat.com Ruined Games For Me https://web.phenixxgaming.com/2020/02/11/why-howlongtobeat-com-ruined-games-for-me/
5.HowLongToBeat vs Backloggd: Why I Use Both https://www.twoaveragegamers.com/howlongtobeat-vs-backloggd/
6.HowLongToBeat game page (example) https://howlongtobeat.com/game/40020
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