Simkl
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you want free, automatic tracking of everything you watch, especially with Kodi, Jellyfin or Stremio setups.
Comparison
Simkl vs Trakt
Simkl lands on Worth it, and Trakt lands on Depends.
Trakt
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Buy it only if you scrobble from Plex/Kodi and will pay the doubled $60/yr VIP.
| Compare | Simkl | Trakt |
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Worth it | Depends |
| Best for | Heavy TV and anime watchers | Plex/Kodi/Emby scrobblers |
| Who it's not for | Anyone wanting to stream . it only tracks | Casual viewers tracking a few shows |
| Privacy | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed.16 | Shaky record: 2014 breach disclosed years late, user-reported private feed-data exposure, and no public security page found. |
| Support quality | No evidence in sources | No reliable evidence found |
| Public sentiment | Redditors praise Simkl's tracking depth and integrations while criticizing the official mobile app experience.⁵ | Long-time power users value the scrobbling ecosystem, but many feel recent pricing and feature changes gutted the free tier. |
| Biggest gotcha | VIP and PRO prices aren't shown in the sources reviewed; check the official features-comparison page before paying | VIP renewal pricing jumped to $60/year effective June 2025 . double the old rate |
Pick Simkl when
- Heavy TV and anime watchers
- Self-hosted media server users
- TV Time migrants
- Watch-history completionists
When Simkl is not a fit
- Anyone wanting to stream . it only tracks
- Casual viewers watching a few shows a year
- Teams or businesses; it's consumer-only
- People demanding a polished mobile app
Pick Trakt when
- Plex/Kodi/Emby scrobblers
- Binge-watchers who love stats
- Media-server power users
- Watchlist and list curators
When Trakt is not a fit
- Casual viewers tracking a few shows
- Anyone unwilling to pay $60/yr
- Free-tier streamers . one service connection max
- Privacy-sensitive users given breach history
Sources
- Simkl Lists: TV, Anime, Movies . Google Playplay.google.comreview
- Simkl Lists . App Storeapps.apple.comofficial
- Simkl Review . The Nerdy Studentthenerdystudent.comreview
- Read Customer Service Reviews of simkl.com . Trustpilottrustpilot.comreview
review
- TV Time Alternatives megathread . Redditreddit.comreview
- Trakt.tv vs SIMKL . Wako guidewako.appreview
- Best Trakt Alternatives . Achriomachriom.comreview
official
- Is Simkl free to use?docs.simkl.orgofficial
- Lifetime VIP Plan . Simkl docsdocs.simkl.orgofficial
- SIMKL/script.simkl . Kodi scrobblergithub.comofficial
- jellyfin-plugin-simkl . GitHubgithub.comofficial
- Simkl Keeps Record of Your IM Conversations . TechCrunchtechcrunch.comnews
- Simkl security pagesimkl.comsecurity