Best Trakt Alternatives for Kodi and Streaming Apps (Simkl, Scrob & More)

This guide covers the best Trakt alternatives for Kodi and streaming apps, which ones actually keep working with third-party streaming addons instead of just local media libraries, and an honest answer to whether it’s worth just paying for Trakt VIP instead of switching.

If you’re looking for Trakt alternatives right now, it’s probably because Trakt’s free tier keeps getting more restrictive. Free accounts are reportedly capped at a single connected app, so a setup that used to sync Kodi, Stremio, and Plex at the same time now has to pick one, and older connections can quietly stop scrobbling with no warning. That’s a real workflow disruption if you’re bouncing between Kodi addons and other apps, and it’s why so many long-time Trakt users are looking elsewhere.

Quick Summary: The Best Trakt Alternative

Simkl is the best overall Trakt alternative for most Kodi users: it’s free, has an official Kodi add-on, and its free tier doesn’t cap how many apps you can connect. Scrob is the best pick if you want a self-hosted, privacy-first option with its own dedicated Kodi add-on. One thing worth knowing before you dive in: if any list you’ve seen still recommends TV Time, skip it. It shut down permanently in July 2026.

Why People Are Looking for Trakt Alternatives Right Now

Trakt built its reputation by doing one thing extremely well for over a decade: keeping track of what you watched no matter which app you used to watch it. That’s exactly why losing free multi-app support stings so much for cord-cutters running Kodi alongside Stremio, Plex, or Jellyfin.

What Changed With Trakt’s Free Tier?

According to widespread user reports and cord-cutting coverage, Trakt updated its free plan to limit connected third-party app authorizations to a single active connection, a change that’s been in effect since 2025. Previously, free users could authorize as many apps as they wanted at once. Now, if you already have two or more apps connected, older connections can simply stop scrobbling with no error message or notification. The app just goes quiet, which is a frustrating way to find out about it.

Trakt’s own pricing page wasn’t accessible during research for this article, so treat the specifics here as a starting point and confirm the current free-tier limits directly on trakt.tv before you make a decision based on them.

Which Apps Count Toward Trakt’s Free Limit?

Every OAuth-authorized third-party integration reportedly counts toward the cap, including:

• Kodi addons that hook into Trakt (the Trakt addon itself, plus any streaming addon or debrid addon with built-in Trakt authorization)
• Stremio, via its Trakt catalog addon
• Plex, via the official Plex-Trakt sync app or the community PlexTraktSync tool
• Jellyfin, via its Trakt plugin
• Infuse and other media players with native Trakt support

Browsing trakt.tv itself in a web browser reportedly doesn’t count against the limit, since it’s specifically OAuth/API-connected apps that do.

Trakt Alternatives Compared at a Glance

Pricing and plan details change fairly often for these services, so treat the numbers below as a starting point and double-check current pricing before you commit to anything.

Which Trakt Alternatives Actually Work With Kodi Streaming Addons?

This is where most Trakt alternatives roundups fall short, and it’s the single biggest thing to get right if you’re a Kodi user rather than a general cord-cutter. A tracker can be free and well-reviewed and still be the wrong pick if it only tracks local media files instead of what you actually watch through streaming addons like Umbrella or Prism.

Simkl’s official Kodi add-on is explicit about this on its own setup page: it only tracks playback of local files and your recognized Kodi media library, and it does not work with third-party streaming addons. That’s a real problem if your whole reason for using Kodi is debrid-powered streaming addons rather than a local library.

There’s a separate, actively maintained community add-on called SIMKLScrobbler that closes this gap: it includes configurable exclusion settings for plugin-triggered playback and HTTP/HTTPS streaming sources, meaning it can scrobble that kind of playback by default rather than ignoring it the way the official add-on does. It requires a manual zip install rather than the official Kodi repository, so see the safety note below before installing it.

Trakt itself still has the broadest, most mature streaming-addon integration of anything covered here. Individual addons like Seren and Umbrella have had Trakt authorization built in for years. None of the alternatives below fully match that addon-level depth yet, which is worth knowing going in rather than assuming any of them is a like-for-like swap.

Heads Up: Trakt Also Powers Your Addon’s Trending Menus

There’s a nuance almost no general Trakt alternatives article covers, because it’s specific to Kodi: Trakt isn’t just a scrobbler inside addons like Umbrella. It’s also the backend for discovery menus like Trending, Anticipated, and Most Played.

Umbrella’s own documentation and settings confirm a dedicated “Trending (Trakt)” menu and a general-settings toggle for Trakt indicators, and that’s true of most addons with mature Trakt integration, not just Umbrella.

That means switching to Simkl, Scrob, or anything else on this list replaces the watch-history and scrobbling half of what Trakt does, but it doesn’t replace those addon-native discovery menus, since those are pulling directly from Trakt’s API specifically and addon developers haven’t built equivalent Simkl-powered menus. If you rely on custom Trakt playlists or an addon’s built-in “My Lists” section for discovering what to watch next, you’ll likely want to keep a free Trakt account authorized for that purpose even if you move your actual watch-history tracking somewhere else.

Simkl (Best Overall)

Simkl is the most direct functional replacement for Trakt and the first place most people should look. Its free tier supports unlimited connected apps at once (Kodi, Stremio, Plex, and more) with no artificial cap, which is exactly what Trakt’s free tier no longer offers.

The official add-on (Simkl TV Tracker) installs cleanly from Kodi’s own official repository under Settings > Add-ons > Install from repository > Kodi Add-on repository > Services.

After installing, you authorize it in a browser the same way you’d authorize Trakt. Simkl recommends using the TVDB scraper for your TV show sources for the best detection accuracy, since Kodi 18 and 19 default to a TMDB scraper with thinner TV data.

Simkl vs. Trakt: What’s Different?

Simkl matches Trakt on the core basics, including unlimited scrobbling, watch history with timestamps, episode-level TV tracking, and public watchlists, without a connected-app cap on its free tier. What it doesn’t match is Trakt’s decade-plus of baked-in addon integrations: the official Simkl add-on only tracks local library playback (see the compatibility section above), and its content database is noticeably thinner than Trakt’s for obscure foreign shows and older series with unusual episode numbering. For mainstream movies and TV, most people won’t notice a difference.

Pricing

• Free tier: unlimited scrobbling across connected apps, watch history, episode-level tracking, public watchlists and ratings
• Simkl Premium: reportedly around $19.99/year, adding advanced stats, an ad-free site experience, and extra calendar filtering

Pros

• No connected-app cap on the free tier
• Official Kodi add-on, plus a community add-on (SIMKLScrobbler) built for streaming-addon playback
• Has a direct, native Trakt import tool for migrating your history

Cons

• Official add-on doesn’t track third-party streaming addons at all
• Thinner content database than Trakt for obscure or foreign titles
• Doesn’t replicate addon-native Trending/discovery menus the way Trakt does

Scrob (Best Self-Hosted Option)

Scrob is a newer, open-source, self-hosted tracker built around the idea that your watch history shouldn’t have to live on someone else’s server. You deploy it yourself with Docker, and it syncs directly with Jellyfin, Plex, and Emby, pushing watched state and ratings both ways so everything stays aligned across your setup.

What sets it apart from most self-hosted trackers is a dedicated official Kodi add-on (scrob-kodi) for real-time scrobbling straight from Kodi, plus built-in Trakt and Simkl import so you’re not starting from zero. It also bundles TMDB-powered discovery and one-click Radarr/Sonarr requests, which most pure trackers don’t offer. In practice that means noticing you’re behind on a show and queuing the next season for download without ever leaving the tracking app.

If self-hosting appeals to you but Scrob’s feature set is more than you need, MediaTracker is a simpler open-source alternative that also covers books and games alongside movies and TV, via a community-built Kodi plugin rather than an official one. Watcharr and Ryot are two more self-hosted trackers worth knowing about if you want to compare options before settling on one.

One practical note if you go this route: you’re responsible for keeping your own server secured, especially if you expose it outside your home network. A VPN or a tool like Tailscale for remote access is worth setting up rather than opening ports directly to the internet.

Pricing

• Free and open source (GPL v3): the only ongoing cost is whatever you already pay for server hardware or hosting

Pros

• Your watch history stays on your own server, not a third party’s
• Dedicated official Kodi add-on for real-time scrobbling
• Built-in Trakt and Simkl import, plus two-way Jellyfin/Plex/Emby sync

Cons

• Requires comfort with Docker and self-hosting
• Not confirmed to scrobble third-party streaming addon playback the way SIMKLScrobbler does
• You’re responsible for your own uptime, backups, and server security

Letterboxd (Best for Movies-Only Social Tracking)

Letterboxd is excellent at what it does, but be clear-eyed about what that is: a movies-only, social-first platform, not an automatic scrobbler. There’s no official Kodi integration, so you’re logging films manually or via CSV import. A few community Reddit scripts can push Plex watch events to Letterboxd, but they’re fragile and typically need self-hosting to keep running.

If your library leans heavily toward films and you care about reviews, ratings, and a social feed, Letterboxd is worth running alongside something else for TV tracking. Don’t treat it as a standalone Trakt replacement if television makes up a meaningful part of your watching.

Pricing

• Free tier: unlimited films, diary entries, reviews, ratings, and lists
• Pro and Patron paid tiers add personalized stats, streaming-service filtering and alerts, and profile customization. Check Letterboxd’s site for current pricing, since it isn’t listed publicly without signing in

Pros

• The best review and social layer of anything on this list
• Generous free tier with no meaningful limits on logging
• Huge, active community around films specifically

Cons

• No official Kodi integration or automatic scrobbling
• Movies only, not built for TV show tracking
• Manual logging or CSV import only

Serializd (Best for TV-Only Social Tracking)

Serializd is often described as “Letterboxd for TV,” and that’s an accurate summary. It’s a completely free platform for tracking TV shows, writing reviews, keeping a viewing diary, and following other TV fans, pulling its show data from TMDB.

Like Letterboxd, it has no Kodi integration or automatic scrobbling. It’s a manual, app-based tracker (web, iOS, and Android). Where it stands out is migration: Serializd directly supports importing your existing data from both Trakt and TV Time, so if you’re leaving Trakt specifically for the social and review side of things rather than automatic tracking, the switch is straightforward.

Pricing

• Completely free, with no paid tier at all for any feature

Pros

• Entirely free with no premium upsell
• Direct Trakt and TV Time import built in
• Strong TV-focused community and discovery features

Cons

• No Kodi integration or automatic scrobbling of any kind
• TV only, so you’d need a separate app for movies
• Manual logging, which won’t suit heavy daily watchers

Jellyfin’s Built-In Tracking (Best If You Already Run Jellyfin)

If Jellyfin is already your primary media server, you might not need a separate Trakt alternative at all. Jellyfin tracks playback history natively, per user and per item, with resume-point data, entirely without an external service or account.

The obvious limitation: it only tracks what plays through Jellyfin itself. Anything you watch through a Kodi streaming addon or through Stremio won’t show up in Jellyfin’s history at all. For a setup consolidated entirely around Jellyfin and a local library, though, this is a genuinely zero-cost solution with no third-party account required.

Pricing

• Free: built into Jellyfin itself, no extra account or subscription

Pros

• Zero cost and zero third-party data sharing
• No setup beyond running Jellyfin itself
• Per-user resume points and history out of the box

Cons

• Only tracks Jellyfin playback, nothing from Kodi addons or Stremio
• No social features, lists, or discovery tools
• Not a real option unless Jellyfin is already your primary setup

Trakt Alternatives You Can Skip Right Now

Not everything that shows up in a Trakt alternatives search is actually worth your time in 2026.

TV Time

TV Time shut down permanently on July 15, 2026. Its GDPR data-export tool stayed online for a short grace period afterward but is now offline too, so there’s nothing left to sign up for or migrate from. If you see it recommended on an older list, that list hasn’t been updated since the shutdown.

Showly

Showly shows up on general alternative-app directories, but it’s built specifically to sync with a Trakt account rather than replace one. It’s a Trakt companion app, not an alternative to it. If your goal is getting off Trakt entirely, Showly doesn’t solve that problem.

How to Export and Migrate Your Trakt Watch History

Whichever alternative you pick, export your Trakt data before you disconnect anything. It’s an easy step to skip when you’re annoyed and just want to move on, but do it first.

Exporting Your Trakt Data

1. Log in to trakt.tv in a web browser
2. Go to Settings > Data > Export Data
3. Click Export to JSON, which generates a downloadable ZIP file
4. The ZIP contains separate JSON files for watched movies, watched shows, ratings, your watchlist, comments, and custom lists
5. Save the ZIP somewhere safe as your full watch-history backup

Importing into Simkl: Simkl has a dedicated Trakt import tool under Settings > Import > Trakt. You can connect your Trakt account directly via API, which pulls ratings, watched dates, and your watchlist automatically, or upload the JSON export manually if you’d rather not link accounts. The API method is faster and generally more reliable.

Importing into Serializd: Serializd also supports a direct Trakt import, in addition to TV Time import, making it a straightforward move if you’re switching for the social/review side of tracking.

A few things don’t transfer cleanly no matter where you migrate to: comments and reviews live on trakt.tv only and don’t move anywhere, and custom lists that use obscure TMDB/TVDB IDs may not resolve perfectly on the other end. Check your specific import method’s results before assuming everything came across intact.

Is Trakt VIP Worth Paying For Instead of Switching?

For some people, yes. If your entire reason for reading this guide is the connected-app cap and everything else about Trakt still works for you, paying for VIP is a lot less disruptive than migrating your history and re-authorizing every addon on a different service, especially given how deeply Trakt is baked into addons like Umbrella at the discovery-menu level, not just for scrobbling.

How Much Does Trakt VIP Cost in 2026?

Third-party coverage puts Trakt VIP at roughly $29.99/year (about $2.50/month) as of 2026, reportedly unlocking unlimited connected apps, advanced history filtering and stats, and faster sync. Trakt’s own pricing page was inaccessible during research for this article, so treat that figure as approximate and confirm the current price directly on trakt.tv before subscribing.

If multi-app sync is the only thing you’re missing, VIP is the simplest fix. If you’re also frustrated by Trakt’s database gaps, its interface, or you just don’t want to keep paying a company for something you used to get free, that’s when switching to Simkl or a self-hosted option like Scrob starts to make more sense. Just go in knowing you’ll likely keep a free Trakt account around anyway for addon-native Trending menus, per the note above.

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Verdict: Which Trakt Alternative Should You Choose?

Simkl is the right starting point for almost anyone leaving Trakt: it’s free, has an official Kodi add-on, and its free tier doesn’t limit how many apps you can connect. Pair it with the community SIMKLScrobbler add-on if streaming-addon playback matters more to you than local library tracking.

Scrob is the better pick if you’d rather keep your watch history on your own server than hand it to another company. Whichever you choose, keep in mind that none of these alternatives replace the addon-native Trending and discovery menus Trakt powers inside addons like Umbrella. If you rely on those, it’s worth keeping a free Trakt account authorized alongside whatever you switch to for day-to-day tracking.

If you’re only running into occasional sync errors rather than the free-tier changes described here, it’s worth ruling that out first in our Trakt not working in Kodi troubleshooting guide before switching services entirely. And if you decide Trakt still works for your setup, our full Trakt with Kodi guide covers getting the most out of it.