I Like Movies vs IMDb

This page is written by the developer of I Like Movies. A comparison written by one side is not neutral, so it names where the other app is the better choice and does not score anything.

I Like Movies as a IMDb alternative

IMDb is the reference. It is where the internet looks up who directed what, and its rating is the closest thing film culture has to a universal score. It also carries a watchlist and lists, which is why people reasonably ask whether it can be their tracker too.

I Like Movies is a tracker first: built for deciding what to watch tonight and keeping the record afterwards. The honest framing is that these two are different tools that happen to overlap on the watchlist, and this page lays out the overlap.

Where IMDb is better

The database itself

Nothing rivals IMDb as a reference: full cast and crew back to the silent era, trivia, goofs, quotes, technical specs, box office. I Like Movies shows the cast and crew that matter for choosing a film; IMDb is where you settle an argument about a gaffer in 1974.

The rating everyone recognises

An IMDb score is quotable shorthand backed by one of the largest vote bases on the internet. Ratings in I Like Movies are for you and your friends, not a public reference number.

Everywhere, including the web

IMDb runs on the web as well as iOS and Android, with an account that is probably older than some of your devices. I Like Movies is a phone app for iPhone and Android, with no web version.

Industry depth

Release calendars, production status, and IMDbPro underneath for people who work in film. None of that exists here, and none of it will.

What is different in I Like Movies

Built for tracking, not looking up

IMDb records what you rate; it is not built around what you have watched. I Like Movies keeps a watched history for films and TV in one library, tracks series at episode level, and can tell a show that has ended from one between seasons.

A household shares one library

The people you live with can see each other’s watchlists, share one collection of what you own, and decide in a household chat. An IMDb watchlist belongs to one account.

Recommendations from your own taste

Monthly collections are generated from your ratings, and an assistant answers plain-language requests, filtered against what you have seen. IMDb recommends from broad popularity.

Streaming availability for your country

Every title shows which services carry it where you live. IMDb shows availability too, strongest for the US and tilted toward Amazon; here it is resolved per country as a core feature.

No ads

IMDb is ad-supported nearly everywhere you look. I Like Movies has no advertising at all.

Feature by feature

Feature	I Like Movies	IMDb
What it is	A tracking app	A reference database
Platforms	iPhone, Android	Web, iOS, Android
Watched history	Yes, films and TV	No, ratings and lists
TV episode progress	Yes, per episode	Episodes can be rated, not tracked
Cast, crew and trivia depth	Enough to choose a film	The deepest there is
Shared household library	Yes	No
AI recommendations	Yes, from your own ratings	No, popularity-based
Export and import	Imports IMDb .csv, plus Letterboxd, Trakt and TV Time exports	Exports ratings and lists as .csv
Price	Free, no ads	Free with ads

Moving your library

This is the smoothest migration on the site: export your ratings or your watchlist from IMDb as a .csv file and upload it in I Like Movies under Imports. The app works out on its own whether the file is a watchlist or a custom list, and ratings come across with the titles.

Your IMDb account is untouched, and there is no reason to close it: IMDb as a reference next to a tracker is a perfectly good pairing.

What I Like Movies does not do

There is no automatic tracking. Nothing scrobbles from a media server, a browser or a streaming app; you mark things watched yourself.
There are no public reviews. Notes go to your friends or stay just for you, and there is no feed of strangers to read.
There is no web app. The library lives on the server, but you reach it from the phone app.
There is no offline mode. The app needs an internet connection.
Imports read four kinds of export: a Letterboxd .zip, an IMDb .csv, a Trakt .zip and a TV Time export saved before that service closed. There is no importer for Simkl exports, and an import is a one-time copy, not a sync.

The honest verdict

Keep IMDb. That is not a concession, it is the point: as a reference it has no substitute, and nothing here tries to replace it.

The question is only what tracks your watching. If a ratings list on IMDb has been quietly standing in for a tracker, the .csv import moves it into a real one in a few taps: watched history, episode progress, a household watchlist and recommendations from your own taste.

Questions people ask

Can I import my IMDb ratings and watchlist into I Like Movies?

Yes. Export your ratings or a list from IMDb as a .csv file and upload it in the app under Imports. The app detects on its own whether the file is a watchlist or a custom list, and your scores are preserved.

Does IMDb track TV episodes?

You can rate individual episodes on IMDb, but there is no progress tracking: nothing records which episodes you have seen or how far into a season you are. I Like Movies tracks that per episode, and marking a whole season watched takes a tap.

Is IMDb still worth using alongside a tracker?

Yes, and this page recommends exactly that. IMDb is the best reference database in existence; a tracker answers a different question. Look things up there, keep your watching record here.

Is I Like Movies free?

Yes, free with no advertising. IMDb is also free, supported by ads, with IMDbPro as a paid tier for industry professionals.

More comparisons: Letterboxd, Trakt, Simkl, Serializd, Maimovie, Moviebase, JustWatch, Matinee, Cronica, Flick. Or browse every guide and watch order.

The best-of roundups:

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