I Like Movies vs Trakt

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 Trakt alternative

Trakt is the tracking backbone of the home-media world. It records what you watch automatically from media servers and players, and a whole ecosystem of apps is built on top of it.

I Like Movies is a phone app with no setup, aimed at the moment before you press play rather than the record of having pressed it. Which one fits depends almost entirely on how you watch.

Where Trakt is better

Automatic tracking

This is the reason Trakt exists. Plex, Kodi, Infuse and a long list of players scrobble to it, so your history writes itself. I Like Movies has no scrobbling at all; you mark things watched yourself. If you run a media server, Trakt is the right tool and this page will save you the install.

The ecosystem

Trakt’s API powers dozens of third-party apps, and your Trakt account follows you across all of them. I Like Movies is one app, not a platform.

Cross-platform reach

Trakt has a full web app and clients on effectively everything. I Like Movies is a phone app for iPhone and Android.

Depth of history features

Years of check-ins, comments, lists and VIP statistics. A mature product with a decade of accumulated features for people who love the record itself.

What is different in I Like Movies

Nothing to set up

No media server, no connections, no player integrations. Install the app, upload your Trakt export (or a Letterboxd, IMDb or TV Time one) if you have a history to bring, and it works.

Built for deciding, not just recording

AI collections rebuilt monthly from your own ratings, an assistant you can ask in plain language, and streaming availability per country. Trakt records what you watched; this is mostly about what you watch next.

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. Trakt accounts are personal; lists can be shared, but there is no household.

No ads at any tier

I Like Movies has no advertising. Trakt is free with ads and sells VIP to remove them and unlock extras.

Feature by feature

Feature	I Like Movies	Trakt
Platforms	iPhone, Android	Web, iOS, Android, many third-party apps
Automatic scrobbling	No	Yes, from media servers and players
TV and episode tracking	Yes, per episode	Yes, per episode
AI recommendations	Yes, from your own ratings	No
Shared household library	Yes	No, personal accounts
Streaming availability	Yes, per country	Yes
Third-party app ecosystem	No	Yes, a large one
Import	Letterboxd, IMDb, Trakt and TV Time exports	Several importers
Price	Free, no ads	Free with ads; VIP subscription

Moving your library

Moving is direct: export your data from Trakt (Settings, then Data, then Export now), which downloads a .zip file, and upload it in I Like Movies under Imports. Ratings, watched films, the episodes you have watched, your watchlist and your custom lists come across together, and you see what was found before anything is added.

Season and episode ratings are not imported, and a film or episode watched more than once counts once, at its latest watch. It is a one-time copy rather than a sync: nothing is sent back to Trakt, your account there is untouched, and the whole import can be undone within a day.

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

If your watching flows through Plex, Kodi or anything that scrobbles, stay on Trakt. Manual tracking after years of automatic tracking feels like a downgrade because it is one.

If you watch on streaming apps, track by hand anyway, and want the deciding half of the problem solved on your phone, with your household on one list, I Like Movies is built for exactly that.

Questions people ask

Can I import my Trakt history into I Like Movies?

Yes. Export your data from Trakt (Settings, then Data, then Export now), which downloads a .zip file, then upload that file in the app under Imports. Ratings, watched films, your episode history, your watchlist and your custom lists are read from the export and matched against the film and TV database.

Season and episode ratings are not imported, and the import is a one-time copy: it does not keep syncing with Trakt afterwards.

Does I Like Movies scrobble from Plex or Kodi?

No. There is no automatic tracking of any kind. You mark films and episodes watched yourself. If scrobbling is essential to you, Trakt is the better choice.

Does I Like Movies track episodes like Trakt does?

Yes. TV series are tracked at episode level, with season progress, and the app distinguishes a series that has ended from one between seasons.

Is I Like Movies free?

Yes, free with no advertising. Trakt is free with ads and offers a VIP subscription that removes them and adds features.

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

The best-of roundups:

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