TV Time Alternatives: 7 Apps to Replace It in 2026

Bad news: TV Time shut down on July 15, 2026, taking years of checked-off episodes, ratings and watchlists with it. The good news? You’re not alone (the app had over 26 million installs), and if you exported your archive before the shutdown, you can move elsewhere without losing anything. In this article, we compare the best TV Time alternatives, tell you straight which one actually re-imports your data, which one also covers movies and anime, and which to pick based on what you watch.

TV Time shut down on July 15, 2026: what it means for you

TV Time stopped after July 15, 2026. The app is gone from the App Store and Google Play, the tvtime.com site has closed, and accounts are no longer accessible. In practice, your series and movie history went with it, unless you exported it before the shutdown. That’s why it’s time to pick a replacement now.

The announcement, confirmed by MacRumors, came barely two weeks before the servers went dark. We retraced the whole story (and what it means for your data) in our article on the TV Time shutdown.

The thing is, finding a good show-tracking app shouldn’t be done blindly. Some read your TV Time archive back in; others make you re-enter everything by hand. We give you the sorting grid right below.

What to replace TV Time with? The top alternatives at a glance

The best TV Time alternatives in 2026 are Kino, BetaSeries, Trakt, Simkl and Serializd. Here’s the express summary, with each one’s strong point:

• Kino: re-imports your TV Time archive in one tap
• BetaSeries: the series reference in France
• Trakt: powerful and connected to everything
• Simkl: the anime champion
• Serializd: the “Letterboxd for series”

Two more deserve a spot depending on your usage: SofaTime for simple tracking on iPhone, and Letterboxd if you only track films. We break it all down right after.

💡 Keep in mind: no app re-imports your TV Time social life perfectly (comments, badges, reactions). Only one truly reads your export file automatically. The rest is re-entry.

The comparison: 7 TV Time alternatives put to the test

Here’s the table the other lists are missing: real platforms, free tier, TV Time archive import (native, manual or none), series/movies/anime coverage, and social features. The other comparisons all say “import your data” without checking whether the app actually reads the file.

Let’s be clear: “manual” doesn’t mean bad. It means you retype your series one by one, or go through some workaround. Across hundreds of titles, the time difference is huge. That’s exactly the point the press raised: the TV Time archive isn’t a ready-to-use migration format, as Composed points out.

Kino: the direct replacement that re-imports your TV Time in one tap

Kino is the TV Time replacement built for migration: you drop your archive, the app finds each title in its catalog and rebuilds your history automatically. No re-entry, no spreadsheet. It’s the only one on the list where importing your TV Time data truly happens in one tap, via the Migrate from TV Time page. The full walkthrough is in our TV Time import guide.

Beyond the import, Kino ticks the three boxes that matter: check off what you’ve watched, manage your watchlist, and above all a recommendation feed that learns your taste. It covers series as well as movies, not just one or the other. In short, a real series and movie tracker in a single app.

On pricing, we play fair: the free tier already does a lot (full tracking, unlimited watchlist, feed). Premium (cheap, detailed on the pricing page) adds fine-tuned recommendations, unlimited AI and streaming alerts. No obligation to pay to migrate.

We won’t oversell it: Kino is in launch phase, and streaming availability isn’t 100% perfect. But for a TV Time orphan who wants their history back without the hassle, it’s the most direct entry point.

🚀 Want to try it yourself? Download Kino

BetaSeries, Trakt, Simkl, Serializd, SofaTime: strengths and limits of each

Each alternative has a real playing field. None is “the best” in absolute terms: it all depends on what you track and the platform you use. Here are the honest mini-profiles, strengths and limits, to place each one without the fluff.

Is BetaSeries a good TV Time alternative?

Yes, especially if you’re in France. BetaSeries is the most rooted in the French-speaking ecosystem: French interface, big community, solid series tracking and a bit of movies. Its limit? Importing the TV Time archive is still manual, and the free version shows ads.

Is Trakt free?

Yes, Trakt offers a full free plan, with a paid VIP option for advanced stats, no ads and unlimited lists. It’s the most connected app (Plex, Kodi scrobbling, etc.), so it’s perfect for power-users. The downside: the interface is technical and puts off beginners.

Which app replaces TV Time for anime?

Simkl is the anime reference. It syncs with anime catalogs, tracks series, movies AND anime, and offers detailed watchlists. Kino also covers anime in its unified tracking. If anime is your core focus, Simkl or Kino are your two best bets.

Serializd and SofaTime: the outsiders

Serializd is the “Letterboxd for series”: geared toward ratings, reviews and social discovery, very pleasant for sharing your takes, but series-focused and mostly web. SofaTime targets the iPhone user who wants simple, pretty tracking with no frills, at the cost of a more limited ecosystem (iOS only).

Which alternative to choose based on your profile?

Don’t want to read five profiles? Here’s the direct decision grid. Pick your row, you’ve got your app. It’s this “which show-tracking app based on who you are” framing that the other comparisons forget.

Which free TV Time alternative to choose?

The best free TV Time alternative depends on your need, but Kino and Simkl offer the most complete free tracking closest to TV Time (series, movies, anime, watchlist, ratings). BetaSeries and Trakt also offer a solid free plan, with ads or paid options to unlock advanced features.

Did you back up your TV Time data in time?

Everything hinges on one question: did you export your archive before the shutdown? Until July 15, 2026, TV Time offered a GDPR export of your data via its official export tool, which no longer responds reliably now that the service is closed. If you downloaded your archive in time (followed series, watched episodes, ratings, watchlist), keep it safe: without that file, no import is possible.

That right was no favor: retrieving your personal data is a right of access guaranteed by GDPR, as reminded by the CNIL. We detailed the whole step-by-step procedure, kept online for the record, in our dedicated guide: how to back up your TV Time data.

⚠️ Warning: the export is no longer possible since July 15, 2026. The servers are shut off, and the remaining data has been permanently deleted. If you have your archive, treat that ZIP like gold.

What you lose (and don’t lose) by switching apps

Let’s be honest, no one else will tell you: by migrating, you get your watch history back, but not your TV Time social life. Your archive contains the series, watched episodes, ratings and watchlist. It does NOT contain your per-episode comments, your reactions, your badges or your social feed. Those simply weren’t exportable.

It stings a little, especially if you commented on every cliffhanger with the community. But the essential part, your real progress, transfers. That’s what we explain in detail in our article on the TV Time export.

✅ Good practice: if you took screenshots of your stats and favorite badges before the app closed, keep them next to your archive. You won’t re-import them, but you’ll keep the numbered memory of your binge years.

Why TV Time really shut down

TV Time didn’t close for lack of users, but as a strategic choice. Its parent company, Whip Media, refocused on its AI data-analytics tool, a B2B market more profitable than the consumer app. Free show tracking no longer fit the plans.

The official statement was blunt:

“After so many incredible years, we’ve made the difficult decision to shut down TV Time. The service will end after July 15, 2026… it was no longer viable to maintain the service as a free application and there wasn’t enough demand for a paid application.”

This pivot to AI is confirmed by TechCrunch, which also recalls the scale of it: over 26 million installs out there. The full text is in the Whip Media statement.

Is TV Time paid?

No, TV Time was free (with ads and an unpopular premium option). That’s exactly the problem pointed out in the statement: neither the free model nor a potential paid model was enough to make the service profitable. Hence the outright shutdown rather than a switch to all-paid.

Key takeaways

• TV Time shut down on July 15, 2026: new exports are no longer possible.
• Kino re-imports your TV Time archive in one tap.
• BetaSeries for France, Simkl for anime.
• Comments, badges and social don’t transfer.

Conclusion

TV Time has bowed out, but your series collection doesn’t have to disappear with it. If you exported your archive before the shutdown, pick the app that fits your profile and start over without losing a thing. If you want the shortest path, Kino re-imports your data in one tap and covers series, movies and anime in a single app. Download Kino and migrate in a few minutes.

And you, do you mostly track series, movies, anime, or a bit of everything? That’s what will decide your best TV Time alternative.