VibeWatch vs Trakt

Trakt raised prices.I built a free one.

Movies and TV in one diary. Plex and Jellyfin built in. No paid tier. Drop your Trakt export ZIP and your full history, episodes included, comes with you.

Annual cost
Trakt VIP
Paid
$29.99/ year
Core features locked in free tier
Price has climbed repeatedly
VibeWatch
Free
$0/ forever
Every feature, for everyone
No plan to charge
No ads, no affiliate spam

What happened with Trakt?

Trakt used to be the default tracker for people who watched a lot and wanted stats. Then it kept moving features behind a paid plan. Some people are fine with that. Plenty were not.

I wanted a tracker that would never do that. So VibeWatch does not have a paid tier, and there is no plan to add one. Movies and TV, ratings, a release digest, Plex and Jellyfin playback. Free.

What do you actually get?

Six things that cover most of why people land on a tracker in the first place.

Free with no paid tier

No VIP, no pro, no premium plan lurking in settings. The same app for everyone.

One diary, movies and TV

Watchlist, ratings, profile, Top 10. All unified. No separate UI for shows.

Mood discovery

Pick a feeling instead of a genre. Not a feature Trakt has put effort into.

Built-in player

Plug Plex or Jellyfin in once. The play button on any title streams directly.

Daily release digest

One email a day for new episodes, movie drops, and renewals. Stops the hunt.

Design that does not feel like 2015

Cinematic dark UI, motion, glass panels. An app you actually want to open.

So what is actually different?

The rows that actually decide which one you open.

VibeWatch
Price
Free limited, paid tier for core features
Free, everything included
Movies and TV
Yes
Yes
Watchlist and diary
Yes
Yes
Automatic scrobbling
Yes, deep client ecosystem
Via in-app Plex/Jellyfin playback
Release calendar
Yes
Yes, with daily email digest
Mood discovery
No
Yes
Public API
Yes, strong developer base
Not yet
Bring your data over
CSV export, manual re-entry
Drop the ZIP, episodes included
Design
Functional, dated
Cinematic, built for 2026
The honest bit

When should you stay on Trakt?

If you live in deep viewing stats, automatic scrobbling from a dozen clients, or third-party apps that hook into the Trakt API, Trakt still wins. VibeWatch is a clean unified tracker, not an API ecosystem. Know which one you are before switching.

Can I move my Trakt history over?

Yes. Trakt export ZIP works as-is. Watchlist, ratings, and every logged episode land in VibeWatch in one step.

01

Export

Trakt, Settings, export your data. You get a ZIP bundle.

02

Drop the ZIP

Settings, Import Data on VibeWatch. Drag the file in. Watchlist, ratings, and per-episode history come over.

03

Pick your Top 10

Ten slots of favorites and you have the start of a real diary.

Questions people ask

Will VibeWatch ever charge for features?

+

No paid tier is planned. I built VibeWatch because I wanted a tracker that stopped shifting features behind paywalls. That is the whole point.

Does VibeWatch scrobble automatically like Trakt?

+

Automatic scrobbling from Plex and Jellyfin is on the roadmap. Today, watching from your server inside VibeWatch logs progress automatically. External scrobbler clients are not supported yet.

Can I import my Trakt history?

+

Yes. Drop your Trakt export ZIP into Settings, Import Data on VibeWatch. Watchlist, ratings, and per-episode watch history all come over. A preview screen lets you trim before anything lands.

What about my Trakt stats and calendar?

+

VibeWatch has its own release calendar and viewing stats. They are simpler than Trakt VIP-level analytics. If the deep stats are what you love, Trakt is still stronger there.

Does VibeWatch have an API?

+

No public API today. If third-party client support is the reason you use Trakt, that is a real tradeoff to know about before switching.

Is it really free?

+

Yes. No paid tier, no feature gates. Movies, TV, ratings, watchlist, diary, release digest, Plex and Jellyfin playback, all included.

Does it work on Android?

+

Yes, VibeWatch is on Google Play. iOS web works on any iPhone; a native iOS app is planned.

Why should I switch if Trakt still works for me?

+

If Trakt works and you are happy paying, do not switch. If the price hike annoyed you or the UI has aged, VibeWatch is worth twenty seconds to try.

No subscription. Ever.

Open VibeWatch, sign up in twenty seconds, and keep the money you were about to spend on a VIP tier.