Avatar: Fire and Ash just landed its Disney Plus debut, Marvel’s VisionQuest got a release date, and Project Hail Mary surprise-dropped on streaming. Keeping up with what is coming where, when, has stopped being a side hobby for cinephiles. The streaming services do not coordinate calendars with each other, the cinemas have their own windows, and Twitter feeds are unreliable. We tested seven movie and TV release tracking apps for Android and ranked them by how well they handle the four jobs that matter most: alerting you to new releases, telling you where to watch, syncing across devices, and remembering what you have seen.
What to look for in a release tracking app
Most of these apps overlap on basics. The differences that matter:
- Notification reliability. New-episode and release-date alerts must fire on time and not get throttled by Android battery optimisation.
- Streaming-where data. “Where can I watch this” should cover Netflix, Disney Plus, Prime, Max, Apple TV Plus, Hulu, Paramount Plus, and the regional streamers in your country.
- Sync. Watch history, watchlist, and ratings should sync across phone, tablet, and web.
- Calendar export. Some apps push upcoming releases into your phone calendar or as ICS subscriptions for one-tap viewing on existing calendars.
- Community and ratings depth. IMDb and Letterboxd have the largest review corpora; smaller apps lean on their own user communities or aggregate from external sources.
Quick comparison
| App | Best for | Platforms | Free plan | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IMDb | Default reference and ratings | Android, iOS, Web | Yes | Free | 4.6 (Play Store) |
| Trakt | Watch history and stats | Android, iOS, Web | Yes | $30/yr (VIP) | 4.4 (Play Store) |
| Letterboxd | Film community and reviews | Android, iOS, Web | Yes | $19/yr (Pro) | 4.7 (Play Store) |
| JustWatch | Streaming-where lookup | Android, iOS, Web | Yes | Free | 4.7 (Play Store) |
| TV Time | TV-show alerts and tracking | Android, iOS | Yes | Free | 4.6 (Play Store) |
| Reelgood | Universal streaming watchlist | Android, iOS, Web | Yes | $4.99/mo (Premium) | 4.4 (Play Store) |
| Plex | Personal library + Discover | Android, iOS, Web, Roku, Apple TV | Yes | $9.99/mo (Plex Pass) | 4.5 (Play Store) |
The 7 best movie and TV release tracking apps for Android
1. IMDb, best default reference and ratings
IMDb is the default movie and TV database. Every release date, every cast and crew credit, every aggregate rating from the world’s largest movie review pool. The Android app has solid watchlist features, push notifications for upcoming releases, and a Coming Soon tab that lists this week’s, this month’s, and this season’s releases by category. IMDb TV inside the app shows a few free titles from Amazon’s catalog (now branded as Amazon Freevee in some regions).
Where it falls short: Streaming availability lookup is less reliable than JustWatch for non-Amazon services. The interface leans heavy on ad units in some regions.
Pricing:
- Free: full app, ratings, watchlist, free streaming via the in-app catalog
- Paid: IMDbPro for industry users at around $19.99 per month
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: Pick IMDb if you want the broadest reference and the largest ratings pool. Most other apps on this list use IMDb data as their backbone.
2. Trakt, best for watch history and stats
Trakt logs everything you watch automatically when paired with your streaming services or compatible apps like Plex, Kodi, Infuse, or VLC. The Android app shows next-episode countdowns, smart watchlists that learn what you actually finish, and yearly stats covering hours watched, top genres, and finish rates. The Trakt API also feeds dozens of third-party apps, which is part of why it has stuck around for over a decade.
Where it falls short: Auto-scrobbling requires setup with each service or device. Calendar view past two weeks needs the VIP subscription.
Pricing:
- Free: full tracking, basic watchlist, limited custom lists
- Paid: VIP at around $30 per year unlocks unlimited custom lists, calendar past two weeks, and ad removal
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: Pick Trakt if you watch a lot and you want detailed stats and reliable next-episode tracking that survives across services.
3. Letterboxd, best for film community and reviews
Letterboxd is a social network built around films. Rate, log, review, list. The community writes some of the best short-form film criticism on the internet, and the app makes it easy to follow critics whose taste you trust. Diary entries log every watch with a date stamp. Watchlists sync to JustWatch for streaming-where lookup. The “Films I’ve Liked This Year” recap is the streaming equivalent of Spotify Wrapped.
Where it falls short: Coverage of TV shows is intentionally limited, since Letterboxd is movies-only by design. Pro subscription is required for some advanced filters and stat features.
Pricing:
- Free: full logging, lists, social features
- Paid: Pro at around $19 per year removes ads and unlocks filter options; Patron at around $49 per year adds custom posters and bonus features
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: Pick Letterboxd if movies are a serious hobby and you want a film-only community alongside your tracking.
4. JustWatch, best for streaming-where lookup
JustWatch answers one question better than any other app: “Where can I watch this right now?” Search any title and it returns every legal streaming option in your country, with subscription, rental, and purchase pricing side by side. The watchlist lets you build a queue, and the New tab surfaces what dropped on each service this week.
Where it falls short: Watch history tracking is shallower than Trakt or TV Time. No first-class community features.
Pricing:
- Free: full app with a small ad bar
- Paid: ad removal one-time purchase
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: Pick JustWatch if your most common question is “what service has this” and you do not need deep tracking on top.
5. TV Time, best for TV-show alerts
TV Time is the best-tuned app for TV-show tracking. Mark shows as watching, paused, or finished. The home tab shows what to watch next based on your queues. New-episode push notifications fire reliably. The community emoji-reaction feature lets you tag scenes after watching, which feeds into the show-discovery recommendations.
Where it falls short: Movie tracking is bolted on rather than core. Recent updates pushed more advertising into the free tier.
Pricing:
- Free: full tracking and notifications
- Paid: TV Time Pro at around $4.99 per month removes ads and unlocks calendar export
Platforms: Android, iOS
Bottom line: Pick TV Time if you mostly watch TV and you want the cleanest “what episode is next” home screen.
6. Reelgood, best for universal streaming watchlist
Reelgood combines streaming-where lookup with a unified watchlist that crosses services. Add a show or movie once, and Reelgood remembers where it lives. Tap “Watch Now” and the app deep-links into the right streaming service to start playback. Coverage spans Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, Max, Apple TV Plus, Prime, Paramount Plus, Peacock, and dozens of smaller services.
Where it falls short: US coverage is the strongest. International coverage is improving but not as broad as JustWatch in some markets. Premium features expand the most useful tools.
Pricing:
- Free: full watchlist and search
- Paid: Premium at around $4.99 per month for power-user filters and export
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Bottom line: Pick Reelgood if you want to consolidate watchlists from multiple streamers into one Android app with deep-link playback.
7. Plex, best for personal library plus Discover
Plex does double duty as a personal media server and a streaming Discover app. Plex Discover indexes around 15 streaming services and lets you build a unified watchlist. Plex’s universal search returns titles available in your personal Plex server, in major streaming services, and in Plex’s free ad-supported live TV catalog.
Where it falls short: Plex’s identity as a personal-server app sometimes overshadows the Discover features. Some streaming integrations require a Plex Pass subscription.
Pricing:
- Free: Plex Discover, free ad-supported streaming, universal watchlist
- Paid: Plex Pass at around $9.99 per month, $4.99 monthly billed annually, or $119.99 lifetime, unlocks DVR, mobile sync, hardware transcoding, and intro/credit skipping
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web, Apple TV, Roku, smart TVs
Bottom line: Pick Plex if you already run a Plex server, or you want one app that crosses streaming Discover, free ad-supported TV, and your personal library.
How to pick the right release tracking app
Pick IMDb if you want one default app and you do not want to think about which features overlap with what.
Pick Trakt if you watch a lot, you want detailed stats, and you can set up auto-scrobbling with the services and apps you use.
Pick Letterboxd if movies are your main thing and the social and review side matters to you.
Pick JustWatch if your most common need is “where can I watch this” and you do not need deep history tracking.
Pick TV Time for TV-only tracking with the cleanest next-episode notifications.
Pick Reelgood if you stream across many services and you want one unified watchlist with deep-link playback.
Pick Plex if you already have a personal media server, or you want one app spanning streaming, free TV, and your own library.
A common stack: JustWatch plus Trakt plus Letterboxd covers streaming-where, history, and movie community without overlap.
FAQ
What is the best free movie and TV tracking app for Android? IMDb for general tracking, JustWatch for streaming-where, Letterboxd for movie reviews, TV Time for TV-show next-episode alerts. All four have full free tiers.
Can these apps tell me when something hits Netflix or Disney Plus? Yes. JustWatch and Reelgood show streaming arrival and removal dates. TV Time and Trakt push notifications for new TV episodes on services they support.
Does any app sync watch history across multiple streaming services? Trakt does this best with its scrobbler integrations across Plex, Kodi, Infuse, VLC, and several other apps. No mainstream tracker reads Netflix or Disney Plus history directly because those services do not expose user-history APIs.
Which app has the most accurate streaming availability data? JustWatch and Reelgood both pull from publisher feeds with frequent updates. JustWatch has the broader international coverage. Reelgood handles US streaming better with deep-link playback.
Can I export my watchlist between apps? Trakt has full import and export tools that work with most tracking apps. Letterboxd has CSV import and export. IMDb watchlists can be exported to CSV via the web view. Most other apps require manual recreation.
