Simkl vs Trakt: Which Auto-Tracker Wins in 2026?
Simkl scrobbles Netflix and Crunchyroll from your browser. Trakt scrobbles from your media server. Here is which one fits how you watch in 2026.
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If you watch on Netflix or Crunchyroll in a Chrome browser, or you track anime seriously, pick Simkl. If you run Plex, Jellyfin or Kodi and want your tracker connected to the rest of your media setup, pick Trakt.
Last verified: October 18, 2026. Trakt’s limits and community-app change come from its own forum posts, Simkl’s plans and extensions from its documentation, and the scrobbling tools from their project pages; prices may change.
One 2026 change matters if you use Trakt: on July 22, 2026 Trakt announced that free accounts can connect one community app, meaning a third-party app built on Trakt’s API. Official Trakt apps do not count toward that limit, and Trakt says VIP is the plan for people who connect several.
Simkl vs Trakt at a glance
| Question | Simkl | Trakt |
|---|---|---|
| Automatic tracking | Chrome extension (Enhancer) that tracks Netflix and Crunchyroll | Official Jellyfin plugin, a Kodi add-on and a Plex plugin scrobble to Trakt; Infuse sends watch history to it |
| Anime | Anime lists and a MyAnimeList import | Trakt’s posts cited here describe no anime-specific lists or imports |
| Free tier | Tracking and history, with ads; no custom lists. Using Simkl 20 days in a month unlocks PRO features | Tracking, scrobbling and lists, with the limits below |
| Custom-list caps | Free: no custom lists. PRO: 30 lists, 1,000 items per list, 60,000 in total. VIP: 1,000 lists, 10,000 items per list, 500,000 in total | Live now: 250 watchlist items and 250 items per list. Announced Feb 2026, no enforcement date yet: 5 personal lists and 1,000 list items in total |
| Browsers and apps | Extensions for Chrome, Edge and Firefox | An open API; one community app connection on a free account since July 22, 2026, and VIP is the plan for several |
| Paid tier | PRO is billed annually; VIP is $34.99 every 6 months; a one-time Lifetime VIP also exists. Simkl’s docs give no PRO or Lifetime price | VIP is $60 a year, as reported by AlternativeTo in May 2025 |
| What the paid tier adds | PRO: no ads, private profile, manual CSV backup, and the list caps above. VIP adds MyAnimeList two-way sync, calendar sync, automatic JSON backups and higher list caps | VIP has higher caps. Trakt’s 2026 limits post announces 5,000 watchlist items and 100 personal lists for VIP against 5 personal lists on free, with enforcement dates still to come; today’s live free caps are 250 watchlist items and 250 per list |
| Import from the other | Built-in Trakt import: one-time is free, scheduled auto import is VIP | Trakt has an open API and exports your data as a ZIP of JSON files |
| Export | Manual JSON download for everyone; CSV needs PRO, automatic backups need VIP | ZIP of JSON files from Settings, free for every account |
Sources: Trakt’s community app announcement and 2026 limits post, Simkl’s docs on billing, the plan comparison, export options and the Trakt import, and our Trakt export guide.
Or keep shows with your films and books. Achriom imports your Trakt history by username and tracks episodes next to everything else you watch, read and play. No auto-scrobbling.
Bring my Trakt history →The verdict in three lines
- Netflix or Crunchyroll in a Chrome browser, or anime: Simkl.
- Plex, Jellyfin or Kodi, or lots of connected apps: Trakt, with VIP if you use more than one community app.
- One library across shows, films and books: neither, so see the section near the end.
What to look for in an auto-tracker
“Auto-tracking” means different things depending on where you watch. Sorting that out first makes the choice much easier.
Where the scrobbling happens. Simkl’s headline feature is a Chrome extension that watches what you play on Netflix and Crunchyroll and logs it for you. Trakt’s headline feature is scrobbling from media servers and players: Plex, Jellyfin, Kodi and Infuse, through plugins and add-ons. Match the tracker to your setup, not the other way around.
Anime handling. Anime breaks normal TV trackers. Absolute episode numbering, split cours and specials rarely map cleanly onto the season structure Western databases use. Simkl treats anime as its own category with its own lists and imports.
Import options. If you have years of history in another app, the tracker that can absorb it wins by default. Simkl has importers for Trakt and MyAnimeList, among others, and our Trakt to Simkl guide walks through it. Trakt’s open API means plenty of tools can move data around with some effort.
Limits and ecosystem. Trakt’s open API powers many third-party apps. Since July 22, 2026 a free account can connect one of those apps, so the ecosystem is now the part of Trakt most tied to VIP.
Simkl
Simkl is the tracker built for people who watch Netflix and Crunchyroll in a browser tab.
Install the Chrome extension, which Simkl’s docs call Enhancer for Netflix, Crunchyroll, etc, and it logs what you play on Netflix and Crunchyroll. The Edge and Firefox extensions are Simkl Lists tools, and Simkl’s docs don’t describe streaming sync for them. Finish an episode of Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End on Crunchyroll and it lands in your history without a tap.
For anime, Simkl has anime lists and a MyAnimeList import, which makes it a natural landing spot for people who want Western TV and seasonal anime in one place. If you are weighing dedicated anime trackers instead, our MyAnimeList vs AniList vs Kitsu comparison covers that side of the world.
One limit to know: the streaming tracking runs in a Chrome browser, so on a phone or a TV app you log by hand. For the plans, see our Simkl VIP breakdown, and if you run a media server, Simkl and Jellyfin covers the connection.
Simkl suits: Netflix and Crunchyroll viewers on desktop Chrome, anime watchers, and anyone consolidating history from other apps.
Trakt
Trakt is the tracker built around your watch history as portable, connected data.
Connect Trakt to Plex, Jellyfin or Kodi through their plugins and add-ons, or send watch history from Infuse, and episodes you play get logged. Work through a season of Slow Horses on your own server and Trakt keeps the record.
The ecosystem is the other half of the argument. Trakt’s open API powers third-party apps from mobile clients to playlist tools, and your history syncs across them. That is a big part of why Trakt holds its position as alternatives multiply.
What changed in 2026
Two things changed on Trakt’s side, both from its own forum posts.
- Free tier limits. In its 2026 limits post, Trakt raised the free watchlist and per-list caps from 100 to 250 items and announced further limits: 5 personal lists and 1,000 total list items on free, against 100 lists and 100,000 list items on VIP. Trakt said enforcement dates were still to come.
- One community app. On July 22, 2026 Trakt announced that free accounts can connect one community app, and that VIP is for people who connect several. Trakt said it is not intentionally disconnecting existing apps, but an app that loses authorization and reconnects counts as a new connection.
Trakt suits: media server owners, statistics fans, and anyone who wants history connected to a range of apps built on its API. We have also compared it head to head with TV Time and Letterboxd.
Which should you use?
Choose Simkl if:
- You watch mostly on Netflix or Crunchyroll in a Chrome browser and want it logged automatically
- Anime is a meaningful part of your watching
- You have history in Trakt or MyAnimeList and want it in one place
Choose Trakt if:
- You run Plex, Jellyfin or Kodi and want scrobbling from your own server
- You use several connected apps and are fine paying for VIP
- You track movies as seriously as TV
If you want neither: one library for shows, films and books
Simkl and Trakt are both TV-and-movie trackers. If the rest of what you watch, read and listen to lives in other apps, Achriom keeps it together.
- Trakt import by username, with episodes, and it can re-sync daily.
- Books, albums and anime sit next to your shows and films in the same library.
- Private by default, with an opt-in public profile.
Achriom does not auto-scrobble, so it fits people who log what they finish rather than people who want playback tracked for them. Free to start, with no item limit.
Bring your Trakt history over. Enter your Trakt username and see your shows next to your books.
Bring my Trakt history →If you are leaving Trakt, How to Export Your Trakt Data shows how to save a copy first.
The honest answer
Simkl and Trakt are both good at automatic tracking. They made different bets about where you watch.
Trakt bet on people who own their media pipeline: servers, players and an ecosystem of apps on top. Simkl bet on people who rent their watching from Netflix and Crunchyroll and needed the browser automated, and it took anime seriously along the way.
Streaming and anime, Simkl. Servers and connected apps, Trakt. Simkl can import your Trakt history, so testing your instinct costs an afternoon.
Common questions
Is Simkl better than Trakt?
Simkl is better if you watch Netflix or Crunchyroll in a Chrome browser or track anime. Trakt is better if you run Plex, Jellyfin or Kodi and want the apps built on Trakt’s API.
Is Trakt still free in 2026?
Yes, Trakt still has a free tier, but it has limits. Free accounts can connect one community app since July 22, 2026, and the free watchlist holds up to 250 items.
Can I move my Trakt history to Simkl?
Yes, Simkl has a built-in Trakt import. Trakt also lets any account, free or VIP, export its data as a ZIP of JSON files from Settings.
Can I use Simkl and Trakt together?
Yes, you can keep an account on each, and Simkl can import your Trakt history. The two do not mirror each other automatically, so each one only knows what you log through it.
What’s the best Trakt alternative for anime?
Simkl is the pick, because it has anime lists and a MyAnimeList import. If you want anime next to your films, shows and books in one library, Achriom imports AniList, Kitsu and MyAnimeList lists.
Bring your shelf over
Start your library