Best Free TV Time Alternatives After the Shutdown

You Do Not Have to Pay to Replace TV Time

TV Time's service ended after July 15, 2026. The app left the stores and the website went offline. TV Time was free to use, so it is reasonable to compare which replacement features remain free and which require an optional upgrade.

Good news: several strong trackers cost nothing to use for everyday episode tracking. The catch is the fine print. "Free" and "freemium" are not the same thing, and each app draws the paywall in a different place. This guide is honest about exactly what you get without paying, and what sits behind an optional upgrade.

When you judge a free tracker, check three things beyond the price tag. First, does the free tier include episode progress tracking? Second, can it use a TV Time export you saved before the shutdown? Third, is your data portable on the free plan so you can leave later without losing everything? The apps below draw their paywalls in different places, so verify current availability for your platform and region.

Free Ways to Track Your Shows

Moviebase

Movies and TV together

Free to download on iOS and Android, with optional Premium and Trakt support.

trakt

Free with optional VIP

Core tracking is free; check current import and VIP boundaries before switching.

SIMKL

Familiar alternative

A tracker with a saved TV Time ZIP import route and an optional upgrade.

SeriesGuide

Free and open

A free, open-source Android tracker with Trakt connectivity.

The Best Free TV Time Alternatives

1. Moviebase — free movie and TV tracking

Moviebase is free to download on iOS and Android and tracks movies and TV shows together. Optional Premium adds benefits including ad removal. Check the current in-app feature list for the exact boundary between free and Premium in your installed version.

That matters after TV Time, because "free" services can quietly gate the useful parts. Moviebase keeps its Trakt sync free; detailed statistics are part of Premium. To recover your history without spending anything, take the TV Time export you saved, use Trakt's free built-in TV Time importer, and connect Trakt in Moviebase — the sync is bidirectional, so your data comes in and stays portable. See the head-to-head in Moviebase vs TV Time.

Moviebase is available on both iOS and Android and includes community features. Availability can vary by platform and version, so verify the specific features you need.

Best for: Android and iPhone users who want free movie and episode tracking with Trakt portability in one app.

2. Trakt — free, with the importer included

Trakt has a genuinely useful free tier, and crucially the built-in TV Time importer is available without paying. That alone makes it the most important free stop for anyone leaving TV Time, because getting your history off the old service is the urgent part. Free Trakt also handles tracking and scrobbling from Plex and Kodi.

Trakt does offer an optional VIP subscription that adds extras on top, but you can transfer your data, keep tracking, and sync to other apps entirely on the free plan. The tradeoff is the same as always: the mobile interface is more functional than polished, which is why many people use free Trakt as the portability layer and a nicer app as the front end.

Best for: Anyone who wants the free TV Time importer and long-term portability.

3. Simkl — free and familiar

Simkl is free and ships a built-in TV Time ZIP importer, so it is the closest free like-for-like swap. The layout will feel familiar quickly, and it handles anime well.

Before choosing Simkl, check its current import documentation, supported file format, and free-tier limits. Keep the original TV Time export so you can retry or choose another route.

Best for: People who want a TV Time-like layout and a saved-file import option.

4. Serializd — free and social

Serializd is free and leans into the social side that many TV Time users will miss — reviews, ratings, and a clean visual feed, in the spirit of Letterboxd for television. If the community feeling is what you are chasing on a budget, it is worth trying.

Two honest notes. Serializd is web-first, so it is not a polished native mobile app, and it does not offer a one-click TV Time importer the way Trakt and Simkl do, so bringing history in is less automatic. As a free social home, though, it fills a gap the more utilitarian trackers leave open. (Serializd is not shown in the app lineup above because it is web-first rather than a store app, but it belongs on any free shortlist.)

Best for: Users who want a free, review-driven, social TV feed.

5. SeriesGuide — free and open source

SeriesGuide is a free, open-source Android tracker built for speed. It focuses on marking episodes quickly and keeping a tidy list of what is airing, and it connects to Trakt so your data stays portable. Optional supporter unlocks exist, but the core tracking is free.

The tradeoff is scope. SeriesGuide is TV-first and utilitarian, so if you also want movie tracking and discovery, Moviebase covers more on its free tier, with detailed statistics in optional Premium.

Best for: Android users who want a fast, free, open tracker.

Free vs Freemium: Read the Fine Print

Every app on this list lets you track shows for free, but the paywalls sit in different places:

• Moviebase is free to download, with optional Premium benefits including ad removal.
• Trakt keeps tracking and the TV Time importer free; VIP is optional.
• Simkl keeps core tracking free; an upgrade is optional.
• Serializd is free to use, with an optional upgrade.
• SeriesGuide is free and open source, with optional supporter unlocks.

The practical move is the same for all of them: import your history into Trakt for free first, then choose the free app you most enjoy opening. Because Moviebase and SeriesGuide both read from Trakt, your data follows you at no cost, and you avoid the lock-in that made the TV Time shutdown painful.

For the complete picture beyond just the free options, see all TV Time alternatives. If your Android device is the deciding factor, read the best Android alternative. And if movies are as important to you as TV, compare the best free movie trackers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Source Notes

This guide is based on TV Time's official shutdown notice and July 2026 reporting. Free and Premium boundaries can change, so app-specific claims should be checked against current listings. Moviebase is free to download on iOS and Android with optional Premium, including ad removal.