Every Media Tracker App, Compared (And When to Use Each One)

There are a lot of media tracker apps. And most people use the wrong one—or use three different ones when one would do. Here’s the honest breakdown.

The Specialists

Letterboxd is the best movie tracker. Period. The community is incredible, the logging is detailed, and the stats are beautiful. If you care about film as an art form, Letterboxd is where you belong.

But it only does movies. No TV shows, no books, no games.

Goodreads is the best book tracker. It has the largest database, the most reviews, and the biggest community of readers. Amazon owns it, which is a downside, but the functionality is solid.

But it only does books.

MyAnimeList is the go-to for anime. It has the most comprehensive anime database, detailed stats, and a passionate community. If you’re deep into anime, this is your home.

But it only does anime and manga.

Trakt is the best for TV and movie tracking with automatic scrobbling. If you use Plex, Kodi, or another media center, Trakt automatically logs what you watch. The stats are fantastic.

But it only does TV and movies.

The Generalist

Fanakin does everything. Movies, TV shows, books, games, anime, music—all in one place. It’s not as deep as the specialists in any one category, but it’s the only app that lets you create lists across all your media.

The real advantage is cross-media curation. My “cozy autumn” list has movies, books, and a game. My “mind-bending sci-fi” list spans every medium. You can’t do that in any specialist app.

When to Use What

Use a specialist if:

• You only care about one type of media
• You want the deepest features for that specific medium
• You’re deeply embedded in that specific community

Use Fanakin if:

• You consume multiple types of media
• You want to create cross-media recommendation lists
• You want one place to see everything you’ve watched, read, and played
• You want to share curated lists with friends

Use both if:

• You love Letterboxd’s logging but also want to track books
• You want Goodreads’ reading stats but also want to track movies
• You want the specialist’s community AND the generalist’s flexibility

The Honest Truth

No single app does everything perfectly. The specialists are better at their specific thing. Fanakin is better at bringing everything together. The best setup depends on what you actually need.

My recommendation: pick the specialist for your primary media type, and use Fanakin as your cross-media hub. Best of both worlds.