Best Free TV Show Trackers with No Ads (2026)
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A TV tracker is something you open several times a day. You finish an episode, you tick it off, you check what is next. An ad on that screen gets old fast. So it is no surprise that "free with no ads" is one of the first things people look for.
This guide is about free TV show trackers with no ads, and more importantly, how to check for yourself. We make one of these apps, OpenTV, so read our view with that in mind. We have tried to stick to facts we could check, and we link to sources where we can.
What to check before you switch
"Free" can mean very different things. Before moving years of history into an app, it is worth checking five things.
1. Are there ads on the free version? Look at the store listing and at screenshots. On iPhone, the App Store listing also shows a privacy section that says whether data is used to track you across other companies' apps.
2. What are the limits? Some free tiers cap how many lists you can make, how many items a list can hold, or how much history you can see.
3. Do you need an account? Some trackers are services: your history lives on their servers, tied to your login. Others keep it on your phone.
4. Can you import? If you have a TV Time export ZIP, or a Trakt or Simkl export, check that the app reads it, and what it keeps. Episode dates and ratings are often where imports differ.
5. Can you get your data out? An export button you can press today is your insurance for tomorrow. We explain why in what happens to your watch history when a tracker shuts down.
OpenTV
OpenTV is free, has no ads, and is open source under MPL-2.0. It runs on iPhone, iPad and Android.
- No account needed. Your library lives in a database on your phone, and the tracker works offline.
- Imports the TV Time export ZIP, Trakt, Simkl, Letterboxd and IMDb.
- Exports your whole library in TV Time's own file format, any time.
- Free backup and sync between your own devices, through your own iCloud or Google Drive.
- Lists on your phone with no cap on how many you make.
- Optional community with comments under every episode, including the archived TV Time comments.
There is an optional OpenTV Plus subscription for extras like Watch together, Deep Stats and profile themes. Sync between your own devices is free, through your own iCloud or Google Drive. The tracker itself does not need Plus.
The honest limits: OpenTV has no website to track from, and it does not connect to the big range of third-party apps some services do.
Trakt
Trakt has been around since 2010 and has the largest ecosystem in this space. Many media centres, plugins and third-party apps connect to it, and there is a website as well as phone apps. Your history lives on Trakt's servers with your account.
Trakt has a free tier and a paid VIP plan. In 2025, Trakt set stricter limits for free users, such as caps on lists and list sizes. Limits change, so check Trakt's site for the current ones before you decide.
Trakt has a TV Time importer. A reply on Trakt's forum in July 2026 said episode ratings are not supported in it; show and film ratings are.
We go into this in more detail in TV Time vs Trakt vs OpenTV.
Serializd
Serializd is often described as "Letterboxd for TV". It focuses on rating and reviewing shows, seasons and episodes, and on lists and sharing with friends. Its App Store listing describes the app as free.
If writing and reading reviews is what you care about most, it is worth a look. Check the listing for its current ad and privacy details.
Simkl
Simkl tracks TV, films and anime, and it is best known for its anime tracking. It has a website and apps, and it lists integrations with players such as Stremio through community add-ons. Like Trakt, it is an account-based service.
LazyWatch
LazyWatch is a tracker built around community: every episode has its own conversation, you can follow friends, keep a group's progress together with Watch Together, and pick the next film with Swipes. It runs on iPhone, Android and the web. Its FAQ says it is free, will stay free, and has no ads.
It imports from TV Time, Trakt, AniList, Netflix, Letterboxd and Bingers. If talking about episodes with other people is what you missed most, it is worth a look.
Letterboxd
Letterboxd is excellent, but it is built for films, not TV shows. If you track mostly films, it is a strong choice. Its free account is ad-supported; Letterboxd's paid tiers remove third-party ads.
Many people use Letterboxd for films and a separate app for TV. OpenTV can import a Letterboxd export, so your film diary can sit next to your shows. See how to move your history from Trakt, Letterboxd, Simkl or IMDb.
A quick way to decide
- You want your TV Time history back with dates, ratings and emotions, on your phone: OpenTV.
- You want a website and connected apps: Trakt.
- You want reviews of seasons and episodes: Serializd.
- You watch a lot of anime: Simkl.
- You want to talk about episodes with friends: LazyWatch.
- You only track films: Letterboxd.
There is no shame in using two. A tracker you actually open is worth more than the "best" one you do not.
A note on "free"
Every app here costs someone money to run. Servers, metadata and time are not free. An app with no ads usually pays its way another way: a paid tier, donations, or a small team keeping costs low. That is fine. What matters is that you know the deal up front, and that you can take your data with you if the deal changes.
Try OpenTV
OpenTV is free with no ads, on the App Store and Google Play. If you have a TV Time export, follow our import your TV Time history guide. For a wider comparison, see TV Time alternatives and OpenTV vs Trakt.