In this golden age of streaming, we find ourselves swimming in a sea of services—Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Prime Video, HBO Max, and the list goes on. While that means more content than ever, it also creates a problem: how do you keep track of everything you’re watching across multiple platforms? Enter streaming aggregators—tools designed to centralize your TV shows and movie tracking into one convenient location. On Reddit, communities like r/cordcutters and r/television frequently exchange notes on which apps and services do this best.
TL;DR
If you’re overwhelmed by trying to manage your watchlists across multiple streaming platforms, you’re not alone. Reddit users often rely on lightweight streaming aggregators to bring coherence to the chaos. These tools help track what you’ve watched, what you’re watching, and what to watch next, all in one place. Here are five of the best lightweight aggregators that Reddit users swear by.
1. JustWatch: The Fan Favorite
JustWatch is the king of convenience in Reddit threads, and for good reason. It’s a minimalistic, easy-to-use app that specializes in letting users know where they can watch their favorite shows and movies. Whether you’re in the U.S. or abroad, its localization is spot-on, showing availability by region and even breaking down pricing (rent, buy, or stream for free).
- Platform Availability: iOS, Android, Web
- Key Features: Searchable watchlist, trailer preview, availability comparison, price tracking
- Reddit Love: Mentioned frequently for its clean UI and fast performance
Reddit users particularly prize JustWatch’s ability to integrate multiple services seamlessly without unnecessary bloat. It’s functional but light, making it perfect for quick daily use with no learning curve.
Image not found in postmeta2. Reelgood: The Power-User’s Dream
If JustWatch caters to the minimalist, Reelgood is here for the power user. The amount of data it crunches may seem overwhelming at first, but its UI is surprisingly clean and customizable. Redditors who enjoy diving into show stats, episode metadata, and critical reviews adore Reelgood’s more robust feature set.
- Platform Availability: iOS, Android, Web, Roku
- Key Features: Personalized suggestions, unified watchlist, real-time availability updates, watch history
- Reddit Love: Frequently endorsed for its powerful filters—genre, rating, freshness
Another big plus for Reelgood is its seamless integration with tracking services like Trakt.tv. You can sync your watch habits to truly make it your entertainment command center. For Redditors juggling over five streaming services, Reelgood is often the aggregator of choice.
3. TV Time: The Social Butterfly
TV Time stands out by adding a social layer to content tracking. Many Redditors bring up its sleek design and robust community features, allowing users to interact around shared shows with comments, memes, and ratings. It’s particularly strong when it comes to keeping tabs on ongoing TV series rather than movies.
- Platform Availability: iOS, Android, Web
- Key Features: Episode tracking, reactions/comments, statistics, calendar notifications
- Reddit Love: Often praised by fans of serialized stories and anime watchers
The emotional connection through avatars and reactions provides a gamified sense of accomplishment. Many Reddit users pair TV Time with apps like JustWatch to cover both the emotional/social and practical/logistical sides of media consumption.
4. Hobi: The Hidden Gem
Reddit users who prefer ultra-minimalist interfaces and fast performance often recommend Hobi. Though less well-known than its competitors, it’s a hidden gem among casual viewers. Hobi focuses purely on TV shows and offers a no-frills way to manage what you’re watching.
- Platform Availability: iOS, Android
- Key Features: Episode tracking, push notifications, statistics, cool calendar view
- Reddit Love: Frequently mentioned in “lightweight apps” recommendation threads
Users regularly describe Hobi as “the app Apple should have built” for television tracking. It’s light, quick to navigate, and doesn’t overwhelm you with too many features. Perfect for anyone who watches a limited number of shows and wants a stress-free way to keep up with them.
5. Trakt.tv: The Backend Hero
While not a conventional standalone app, Trakt.tv serves as a syncing and logging platform that many other apps, including Reelgood and Kodi plugins, rely on. Redditors love it for its powerful API, historical data tracking, and in-depth analytics.
- Platform Availability: Web, integrations with Plex, Kodi, VLC, and other apps
- Key Features: Auto-scrobbling, sync between devices, calendar tracking, badges and achievements
- Reddit Love: Gets rave reviews from DIYers and data nerds
Though its interface is a bit dated, Trakt is indispensable to the Reddit crowd who want to sync between multiple aggregators or build custom tracking ecosystems. In fact, many aggregators on this list provide optional or default Trakt integration.
Honorable Mentions
While these five rank highest among Reddit recommendations, a couple of other noteworthy tools come up frequently in discussions:
- Letterboxd: Primarily for movies, not shows, and adored by film buffs.
- Stremio: Open-source and flexible, more appealing for those who don’t mind a bit of setup.
- Plex: If you’re managing a personal media server, Plex does offer some aggregation features.
Choosing the Right Aggregator for You
Every viewer is different. Some value real-time availability checks, while others want strong social features or even detailed analytics. Here’s a quick decision chart based on common Redditor personas:
- The Casual Viewer: Try Hobi for its simplicity.
- The Power Tracker: Go with Reelgood or Trakt.tv.
- The Social Butterfly: TV Time will be your new addiction.
- The Price-Conscious Watcher: JustWatch is your go-to for comparing streaming costs.
Conclusion
Gone are the days of scribbling down season finales and movie releases in a notebook. Thanks to lightweight streaming aggregators, following your favorite shows and discovering new ones across dozens of platforms has never been easier. Reddit users have done the legwork, testing apps and sharing insights so that you don’t have to.
Whether you’re a meticulous tracker or a weekend binge-watcher, the right aggregator can dramatically improve your entertainment experience. Give one (or more) of these a try—and finally reclaim control over your chaotic streaming life.