Letterboxd is the best film diary out there — for film. High Shelf keeps the same log-it, rate-it, review-it habit and adds TV (down to the episode), books, games, and music, so one streak covers everything you actually consume.
Free to use. Forever.
Both are diary-first, review-friendly, social trackers. The split is mainly about how much of your media life lives in one place.
| Feature | High Shelf | Letterboxd |
|---|---|---|
| Movies | Yes | Yes |
| TV shows, per episode | Yes | — |
| Books | Yes | — |
| Video games | Yes | — |
| Music / albums | Yes | — |
| Ratings & reviews | Yes | Yes |
| Social feed & follows | Yes | Yes |
| Custom, ranked lists | Yes | Yes |
| Yearly recap | Yes, free | Yes, deeper stats need Pro |
| One-click Letterboxd import | Yes | n/a |
Nobody's asking you to love TV, books, games, or music more. Just to stop needing four other apps for them.
Stop keeping a separate Goodreads or Trakt account for everything that isn't a movie. Same follows, same feed, same you.
Import your Letterboxd log in a couple of clicks from Settings → Import. Watched films, ratings, and reviews land matched against High Shelf's catalog — no re-typing your history.
Per-episode tracking, next-episode countdowns, season progress — not a single "watched" toggle bolted onto a show poster.
Letterboxd's film community is the deepest one out there, built over more than a decade — the discussion culture, list-making, and creator presence around film specifically isn't something a newer app matches by adding a "movies" tab.
If you only ever log films and don't care about anything else, Letterboxd's film-only focus is a genuine feature, not a limitation. High Shelf's whole pitch is for people juggling multiple trackers — if you're not one of them, there's no reason to switch.
Sign up, then head to Settings → Import to bring your Letterboxd diary over in a couple of clicks — ratings and reviews included.
Download on the App StoreYes. From Settings → Import, High Shelf reads your Letterboxd export and brings over watched films, ratings, and reviews, matching each one against High Shelf's catalog automatically.
Yes, and in more depth than a single watched flag — High Shelf tracks TV at both the show and per-episode level, with likes and comments on individual episodes and a live countdown to each show's next episode.
Yes. Tracking, ratings, reviews, lists, and social features are free forever. An optional Pro subscription adds extra stats, themes, and unlimited lists.
Yes. Nothing requires touching TV, books, games, or music — they just sit there if you ever want them.
It has following, an activity feed, comments, likes, and shared collaborative lists. Letterboxd's community is larger today since it's older and film-specific — a fair tradeoff to weigh.