Comparison

IMDb vs JustWatch

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

IMDb

Your personal entertainment guide to discover movies and TV shows. Get personalized recommendations, create watchlists, and receive alerts for new releases. Connect streaming services and rate content to find more to enjoy.

Highlights
  • Personalized recommendations
  • Customizable Watchlists
  • Tailored alerts for new releases
  • Connect streaming services
  • Rate movies and TV shows
  • Discover new entertainment
Features
Read full description

Create your personal entertainment guide! Discover movies and TV shows that speak to you through personalized recommendations, custom Watchlists, and tailored alerts. Connect your preferred streaming services, save titles to your Watchlist, and enable notifications to know when they're available to watch. Rate what moves you, customize your Interests, and we'll help you find more to enjoy. Download the free app and find your next favorite today. IMDb is available worldwide in English, Spanish, German, French, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and Hindi. Do you think we're doing something well? Is there something we've overlooked? Please post your feedback at http://spr.ly/IMDbApp_iOS

About

JustWatch

Discover where to stream movies and TV shows legally across thousands of providers worldwide. Find new releases, age-appropriate content for kids, and track your favorite titles. Offers include subscription, free, rental, and purchase options.

Highlights
  • Find streaming availability
  • Browse new releases
  • Filter by genre and year
  • Searchable database
  • Create a watchlist
  • Track price drops
  • Age ratings for kids
Features
Read full description

The Ultimate Streaming Guide for Movies and TV. Find out what to watch and where to watch it. What's on Netflix? Easily find where to stream movies and TV shows online from over 4,500 legal providers globally, including Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Tubi and many more. New on Netflix? Browse all the recently added TV shows and movies on your favorite providers and don't miss the latest full episode of your favorite show or the new Original Movie from Netflix. We update the availability of TV show episodes, seasons and full movies daily. Kids Movies and TV shows Worried about what your kids can watch online? We added age ratings (G, PG, PG-13, R and NC-17) to help you select the best and most suitable movies and TV shows for your children. 100% Legal Offers Find out where to stream movies or TV shows online. We list all offers for over 4,500 streaming providers worldwide. ------- Features & Functionality - 100% Legal: find where to watch movies and TV shows online through paid subscriptions, free streaming, streaming with ads, rental or purchase (as download). - Filters: select your favorite services amongst 4,500+ available and filter different attributes like movie genre or release year. - Search Engine: 90,000+ movies and TV shows listed, plus trailers, synopsis, cast, ratings and VOD offers. - Timeline: stay up-to-date with our daily list of new releases for movies and TV shows on Netflix, Hulu and 100+ other services. - Popular: find where to watch the best movies and the best TV shows online. - Price Drops: enjoy daily updates on the best deals for renting and buying movies and TV shows online. - Watchlist: add any movie or TV show to your list and get updated when it's added to your streaming services. - Play on TV: tap the button and start streaming on your TV in an instant. - Login: create an account and synchronize your Watchlist on all your devices. ------- JustWatch in the Press "The easiest way to tell which streaming service has the show you want." David Nield, Gizmodo "The problem with cord cutting is that it can often be difficult to find what you're looking for on all of these streaming services. Thankfully, one nifty web app is looking to simplify the searching process." Zach Epstein, BGR "I have two essential pandemic companions: cheese and a website called JustWatch." Shira Ovide, The New York Times "There are several other similar services for finding what's streaming online but JustWatch is probably the best I've found." Ryan Hoover, Product Hunt "JustWatch Debuts A New Search Engine For Cord Cutters" Sarah Perez, TechCrunch ------- In the United States, JustWatch is currently listing offers from Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+, Peacock, Paramount+, Tubi, Pluto TV, Starz, MGM+, AMC+, Fandango at Home, Crunchyroll, Shudder, Acorn TV, Sundance Now, BritBox and Mubi. JustWatch is also available in the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, France, Mexico, Brazil, Ireland, South Africa, India, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and many other countries. We show the offers for more than 4,500 legal streaming providers worldwide, including Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, Rakuten TV, Crunchyroll, Mubi and Shudder (depending on regional availability). Got a question about JustWatch? Check our FAQs: https://www.justwatch.com/us/faq Can't find the answer? Get in touch, we'd love to hear from you: feedback@justwatch.com

Screenshots

IMDb4 screens
JustWatch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: IMDb at none against JustWatch's 16. IMDb also leads on ratings volume (548K vs 30K) and chart position (#78 vs unranked). JustWatch's advantage is device support (4 vs 2) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, rating, review sentiment and update cadence there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. JustWatch sells 15 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. IMDb asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for IMDb against 4.7 for JustWatch. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: IMDb has 548K ratings behind it against 30K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 51% of IMDb's written reviews are positive against 53% of JustWatch's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

IMDb ships an update every 2 weeks, JustWatch weekly. Both last shipped on September 24, 2026.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
IMDb versus JustWatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterIMDbJustWatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (548K ratings) — better4.7 (30K ratings)
Positive reviews51.1% of reviews53.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings548K — better30K
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationAd-supported — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#78 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size217 MB111 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperIMDbJustWatch GmbH

Customer experience

IMDb

All ratings548,096 ratings
Positive96.1%
Neutral1.9%
Negative2.0%
Written reviews3,290 reviews
Positive51.1%
Neutral8.4%
Negative40.5%

JustWatch

All ratings29,847 ratings
Positive94.1%
Neutral2.3%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews678 reviews
Positive53.2%
Neutral10.6%
Negative36.1%

User reviews

IMDb

From 548K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🗂️ Comprehensive database of movies, TV shows, and actors
  • 📚 Detailed information on cast, crew, trivia, and more
  • 🔍 Helpful for researching and discovering new content
  • 💻 Seamless integration between app and website
  • 🗓️ Useful watchlist and rating features

Room to improve

  • 🔍 Search function not easily accessible
  • 🔀 Frustrating navigation due to layout changes
  • 📺 Limited streaming/viewing options within the app
  • 💤 Slow performance and crashes reported
  • 📈 Excessive advertisements and intrusive monetization

JustWatch

From 30K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Excellent for finding streaming content
  • 👍 Helpful for discovering new movies/shows
  • 💡 Useful for tracking what's available across services
  • 🚀 Accurate information on availability
  • 👍 Reliable and dependable app

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Buggy and crashes frequently
  • 🐛 Inaccurate information on availability
  • 🐛 Watchlists disappearing or not syncing
  • 🔒 Privacy concerns with data collection
  • 🐛 Clunky and unintuitive user interface

Bugs and requests

IMDb

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Search bar not working as expected
  • Inconsistent behavior when navigating between pages
  • Watchlist and rating features not functioning properly
  • Compatibility issues with older devices and iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Allow marking episodes as watched
  • Improve series tracking and progress monitoring
  • Provide more granular rating options (e.g. half-stars)
  • Streamline search and browsing experience
  • Offer a paid ad-free version of the app

JustWatch

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Frequent crashes and freezes
  • Inaccurate information on movie/show availability
  • Watchlists not syncing or disappearing
  • Inability to log out or change privacy settings
  • Clunky navigation and poor user experience

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to track when titles leave streaming services
  • Improve search functionality with advanced filters
  • Allow custom ordering and organization of watchlists
  • Integrate with more streaming services, especially international ones
  • Add support for tracking progress on TV shows

In-app purchases

None

IMDb

No in-app purchases

15 purchases

JustWatch

Subscriptions2
  • JustWatch Pro$3.991 Month
  • JustWatch Pro7 Days trial$3.991 Month
One-time13
  • Movie/TV Show Rental$1.00
  • Rent & Watch Now$3.99
  • Movie/TV Show Rental$3.99
Show 10 more
  • Rent & Watch Now$4.99
  • Rent & Watch Now$5.99
  • Movie/TV Show Rental$5.99
  • Rent & Watch Now$6.99
  • Rent & Watch Now$14.99
  • Rent & Watch Now$19.99
  • Rent & Watch Now$24.99
  • Movie/TV Show Rental$24.99
  • Rent & Watch Now$29.99
  • Movie/TV Show Rental$29.99

Questions

Is IMDb free?
IMDb is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is JustWatch free?
JustWatch is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, IMDb or JustWatch?
IMDb is rated higher. IMDb averages 4.8 out of 5 from 548K ratings, while JustWatch averages 4.7 from 30K ratings.
Do IMDb or JustWatch have ads?
Both IMDb and JustWatch show ads.
Which is updated more often, IMDb or JustWatch?
IMDb ships an update every 2 weeks, and JustWatch weekly. Most recently, IMDb was updated on September 24, 2026 and JustWatch on September 24, 2026.

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