Comparison

Films Shelf vs ThingsToWatch

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

Head to head
About

Films Shelf

Easily save and organize movies you want to watch, with details like poster and runtime. Choose your next film with a browsing or shuffle option. Watched films create a personal viewing history.

Highlights
  • Save movies with poster and details
  • Organize a personal film shelf
  • Browse or shuffle film suggestions
  • Track watched films and dates
  • Ad-free experience with Premium
  • Partner sharing for shared watchlists
Features
Read full description

Films Shelf is a personal films shelf — a warm, low-friction place to put the movies you keep meaning to watch, and a calm way to choose one when Friday night comes around. THE FOUR JOBS • Save — A film catches your attention. Tap, add. The shelf builds itself over weeks and months. • Remember — Each entry holds onto what the film is: poster, description, year, runtime. Your shelf never decays into a wall of forgotten titles. • Choose — Browse the shelf or, with Premium, tap Shuffle for a one-at-a-time proposal. Reroll until something feels right. • Reminisce — Watched films stay on the shelf as a quiet record of what you've seen and when. A SHELF, NOT A DATABASE Films Shelf is built around a single guiding test: does this feel more like a shelf than a database? Warmth over completeness. Context over metadata. Earned archive over managed catalog. PREMIUM Premium adds: • Ad-free experience • Partner sharing — invite one partner to share your shelf. Both of you can add, mark watched, and remove films. The shelf updates on both phones. • In-app trailer playback • Shuffle — surface a one-at-a-time film suggestion from your shelf Premium is $4.99/month or $29.99/year. New users get 30 days of Premium free. Cancel anytime. PRIVACY Films Shelf has no first-party servers. Your shelf lives in your iCloud, not on our infrastructure. Film metadata is provided by The Movie Database (TMDB). This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Terms of Use: https://bbmaxwell.dev/legal/films-shelf/terms Privacy Policy: https://bbmaxwell.dev/legal/films-shelf/privacy EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

ThingsToWatch

Features
Read full description

MovieToWatch is the simple, polished app to organize the TV shows and anime you want to watch — and to always remember where you left off. Search thousands of TV shows and anime, see what's trending and what's airing this season, and build your personal lists: To watch, Watching, Watched. WHAT YOU CAN DO - Dedicated search for TV Shows and Anime, with filters by genre, year, rating and status - Personal lists: To watch, Watching, Watched - Mark episodes as watched, track your progress and jump back into started shows with "Continue watching" - Automatic hours-watched counter - Personal rating and notes for every title - Viewing stats: total hours, number of titles and favourite genres - A viewing diary: what you watched and when - A Discover section with trending, popular and current-season titles PRIVATE BY DEFAULT Everything stays on your device: no account, no sign-up, no ads. MovieToWatch is free and respects your privacy. TV show and anime data is provided by TVmaze and AniList.

Screenshots

Films Shelf4 screens
ThingsToWatch4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ThingsToWatch at none against Films Shelf's 2. On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Films Shelf sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. ThingsToWatch asks for nothing beyond the download.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Films Shelf versus ThingsToWatch: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFilms ShelfThingsToWatch
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeks—
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size31 MB57 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMax McGregorGiovanna Di Mauro

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Films Shelf

Subscriptions2
  • Films Shelf Premium (Monthly)1 Month trial$4.991 Month
  • Films Shelf Premium (Annual)1 Month trial$12.991 Year
None

ThingsToWatch

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Films Shelf free?
Films Shelf is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is ThingsToWatch free?
ThingsToWatch is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Films Shelf or ThingsToWatch have ads?
Neither Films Shelf nor ThingsToWatch shows ads.

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