Comparison

Purplecast vs Stacks

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

Head to head
About

Purplecast

This app helps you track TV shows, movies, video games, and podcasts in one place. Organize your media, discover new content with personalized recommendations, and engage with a community of fellow entertainment enthusiasts.

Highlights
  • Track TV shows by season and episode
  • Organize video game playlists
  • Follow podcasts and track episodes
  • Discover personalized recommendations
  • Rate, review, and discuss content
  • Sync library across devices
  • Import and export entertainment data
Features
Read full description

Bring your watchlist, gaming backlog, and podcast queue together. Purplecast is your ad-free entertainment tracker for TV shows, movies, anime, video games, and podcasts. Remember where you left off, discover your next favorite, and join the conversation along the way. KEEP YOUR PLACE • Track TV shows and anime by season and episode. • Save movies, organize your game backlog, and follow podcasts. • Log rewatches, game replays, and podcast relistens with lifetime counts. • Pause shows when you need a break and return when you're ready. • Catch up quickly by marking a season watched or existing podcast episodes listened. FIND YOUR NEXT FAVORITE • Get personalized recommendations based on what you watch, play, listen to, rate, and favorite. • Explore trending, popular, top-rated, and upcoming titles, with dedicated anime discovery. • Find where TV shows and movies are available to stream in your region. • See upcoming TV episodes, movies, and game releases, and choose the release alerts you want. RATE, REACT, AND REMEMBER • Give titles and episodes a Purple Rating and write reviews. • Capture how a movie, episode, or game made you feel with emotion reactions. • Vote for your favorite characters in TV episodes and movies, and see the community's picks. • Revisit your history, favorites, ratings, and statistics across watching, playing, and listening. FIND YOUR PEOPLE • Discuss titles and individual episodes, reply to comments, and mention other members. • Bring conversations to life with images and GIFs. • Explore shared TV episode and movie discussions across participating apps through Commsuni.tv. • Use spoiler controls to choose what you reveal, and translate comments and reviews when you want. • Create a community profile, choose which sections are visible, and use reporting and blocking tools when needed. MAKE IT YOURS • Choose alternate posters and backdrops for saved shows, movies, and games. • Share entertainment cards for the titles you love. • Add iOS Home Screen widgets for your next TV episode, unwatched movies, and upcoming releases. • Choose light or dark mode and use Purplecast in English, Spanish, or French. • Keep your library and progress synced across your iPhone, iPad, and desktop browser. BRING YOUR HISTORY WITH YOU • Import supported data from TV Time, Trakt, Simkl, IMDb, Bingers, and Watchlog. • Preview file imports before adding matched data to your library. • Export your library, history, ratings, reviews, and other account data. AD-FREE FOR EVERYONE Purplecast has no advertising. Core tracking, discovery, ratings, community, notifications, imports, and exports are available for free. Purplecast Plus is an optional lifetime supporter membership with a one-time purchase. Help fund servers, data updates, notifications, and continued development while getting early access to selected features and a distinctive Plus member badge. Less time keeping track. More time enjoying what you love. This app is governed by Apple’s Standard End User License Agreement, available at: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Stacks

Features
Read full description

Keep track of everything you watch and read. Stacks brings your shows, films and books together in one place – simple and clear. Features: - Track shows episode by episode - Manage films and books by status (Watchlist, Active, Finished, Paused, Dropped) - Rate titles and add notes - Smart lists that surface what matters (top rated, unfinished, recently added) - Barcode scanner to add books by ISBN - Notifications for new episodes of your shows – even while you wait for the next season - Statistics about your library - Organise with tags - Back up and restore your library - Dark mode - German and English - Cloud sync (optional) - Home Screen widget with the titles you're in the middle of and their progress - Import your library from Letterboxd, Goodreads, Trakt and TV Time Film and TV data is provided by TMDB. This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.

Screenshots

Purplecast4 screens
Stacks4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Stacks at none against Purplecast's 2. Stacks also leads on iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.0). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Purplecast sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Stacks asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Purplecast ships an update weekly, Stacks every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 29, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Purplecast versus Stacks: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterPurplecastStacks
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (2 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings2 — better—
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size15 MB42 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperPurple Hat Ventures, LLCBobby Luong

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Purplecast

Subscriptions1
  • Purplecast Plus$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Purplecast Plus Lifetime$12.99
None

Stacks

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Purplecast free?
Purplecast is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Stacks free?
Stacks is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Purplecast or Stacks have ads?
Neither Purplecast nor Stacks shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Purplecast or Stacks?
Purplecast ships an update weekly, and Stacks every 5 days. Most recently, Purplecast was updated on October 31, 2026 and Stacks on October 29, 2026.

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