--- {"title": "Ryot vs Simkl in 2026: IMDb Lists, Tracking, Setup", "description": "Ryot and Simkl compared for self-hosters who want to sync IMDb lists and track watched media with Plex, Radarr or Sonarr.", "url": "https://vlcleanplayer.com/ryot-vs-simkl/", "date": "2026-10-15"} --- Ryot and Simkl compared for self-hosters who want to sync IMDb lists and track watched media with Plex, Radarr or Sonarr. Watcharr turns a public IMDb list into one Radarr link for movies and one Sonarr link for shows. [^1] | Option | Price | Works with | Also stated | |---|---|---|---| | Ryot | Not published | Not published | Not published | | Simkl | Not published | Not published | Not published | | Watcharr [^1] | Hosted version needs nothing to install and no account [^1]; code under PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0, older versions under MIT [^1] | Paste a public IMDb list to get one Radarr link and one Sonarr link [^1] | Radarr checks every 15 minutes, Sonarr every 5 [^1]; leaves out shows it can not match and tells you which [^1] | ## The short answer Watcharr, made by the team that publishes this site, takes a public IMDb list and gives you one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. [^1] Watcharr's claims say it accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list and splits it into Radarr and Sonarr links. [^1] [^1] The hosted version of Watcharr needs nothing to install and no account. [^1] ## What Ryot and Simkl are built for The facts for both tools give limited detail about how each works with Radarr or Sonarr, so check their own pages for anything beyond what is stated here. ## What Watcharr is built for Watcharr is made by the team that publishes this site. You paste one public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. [^1] It accepts any public IMDb watchlist or list from the desktop site, the phone site or IMDb's other-language pages. [^1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [^1] The links are built from the IMDb list's id, so the same list always gives the same two links. [^1] A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. [^1] The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [^1] It looks up TheTVDB ids through TVMaze and TMDB, leaves out shows it can not match, and tells you which ones it skipped. [^1] The page shows the list's covers in a row, each opening TMDB's plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. [^1] If a read of the list fails, the links keep serving the last list that loaded correctly. [^1] ## Pricing and fees No hosting price or paid plan appears in the facts for Ryot, so any cost of running it on your own server is not published there. The facts do not state a specific price for the free or paid tiers, so the exact cost is not published there. Check Simkl's own pages for current prices. Watcharr's hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [^1] Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence, and older versions remain under MIT. [^1] Commercial use is not licensed, and no commercial licence is for sale. [^1] No card fee or other charge from a payment service is stated for Watcharr, so that part is not published. ## Setting it up with your server The facts say nothing more about connecting it to Plex, Radarr or Sonarr, so check its own pages for those steps. The facts do not describe a connection to Plex, Radarr or Sonarr, so check its own pages for anything beyond tracking. For Watcharr, nothing is installed and no account is needed. [^1] You paste a public IMDb list, and a bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list for you, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. [^1] Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [^1] If you sign in, Watcharr re-reads your list about every 15 minutes and warns you when a list fails three reads in a row. [^1] Signed-in users can combine several IMDb lists into one Radarr link and one Sonarr link, and a title on two lists is added only once. [^1] The claims for Watcharr do not mention Plex, so check how your library fits. ## Things to check before you choose Ask which media types you track. Watcharr's claims cover public IMDb lists split into movies for Radarr and shows for Sonarr. [^1] Ask whether you need to import from another tracker. Ask whether you want show metadata and trailers. Watcharr shows TMDB plot, genres, rating, backdrop and trailer. [^1] Ask whether shows without a TheTVDB id matter to you, since Watcharr leaves those out and tells you which ones it skipped. [^1] ## How to choose If you want to turn a public IMDb list into Radarr and Sonarr links with nothing installed, Watcharr's claims say it does that. [^1] [^1] If you want to combine several lists into one set of links for the household, Watcharr offers that to signed-in users. [^1] If you want to see which shows were skipped, Watcharr tells you. [^1] If you want links that keep working when a read fails, Watcharr keeps serving the last good copy. [^1] ## Frequently asked questions ### Is Ryot free to use? No hosting price appears in the facts, so what it costs to run on your own server is not published there. Check its own pages for any hardware or hosting costs before you plan around a total. This page does not state Ryot's hosting cost, and the same check applies to any tool you consider. ### What does Simkl track? The facts for this page do not say what Simkl tracks, so this page makes no claim about it. Check Simkl's own pages to see which kinds of media it covers before you decide whether it fits your library. Ask the same question of Ryot, since its media types are also not stated here. ### Does Watcharr need an account? The hosted version needs nothing to install and no account. [^1] You paste a public IMDb list and get one link for Radarr with the movies and one for Sonarr with the shows. [^1] Signing in adds features like auto-refresh and combining multiple lists. [^1] [^1] ### Can Ryot import from other trackers? The facts do not describe which fields or how much history carries over, so check its own pages for the details before you rely on an import. ### How does Watcharr connect to Radarr and Sonarr? Each link acts like a small Radarr or Sonarr server, so Radarr checks it every 15 minutes and Sonarr every 5. [^1] A bookmark you click inside Radarr or Sonarr adds the list, using that app's API key without sending it anywhere else. [^1] The claims do not mention Plex. Its code is available to read under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 licence; older versions remain under MIT. [^1] - [Visit Watcharr](/go/start-watcharr) ## Sources [^1]: Watcharr's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/start-watcharr)