Letterboxd is possibly the most comprehensive movie tracking service out there. You can keep a record of the movies you’ve seen, liked, hated, and want to watch in the future.
While it’s easy to get started, Letterboxd also has a wealth of smaller and larger features that will show up as you spend more time on the platform. Whether you just joined the 3 million Letterboxd users or were there from the start in 2011, there’s plenty to discover.
1. Compare your watch list
Letterboxd makes it easy to know how your watchlist compares to someone else’s. This feature comes in handy when figuring out which movie to show your partner for the next movie night, or sparking a friendly competition between movie lovers.
Open the other person’s profile on the web, go to Observation list, and click the eye icon (far right). choose there Show films in watch list to see where your watchlist matches theirs, or Hide films in watch list to see where it differs.
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The process is just as easy on the mobile app. Scroll down on someone else’s profile to find them Observation listthen tap on the filter icon (three horizontal lines at the top right) and select Observation list and On the watch list. Tap the tick icon (top right) to confirm.
2. Choose your favorites
One way to personalize your letterboxd profile is to have your four movies front and center. But they don’t have to be your absolute favourites: you can use the slots on four great movies you’ve seen recently, or your picks on the top four movies of the year, or whatever you like.
On the web, click your account name at the top, then click profile and edit profile. press the + (Plus) icon in any of the favorite movie slots to add a movie – or if you are replacing a movie, click on it x (cross) icon to remove the existing one. Click and drag the movie poster thumbnails to rearrange them.
On the mobile app, tap the menu button (three horizontal lines in the top left) and go to settings. You can then tap + (Plus) symbol in a favorite movie slot to fill it. Tap and drag a movie poster thumbnail to change its position, or tap x (cross) to remove a movie so you can add another.
One of the lesser-known features in Letterboxd is the ability to tag the movies you watch, giving you an extra layer of organization. For example, you can tag movies with the place you watched them, the person you watched them with, or the name of your own made-up niche genre.
To add a tag on the web, in your Movie List or Review List, click the three dots on a movie thumbnail, then select Sign in or review the movie, and enter your tags in the Tags field. You can even add tags to movies you haven’t reviewed yet. To find your tags later, click your profile name at the top of the Letterboxd interface and then keywords.
In the mobile apps, you can watch a movie by tapping and holding the thumbnail and selecting Review or re-log– You will see that you can tap add tags link below. To see a list of the tags you’ve put together, tap the menu button (three horizontal lines in the top left) and then tap profile and keywords.
4. Create your own curated lists
If you’re on a mission to rank every Bond film from best to worst or pick the best films of the 1990s, you can use the platform’s list feature to do it.
On the Letterboxd website, click your profile name and then click lists. On a mobile device, tap the menu button (three horizontal lines in the top left), then tap lists. You can add any movie to your lists regardless of whether you’ve seen them or not. You can also choose a specific order and add your own comments.
You can make your lists private or public, which is a great way to share your movie tastes with other people and recommend movies that your other Letterboxd members might otherwise miss. You can also easily share your movie lists on social media.
5. Find new movies you will like
Letterboxd doesn’t have a “recommended” panel like you might see on YouTube or Spotify, but there are numerous ways to discover new movies that might interest you. For example, the home screen on the web shows movies that are popular on the platform right now, as well as reviews that are getting a lot of attention.
You can also follow other Letterboxd members who have similar tastes to yours. Just click or tap consequences in someone’s profile and you’ll see the movies they’ve watched and the titles they’ve reviewed in your activity feed.
Finally, if you’re looking for new movies to watch, it’s also worth checking out the public lists that other users have compiled. You can search by name (e.g. “horror” or “1970s”) or check out some popular ones.
6. Find out where to watch movies
Letterboxd offers two paid plans: Pro ($20 per year) and Patron ($49) per year. One of the cool extra features that you get with the Pro package is the integration with JustWatch, a one-stop shop where you can watch content from all the services you’re subscribed to.
The partnership is displayed in various places in the Letterboxd Pro interface. For example, you can see which streaming service your viewed and desired movies are available on: click or tap on a movie thumbnail and the listing information will show you where it’s available online. You can also filter search results by streaming service, so if you’re in the mood to watch a 1970s horror movie, you’ll only see titles you already have access to through your subscriptions.
Another cool feature of Letterboxd Pro is getting notifications when something on your watchlist makes its way to any of the streaming services you subscribe to. In the settings on the web you can tell the platform what services you are currently paying for Stores & Streamingand then set up notifications for your watchlist by going to notifications. Remember that Letterboxd handles notifications for movies that are available to stream and movies that can be purchased separately.
7. Choose your favorite posters
If you go on the Patron plan, you’ll get a few more extras, including the option to display art from a specific film as your profile background. You can also add backgrounds to journal entries, reviews, and lists.
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One of our most popular patron features is the ability to choose custom posters for the movies you’ve collected (in reviews, listings, and other places). In other words, if you don’t like the default graphics for a particular movie, you can easily swap them out.
Wherever you see a movie on the Letterboxd website, click the three dots on the thumbnail and then select change poster. The options available are all sourced from around the web so you can’t simply provide your own image, there are usually several to choose from so you’re sure to find something you like.
