Compare Watchlists

On Simkl, Compare Watchlists lets you see how your viewing habits overlap with another SIMKL member’s. You can instantly spot titles you both enjoy, Whether you’re planning a watch party or hunting for new recommendations, comparing lists side-by-side is the fastest way to discover common favorites or hidden gems.

Why Compare Watchlists?

Watching alone is fine. Watching together is better! With Compare Watchlists, you can:

• Discover Shared Favorites: Quickly identify shows/movies you both love.

• Find New Recommendations: Uncover titles they’ve seen that you haven’t.

• Coordinate Binge Sessions: Plan what to watch together next.

• Track Progress Differences: See what they’re currently watching vs. what you’re watching.

1) Quick Overview Of Mutually Watched

Discover how your Simkl viewing tastes align with friends or fellow members in just a few clicks.

1. Navigate to the Member’s Profile

• Go to the Simkl website and search for a friend or member (e.g., https://simkl.com/51/).

2. Open the “Overview” Tab

• Under their profile banner, select OVERVIEW in the navigation menu.

• This section provides a high-level summary of your shared and unshared content.

3. Understand Your Compatibility Score

• Your Compatibility: A percentage that represents how many titles you both have watched.

  • 61.4% means you share 61.4% of your watchlists.

4. See Counts of Shared Titles

• Below the percentage, you’ll find the exact numbers:

  • 355 TV Shows

  • 73 Anime

  • 892 Movies

• These counts show how many items overlap in your profiles.

5. Explore “Mutually Watched” Lists

• Scroll down to see three distinct sections:

  1. Mutually Watched TV Shows

  2. Mutually Watched Movies

  3. Mutually Watched Anime

• Each section displays posters, your rating (blue stars), and their rating (gray stars).

6. Identify Unwatched but Common Titles

• Right below the mutual watchlists, find “You have not seen” lists:

  • TV Shows

  • Anime

  • Movies

• These are titles they’ve watched that you still need to catch up on.

2) Comparing Watchlists

Whether planning a binge session, finding fresh titles, or keeping in sync on ongoing series, Compare Watchlists offers powerful filters and layouts to suit every use cas

A. Choose Your Lists

1. Go to the user’s profile whose lists you want to compare. (e.g., https://simkl.com/51/)

2. Click Overview or any section so the filter sidebar appears.

3. Select Watchlists for Comparing—the dual-list view appears side by side:

   • (Users) TV Shows List

   • (My) TV Shows List

Tip: Works for TV Shows, Anime, or Movies—switch tabs at the top.

1. Select Your List type (e.g., Watching, Completed).

2. Select Their List type (e.g., Plan to Watch).

Member's / User's Watchlist

Your's / My Watchlist

Basic Watchlist Filters (Dual-Sidebar Filters)

Both lists have identical filter panels so you can refine each side independently:

• Use Case: Show only “Watching” on both sides to find common currently-airing series.

• Use Case: Show “Plan to Watch” on your list vs. “Completed” on theirs to locate must-watch recommendations.

For example:

• Compare your Completed shows with their Watching to find new recommendations.

• Compare your Plan to Watch with their Completed to see if they’ve already seen your picks.

Advanced v2 Filtering

Beyond the basic “Full List” filters, SIMKL’s v2 filter pane lets you drill down across both lists:

• Ratings (0–10 stars)

• Vote Count (popularity)

• Rank (SIMKL’s internal ranking)

• Drop Rate

• Exclude My Custom Lists (hide Auto-Lists)

• Type & Format (TV Show Type, Anime Format, Movie Genre)

• Themes/Tags (e.g., “Psychological,” “Sci-Fi”)

• Country (e.g., “Japan,” “USA”)

• Language (original audio language)

• Network (e.g., Netflix, HBO)

• Parental Guidelines (US TV ratings)

• Release Date / Last Air Date

• Season / Episode Count

• Running Time

Use Case:

• Filter both “Watching” lists to only “Sci-Fi” TV Shows rated 8+.

• Compare “Plan to Watch” anime by “Fantasy” tag to find joint viewing possibilities.

• Narrow down “Completed” movies from 2020–2022 for a film discussion group.

B. View the Results

Once you’ve applied the desired filters (e.g. “Watching,” “Not 100% progress,” specific genres) to both your watchlist and the member’s watchlist and chosen your sorting preferences, you’ll see a unified results view.

Here’s how to understand and use the comparison data:

📺 My List Status Icons 🔵

Note: All of the above icons appear in blue when associated with your own watchlist.

👥 Other Member’s Status Icons ⚫

When you look at the TV SHOWS LIST (another user’s list), you’ll see icons rendered in grey or on a white background. Those indicate their statuses, not yours:

How to Read a Side-by-Side Comparison

1. Filter Both Lists to the Same Status

   • Select Watching in both “TV SHOWS LIST” and “MY TV SHOWS LIST.”

   • You’ll see which shows you and they are both actively watching.

2. Spot Your Differences

   • Let’s say Game of Thrones has a blue check (✓) on your list (you completed it), but on their list it has a grey star (☆) (they’re planning to watch).

   • This tells you that you finished the series, but they haven’t started yet.

3. Compare Ratings

   • Next to each title you’ll see a blue number (your rating) and a grey number (their rating).

   • If you rated it 9/10 but they rated it 6/10, you might discuss why your opinions differ.

4. Find Common Ground & Gaps

   • Shows marked with ✓ on both lists (blue on yours, grey on theirs) are mutually completed—talk about those shared favorites.

   • Shows that are ✓ (completed) for you but ☆ (plan to watch) for them are great recommendations.

5. Use the Detailed Filters for Deeper Comparison

   • Scroll down to Filter Options and Maximize the panel to reveal advanced filters (genres, parental rating, release year, etc.).

   • Combine those with your watch statuses to find, for example, completed sci-fi shows you both watched.

3) Plan To Watchlist Compare

Compare your personal watchlists (TV, anime, movies) with friends to discover overlaps and find new shows you both (or all) want to watch.

You can quick filter by

• Released on DVD/Digital

• No DVD

• In Theaters

• Last 2 Years

• All Time

“Watch a Movie With Your Friends” tool isolates only Plan to Watch items among up to 4 friends to help you pick your next group watch.

Use Cases & Variations

Plan a Binge Watch (of a Completed Show or Movie)

• You: Completed “Game of Thrones”

• Friend: Completed “Game of Thrones” → Mutual!

• Friend: Completed “Breaking Bad.” → Add “Black Mirror” to your Plan to Watch and schedule a marathon.

Discover New Anime

• Filter your list to Anime → Plan to Watch.

• Filter theirs to Anime → Completed.

• Any titles appearing only on their side? Instant recommendations.

Track Ongoing Shows

• Filter both to Watching.

• Identify series you’re both currently following: perfect for live-tweeting or weekly catch-ups.

Find Forgotten Gems

• Filter your Completed vs. their Dropped.

• Spots where they dropped a show you finished? Offer insights or decide on a rewatch.

Tips & Best Practices

• Multiple Comparisons: Repeat for each media type (TV, Anime, Movies) to get a full picture.

• Save Filter Presets in Layouts ( Creating New View Layout ) for your most common comparisons (e.g., “My Watching vs. Friends’ Watching”).

• Privacy Reminder: Only public profiles can be compared. Users with Private watchlists will not display data.

SIMKL’s Compare Watchlists feature transforms watching TV, anime, and movies into a social experience.

From scheduling shared binges to uncovering hidden gems, powerful filters, clear side-by-side layouts, and detailed progress insights keep you and your friends in sync.

Try out different list combinations, save your favorite filters, and make your next watch party a breeze!