Every other rating system runs your opinion through a gatekeeper — approved critics, weighted votes, a panel handing down a verdict. Quartile has none. A film's score comes from the people who actually watched it, across five categories.
Letterboxd rates the whole film in one number. Quartile breaks every film into five categories — Plot, Acting, Cinematography, Novelty, and Ending — so a rating tells you why a film works, not just how much you liked it.
Letterboxd is great, but it is not the only way to track and rate films. The best alternatives in 2026 — and who each one is really for, from granular ratings to TV logging.
The Tomatometer counts how many critics approved. Quartile measures how good a film actually is, and why, across five categories. How the two differ.
IMDb gives a film one crowd-averaged number. Quartile breaks every film into five categories, so the score comes with its reasons attached. How the two compare.
Star ratings, 1–10 scores, percentages — every film rating system makes a trade-off. A breakdown of how they work, and a better way to rate films.
Why I built Quartile: a rating system that breaks every film and show into five categories, so a score finally tells you why — not just how much.
The fantasy films Quartile rates a perfect 4 for cinematography — from Middle-earth to Studio Ghibli to Laika — some of the most beautiful worlds ever put on screen.