Are folks using MAL or AL more these days?

I just ramble about anime I like on a few discord servers with enough patience to tolerate my review novels.

I've just always used MAL for the last 18 or so years and have never had a reason to swap. I only really use the site to track my watched shows so it doesn't really matter which one I use.

I swapped to AL when MAL got down several years ago and never came back, I mostly update through Taiga so I don't care about UI

I use MAL for reviews/score/staff info tho

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I, like many others it seems, switched to AniList back when MAL went down almost a decade ago now, and haven't looked back since.

AniList's UI is cleaner, its easier to use and I don't have to dig through outdated site formatting to find the anime I want to update. I also like the fairly detailed stats it already calculates for me, and that I'm not assaulted by someone's "graphic design is my passion" when I click on their anime list. While I don't use it, I do like how it handles reviews, allowing writers to include things like photos, gifs or even just basic formatting, and how I can get a good overview of how people feel by reading the title (even if its bugged on mobile) instead of having to dig through the review like I do with MAL.

That being said, I do like MAL more as a database. MAL's scoring system has a ton of issues, but is at least uniform and easier to find and "translate" than AniList's numbers. Its seasonal charts are far more useful than the non-existent charts AniList has, and it has a bunch of other cool toys like listing out OPs and EDs that make me probably spend more time on there then I do AniList (when I'm not pruning my own list that is).

I’ve always used MAL. I am too lazy and indifferent to switch to anything else.

Out of pure curiosity checked the metrics and apparently MAL gets about 3.4M hits per month vs. 88.5K for AL. Of course you can't translate that directly to usage but I still found it interesting.

I prefer the MAL website interface. It's old, but it works well and has everything laid out in an understandable format. Sure it has issues, such as its crap app and the infrequent outages. Yet the size of the database is more than worth the occasional hassle.

I prefer MAL. It has a much better sense of community. The UI is also just better; buttons do what they are supposed to do. Old web design might look awful, but it sure is functional. The database is also much more organized in general.

Used to use mal for watched shows but forgot about the account then I was like 100+ shows behind and said screw it, now I use nothing and it's nice.

I'm using MAL but keeps a back up copy at desk so if MAL goes down I transfer my stuff to AL

Almost 18 years on MAL, no reason to change, I'm glad the site stayed almost the same since I joined.

I honestly use thetvdb and Wikipedia more. In thetvdb i can search in both English and Japanese kana/kanji. When im ripping blurays (i collect physical media) the tvdb tells me what to name the specials so they appear properly in emby. Emby is integrated with thetvdb for metadata on my ripped shows and movies because has a more reliable integration than myanimelist. Having the Japanese character titles means I can name the shows in my folders with a name that won’t collide with other content when metadata is being fetched.

Wikipedia makes it easier to find the studio, mangaka, and other works from either. I can easily switch Wikipedia to a Japanese language version of a page. I can google search “(mangaka’s name) 漫画家 Wikipedia” and get better info than western anime sites.

I don’t pay much attention to review scores these days. I’m old balls, I know what I like. I don’t need people telling me otherwise.

Used AniList more because the thumbnails aren't too small. It's year range search settings are also better to use since MAL's has start date and end date ranges on the same scale, like if you wanted to narrow searches down to one year, you'll only get entries that started and ended in that same year. Try to expand the end date year to compensate, and you'll get series that started later, which defeats the purpose of narrowing searches to begin with.

MAL, But lately I've been too lazy to update.

AL is much better especially when tracking seasonal anime but I assume most people use MAL

I prefer a third secret thing

Tbh even though MAL is the most popular anime tracking site, I've never really liked it's UI.

I use MAL because it's the first of its kind I was introduced to, and it's a great way of keeping track of my watchlist, among other things. Great source of information too, like upcoming series and cast lists.

If your issue with AniList is using it on your phone, have you looked into any of the community apps? They have a list of them on their website [here.](https://anilist.co/apps) I use AniHyou myself.

MAL, Idk what what AL is lol

started with mal, but then they were more offline than everything else, so i swapped to anilist. which never had any "problems" (update stuff that was anounced) that was longer than a couple hours. also way better ui.

MAL still has a way superior user base, probably because people just don't care to migrate, it works fine ... But Anilist has as much cleaner UI, I've swapped in 2022 and never looked back.

Ive been using mal for about 6 years I just use the app on my phone so the website being old doesn’t bother me

I use AL to track seasonal anime I'm watching as I find the UI makes it very easy to understand when a new episode is out, and what I need to watch. Once I finish an anime I log it and score it in MAL.

After the outage I use 3 lists with MAL as main. I also use Kitsu and AL

I use MAL. I keep track of what I watch and that's all it really needs to do for me.

Been on MAL for about 10 years. Never had a reason to change. Though I'm still a bit annoyed they refuse to put Scott Pilgrim on there.

I used MAL for ages, but switched to AL a couple of years ago and never looked back.

I do prefer AL for tracking. Might check MAL for other info, but I think AL is the best for tracking from mobile when using AL-chan, which has been the best for me so far, for tracking anime/manga/ln and for notifications of new eps.

Still on MAL, been using it for 11 years I'm just too used to it

I tried Anilist when MAL went down too, and I do think it's better in some ways so I update my list there every once in a while (for the stats especially) but I still mainly use MAL for tracking and info

As always I stay away from the reviews sections and forums though

I like and use mal, been using it for a couple years to track my watch history.

It can be somewhat of a useful tool to tell if somethings gonna be good score wise. I tend to not bother with anything below a 7. Theres def some decent shows and ive liked some that were a high 6. But its pretty unlikely anything special is below a 7 unless its a niche thing to like. Below a 6 thats shits probs ass or a hentai.

I dont bother watching anything thats just decent anymore so i wont bother since i have a lot of hobbies.

Like others, I switched to AL when MAL was down for weeks, and I also never looked back. I prefer the way you can create custom lists, customize your rating categories (and even use ratings like 8.5), I vastly prefer the UI, the tags list, stats and profile pages. The only thing I still think MAL is better is the community, so sometimes I still go to MAL to read some forum posts.

I use a site called [LiveChart.me](https://LiveChart.me).
It’s only good for planning and tracking. It doesn’t have any other features, but that’s all I want.
The UX is nice and I can bookmark a few different views like “what’s new today” or “what do I have planned in the near future”.

I checked out MAL twice now and it seems useless for planning. Only cataloguing and discussion. I prefer discussion on Reddit.

I’ve literally never heard of AniList until just now. The site seems wicked fast, and it’s pretty sleek. Honestly I’m tempted to use it if the planning features are on par with LiveChart.

the only thing i prefer with anilist is that you can add a lot of favourites on your profile but overall, i prefer MAL. i’ve been using it since i discovered it and i like that the format is still the same. its the same reason i prefer using old reddit than the new one on desktop

I go to MAL once during the first days of each season to see whats comming and thats it, sometimes when an anime starts getting heat for any reason i go there to see the discussion but really never found a reason to engage in the site for a long time.

I had a time when i used to look at the ratings but i learned that they are meaningless when it comes to what i like or not so the few times i look at them is just for pure curiosity

Anilist doesn't track total rewatch count and I will not switch over until they do. And I'm like the 0.1% of people that actually cares about that feature, so that will likely never be happening.

Switched to AL. I like the look of the UI more

Both. I use AL for shows I’m currently watching (way easier to track seasonal shows compared to MAL), but I update MAL whenever I’m done with a show. 

Friend of mine tried to convince me to switch to AL, but been using MAL as the format is similar to MDL and I’ve been watching dramas more than animes lately.

why not add the anilist website to ios homescreen as a bookmark. thats what i did. its like having a anilist app that works and looks exactly like it does on pc. the native anilist app is not good.

I use MAL because of its community forums and reviews that I really like, with multiple community events per year too!

I'm in the same boat as you, I switched to Anlist during the big MAL outage years ago. I found it superior in just about every way. Never found any reason to go back.

I'm not sure if you're aware, but there are multiple mobile apps for AL. Their API is open, so pretty much anyone can make one. I use ALchan, which I personally prefer to their desktop client. Not sure which one you're using, but try another one kf you're struggling with mobile. There's several options.

Both like a maniac. 

Just like I use howlongtobeat and backloggd. Like a maniac

I use both. MyAnimeList tends to have more complete info on cast and characters but AniList's tags system makes discovering new anime and manga much more comfortable. UI-wise, AniList is more to my liking, especially on mobile.

I swapped to anilist when mal announced the ai bs a year or so ago.

if you're on android there's a great client app (Aluminium). On iOS, it's not near as good as Aluminium, but there's MyAniList (not to be confused with MAL)

AL is resigning their mobile UI to make it more intuitive so your issue with it should be fixed but idk when they’re rolling it out. Seems like a pretty big overhaul.

I mainly use MAL but after that thing that happened a couple of years ago when the site went down for a couple of days I made a AL account as backup so I just update both lol. I was so lost in what episodes & chapters I was at when MAL went down

Mal is excellent

I use MAL but want to switch to AL, there are just some roadblockers lol.

I have 1000+ MAL anime entries and not all of them get imported into AL, there are like 15-20 that aren't there.

Also having to rescore everything is the main thing. It's something I want to do but having to do it for so many is daunting

Both as back up of each other with a note app as third back up.

I looked into all the sites recently, really like how clean and easy to navigate mal is tbh unlike so many other comments here lol.

I must be the only anime watcher on the planet whose never used these 💀💀💀 probably woulda been nice just to see how many series I've watched lol

Switched to AL after [this](https://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2025-04-01/media-do-distributor-sells-myanimelist-site-to-web3-ai-company-gaudiy/.223137) happened a few months ago

I use anilist because I like the UI better.

I switched to AL. Better UI, better tech. Integrates better with apps.

For ratings and reviews, MAL is still the top.

I prefer Anilist’s interface, but the community and it’s mods can be very tiring to interact with. I’d steer clear of that side.

Used Mal for years prior, but there is a clear lack of improvement. The site is 21 years old, and it shows both in looks and security. It’s been hacked several times now and there have barely been any improvements since.

I use anime planet.

AL >>>> MAL.

Currently on kitsu. Kitsu's good.

Anilist for my own tracking and data, MAL to read other people’s reviews

I stopped using MAL after they sold out to some AI company. AL has been fine.

I'm still on MAL (Have an AL account but don't use it) and I don't plan on switching. It may look old but I actually like how the site feels.

I prefer AL because the interface is cleaner, clearer and more modern. It’s also great at tracking seasonal and trending animes and searching specific tags. And it has a 0.5 rating system.

I use AL, but I still check MAL to check OP and ED info, as far as I’m aware, AL doesn’t just list the song title, just the artist

Switched off MAL when they got bought out by that NFT or Crypto affiliated company cause it was unknown what would change at the time and never saw a point in going back

I switched to AL when MAL got bought by an AI company. No regrets.

I dont know but i honestly use both, literally both has their pros and cons so why not use both of them to get all of the pros

I have gotten back into using MAL after not using anything for a number of years. Basically, I have forgotten what I’ve seen so I find keeping track though MAL is a big help with that.

I use anime planet, something different 👀

I moved to AL around 2022 and have been using it since. I use the web version.

I'm pretty picky when it comes to UI, so AL suited my needs. The tools are also simple and the info is pretty direct. I get it doesn't have as much users as MAL and whenever I read reviews or look for recommendations, I scroll through MAL. But for recording and checking my own stats, I stick with AL.

I'm over here wondering what is AL lol

So there is a MyAnimeList and AnimeList? haha

I prefer anime planet because it has a good search system with tags. Not everything is tagged perfectly but it’s easier to search for multiple tags compared to my anime list in my opinion.

I use MAL. Not only as a record for what I’ve watched, but also to keep the names of shows that have been recommended on Reddit, Ranker, or on YouTube channels, if they sound like something I’d enjoy. I like that you can search by genre, studio, or VA. In the mood for isekai? Just put that in the search bar and you get a huge list of shows that fit. And speaking of VAs, you can find their specific profile/bio that has a list of roles they’ve done over the course of their career. I like that MAL gives the streaming services too. And all the info is kept current.

I do not give any attention to ratings because that may or may not be discouraging. And I never read reviews.

MAL is perfect for my needs. Keeping track of my lists, tracking releases, exploring new titles. It's very comprehensive.

I don't engage with the community. I can handle the super fans it's the people taking time to vent and rage against something that failed to meet whatever that I find tiresome.

I tried switching to AL but its UI is completely unbearable and it failed to import properly, so I stuck with MAL...

Personally i use AL because i prefer its recommendation systems since it has a like/dislike ratio so the most sensible reccomendation are put first


But if i want reviews i often use MAL,since it's older,there are a lot more of them,especially for old series

I went from MAL to AL after some crypto mining AI tech bro company bought it

I just use MAL for checking out upcoming seasonal shows.

I have always only used MAL and most likely will continue to do so. Never really had any reason to look for an alternative. It's super convenient, and a dedicated App makes it all the better.

i use both actually! simultaneously at that. i like both of them for different reasons so i just decided to use them both.

I used to use MAL but switched to AL because I couldn't find a MAL phone app with the features I was looking for. Nothing more to it really; I have no big complaints about either

Transferred all my stuff to AniList along with a lot of people I’m sure, just never went back. Nothing wrong with MAL it’s still good but AL is easier for me since they have an app.

Edit: While making this post I realized there’s a MAL app as well? Huh the more you know

Anilist. Like everyone else has said in the thread, when it went down many years ago, I swapped over from MAL and I prefer the UI on AL-chan for mobile. Combined with using it alongside Dantotsu, it makes finding and keeping manga up to date flawlessly. I tried using MAL with Dantotsu before but it wouldn't ever work properly with it, may have been a user issue though.

Kitsu for tracking, MAL to get information on a show.

Long, long ago (10+ years ago) my MAL account started throwing fits and not reflecting my tracked stuff correctly. I fell out of anime for a few years, and when I came back to active viewing I swapped over to AL. Been content there.

I use AniList, but mostly because of AWC/MRC is based on the tracking there.

I happened to start on Anilist and it just feels more comfortable and natural to me. That said people are definitely using MAL more in general.

I found Anime-Planet first, and always used that. heh.

I just got use both atp. I like the UI of AL more but I feel like I'll never abandon MAL since I made my account 7 years ago

Used to use MAL but swapped a long while ago to AL and I like it a lot more.

I use AniDB to look up series and to log my watching. I'm also old.

I still use both and update both manually at the same time.

I use AL and use the MyAniList app on iOS, and it mostly works really well! The only issue is occasional issues with search. The reason I’ve stayed is also because MAL looks cluttered to my eye.

AL all the way

I use both

I prefer AL over MAL mainly because I’m able to take notes of an anime within the app. I usually like to mark which anime’s I’ve watched dubbed that way when a new season comes out I’m not wondering if I watched the previous seasons dubbed or subbed and can stay consistent.

I also like the UI better.

I switched to AL because MAL lacked basic sorting features like date added/updated

I just use anilist

I was using MAL until last year when they got bought by some bullshit crypto/NFT/AI holding company. I don't believe the service has changed much for the end user since then, but fuck that on principle. 


I use AniList now and I'm happy with it.

AL. i switched when MAL was buggy couple years ago, never went back. I like the ui better and it actually pushes the notifications when something's airing (i often found MAL pushing it too late or a day too early).


edit: and the app doesn't have ads (I use al-chan and otraku)

Both

Doesn't hurt to have a backup, and it's takes literally 2 seconds. For manga, there are a good number of entries on AL which aren't on MAL and vice versa (though less so for MAL not in AL).

I use AL because i like the UI better

I'm on MAL since 2007, but currently Anilist is my main. I read a lot of really obscure manga, and anilist's manga database is far superior, and they approve new submitted manga much faster. I submitted few hundred manga to DB so far, and it usually takes up to few days for mods to approve, but on MAL when I tried I had to wait literally half a year. Maybe it got better, but I'm not gonna add all the manga I already did again, so my manga list is stuck on AL anyway.
Other things I like more on AL: multiple rating systems to choose from, custom lists, titles in choosen language, tag system, more favorites, much better search with more options.

I didn't even realize there was a reason to use something other than MAL. Neither do I know what AL is, so hard to answer on that part.

AL is just better to navigate

I use Anilist, I can't understand how to create a list in MAL so I just gave up.

Mal but AL is way better

Swapped to AL when MAL went down a couple years ago and havent looked back. I dont care about the social aspect of either site but MAL just looks so old & now im used to AL anyway. Doubt i'll switch unless AL dies

I swapped from MAL to kitsu way back when, but later swapped from kitsu to AL.

I prefer Anilist far more. More modern and clean UI. MAL always seemed to be slow to load for me