SWIMTAG vs Waterside
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
SWIMTAG
This app helps swimmers track their progress in pools and open water. It allows users to see their performance, set new personal bests, and connect with a community for challenges and competitions. Compatible with various sports watches and fitness platforms.
- Track pool and open water swims
- Monitor personal bests
- Join swimmer community
- Participate in challenges and competitions
- Integrate with sports watches
- Link to fitness platforms
Read full descriptionHide full description
SWIMTAG is a social swim training aid and monitoring system that tracks your progress in the pool and in open water. See your swims, beat your personal bests, join a community of swimmers, take part in epic challenges and virtual swimming competitions. Create your account for free and upload your first swim using a SWIMTAG wristband, Apple Watch, Garmin or compatible sports watch. You can even generate your own swim manually using our simple editor. You can also link your SWIMTAG account to your favourite fitness and social platforms, including: - Apple Health - Garmin Connect - STRAVA - MYZONE - FitBit - RunKeeper - MyWellness - Facebook Terms of Use can be found here https://m.swimtag.com/legals.xhtml#termsPage
Waterside
Stay informed about the latest news, classes, offers, and events from Waterside Leisure Club. Book classes, view real-time timetables, and receive push notifications for updates. Share content easily and connect with the club through various contact options.
- Class booking
- Real-time timetables
- News and event notifications
- Special offers
- Contact and directions
- Social media sharing
- HealthKit integration
Read full descriptionHide full description
Stay up to date with the latest news, classes, offers and events from the Waterside Leisure Club in Manchester. CLASSES Select your favourites and book classes straight from your phone. TIMETABLES Get real-time access to our most-up-to-date timetable. NEWS AND PUSH NOTIFICATIONS Instantly get notified of our latest news and events right on your phone. Our app allows you to stay up to date with new events or classes, ensuring that you’ll never miss out. OFFERS Get push notifications for new offers. CONTACT US Easily contact us by phone or email at a click of a button or view directions and maps. SHARE THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA Share news, classes or offers with friends through Facebook and other Social Media channels. APPLE HEALTHKIT We also use HealthKit to allow users to share their activity and workout data with the app. This data is used to incentivise users to stay active.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Waterside at none against SWIMTAG's 3. On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. SWIMTAG sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. Waterside asks for nothing beyond the download.
Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | SWIMTAG | Waterside |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 28.6% of reviews | 33.3% of reviews — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.1 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 14 MB | 111 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | 222 Sports Limited | The Waterside Hotel and Galleon Leisure Club Limited |
Customer experience
SWIMTAG
Waterside
Bugs and requests
SWIMTAG
Reported bugs
29 issues- App won't open
- App freezes on loading screen
- Stuck on loading screen
- Cannot edit swim distance
- Cannot delete swims
Show 24 moreShow fewer
- Import from Apple Watch/Health fails
- Stroke detection inaccurate (backstroke, butterfly)
- App crashes when viewing swim details
- Sync issues with Garmin Connect
- Pool information incorrect
- Leaderboard down for maintenance
- Cannot find Apple Watch swims
- Swim data not coming through to mobile
- Pool shows offline when it's online
- App not working since last update
- Hit and miss whether app works after update
- Cannot log in on phone
- Error message when opening app
- Password too long to manage
- Keyboard not appearing on login screen
- App refuses to accept gender
- Syncs with Apple Health fails
- Intro help messages not dismissed
- Never syncs to Apple Health or Fitbit
- App says to update but no updates available
- Hangs on startup
- Crashes when trying to sync to Strava
- Error message on upload
- Locks user into a dead end if login incorrect
Requested features
10 requests- See lengths during swim
- Pause recording feature
- Real-time length count on screen
- Display fastest 400m per week
- Trending data in results
Show 5 moreShow fewer
- Simplified user interface
- Swim editor feature on app
- Dark mode option
- Monitor heart rate
- Link to Strava (mentioned as desired)
Waterside
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
SWIMTAG
- SWIMTAG Monthly Subscription$3.991 Month
- SWIMTAG Quarterly Subscription$9.993 Months
- SWIMTAG Yearly Subscription$24.991 Year
Waterside
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is SWIMTAG free?
Is Waterside free?
Do SWIMTAG or Waterside have ads?
Which is updated more often, SWIMTAG or Waterside?
Other comparisons
