Comparison

Waterstones vs Source.

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Waterstones

Access the UK's largest bookseller on your mobile device. Browse, buy, and collect books, gifts, and games. Manage wish lists, earn rewards, and find local store information.

Highlights
  • Browse and buy books, gifts, and games
  • Click & collect from local shops
  • Earn and redeem Waterstones Plus rewards
  • Create multiple wish lists
  • Read and write customer reviews
  • Scan Plus card from phone
Features
Read full description

- The UK's biggest bookseller at your fingertips. - Sign up to Waterstones Plus in seconds to start earning and redeeming rewards online, in our shops and in our cafes. - Browse, buy or click & collect directly from the app or check stock in your local shop. Please note if no local shops have stock of your item the search results will be blank. - Build multiple wish lists as required: great for saving items for later or building a gifting list. - Find all your local shop information and set your favourite local shop for convenient click & collect options and stock information. - Read reviews from booksellers and customers and write your own. - You can share items with others by sending a link from the product screen. - Plus in your pocket at all times: scan your Plus card straight from your phone, even if you're offline. - Pay by Apple Pay, PayPal or Card.

About

Source.

Features
Read full description

Source is the human-powered network for physical information access. Every day, students, academics, collectors, journalists, and researchers need access to books, archives, manuscripts, and private collections that are not digitised. Most knowledge still lives physically in libraries, archives, and home collections worldwide. Source connects you to someone who is already there.

Screenshots

Waterstones4 screens
Source.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Source. at weekly against Waterstones's every 3 weeks. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Waterstones ships an update every 3 weeks, Source. weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Waterstones versus Source.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWaterstonesSource.
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (62 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews62.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings62 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB80 MB
Age rating4+9+
DeveloperWaterstones Booksellers LtdBEMYSOURCE LTD

In-app purchases

None

Waterstones

No in-app purchases

None

Source.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Waterstones free?
Waterstones is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Source. free?
Source. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Waterstones or Source. have ads?
Neither Waterstones nor Source. shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Waterstones or Source.?
Waterstones ships an update every 3 weeks, and Source. weekly. Most recently, Waterstones was updated on November 10, 2026 and Source. on October 30, 2026.

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