Comparison

Waterstones vs Holodeck Archive

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

Holodeck Archive

Organize your science fiction book and comic collection. Browse a vast catalog, track owned and read items, and manage wish lists. Sync your data across devices with a clean, ad-free interface.

Highlights
  • Browse sci-fi novel and comic catalog
  • Track owned, read, and wish list items
  • Organize by series and chronological order
  • Sync collection data across devices
  • Minimalist, ad-free interface
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Your personal sci-fi archive. Beautifully organised. Holodeck Archive is a collection tracker and catalogue browser built for fans of science fiction novels and comics. Browse thousands of titles, track what you own, mark what you've read, and keep a wish list — all in one place. Browse a Massive Catalogue Explore thousands of sci-fi novels and comics, complete with cover artwork, author credits, publisher info, and release dates. New titles are pulled live from an actively maintained database, so the catalogue stays current. Track Your Collection Mark titles as Owned, Read, or Want with a single tap. Your collection data is stored privately on your device and syncs to your account across all your devices when signed in. Explore by Series Browse titles grouped by their series run, jump between arcs, and explore issue-by-issue within a comic series. A timeline view lets you browse novels in in-universe chronological order or by release date. Comics Support The Comics tab lets you explore series runs, view cover art, browse individual issues, and track reading progress across a dedicated comic catalogue — separate from the novel library. Sign In to Sync Create a free account to sync your Owned, Read, and Want lists across devices. Set a Currently Reading and Currently Listening title that appears on your profile. No social features, no noise — just your collection. Clean, Calm Design Holodeck Archive is built around a dark, minimalist interface designed for browsing. No clutter. No ads. Just your collection. Catalogue data is sourced from publicly maintained community wikis and databases, used under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike licensing. Holodeck Archive is an independent fan project. All franchises, characters, and intellectual property referenced within the catalogue belong to their respective owners. This app is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or produced by any rights holder.

Screenshots

Waterstones4 screens
Holodeck Archive2 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Waterstones at Free against Holodeck Archive's $3.99. Waterstones also leads on rating (4.7 vs 4.0) and ratings volume (62 vs 1). Holodeck Archive's advantage is update cadence (daily vs every 3 weeks) and chart position (#122 vs unranked). On ads, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement 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

Waterstones is free to download; Holodeck Archive costs $3.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Waterstones holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Waterstones has 62 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Waterstones ships an update every 3 weeks, Holodeck Archive daily. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Waterstones versus Holodeck Archive: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWaterstonesHolodeck Archive
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.7 (62 ratings) — better4.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews62.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings62 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree — betterPaid
Best chart rank—#122 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPod — betteriPhone
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.6
Further details — not scored
Size36 MB14 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperWaterstones Booksellers LtdJAMES ANTHONY BOOKER

In-app purchases

None

Waterstones

No in-app purchases

None

Holodeck Archive

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Waterstones free?
Waterstones is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Holodeck Archive free?
Holodeck Archive costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Waterstones or Holodeck Archive?
Waterstones is rated higher. Waterstones averages 4.7 out of 5 from 62 ratings, while Holodeck Archive averages 4.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Waterstones or Holodeck Archive have ads?
Neither Waterstones nor Holodeck Archive shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Waterstones or Holodeck Archive?
Waterstones ships an update every 3 weeks, and Holodeck Archive daily. Most recently, Waterstones was updated on November 10, 2026 and Holodeck Archive on November 9, 2026.

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