Waterstones
Buy Books, Gifts & Games
How much does Waterstones cost?
Prices are current as of 10 Sept 2026.
Waterstones has no in-app products on record in the United States.
10+ alternatives to Waterstones
| Waterstones |   BorrowBox |   Reading List: Book Tracker |   Bookmory - reading tracker |   Libro.fm Audiobooks |   Perlego: Books & Textbooks |   Basmo.Reading Tracker,Book Log |   World of Books App |   Daily Prayer |   xigxag: Audiobooks, but Better |   uLIBRARY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rating / 5 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.7 | 2.5 |
| Reviews | 1.8K | 264K | 51K | 45K | 45K | 5.7K | 4K | 363 | 336 | 300 | 115 |
| Released | 2010 | 2012 | 2017 | 2020 | 2016 | 2019 | 2020 | 2024 | 2014 | 2020 | 2015 |
| Monthly price | — | — | $2.00 | $3.49 | — | — | $4.99 | — | — | — | — |
| Annual price | — | — | $14.00 | $30.99 | — | — | $39.99 | — | $3.99 | — | — |
| One-time price | — | — | $3.00 | — | — | — | — | — | $2.99 | $10.95 | — |
The going rate for each plan in United States, in its own currency, shaded from the cheapest price on the row to the dearest. Plans fewer than four in ten of the priced apps sell are left out.
Waterstones reviews
4.5 out of 5, based on 1,846 reviews.
What people like
- Very easy to use quickly
- Good for checking local stock
- Wish list feature works well
What they complain about
- App is slow and crashes often
- No dark mode available yet
- Scrolling feels laggy and unresponsive
- iPad version does not work properly
100% Ease of use
Shopping at Waterstones has become so easy with the app, either for ordering or if I have purchased in store and there are points to add. Thank you.
Wishing they can do delivery
Would be nice if they can do make delivery send to your house so you can read
Great App, Some Nitpicks
I’ve been using the app for a few years now and find it really easy to navigate… usually. I can’t figure out if there is a proper tagging system and what tags they do see on the app/site often appear vague. Say I wanted to find some stereotypical noirs; I’d find myself looking through ‘Crime & Thrillers’, I may then click on a book and then find it’s more of a James Patterson type deal where it’s more action than investigation — a thriller. I then may continue and find something that’s way more crime related but it would be a police force drama. I know the popular Noir writers but I would love to be able to discover lesser known authors with far more ease. This isn’t just a Waterstones issue, but deeper tagging would make for far more pleasant searching. Scrolling doesn’t always feel responsive as it seems to calculate your scroll strength but is then unable to cancel the scroll which most apps and websites do by default. Feels more like demo UI/UX when building prototypes in programmes like Figma. Despite these two issues I have it’s perfectly serviceable and I’m a common customer both virtually and in person for a reason. Though I would love an official iPad version of the app, please. :)
Links not working
App used to work great but despite having the latest version installed, links don’t work and constantly seeing the “something went wrong” message.
Good app, but …
This could be a 5⭐️ app - easily - if it scaled properly for an iPad, instead it’s just a lazy zoomed in iPhone app.
The best
Any time I ordered book they come great condition
Very slow
• It’s 2026. Where is dark mode? • The orders page is utterly horrendous. A few months ago (?) there was a small update separating preorders, but I don’t want to see my cancelled orders by default. Also when pressing back on any order page, I’m booted to the main menu which is such a pain when I’m searching through multiple orders to find a specific book. • After moving a book between wish lists, I can’t get past the wish list menu and have to close the app, remove it from my recently opened apps, and open it again.
Works Well
I use the App to pre-order, click and collect and to read synopsis and reviews. It knows who I am and so when ordering online it has all my details. I always try to use my local branch as I would hate to see it close and the app is good for checking if a book is in stock and also to add books to my wish list.
Can’t even log into my account
I have put the right password and the right email,but it keeps saying invalid login. I have reseted my password twice. I want to log into my account I can easily do. It on the website but not on the app
Save to icloud
Can you update the app to save wishlist to icloud, so that it can be transferred to a new phone.
I like book
Book good :)
Balances not updating
Just had a really embarrassing visit to a local store where my app was saying it had £10 credit but because it hadn’t updated I actually had 1p left on the balance! Told by customer services to update the app but no update available.
No Dark Mode? Only problem
I really enjoy the app. It’s useful in helping me know what my local store has in stock, and I can see the recent releases or genre-specific filters very easily. User friendly interface. But no dark mode! I’ve got issues with bright light sensitivity and at night, or when opening the app suddenly it can hurt a bit. Of course I just turn my brightness all the down, but a dark mode would be much appreciated and bring this 4 to a 5.
WHAT ABT IPADS
I downloaded this app on my iPad as I like to shop on there but it js legit doesn’t work. Like it’s a time box in the middle of the screen when u click it, so no it’s not compatible on iPad as the most u can do to even see the writing properly is make the box only a bit bigger. So like fix it plz cuz I act wanna be able to read the book titles properly when im browsing.
Ok but clunky
A great way to find books, create wish lists, keep my voucher credit and Waterstones card within my phone wallet. However, the app is extremely slow and clunky: - Scrolling is a nightmare, continuing long after you lift your finger - Super slow to load anything - Often throws up a “no connection” error leaving you sat retrying a few times before it works
Fantastic app
Very good app. Easy to use and ordering from it is very simple
Something is wrong !
This app is usually pretty good but in the last couple of days every time I go on there to my wish list, it doesn’t show me stock for my area but London. I am around 80 miles away from London ! This has been happening since the last update
🙏
I know this has nothing to do with the app or website but like I’m begging for Waterstones shops to be more accessible throughout the country like in the borders e.g gala or someplace where I can js hope on a bus for a few minutes instead of going above and beyond js to find the shops in the cities 😬
Can’t Deliver to Store
This app is quick and easy to use but has a major shortcoming. It does not seem to be possible to get books delivered to my local store. I can find stores that stock the book I want but the nearest is on the far side of London.
Love
Love the Waterstones app super easy to find the books I’m looking for and all the preorder stuff coming out as well as limited edition books
DON'T USE - NOT FUNCTIONAL
one of the worst search functions I have ever seen in an app. even if I use clear words to search for something it doesn't show proper results at all. Also search function and the app itself is so slow and crashes all the time. Use Amazon instead of this.
App order review
I found the site easy to navigate and made my order quite quickly but then encountered a small problem when paying. I wanted to use a LOVE2SHOP voucher as part payment but despite the voucher stating that it was accepted by Waterstones, there was no way to apply it. National Book Tokens and Waterstones own can be used easily enough but it looks like I’ll have to take the LOVE2SHOP voucher elsewhere.
Brilliant
It’s so easy to use and deliveries are always within the time frame given
App freezes
I love books and when I downloaded the Waterstones app and I was so good for only a few months. It now freezes and I can open the plus balance to redeem my free £10.
Tried to use collect from local shop
Love being able to check out all the latest books . Usually collect from my local in Southwold (the best bookshop I’ve ever been in ,love it ) but couldn’t see the option to collect .
My favourite gooning app
I always have loved Waterstones
The app is broken
The app has been acting weirdly for the last few days. Books are not showing up on any pages, tabs are not where they're meant to be, and in some cases the wrong books are being promoted (for example, a previous book of the month is being advertised on a tab, not the current one). I have updated the app but nothing has changed. Please fix this problem immediately. Will not be using the app until then.
Needs updating
I wanted to order 2 ecard vouchers. The first one went through fine, but trying to add a second was a nightmare. I must have tried 6 times trying to add a second one using the same details but when I tried adding it to the basket, the wheel just kept spinning. I ended up cancelling the second one, waiting 24 hours and then eventually completing the order.
So user friendly
Really easy to use and quick, love this app, makes it almost too tempting to buy lots of books!
Designer for Phone, not iPad
See title
Useful but could be better
The app functions well in terms of speed & reliability, & the wishlist feature is good, however it does look quite cluttered & disorganised, & for some reason i can no longer order books to a store for collection &. Definitely time for a big refresh i think, & personally i would love an iPad version to be able to browse books & read reviews in a larger clearer way. Apart from this i do find it very useful.
Great
Waterstones are great
Scan in store
It does not ask for camera access so I cannot scan books in store to add to wishlist. Apple states it is an a problem with the app. I have deleted and reinstalled it several times. Frustrating
All good except wish lists.
It’s very easy to set up and use, I just want to be able to order my wish lists by author. Please 🤞
Easy App
Quick and easy to use.
App doesn’t connect!
App says check connection or try again later. It’s been like this for over a month. Their website doesn’t work either; bad cert. Both Apple Safari and Firefox advise against using it as it maybe hacked.
Really good but 2 things
It’s a really good and useful app but one thing I would love is if there was an option to see how much money each list is worth. Also, I wish there wasn’t a limit on the amount of characters in the list titles. Otherwise, AMAZING APP!
Waterstones FAQ
- Is Waterstones free?
- Yes. The app is free, in all 175 countries it sells in, and it sells nothing inside it.
- Does Waterstones have a free trial?
- No. None of its offers (US) come with a free trial.
- What are the best alternatives to Waterstones?
- BorrowBox (4.8 from 264,282 reviews), Reading List: Book Tracker (4.8 from 51,291 reviews, premium from $1.00) and Bookmory - reading tracker (4.8 from 44,932 reviews, premium from $3.49).
Waterstones download
Last updated 1 month ago.
Waterstones sells in 175 countries. It was released 16 years and 1 month ago, on 6 Sept 2010. It holds a 4.5 rating from 1,846 reviews.
Supports 1 language: English.
How much does Waterstones make?
Third-party estimates for the last 30 days, worldwide — not the store's own figures, which Apple publishes for nobody.