Hamsterra vs
Hamsterra vs Edelweiss+
Both help get review copies to readers before publication. Edelweiss+ is a publisher catalogue whose Review Copies module offers digital copies to booksellers, librarians and reviewers; Hamsterra is a free ARC workspace for authors with paid plans for higher limits. Here is how they compare on the same 16 points we use for every product.
This comparison is published by Hamsterra. Product names belong to their respective owners. No affiliation or endorsement is implied. Spotted something out of date? Send a correction.
Side by side
“Not publicly confirmed” means we could not find it on the product’s public pages; it does not mean the feature is missing.
| Point | HamsterraFree, Stash, Hoard | Edelweiss+Review Copies subscription, DRC-only subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Access and pricing | ||
| Free plan for authorsWhat an author can do without paying | Free with limits 100 readers per campaign, 100 invitation emails in any 30 days, 500 MiB of files, 1 pen name. No time limit. | Not publicly confirmed No free publisher tier for review copies is published. Reviewer accounts are free, but that is the reader side. Sources: E1,E9 |
| Introductory offerTrial, welcome credit or one-time free start | Not offered No trial: the Free plan has no end date. | Not publicly confirmed No trial or first-title offer is described; discounted bundles are available on request. Sources: E1 |
| Billing modelHow paid use is charged | Free; paid for higher limits Subscription: Stash €8 a month before VAT (UK consumers: €9.60 including 20% VAT), Hoard €15 a month before VAT (UK consumers: €18 including 20% VAT). No per-book or per-reader fees. | Paid Since 1 February 2025: $200 a year plus $90 per new title, charged once per ISBN. Audio review copies are included. Sources: E1,E15 |
| Product accessWho can start and how | Free Open sign-up after email verification. No book approval before publishing. | Paid For publishers: onboarding by Edelweiss and an ISBN title listing; no public checkout. Whether self-published authors can list titles on their own is not published. Sources: E1,E7,E16 |
| Finding readers | ||
| Own readers and teamSending to readers the author already has | Free with limits Invitations to readers who opted in on Hamsterra, counted against the invitation limit. No import of an existing contact list. | Paid The publisher can grant named users access, pre-approve contact groups or share a link. Recipients need an Edelweiss account. Sources: E5 |
| Reader discovery on the platformReaching readers the author does not know yet | Free Published campaigns appear in the public ARC catalogue while eligible for listing. No paid promotion. | Paid Copies set to Request or Download are visible to Edelweiss users. According to edelweissplus.com, 30,000+ booksellers, 23,000+ librarians and 103,000+ reviewers and readers. Sources: E1,E4 |
| Private campaignA campaign not shown publicly | Not offered No private, link-only or invite-only campaign setting. | Paid “Be Invited” mode limits a copy to users the publisher grants access, plus auto-approved users. Sources: E4 |
| Reader approvalWho decides which readers get a copy | Free The author approves or declines each application, manually or automatically, with an optional form. | Paid In Request mode the publisher approves or declines each request, one by one or in bulk, and can auto-approve trusted users and groups. Sources: E4,E5 |
| Delivery and results | ||
| Reader recordsContacts, history and export | Free with limits Contacts with consent history and tags; CSV export of eligible contacts who opted into the author’s reader list; blocked readers. No contact import or notes. | Paid Contact groups, each user’s download history across titles, and export of activity and contact details to Excel. Tags and notes are not publicly confirmed. Sources: E5,E10 |
| Delivery formatsHow readers receive the book | Free EPUB and PDF download. No browser reading, no Send to Kindle, no audiobooks. | Paid EPUB or PDF with DRM added. Readers use the browser reader, if enabled, or download to Kindle (files up to 50 MB), Nook, Kobo and other apps; audio as MP3. Sources: E8,E11,E13 |
| Review trackingHow reviews are followed up | Free Readers add up to 10 review links; reminder rules. Self-reported, not checked on review sites. | Paid The activity page shows for each download whether a review was submitted on Edelweiss. Automated reminders are not publicly confirmed. Sources: E10 |
| Private feedbackFeedback only the author sees | Free Up to 5,000 characters with any result. | Not publicly confirmed Reviews are posted on Edelweiss; a private channel to the publisher is not publicly confirmed. Sources: E5,E6 |
| Growing a list | ||
| Reader magnetsFree books for list sign-ups | Free with limits 1 open magnet on Free; 5 or 20 on paid plans. | Not publicly confirmed No reader magnet or newsletter sign-up is described in the review copy module. Sources: E1,E2 |
| Group giveawaysSeveral authors sharing one giveaway | Free with limits 5 giveaways at a time on Free; on paid plans the limit follows the giveaway rating. | Not publicly confirmed No multi-author promotion is described in the review copy module. Sources: E2 |
| Visible copy personalisationReader details printed in the copy | Free Each campaign copy shows the reader’s name and a Copy ID; a free-book copy shows the reader’s email. Not DRM. | Not publicly confirmed DRM, expiry settings and a protected browser reader are documented; a visible name or email mark is not mentioned. Sources: E4,E8 |
| Campaign analyticsNumbers about visits and results | Free with limits Last 30 days on Free; 12 months, sources and CSV export on paid plans. | Paid Downloads by title, user and organisation, a review-submitted flag and export; the browser reader adds engagement data. Sources: E8,E10 |
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Pricing and limits
Edelweiss+ prices from its official pages; Hamsterra prices from our plans page. Both checked 29 October 2026.
Hamsterra
- Free
- €0
- Stash
- €8 a month or €80 a year before VAT. UK consumers: €9.60 a month or €96 a year, including 20% VAT
- Hoard
- €15 a month or €150 a year before VAT. UK consumers: €18 a month or €180 a year, including 20% VAT
- Readers per campaign
- 100 / 1,000 / 4,000
- Invitation emails in any 30 days
- 100 / 1,000 / 4,000
- Book and promo files
- 500 MiB / 5 GiB / 20 GiB
- Open reader magnets
- 1 / 5 / 20
- Pen names
- 1 / 2 / 5
Prices before VAT; VAT is added at checkout. See plans.
Edelweiss+
- Review copies, yearly fee
- $200
- Per new title
- $90, once per ISBN
- Replacing a copy
- Not charged again (conditions apply)
- Audio review copies
- Included
- Discounted bundles
- On request
- Upload size
- Under 75 MB recommended
- Kindle version
- Files up to 50 MB
Currency shown as “$”, code not stated; taxes not stated. Standard rates since 1 February 2025. Terms of the DRC-only route for independent publishers are not published. Sources: E1,E7,E13,E15.
Other features
Hamsterra
- Street team campaigns next to ARC campaigns · Free
- Copy check: match a Copy ID to an issued copy; marks can be removed or lost · Free
- Public author and book pages with page designs · Free with limits
- Blocked readers list with import · Free
Edelweiss+
- Digital catalogues and ordering with booksellers and librarians · Paid
- Sales reporting from independent bookstores (Edelweiss Analytics) · Paid
- Edelweiss360 Premium targeting and messaging · Paid
- Featured titles and newsletter banner advertising · Paid
- Exam review copies · Paid
When each one fits
Hamsterra may fit if you
- publish on your own and want open sign-up without title fees
- want reader magnets and group giveaways next to ARC campaigns
- want private feedback and review links from each reader
Edelweiss+ may fit if you
- have publisher access and want booksellers and librarians to see the title
- want invite-only copies or copies for known contact groups
- want a protected browser reader or Kindle and Nook downloads
Key differences
- Edelweiss+ charges $200 a year plus $90 per new title; Hamsterra has a Free plan and flat subscriptions with no per-book fees.
- Edelweiss+ is written for publishers and does not publish whether self-published authors qualify; Hamsterra sign-up is open after email verification.
- Edelweiss+ supports invite-only review copies; Hamsterra has no private or invite-only campaign setting.
- Edelweiss+ offers a browser reader and DRM downloads, including Kindle; Hamsterra delivers EPUB and PDF downloads with the reader’s name and a Copy ID.
Questions
Is Edelweiss+ free?
Reviewer accounts are free. For publishers, review copies cost $200 a year plus $90 per new title; no free publisher tier is published.
Can a self-published author use Hamsterra?
Yes. Sign-up is open after email verification, and books are not approved before publishing. The Free plan has no time limit.
How often is this page checked?
Our target review interval is 30 days for prices and 90 days for other points. The dates of the last check are at the top of the page.
Sources
- E1 · Review Copies | Edelweiss · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E2 · For Publishers | Edelweiss · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E3 · Edelweiss360 for Publishers · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E4 · DRC Module Default Import Preferences – Edelweiss Help · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E5 · Review Copy Administration Training – Edelweiss Help · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E6 · For Reviewers | Edelweiss · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E7 · Independent Publishers – Adding Title Listings and Metadata to Allow for DRC Uploads · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E8 · Edelweiss Reader for Publishers | Edelweiss · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E9 · Edelweiss+ home · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E10 · Monitoring Your DRC Download Activity – Edelweiss Help · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E11 · Accessing a Digital Review Copy (DRC) – Edelweiss Help · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E13 · Troubleshooting and Tips for the Review Copy Module – Edelweiss Help · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E15 · Billing and invoicing · checked 29 Oct 2026
- E16 · IngramSpark / Ingram Ignite route · checked 29 Oct 2026