Holographic data storage is considered to be one of the most promising technologies for high-capacity data storage. Several holographic concepts have been suggested and investigated in detail by many companies. The concepts differ in the method of superposing object and reference beams inside the holographic medium. At present, the most relevant concepts are the plane wave concept, the collinear concept, and a concept with counterpropagating beams. We compare all three concepts, with regard to their beam overlap, efficiency of material consumption, diffraction efficiency, and crosstalk characteristics. The investigation is performed by numerical simulations, which offer welldefined conditions in all setups and are independent of experimental uncertainties such as the nonlinear behavior of medium sensitivity and the effects of light scattering or reflection.