# HackerWeb vs HNR

The clearest difference is price: HNR at Free against HackerWeb's $2.99. HNR also leads on iOS requirement (15.2 vs 26.0). HackerWeb's advantage is chart position (#43 vs unranked) and update cadence (every 5 months vs every 11 months). On rating, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

HNR is free to download; HackerWeb costs $2.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for HackerWeb against 5.0 for HNR. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HackerWeb has 10 ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

HackerWeb ships an update every 5 months, HNR every 11 months. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HackerWeb | HNR |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [5.0 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hackerweb-hacker-news-client/id1084209377/reviews) | [5.0 (2 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hnr-hacker-news-reader/id6443591042/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **10** | 2 |
| Positive reviews | 85.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 months** | Every 11 months |
| Monetization | Paid | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#43** | — |
| Size | 29 MB | 3 MB |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | **15.2** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Chee Aun Lim](https://appshunter.io/developer/1084209376) | [Michael Hsieh](https://appshunter.io/developer/1634672514) |

## What reviewers say

### HackerWeb

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hackerweb-hacker-news-client/id1084209377)

**Currently charting:** #43 Top Paid · News (US App Store)

A clean and readable client for Hacker News, designed with iOS guidelines in mind. It offers intuitive navigation for stories and comments, automatic dark mode, and code syntax highlighting.

**Highlights:** Dual Web and Comments tabs, Revolutionary comments thread UI, Automatic Dark mode, Smart indentations and formatting, Automatic syntax highlighting for code blocks, Upvoting and replying, Comment's 'Thread view'

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


### HNR

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hnr-hacker-news-reader/id6443591042)

Access and read stories from the popular tech news website Hacker News. Browse top or latest articles, save your favorites, share content, and search for specific topics. Offers customizable color themes including dark and light modes.

**Highlights:** Browse top/latest stories, Save favorite articles, Share stories, Search functionality, Customizable color themes, Dark/light mode support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is HackerWeb free?

HackerWeb costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.

### Is HNR free?

HNR is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, HackerWeb or HNR?

HackerWeb and HNR are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 10 and 2 ratings respectively.

### Do HackerWeb or HNR have ads?

Neither HackerWeb nor HNR shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HackerWeb or HNR?

HackerWeb ships an update every 5 months, and HNR every 11 months. Most recently, HackerWeb was updated on November 1, 2026 and HNR on October 15, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*