Comparison

HackerWeb vs Newsbin

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

HackerWeb

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
Currently charting
Read full description

HackerWeb is a super-clean Hacker News app built for maximum readability and has a lean set of features to optimize the reading experience. It’s created specifically with iOS design guidelines in mind, so it feels native and blends well with the operating system. It has a simple set of features that are usually invisible: - Dual Web and Comments tabs for easy switching between the story’s web page and the list of comments - Revolutionary comments thread UI for easy navigation, with smart collapsing to prevent being overwhelmed by too many comments - Automatic Dark mode, respecting the system’s appearance settings. - Smart indentations and formatting for comments, complementing the existing limited formatting from Hacker News. - Automatic syntax highlighting for code blocks in comments, with best-effort programming language detection. - Allow interactions like upvoting and replying, which opens up web view with login information and sessions stored in itself, instead of the app. - Comment’s “Thread view” to list all parent comments of a comment, on a flat list, for easy reading instead of manually drilling down the nested comments. - “Share as Image” for comments, which allows sharing of a specific comment, optionally including the parent comments and/or story, as an image. HackerWeb is an unofficial Hacker News client, built with React Native and Expo. This is a passion side project for learning and experimenting ideas. Since 2012. Open-sourced: https://github.com/cheeaun/hackerweb-native-2

About

Newsbin

A fast, private RSS reader for all Apple devices. Organize your favorite blogs, news sites, and newsletters with a clean interface. Enjoy seamless syncing, widgets, and offline reading without ads or tracking.

Highlights
  • Fast and private RSS reader
  • Seamless iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Home Screen and desktop widgets
  • System-wide Spotlight search
  • Smart organization with tags and blocklists
  • Customizable list, grid, and large-preview layouts
  • Offline reading
Features
Read full description

Your news. Your way. On every Apple device. Newsbin is a fast, private RSS reader built for people tired of AI-generated junk, paywalls, intrusive ads, and "subscribe to my newsletter!" pop-ups. Follow your favorite blogs, news sites, newsletters, and YouTube channels in a clean, modern interface that puts content first — no ads, no tracking, and no algorithm deciding what you see. Genuinely native on every Apple device — iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro — Newsbin keeps your feeds organized, synced, and ready wherever you read. Home Screen and desktop widgets, system-wide Spotlight search, and seamless iCloud sync keep your news close at hand and instantly accessible across all your devices. Free to try. Pay once for life, or subscribe — your choice, and never any lock-in. HIGHLIGHTS Feels native everywhere — Built with Swift 6 and SwiftUI, Newsbin looks and performs beautifully across every Apple platform. Apple Watch & Vision Pro — A real, native reading experience on the devices most RSS apps ignore. Widgets and Spotlight search — Check headlines at a glance and find any article with system-wide search. Ultra-fast iCloud sync — Stay perfectly in sync across iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, and Vision Pro. Smart organization — Use tags, blocklists, and smart groups to curate exactly what you want to see. Custom views — Browse feeds in list, grid, or large-preview layouts. Unread indicators — Track what's new with simple dots and badges. Offline reading — Read saved articles anywhere, anytime. Thoughtful notifications — Get alerts only when new unread stories arrive. Automatic background refresh — Feeds stay current quietly in the background. Full-article reading — Enjoy complete, distraction-free stories without leaving the app. OPML import & export — Bring in your existing subscriptions in seconds, and take them with you anytime. No lock-in. Private by design — Feeds and reading habits are never tracked or shared. From casual readers to RSS power users, Newsbin is a clean, private, and lightning-fast way to stay informed — beautifully integrated across every Apple device. WHAT USERS ARE SAYING "If Apple Mail and Apple Notes had a baby, Newsbin would be it and I lo…ve it!" — A. S. "I really like the app UI. I have been an RSS reader since the times of Google Reader and have used so many apps for RSS reading. This one has really caught my eye." — Guillermo F, Tecnocracia (www.tecnocracia.com.co) PRICING Newsbin is free to try. Unlock everything with a one-time Lifetime purchase or an optional monthly subscription — whichever you prefer. Payment will be charged to your Apple ID account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24 hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage and cancel your subscriptions in your App Store account settings after purchase. Privacy Policy: https://xetabit.com/privacy/ Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

HackerWeb2 screens
Newsbin4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Newsbin at Free against HackerWeb's $2.99. Newsbin also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 5 months) and device support (5 vs 2). HackerWeb's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.0) and in-app purchases (none vs 2). On ratings volume and ads 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

Newsbin is free to download; HackerWeb costs $2.99 up front. Newsbin sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. HackerWeb asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

HackerWeb holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.0. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 10 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 86% of HackerWeb's written reviews are positive against 75% of Newsbin's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HackerWeb ships an update every 5 months, Newsbin every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard9 real differences · 2 level
HackerWeb versus Newsbin: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHackerWebNewsbin
Price$2.99Free — better
Rating5.0 (10 ratings) — better4.0 (7 ratings)
Positive reviews85.7% of reviews — better75.0% of reviews
Number of ratings10 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 5 monthsEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationPaid — betterSubscription
Best chart rank#45 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch, Vision Pro — better
Requires iOS26.018.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB150 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperChee Aun LimXetabit, LLC

Customer experience

HackerWeb

All ratings10 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive85.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative14.3%

Newsbin

All ratings7 ratings
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%
Written reviews8 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral12.5%
Negative12.5%

In-app purchases

None

HackerWeb

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Newsbin

Subscriptions1
  • Subscribe Monthly7 Days trial$2.991 Month
One-time1
  • Lifetime$14.99

Questions

Is HackerWeb free?
HackerWeb costs $2.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Newsbin free?
Newsbin is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HackerWeb or Newsbin?
HackerWeb is rated higher. HackerWeb averages 5.0 out of 5 from 10 ratings, while Newsbin averages 4.0 from 7 ratings.
Do HackerWeb or Newsbin have ads?
Neither HackerWeb nor Newsbin shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HackerWeb or Newsbin?
HackerWeb ships an update every 5 months, and Newsbin every 5 days. Most recently, HackerWeb was updated on October 14, 2026 and Newsbin on October 15, 2026.

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