Comparison

Alerts for Reddit vs Hydra

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

Head to head
About

Alerts for Reddit

Receive instant notifications for new Reddit posts and comments from specific subreddits or users. Customize alerts with keywords and notification frequencies to stay updated on the content you care about most. Easily manage your subscriptions and access notifications directly within your preferred Reddit app or browser.

Highlights
  • Custom subreddit and user notifications
  • Keyword filtering for alerts
  • Adjustable notification frequency
  • No Reddit account login required
  • Direct launch to Reddit app or browser
  • View recent notifications history
Features
Read full description

Note: This app may need to shut down in March 2027 due to Reddit API changes. Please see the /r/alerts_for_reddit subreddit for the latest updates. Never miss a Reddit post again - with Alerts for Reddit, you can get notifications within minutes for posts on your favorite subreddits, and posts/comments from your favorite users. Customize notifications by changing frequency and filtering with keywords. Features: - Add/remove/mute subreddits or users at any time to start/stop seeing notifications - No need to login or link your reddit account - you can set up alerts for any public subreddit or user. - Setup up to 3 alerts of your choosing for free; upgrade to Premium to receive notifications for more than 3 subreddits/users. - Set the notification frequency for each subreddit: "Trending: More" if you want notifications for all hot posts, "Trending: Fewer" if you only want breaking news, or "All" to get notified for all new posts. If you want "All" posts within 30 seconds of the post going live, you can upgrade to Premium Speed to enable the "All - Fast" frequency. - Set the notification frequency for each user: "Posts only" or "Posts and Comments" - Filter alerts by keyword. For example, if you want to receive notifications for /r/science where the title contains 'amphibian' or 'reptile' but not 'bird', you can! - Got a Reddit app on your phone? Notifications will launch you straight to the app of your choice. No app? Notifications will bring you to Reddit via the browser. - View recent notifications for your subreddits and users right in the app. - Never miss the posts you care about! This app offers subscriptions for premium features, including monthly and yearly subscriptions. Subscriptions renew within 24 hours of the subscription period ending, and a subscription purchase will be charged through your iTunes account. Manage at any time using Account Settings in iTunes. Privacy Policy and Terms of Use can be found at https://www.alertsforreddit.com/privacy.php

About

Hydra

Experience Reddit browsing with a fast, fluid, and native iOS client. Organize topics, enjoy an immersive media viewer, and utilize quick gestures for seamless interaction. Customize themes and modes for a personalized experience.

Highlights
  • Lightning-fast loading
  • Multireddit support
  • Favorite subreddits
  • Native iOS design
  • Image and video viewer
  • Multiple account support
  • Quick access gestures
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Hydra is the best client for browsing your subreddits and the ultimate experience on iOS. It's fast, fluid, and designed to make browsing more seamless than ever before. If you're looking for a powerful yet beautifully simple client, Hydra is the way to go. "Hydra makes Reddit feel like a natural part of iOS. Everything just flows." - u/goosewatergoose "This app is what you get when the developer really understands what a great user experience should be. It’s everything the Reddit app isn't" - DAC, UK "Long time Apollo user. Found the app a month ago. Great work so far, just wanted to convey the props" - @gruthsc3 (Discord) Hydra is crafted with a native iOS design, making it feel right at home on your device. It loads fast, responds instantly, and makes browsing an incredibly intuitive experience. Packed with powerful features, it's built to be the ultimate companion for both casual browsing and hardcore Redditors alike. Features that make Hydra shine: - Lightning-fast loading for seamless scrolling and browsing - Multireddit support for organizing and following your favorite topics - Favorite subreddits to keep your go-to communities at your fingertips - A beautifully designed, native iOS experience that feels right at home - Gorgeous image and video viewer for an immersive media experience - Multiple account support so you can switch effortlessly - Quick access gestures to upvote, downvote, reply, and more with a swipe - Markdown support to get the most out of your posts and comments - System share menu integration to easily share content anywhere - Full inbox access for messages and notifications - Private messages support to stay connected with other users - Powerful search to find posts, subreddits, and users in an instant - Customizable themes to match your style - Compact mode for an optimized browsing experience - Highly customizable UI to tailor Hydra to your needs - Blur content and spoilers for a safe browsing experience - Low data mode to keep your usage efficient - Beautiful, intuitive UI/UX that makes using Hydra a delight Hydra is always evolving with new features and improvements based on feedback from the community. If there's something you'd love to see, drop by the /r/HydraApp subreddit and let me know! Hydra is an unofficial client, but it just might be the best one you've ever used. --- This is an unofficial client for the Reddit service (Reddit is a registered trademark of Reddit, Inc., and this app is not affiliated with or endorsed by Reddit). --- Terms of Use: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

Alerts for Reddit4 screens
Hydra4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Hydra at 4.8 against Alerts for Reddit's 4.2. Hydra also leads on update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 3 months) and chart position (#172 vs unranked). On price, review sentiment, ads and in-app purchases 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

Both are free to download. Alerts for Reddit sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per year and Hydra sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hydra holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 182 and 807 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 68% of Alerts for Reddit's written reviews are positive against 75% of Hydra's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Alerts for Reddit ships an update every 3 months, Hydra every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 7 level
Alerts for Reddit versus Hydra: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAlerts for RedditHydra
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (182 ratings)4.8 (807 ratings) — better
Positive reviews67.9% of reviews74.8% of reviews — better
Number of ratings182807 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank—#172 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.6 — better16.4
Further details — not scored
Size41 MB75 MB
Age rating17++17
DeveloperAmanda O'NealDimitrie Milinovich

Customer experience

Alerts for Reddit

All ratings182 ratings
Positive77.5%
Neutral7.1%
Negative15.4%
Written reviews106 reviews
Positive67.9%
Neutral10.4%
Negative21.7%

Hydra

All ratings807 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral1.6%
Negative3.2%
Written reviews151 reviews
Positive74.8%
Neutral6.0%
Negative19.2%

User reviews

Alerts for Reddit

From 182 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast real-time alerts for Reddit posts
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive user interface
  • 💰 Generous free tier with no ads
  • 🎯 Highly customizable keyword and subreddit filtering
  • 📱 Works with multiple Reddit client apps

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Notifications fail to send or arrive late
  • 💾 Settings not saved to iCloud backup
  • 🔄 App crashes and freezes on startup
  • ⚠️ Inconsistent notification filtering behavior
  • 🔌 Duplicate notifications for single posts

Hydra

From 807 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Massive potential
  • 👍 Closest thing to Apollo
  • 👍 Best option for 2025
  • 👍 Better in almost every way
  • 👍 Superior Reddit Client++

Room to improve

  • 🔒 Sketchy security

Bugs and requests

Alerts for Reddit

Reported bugs

11 issues
  • App won't open or stuck on loading screen
  • Settings don't persist after closing app
  • iCloud backup excludes app data
  • Notifications not appearing in Notification Center
  • Duplicate notifications for same post
Show 6 more
  • App randomly resets subscriptions
  • Restore purchase doesn't work after device transfer
  • Notifications open in browser instead of Reddit app
  • Filters not working - alerts for unsubscribed content
  • App hangs when accessing Notification Subscriptions multiple times
  • iOS 15+ compatibility issues with settings saving

Requested features

13 requests
  • iCloud sync for subscriptions and settings
  • Comment notifications and threaded conversation alerts
  • Advanced filtering with AND/OR/NOT operations
  • Search within post content, not just titles
  • Quiet hours or do-not-disturb scheduling
Show 8 more
  • Custom app icons or icon selection
  • In-app notification history and log
  • Post content search in addition to titles
  • Browser selection for notification links
  • Siri Shortcuts integration
  • Real-time notification frequency (faster than 30 minutes)
  • Per-subreddit notification limits
  • Widget support

Hydra

Reported bugs

1 issue
  • Expect some bumps

Requested features

2 requests
  • Customizing the gestures and hiding the username on the tab bar
  • Content blocking, comment images, startup feed, and others

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Alerts for Reddit

Subscriptions3
  • Premium Subscription$3.991 Year
  • Premium Speed: Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Premium Speed: Yearly$44.991 Year
One-time1
  • Lifetime Premium$4.99
5 purchases

Hydra

Subscriptions1
  • Hydra Pro$2.991 Month
One-time4
  • Nice Tip$1.99
  • Generous Tip$4.99
  • Amazing Tip$9.99
Show 1 more
  • Incredible Tip$19.99

Questions

Is Alerts for Reddit free?
Alerts for Reddit is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hydra free?
Hydra is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Alerts for Reddit or Hydra?
Hydra is rated higher. Alerts for Reddit averages 4.2 out of 5 from 182 ratings, while Hydra averages 4.8 from 807 ratings.
Do Alerts for Reddit or Hydra have ads?
Neither Alerts for Reddit nor Hydra shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Alerts for Reddit or Hydra?
Alerts for Reddit ships an update every 3 months, and Hydra every 3 weeks. Most recently, Alerts for Reddit was updated on November 2, 2026 and Hydra on October 30, 2026.

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