Comparison

Hacker Buzz vs Hacker News

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

Head to head
About

Hacker Buzz

A dark-themed reader for Hacker News stories. Browse new, top, and best stories, and filter by specific categories like Ask and Jobs. Save favorites and share articles easily.

Highlights
  • Dark themed interface
  • Filter stories by New, Top, Best, Ask, Jobs
  • Infinite scroll
  • Collapsible comments
  • Share stories
  • Favorite stories for later
Features
Read full description

Read your favorite Hacker News (https://news.ycombinator.com/) stories in this dark themed app. Filter stories by • New • Top • Best • Share • Ask • Jobs Features • Infinite scroll & collapsible comments • Share any story with anyone • Like a story? Favorite it and read it later!

About

Hacker News

Access the latest tech, startup, and science news with a fast and customizable reader. Organize stories by topic, search quickly, and enjoy AI-powered summaries. This ad-free experience syncs across devices and prioritizes your privacy.

Highlights
  • Fast browsing of feeds and comments
  • iCloud sync for favorites and read status
  • Customizable story groups by topic
  • Lightning-fast search
  • AI-powered story summaries
  • Ad-free reading experience
  • Home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

The Ultimate Hacker News App! Dive into the latest startup, technology, programming, and science news with the ultimate app for browsing Y Combinator's Hacker News. Built for Speed and Customizability Designed from the ground up, this app offers a fast, seamless reading experience with extensive customizability. Optimized for iPhone and iPad Carefully crafted for both iPhone and iPad, the app is packed with features to enhance your reading experience: - Fast and Simple: Browse Hacker News feeds and threaded comments swiftly, ensuring you stay updated with everything happening. - Sync Across Devices: Favorite, read, or hide stories and keep your activity in sync across devices, thanks to iCloud. Your data stays private and secure. - Organize Your Way: Create custom groups to easily save stories by topic. Keep all your programming topics together, and all your science topics in one place, accessible on every device. - Lightning Fast Search: Quickly find any post, even those you mentioned to a friend days ago. - Highly Customizable: Choose between light and dark modes, select from eleven different color themes, and enjoy beautifully designed icons by Michael Flarup & Matthew Skiles. Customize your reading experience further by selecting your preferred browser, adjusting the appearance of read stories, and more. - AI-Powered Summaries: Get quick summaries of stories with AI powered by OpenAI. Perfect for when you only need the gist. - Ad-Free Reading: Skip the ads and read a clean, markdown-formatted version of articles. - Time-Saving Features: Know how long articles will take to read with time estimates. - Powerful Gestures: Use swipe gestures to quickly favorite, hide, and add stories to your groups. - iPad Keyboard Shortcuts: Easily manage favorites, hiding, and adding to groups with keyboard shortcuts. - Home Screen Widgets: Customize your Home Screen with widgets of all sizes, showing your favorite feeds and the latest stories at a glance. - Convenient Share Sheet Action: Open Hacker News links from any app with our share sheet action. Just tap “Open in Hacker News.” - Privacy Focused: No ads, no tracking, and no data storage. Your privacy is paramount. - Support the App: Keep the app alive with a tip or leave a review. Every bit helps! Enjoy the best Hacker News experience on your Apple devices today!

Screenshots

Hacker Buzz4 screens
Hacker News4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Hacker News at 4.7 against Hacker Buzz's 4.0. Hacker News also leads on ratings volume (34 vs 5). Hacker Buzz's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 4) and iOS requirement (9.0 vs 17.4). On price, review sentiment, update cadence 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

Both are free to download. Hacker News sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. Hacker Buzz asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Hacker News holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hacker News has 34 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 71% of Hacker Buzz's written reviews are positive against 79% of Hacker News's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hacker Buzz ships an update weekly, Hacker News every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hacker Buzz versus Hacker News: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHacker BuzzHacker News
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (5 ratings)4.7 (34 ratings) — better
Positive reviews71.4% of reviews79.2% of reviews — better
Number of ratings534 — better
Update frequencyWeeklyEvery 5 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS9.0 — better17.4
Further details — not scored
Size10 MB20 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperRafal CiesielczukSnap Web Studios

Customer experience

Hacker Buzz

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews7 reviews
Positive71.4%
Neutral14.3%
Negative14.3%

Hacker News

All ratings34 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral12.5%
Negative8.3%

In-app purchases

None

Hacker Buzz

No in-app purchases

4 purchases

Hacker News

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Extra Large Tip$19.99

Questions

Is Hacker Buzz free?
Hacker Buzz is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hacker News free?
Hacker News is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hacker Buzz or Hacker News?
Hacker News is rated higher. Hacker Buzz averages 4.0 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Hacker News averages 4.7 from 34 ratings.
Do Hacker Buzz or Hacker News have ads?
Neither Hacker Buzz nor Hacker News shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hacker Buzz or Hacker News?
Hacker Buzz ships an update weekly, and Hacker News every 5 days. Most recently, Hacker Buzz was updated on September 23, 2026 and Hacker News on October 30, 2026.

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