# Octal for Hacker News vs DevBytes

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: DevBytes at none against Octal for Hacker News's 4. DevBytes also leads on review sentiment (98% vs 74%). Octal for Hacker News's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (2.8K vs 10). On price, rating, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Octal for Hacker News against 4.9 for DevBytes. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Octal for Hacker News has 2.8K ratings behind it against 10, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 74% of Octal for Hacker News's written reviews are positive against 98% of DevBytes's.

Octal for Hacker News ships an update every 11 days, DevBytes weekly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Octal for Hacker News | DevBytes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (2.8K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/octal-for-hacker-news/id1308885491/reviews) | **[4.9 (10 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/devbytes-for-busy-developers/id6742091405/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **2.8K** | 10 |
| Positive reviews | 73.7% of reviews | **98.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 11 days | **Weekly** |
| Monetization | **Free** | Ad-supported |
| Size | 8 MB | 147 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Daniel Wu](https://appshunter.io/developer/1308885370) | [Candela Labs Private Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1796758823) |

## What reviewers say

### Octal for Hacker News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/octal-for-hacker-news/id1308885491)

Access breaking tech news and engage in discussions with a beautifully designed, fast, and user-friendly feed. Vote on stories, submit posts, comment, and manage favorites without ads or subscriptions.

**Highlights:** Vote on stories and comments, Submit new posts, Engage in threaded discussions, Search Hacker News stories, Manage favorites, Customizable news feed filters, Dark Mode support

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

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind Tip | $1.99 | one-time |
| Generous Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Premium | $5.99 | one-time |
| Extraordinary Tip | $9.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Fantastic app
- 👍 Convenient to use
- 👍 Good UX/UI
- 👍 Elegant, intuitive client
- 👍 Beautifully executed

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Can't even log in my YC account
- 🐛 Occasional refresh issues
- 🐛 Asking for network info permission
- 🐛 Unreliable
- 🐛 Ads

**Reported bugs**

- Login and likes broken on iOS 16.0
- Restore purchase not working
- App icon doesn't change
- Editing a comment works but gives an error
- Can't collapse comments

**Requested features**

- Dark mode option
- Ability to browse history and upvoted stories
- Markdown highlighting for comments
- Ability to select text when tap anywhere to collapse comment is enabled
- Downvote functionality


### DevBytes

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/devbytes-for-busy-developers/id6742091405)

Consolidate coding, tech, and AI news into a single, distraction-free feed. Access bite-sized updates, in-depth articles, interactive tutorials, and coding challenges. Features an AI sidekick for code explanation and debugging.

**Highlights:** Bite-sized tech news snippets, In-depth articles on senior dev topics, Interactive demos and tutorials, Coding challenges with solutions, AI sidekick for code explanation, Distraction-free learning space

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Octal for Hacker News free?

Octal for Hacker News is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is DevBytes free?

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

### Which has better reviews, Octal for Hacker News or DevBytes?

DevBytes is rated higher. Octal for Hacker News averages 4.8 out of 5 from 2.8K ratings, while DevBytes averages 4.9 from 10 ratings.

### Do Octal for Hacker News or DevBytes have ads?

DevBytes shows ads; Octal for Hacker News does not.

### Which is updated more often, Octal for Hacker News or DevBytes?

Octal for Hacker News ships an update every 11 days, and DevBytes weekly. Most recently, Octal for Hacker News was updated on September 23, 2026 and DevBytes on September 21, 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.*