Comparison

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader vs command_line

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

Head to head
About

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader

This app offers a beautiful and intuitive way to read tech, startup, and STEM news from Hacker News. It provides advanced features like push notifications, threaded comments, and powerful search, with extensive customization options for a personalized reading experience.

Highlights
  • Ad-free and subscription-free reading
  • Push notifications for replies
  • Nested threaded comments with collapse
  • Swipe to upvote and favorite
  • Submit new posts and drafts
  • Powerful Algolia-powered search
  • Customizable themes, fonts, and layout
Features
Read full description

HACK for YC's Hacker News is the most beautiful and easy way to read about the latest tech, startup and STEM news. - No Ads. No subscriptions. - Login or Register your Hacker News account - PUSH NOTIFICATIONS for Hacker News replies to comment or post - Supported on iPhone, iPad, and Mac - Setting to block AI posts on HN. - Comments are presented in nested threads - Tap a comment to collapse that thread - Swipe left or right on stories and comments to upvote and favorite - Ability to submit new posts including drafts - Long press a story, link or comment to share - iPad supports split view - On iPads, you can drag a story / comment / story's image (link) to open it in safari in split view. This is useful for when you are viewing the app in split view / multitasking and like opening the link / story / comment in a browser side by side. - Landscape and Portrait support - 3D touch for peek, pop support - Home screen 3D touch shortcuts - Hide posts from the feed - Tap the bottom button to scroll to the next root comment in the thread. Long press it to go to the previous one - All known hacker news endpoints - News, front page, Ask HN, Show HN, Show HN Newest, classic, active, best stories, best comments, new stories, new comments, noob stories, noob comments, jobs, over 100-500 points - Submit posts, reply, comment using your HN account - Browse top 100 leader accounts - Browse stories from a specific site, user or date - Search in comments and usernames! Search is case and diacritic insensitive and ignores punctuations. Search uses an CONTAINS, OR operation if multiple words are typed. - Can select / highlight the comment/post title text for lookup/copy/translate etc iOS native operations. - Powerful search (powered by Algolia API) - use @date to sort by date, #story to filter for stories, #comments to filter for comments, #author_username to filter by user etc. These tags can be separated by commas. Refer to https://hn.algolia.com/api for more tags. - Dark mode - both pure black and gray mode - Low contrast text mode to make the text not be pure white - Many color choices & color picker for customization - App icons in variety of colours for light and dark mode - Font choices - Ability to change font sizes, padding etc to make the layout as compact as you like! - Threaded comments with color bar to maintain visual orientation - Articles open in Safari view with setting to automatically open in "readability" mode - Tap the domain in a story to see all stories from that site - Tap the username in a story or comment to go to the user profile - Browse your submitted stories and comments, favorited stories and comments, upvoted stories and comments - Archive: View an archive of the post website. archive.is, archive.org & google cache. - Share comment as image - Articles can be opened in built in safari or 3rd party browsers. Supports Brave, Firefox, Firefox Focus, Orion, Opera Touch, Dolphin, DuckDuckGo, iCab Mobile, Microsoft Edge and Chrome. Go to settings > Disable the "Use in-app Safari" setting > tap that row to change the default browser. All stories and comments are via Algolia API and Hacker News API: https://news.ycombinator.com/ https://hn.algolia.com/api https://github.com/HackerNews/API Profile picture robots lovingly delivered by Robohash.org I am a small indie developer and need your help keep the lights on. I offer an ad and analytics free and beautiful app for the absolute best experience for my users. I need to run my own server for caching high quality favicons shown in the app plus for push notifications for replies to hacker news posts. If you can afford it, please support me by purchasing the one-time-only in-app-purchase or giving me a tip. No subscriptions. You can also leave a review on the App Store as that really helps me get the word out. Thank you for choosing HACK. If you have a programming job or have feedback, contact me at: pran@pranapps.com

About

command_line

A fast, terminal-style client for reading and participating in Hacker News discussions. Offers a focused interface with features like offline caching and story saving. Premium unlocks account actions and advanced tools for deeper engagement.

Highlights
  • Terminal-inspired interface
  • Browse all story types
  • Threaded comment discussions
  • Search Hacker News
  • Save stories with bookmarks
  • Offline caching
  • Account sign-in and participation
Features
Read full description

command_line is a fast, terminal-style Hacker News client built for readers who want speed, focus, and real participation. Browse top stories, new stories, best stories, Ask HN, Show HN, jobs, polls, profiles, and full discussion threads in a clean mobile experience designed to feel quick, dense, and intentional. Unlike many read-only Hacker News apps, command_line is built for both reading and doing. Free users can browse and read comfortably, while premium unlocks account-based actions and power-user tools. FREE FEATURES • Read Hacker News with a fast, terminal-inspired interface • Browse Top, New, Best, Ask HN, Show HN, Jobs, and Polls • Open full story discussions with threaded comments • Search Hacker News stories and discussions • Save stories with bookmarks for later • Use offline-friendly caching for faster repeat visits • View user profiles and activity • Enjoy a focused dark interface designed for mobile reading PREMIUM FEATURES • Sign in to your Hacker News account • Upvote stories and comments • Reply to discussions • Submit posts • Manage your account session from the app • Access RSS tools and advanced power-user features WHY command_line Most Hacker News clients feel outdated, slow, or limited. command_line was rebuilt to feel fast on every revisit, not just the first load. It combines quick browsing, cached reading, dense threaded discussions, and a terminal-style design that stands out from generic news apps. Whether you just want a better way to read Hacker News on mobile or a premium tool for participating in the community, command_line is built to help you move through the news quickly and stay close to the conversation. SUBSCRIPTION / PURCHASE INFO Premium is available as an optional monthly, yearly, or lifetime upgrade. Reading remains free. Premium unlocks account actions and advanced features such as sign-in, voting, replying, posting, and RSS tools. Subscriptions automatically renew unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage or cancel your subscription anytime in your App Store account settings.

Screenshots

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader4 screens
command_line4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: HACK for Hacker News YC Reader at every 3 days against command_line's every 15 months. HACK for Hacker News YC Reader also leads on monetization model (free vs freemium) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 2). command_line's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.7). On price, ads, in-app purchases and iOS requirement 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. HACK for Hacker News YC Reader sells 6 one-off in-app purchases and command_line sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

command_line holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: HACK for Hacker News YC Reader has 1.6K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader ships an update every 3 days, command_line every 15 months. The most recent releases landed on October 13, 2026 and October 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
HACK for Hacker News YC Reader versus command_line: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHACK for Hacker News YC Readercommand_line
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (1.6K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews93.4% of reviews—
Number of ratings1.6K — better2
Update frequencyEvery 3 days — betterEvery 15 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS15.0 — better15.1
Further details — not scored
Size28 MB39 MB
Age rating9+9+
DeveloperPranoy ChowdhuryDaniel Shaw

Customer experience

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader

All ratings1,580 ratings
Positive91.5%
Neutral2.5%
Negative5.9%
Written reviews197 reviews
Positive93.4%
Neutral2.5%
Negative4.1%

command_line

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

6 purchases

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader

One-time6
  • Nice Tip$3.99
  • Kind Tip$6.99
  • Generous Tip$9.99
Show 3 more
  • Amazing Tip$12.99
  • Hack Premium$14.99
  • Godzilla Tip$19.99
3 purchases

command_line

Subscriptions2
  • Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Premium Yearly$39.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium Lifetime$99.99

Questions

Is HACK for Hacker News YC Reader free?
HACK for Hacker News YC Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is command_line free?
command_line is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, HACK for Hacker News YC Reader or command_line?
command_line is rated higher. HACK for Hacker News YC Reader averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while command_line averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do HACK for Hacker News YC Reader or command_line have ads?
Neither HACK for Hacker News YC Reader nor command_line shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HACK for Hacker News YC Reader or command_line?
HACK for Hacker News YC Reader ships an update every 3 days, and command_line every 15 months. Most recently, HACK for Hacker News YC Reader was updated on October 13, 2026 and command_line on October 8, 2026.

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