# HACK for Hacker News YC Reader vs Civisly

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Civisly at none against HACK for Hacker News YC Reader's 6. Civisly also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7). HACK for Hacker News YC Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (1.6K vs 1). On price, ads, monetization model and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. HACK for Hacker News YC Reader sells 6 one-off in-app purchases. Civisly asks for nothing beyond the download.

Civisly 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 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader ships an update every 3 days, Civisly every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | HACK for Hacker News YC Reader | Civisly |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (1.6K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hack-for-hacker-news-yc-reader/id1464477788/reviews) | **[5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/civisly/id6783979498/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **1.6K** | 1 |
| Positive reviews | 93.5% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 days** | Every 3 weeks |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Size | 28 MB | 16 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Pranoy Chowdhury](https://appshunter.io/developer/952263202) | [Civisly LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/6783979500) |

## What reviewers say

### HACK for Hacker News YC Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hack-for-hacker-news-yc-reader/id1464477788)

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:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Nice Tip | $3.99 | one-time |
| Kind Tip | $6.99 | one-time |
| Hack Premium | $9.99 | one-time |
| Generous Tip | $9.99 | one-time |
| Amazing Tip | $12.99 | one-time |
| Godzilla Tip | $19.99 | one-time |


### Civisly

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/civisly/id6783979498)

This AI-powered assistant simplifies government actions, providing personalized legislative updates and court ruling summaries in plain English. It explains how policies affect your life and answers your civic questions.

**Highlights:** Personalized legislative feed, AI-powered plain-English summaries, Court ruling analysis, Personalized impact statements, AI assistant for civic questions, Bill and ruling tracking

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

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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 Civisly free?

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

### Which has better reviews, HACK for Hacker News YC Reader or Civisly?

Civisly is rated higher. HACK for Hacker News YC Reader averages 4.7 out of 5 from 1.6K ratings, while Civisly averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.

### Do HACK for Hacker News YC Reader or Civisly have ads?

Neither HACK for Hacker News YC Reader nor Civisly shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, HACK for Hacker News YC Reader or Civisly?

HACK for Hacker News YC Reader ships an update every 3 days, and Civisly every 3 weeks. Most recently, HACK for Hacker News YC Reader was updated on October 26, 2026 and Civisly on October 9, 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.*