HNreader vs Hacksy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HNreader
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Reader app for https://news.ycombinator.com (aka "Hacker News") with a focus on the comments. Features: - Supports sections "Top", "New", "Show" and "Ask" - Nested comments: press on a comment to reveal more entries of the discussion - Supports macOS, iOS (iPhone) and watchOS (Apple Watch) This application is Free and Open Source software (FOSS), source code is available at https://github.com/yep/HNreader
Hacksy
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Hacksy is a modern and minimalistic Hacker News reader that serves as a one-stop shop for all tech-related news. Found an interesting article you’d like to read later? Just swipe to add it to your bookmarks. Read a comment that resonated with you? Save it to reference it anytime. Want to search the extensive Hacker News archives? Hacksy’s got you covered. What truly makes Hacksy stand out is its seamless reading experience — you can follow both the discussion and the article at the same time, without ever having to choose between one or the other.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Hacksy at every 2 months against HNreader's every 27 months. HNreader's advantage is device support (4 vs 1). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HNreader ships an update every 27 months, Hacksy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HNreader | Hacksy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 27 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Jahn Bertsch | Janusz Polowczyk |
In-app purchases
HNreader
No in-app purchases
Hacksy
No in-app purchases
