# Hacker News vs AI news for devs

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: AI news for devs at none against Hacker News's 4. AI news for devs also leads on review sentiment (98% vs 79%) and rating (4.9 vs 4.7). Hacker News's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and ratings volume (34 vs 11). On price, update cadence, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

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

AI news for devs holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.7. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 34 and 11 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 79% of Hacker News's written reviews are positive against 98% of AI news for devs's.

Hacker News ships an update every 5 days, AI news for devs weekly. Both last shipped on October 25, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hacker News | AI news for devs |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.7 (34 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-latest-in-tech/id1573004386/reviews) | **[4.9 (11 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-news-for-devs-devbytes/id6742091405/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **34** | 11 |
| Positive reviews | 79.2% of reviews | **98.2% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | **Every 5 days** | Weekly |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Ad-supported** |
| Size | 20 MB | 148 MB |
| Requires iOS | **17.4** | 18.0 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Snap Web Studios](https://appshunter.io/developer/496259214) | [Candela Labs Private Limited](https://appshunter.io/developer/1796758823) |

## What reviewers say

### Hacker News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-latest-in-tech/id1573004386)

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:** macOS Compatibility, Safari Extension, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (4)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $4.99 | one-time |
| Extra Large Tip | $19.99 | one-time |


### AI news for devs

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ai-news-for-devs-devbytes/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 Hacker News free?

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

### Is AI news for devs free?

AI news for devs is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Hacker News or AI news for devs?

AI news for devs is rated higher. Hacker News averages 4.7 out of 5 from 34 ratings, while AI news for devs averages 4.9 from 11 ratings.

### Do Hacker News or AI news for devs have ads?

AI news for devs shows ads; Hacker News does not.

### Which is updated more often, Hacker News or AI news for devs?

Hacker News ships an update every 5 days, and AI news for devs weekly. Most recently, Hacker News was updated on October 25, 2026 and AI news for devs on October 25, 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.*