Comparison

Hacker News vs XPulse

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

Head to head
About

Hacker News

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
Read full description

The Ultimate Hacker News App! Dive into the latest startup, technology, programming, and science news with the ultimate app for browsing Y Combinator's Hacker News. Built for Speed and Customizability Designed from the ground up, this app offers a fast, seamless reading experience with extensive customizability. Optimized for iPhone and iPad Carefully crafted for both iPhone and iPad, the app is packed with features to enhance your reading experience: - Fast and Simple: Browse Hacker News feeds and threaded comments swiftly, ensuring you stay updated with everything happening. - Sync Across Devices: Favorite, read, or hide stories and keep your activity in sync across devices, thanks to iCloud. Your data stays private and secure. - Organize Your Way: Create custom groups to easily save stories by topic. Keep all your programming topics together, and all your science topics in one place, accessible on every device. - Lightning Fast Search: Quickly find any post, even those you mentioned to a friend days ago. - Highly Customizable: Choose between light and dark modes, select from eleven different color themes, and enjoy beautifully designed icons by Michael Flarup & Matthew Skiles. Customize your reading experience further by selecting your preferred browser, adjusting the appearance of read stories, and more. - AI-Powered Summaries: Get quick summaries of stories with AI powered by OpenAI. Perfect for when you only need the gist. - Ad-Free Reading: Skip the ads and read a clean, markdown-formatted version of articles. - Time-Saving Features: Know how long articles will take to read with time estimates. - Powerful Gestures: Use swipe gestures to quickly favorite, hide, and add stories to your groups. - iPad Keyboard Shortcuts: Easily manage favorites, hiding, and adding to groups with keyboard shortcuts. - Home Screen Widgets: Customize your Home Screen with widgets of all sizes, showing your favorite feeds and the latest stories at a glance. - Convenient Share Sheet Action: Open Hacker News links from any app with our share sheet action. Just tap “Open in Hacker News.” - Privacy Focused: No ads, no tracking, and no data storage. Your privacy is paramount. - Support the App: Keep the app alive with a tip or leave a review. Every bit helps! Enjoy the best Hacker News experience on your Apple devices today!

About

XPulse

Stay informed about artificial intelligence with daily, concise insights. This app distills AI news, podcasts, and research into actionable takeaways, allowing you to understand key developments quickly. Choose to read or listen to content, and save important information for later.

Highlights
  • Daily AI insights
  • Summarized news and research
  • Podcast and article distillation
  • Listen or read options
  • Save insights for later
  • Understand AI's impact
Features
Read full description

XPulse helps you stay ahead of the fast-moving world of artificial intelligence — without information overload. Every day, we analyze the latest AI news, podcasts, research, and expert conversations, then distill them into clear, concise insights you can consume in minutes. Whether you're a builder, investor, founder, or simply AI-curious, XPulse gives you signal without noise. KEY FEATURES • Daily AI Insights Get the most important developments summarized into actionable takeaways. • From Content to Insights We transform long-form content — podcasts, interviews, articles — into focused insights you can quickly understand. • Listen or Read Consume insights in the way that fits your day. • Save for Later Build your personal library of AI knowledge. • Stay Ahead Understand not just what happened, but why it matters. XPulse is designed for people who want to keep up with AI — without spending hours scrolling feeds. Download XPulse and turn information overload into clarity.

Screenshots

Hacker News4 screens
XPulse4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: XPulse at none against Hacker News's 4. XPulse also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and iOS requirement (15.1 vs 17.4). Hacker News's advantage is ratings volume (34 vs 3). On price, update cadence, ads and device support 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. Hacker News sells 4 one-off in-app purchases. XPulse asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

XPulse holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hacker News has 34 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hacker News ships an update every 5 days, XPulse weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Hacker News versus XPulse: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHacker NewsXPulse
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (34 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews79.2% of reviews—
Number of ratings34 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 5 days — betterWeekly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPod
Requires iOS17.415.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size20 MB33 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperSnap Web StudiosZeyu Li

Customer experience

Hacker News

All ratings34 ratings
Positive91.2%
Neutral5.9%
Negative2.9%
Written reviews24 reviews
Positive79.2%
Neutral12.5%
Negative8.3%

XPulse

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

In-app purchases

4 purchases

Hacker News

One-time4
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99
Show 1 more
  • Extra Large Tip$19.99
None

XPulse

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hacker News free?
Hacker News is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is XPulse free?
XPulse is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Hacker News or XPulse?
XPulse is rated higher. Hacker News averages 4.7 out of 5 from 34 ratings, while XPulse averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Hacker News or XPulse have ads?
Neither Hacker News nor XPulse shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hacker News or XPulse?
Hacker News ships an update every 5 days, and XPulse weekly. Most recently, Hacker News was updated on November 7, 2026 and XPulse on October 31, 2026.

Other comparisons