Hax for Hacker News vs Hacker News Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hax for Hacker News
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Hax is a free Hacker News client for iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, that aims to provide a native browsing experience that improves upon the website while keeping a similar minimalistic appearance. Browse any Hacker News feed, scroll through stories and watch the discussion unfold in the comments. Other features include the following: - Widgets: display the latest stories of any feed - Discussion at a glance: generate a summary of a story's top comments using the Apple Intelligence on-device model (only on compatible devices) - Controls: open any feed from Control Center, the Lock Screen, or the Action button - Safari extension: when opening Hacker News links in Safari, you can open them in Hax - Filter out stories and comments depending on keywords and/or users - Search stories - Translate titles, comments, and more - Dark Mode and Dynamic Type The project is open-source, so you can check it out on GitHub: https://github.com/lui5fl/hax
Hacker News Reader
A native iOS application offering a streamlined Hacker News experience. Users can read, vote, comment, and post stories, browse different sections, and organize content with custom groups. It prioritizes speed and privacy.
- Vote, comment, and post stories
- Browse Ask, Show, Jobs, and New sections
- Read threaded discussions
- Submit stories
- Create custom story groups
- iCloud sync for groups
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The best native Hacker News reader for iOS. Read, vote, comment, and post. HackerNows is a native iPhone app that brings the full Y Combinator Hacker News experience to your device. No webviews, no compromises, just a fast, clean way to stay on top of tech news and developer discussions. Everything you expect from HN: • Vote, comment, post, and favorite stories • Browse Ask, Show, Jobs, and New sections • Read threaded discussions with a clean, native layout • Submit stories directly from the app Organize your way: • Create custom story groups to save and sort what matters • iCloud sync keeps your groups updated across all your devices Built for the community: • Lightweight, fast, and privacy-focused • Optional patronage: support the app if you want, when you want https://hackernows.app/eula
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Hacker News Reader at every 10 days against Hax for Hacker News's every 7 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases 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
Both are free to download. Hax for Hacker News sells 3 one-off in-app purchases and Hacker News Reader sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Hax for Hacker News ships an update every 7 months, Hacker News Reader every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 4, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hax for Hacker News | Hacker News Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 7 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | — | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.5 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 6 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Luis Fariña Lázaro | Rodrigo Cardoso |
In-app purchases
Hax for Hacker News
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$3.99
- Large Tip$9.99
Hacker News Reader
- Iron$0.991 Month
- Steel$1.991 Month
- Mithril$2.991 Month
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
Questions
Is Hax for Hacker News free?
Is Hacker News Reader free?
Do Hax for Hacker News or Hacker News Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hax for Hacker News or Hacker News Reader?
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