Hackers for Hacker News vs Crew
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hackers for Hacker News
A fast, clean, and distraction-free client for reading Hacker News on iOS devices. It's designed for deep technical discussions and efficient navigation, especially within complex comment threads. Enjoy a smooth and readable experience focused on content.
- Fast, native performance
- Clean, readable layout
- Advanced comment collapsing
- Swipe gestures for actions
- Light and dark mode
- Privacy-focused design
Read full descriptionHide full description
The best way to read Hacker News on iOS. Fast, clean, and designed for deep technical discussions. Built for people who actually read the comments. Hackers for Hacker News is a powerful, thoughtfully designed Hacker News client for iPhone and iPad. It focuses on speed, clarity, and efficient navigation, making it easy to follow discussions without distractions. Whether you are quickly checking the front page or spending time in long, complex comment threads, Hackers is built to keep the experience smooth and readable. Key features: • Fast, native performance with a lightweight interface • Clean, readable layout optimised for long discussions • Advanced comment collapsing for navigating deep threads • Swipe gestures to vote, reply, and move between stories • Light and dark mode support • Designed with privacy in mind Hackers for Hacker News is built for developers, founders, and curious readers who value thoughtful discussion and high-signal content. The interface stays out of your way so you can focus on what matters: the stories and the comments. If Hacker News is part of your daily routine, this is a better way to read it. Download Hackers for Hacker News and experience Hacker News the way it should be. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
Crew
This app provides a native iOS experience for browsing Stack Overflow content. It offers a clean, ad-free interface with powerful navigation and filtering tools for questions, answers, and comments. Enjoy a streamlined way to engage with the developer community.
- Native iOS design
- Ad-free browsing
- Powerful question filters
- Dark mode
- Real-time question previews
- Gesture navigation
Read full descriptionHide full description
#PH daily pick 29/01/2020 "Crew brings the web service to a native app with a beautiful UI that makes browsing Stack Overflow much nicer than on the web." - MacStories "Crew isn't just an app, though. It's been designed with iOS guidelines in mind, making it look and feel every bit the native iPhone and iPad experience in a way the Stack Overflow website just can't match." - iMore Crew is a beautiful StackOverflow app built for fast navigation with powerful set of features. The delightful interface is coupled with extensive features that feel part on your device, whilst elevating your Stack Overflow experience. It’s created specifically with iOS design guidelines in mind, so it fits right at home on your device. Browse question without distraction or ads, use filter, add comments, or visit specific website areas like tags profile or badges section. You can quickly view list, tabs, inbox, notifications and more using gestures and context menu. Crew is an unofficial app, and side effects may include an incredible browsing experience. EXCITING FEATURES: - Trends and search support - All questions,answers and comments from Stack Overflow in your hands. - Search support - Rich rendering of questions - Dark mode - Beautiful iOS centric Ui - Universal app for iPhone and iPad. - Compose question with real time previews. - Powerful question filters (month, week, votes and more) It’s constatly evolving. If you have anything you’d specifically like to see, come to the Settings section and text me, I’d love to hear it! This app is not affiliated with or endorsed by Stack Overflow. Terms Of Use: https://www.danieljamestronca.com/crew/terms-of-use Privacy Policy: https://www.danieljamestronca.com/crew/privacy-policy
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Crew at every 10 days against Hackers for Hacker News's every 5 weeks. Crew also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 26.0). Hackers for Hacker News's advantage is ratings volume (429 vs 64). On price, rating, review sentiment and ads 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. Hackers for Hacker News sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month and Crew sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.
Hackers for Hacker News holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hackers for Hacker News has 429 ratings behind it against 64, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 64% of Hackers for Hacker News's written reviews are positive against 67% of Crew's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Hackers for Hacker News ships an update every 5 weeks, Crew every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 21, 2026 and September 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hackers for Hacker News | Crew |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (429 ratings) — better | 4.4 (64 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 63.6% of reviews | 66.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 429 — better | 64 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 9 MB | 59 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Weiran Zhang | Daniel James Tronca |
Customer experience
Hackers for Hacker News
Crew
Bugs and requests
Hackers for Hacker News
Reported bugs
12 issues- App fails to load posts or comments
- Login/password reset not working
- Swipe gestures trigger unintended menu opens while scrolling
- Links open accidentally during scrolling
- App crashes on refresh
Show 7 moreShow fewer
- Comments not loading completely
- Share functionality duplicates links
- iOS 14 compatibility dropped in bugfix release
- Blank page/no content loading
- Comment markup rendering incorrectly
- Scrolling lag during background refresh
- Jerky animations when loading comments
Requested features
15 requests- Ability to comment and post
- User authentication/login support
- Upvote and downvote functionality
- Save/bookmark posts for later
- Search functionality
Show 10 moreShow fewer
- Show HN category filter
- Offline viewing/download comments
- Mark visited posts visually
- Display full post content, not just titles
- Font size customization options
- Replies/threading support
- Pagination or infinite scroll
- URL scheme support for Shortcuts
- Text selection in comments
- Best feed option
Crew
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Hackers for Hacker News
- Hackers Supporter$0.991 Month
- Quick Tip$0.99
- Nice Tip$2.99
- Generous Tip$6.99
Crew
- Monthly Subscription$1.991 Month
- Yearly Subscription3 Days trial$19.991 Year
- Smoothie-sized Tip$0.99
- Sandwich-sized tip$2.99
- Buffet-sized Tip$7.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Deluxe-sized tip$16.99
- Lifetime Subscritpion$39.99








