HNR vs Hacker News Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HNR
Access and read stories from the popular tech news website Hacker News. Browse top or latest articles, save your favorites, share content, and search for specific topics. Offers customizable color themes including dark and light modes.
- Browse top/latest stories
- Save favorite articles
- Share stories
- Search functionality
- Customizable color themes
- Dark/light mode support
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A convenient way to read stories from the tech news website Hacker News (HN). Features: - Browse 100 top or latest stories - Save favorites - Share - Search - Customizable color with dark/light mode support
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 in-app purchases: HNR at none against Hacker News Reader's 6. HNR also leads on iOS requirement (15.2 vs 18.0). Hacker News Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 11 months). On price, rating, ratings volume 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. Hacker News Reader sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. HNR asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for HNR against 5.0 for Hacker News Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively.
HNR ships an update every 11 months, Hacker News Reader every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HNR | Hacker News Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 11 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.2 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 3 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Michael Hsieh | Rodrigo Cardoso |
Customer experience
HNR
Hacker News Reader
In-app purchases
HNR
No in-app purchases
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
