Hack The News vs Hacker News Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Hack The News
This app provides a streamlined and intelligent way to consume Hacker News content. It offers AI-powered summaries for articles, a clean native reading interface, and powerful search capabilities. Users can also save articles, browse job postings, and customize their reading experience.
- AI article summaries
- Native reading experience
- Cross-Hacker News search
- Article translation
- Bookmark saved stories
- Hacker News jobs board
- Customizable themes
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Your smart, fast Hacker News reader, powered by AI. Hack The News turns Hacker News into a clean native reading experience for developers, founders, startup people, and curious tech readers. Browse top, best, new, show, ask, and job stories. Open discussions without clutter. Get instant AI summaries when an article is too long and you just need the key points. Why Hack The News? - AI summaries: get a TLDR for any story and decide what is worth reading. - Native reader: read articles, comments, and link previews in a fast iPhone-first interface. - Search: find stories, comments, and users across all of Hacker News. - Translation: translate stories, comments, and summaries into your preferred language. - Bookmarks: save articles, developer news, startup ideas, and YC job posts for later. - Jobs board: browse Hacker News and YC startup jobs directly in the app. - Widgets: keep top tech stories on your Home Screen. - Custom themes: tune the reading experience to match your style. Premium unlocks the full experience: - Unlimited AI summaries - Unlimited bookmarks - Full theme customization - Home Screen widgets - All future premium features included Built for the Hacker News community. No ads. No clutter. Just the stories, links, comments, and software news that matter. Download Hack The News and read Hacker News smarter, not longer. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
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 ratings volume: Hack The News at 3 against Hacker News Reader's 1. Hacker News Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (18.0 vs 26.0). On price, rating, update cadence 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. Hack The News sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month 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.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Hack The News against 5.0 for Hacker News Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 1 respectively.
Hack The News ships an update every 2 weeks, Hacker News Reader every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 24, 2026.
| Parameter | Hack The News | Hacker News Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | — | 100.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 weeks | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 26.0 | 18.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Alperen Unal | Rodrigo Cardoso |
Customer experience
Hack The News
Hacker News Reader
In-app purchases
Hack The News
- Month3 Days trial$4.991 Month
- 6 Months3 Days trial$23.996 Months
- Year3 Days trial$29.991 Year
- Hack The News Premium Lifetime$149.99
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 Hack The News free?
Is Hacker News Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Hack The News or Hacker News Reader?
Do Hack The News or Hacker News Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hack The News or Hacker News Reader?
Other comparisons
