Hacko 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.
Hacko for Hacker News
This client offers a unique way to navigate Hacker News discussions, keeping comments readable at any depth. Enjoy smooth navigation, custom boards, search, and a reading list for an enhanced experience.
- Alternative comment tree display
- Maintains comment readability
- Swipe navigation
- Custom boards
- Search functionality
- Reading list
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It's a Hacker News client that uses an alternative way of displaying the comment tree. Advantages over traditional interfaces: - Comment width doesn't get narrower no matter how deep in the tree you are - You always see the parent of the comment you're currently reading - Swiping allows you to move in and out of subtrees with animated transitions that you fully control - You can easily skip subtrees that don't interest you by simply scrolling As a result it's easier to maintain the context and to keep track of where you are in the Hacker News discussion tree. There are also: custom boards, search, in-thread search, anchors, reading list, recent items. Enjoy your Hacker News reading experience! Developer is not affiliated with Hacker News (https://news.ycombinator.com/) in any way.
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 review sentiment: Hacker News Reader at 100% against Hacko for Hacker News's 67%. Hacker News Reader also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.6). Hacko for Hacker News's advantage is ratings volume (31 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases 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. Hacko for Hacker News sells 5 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.
Hacker News Reader holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hacko for Hacker News has 31 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of Hacko for Hacker News's written reviews are positive against 100% of Hacker News Reader's.
Hacko for Hacker News ships an update fortnightly, Hacker News Reader every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on September 30, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hacko for Hacker News | Hacker News Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (31 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 66.7% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 31 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Fortnightly | 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, iPod | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 10 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Andrii Sievrikov | Rodrigo Cardoso |
Customer experience
Hacko for Hacker News
Hacker News Reader
In-app purchases
Hacko for Hacker News
- Tip - Regular Tip$0.99
- Tip - Big Tip$3.99
- Premium$5.99
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Tip - Large Tip$6.99
- Tip - Huge 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 Hacko for Hacker News free?
Is Hacker News Reader free?
Which has better reviews, Hacko for Hacker News or Hacker News Reader?
Do Hacko for Hacker News or Hacker News Reader have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hacko for Hacker News or Hacker News Reader?
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