Comparison

Comments Owl for Hacker News vs ZyNotes

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Comments Owl for Hacker News

Enhances the Hacker News browsing experience by highlighting new comments, allowing user muting and note-taking, and offering customizable navigation. It streamlines comment thread following and improves overall readability across devices.

Highlights
  • Highlight new comments automatically
  • Mute and annotate users
  • Customizable navigation links
  • Improved mobile navigation
  • Default comment folding controls
  • Hide AI items
Features
Read full description

Browser extension which makes it easier to follow Hacker News comments threads across multiple visits, by automatically highlighting new comments and showing which items have new comments. It also adds the ability to annotate and mute other users, plus other UX tweaks. Features: List pages • Show new comment counts since you last viewed each item - clicking on the "X new" link will highlight new comments and collapse trees without any new comments • Hide "AI" items in the main list pages • Prevent accidental flagging and hiding on mobile by making the "flag" and "hide" controls require confirmation, or hiding them Item pages • Highlight new comments and collapse trees without any new comments when you revisit an item - you can configure whether or not this happens automatically when you revisit without using an "X new" link • Default comment folding controls are replaced with a Reddit-style left-aligned control, with a slightly larger hit target • Manually highlight the X most-recent comments if it's your first visit or there are no new comments to show • Mute users to hide their comments and replies to them - muted users can be managed on your own profile page • Logged out users get a new 'muted' link in the header they can use to manage their muted users • Add notes to users on their profile page - the first line will be displayed next to their comments • Toggle display of "reply" links below comments, to make more room for comments on the screen • Increased distance between the upvote and downvote arrows at mobile sizes • Increase the contrast of submission text Navigation • Hide navigation links you don't use • Add an "upvoted" link to the navigation for more convenient access to items you recently upvoted • Improved mobile navigation - navigation links are displayed underneath other header contents

About

ZyNotes

This app offers a secure, offline note-taking experience with no account required. It features a rich editor, to-do lists, image insertion, and PDF export. Customize your workspace and protect sensitive entries with a password.

Highlights
  • Fast and frictionless note-taking
  • Private and offline by default
  • Optional iCloud backup
  • Advanced note editor with rich formatting
  • Built-in to-do lists
  • Add photos to notes
  • Share notes as PDF
  • Lock and secure your notes
Features
Read full description

ZyNotes is a private offline notes app for your thoughts, diary and study notes. No account, no internet needed, and nobody else can read what you write. • PRIVATE NOTES THAT STAY ON YOUR DEVICE Your notes live on your iPhone or iPad, not on someone else’s server. No sign-up, no login and no data collection. Start writing the moment you open the app. • A THOUGHT JOURNAL AND STUDY DIARY IN ONE Sort every note into Diary, Study or Journal with one tap. Keep your private thoughts, daily journal and homework notes separate, and find any of them in seconds. • LOCK ANY NOTE Lock a single note with a password, a 4-digit PIN or Face ID. Only someone who can unlock it can read it. Perfect for a secret diary or anything personal. • WRITE THE WAY YOU LIKE Use headings, bold and italic text, checklists, numbered and bulleted lists, quotes and highlights. Add photos right inside a note and turn it into a study notebook you’ll actually want to reread. • VOICE NOTES Record a voice note when typing isn’t an option and keep it next to your written notes. • PRIVATE AI HELPER Ask the built-in note summarizer to shorten a long note, or chat with your notes to find what you wrote. It’s designed for privacy, like the rest of ZyNotes. • MORE YOU’LL LIKE To-do checklists inside any note, share a note as a PDF, light and dark themes, custom backgrounds and fonts. Made for students, journal writers and anyone who wants a simple, private place for their notes. Download ZyNotes and keep your notes yours. Terms of Use https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy https://zynotes.pntapps.com/privacy

Screenshots

Comments Owl for Hacker News4 screens
ZyNotes4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: ZyNotes at 4.7 against Comments Owl for Hacker News's 4.0. ZyNotes also leads on ratings volume (28 vs 1). Comments Owl for Hacker News's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly). On price 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. ZyNotes sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per 7 days. Comments Owl for Hacker News asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ZyNotes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: ZyNotes has 28 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Comments Owl for Hacker News's written reviews are positive against 86% of ZyNotes's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Comments Owl for Hacker News ships an update every 4 days, ZyNotes fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 22, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 2 level
Comments Owl for Hacker News versus ZyNotes: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterComments Owl for Hacker NewsZyNotes
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.0 (1 ratings)4.7 (28 ratings) — better
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews — better86.2% of reviews
Number of ratings128 — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 days — betterFortnightly
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Mac — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size1 MB100 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJ BUCHANAN & L.J BUCHANANMd Imran Ansari

Customer experience

Comments Owl for Hacker News

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

ZyNotes

All ratings28 ratings
Positive89.3%
Neutral10.7%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews29 reviews
Positive86.2%
Neutral10.3%
Negative3.4%

In-app purchases

None

Comments Owl for Hacker News

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

ZyNotes

Subscriptions2
  • Zynotes Weekly Premium$3.997 Days
  • Zynotes Premium (Annual)7 Days trial$9.991 Year
One-time1
  • Zynotes Lifetime Access$39.99

Questions

Is Comments Owl for Hacker News free?
Comments Owl for Hacker News is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ZyNotes free?
ZyNotes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Comments Owl for Hacker News or ZyNotes?
ZyNotes is rated higher. Comments Owl for Hacker News averages 4.0 out of 5 from 1 ratings, while ZyNotes averages 4.7 from 28 ratings.
Do Comments Owl for Hacker News or ZyNotes have ads?
Neither Comments Owl for Hacker News nor ZyNotes shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Comments Owl for Hacker News or ZyNotes?
Comments Owl for Hacker News ships an update every 4 days, and ZyNotes fortnightly. Most recently, Comments Owl for Hacker News was updated on October 22, 2026 and ZyNotes on October 20, 2026.

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