Comparison

Hacker News by Emerge vs Hacker News Reader

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

Head to head
About

Hacker News by Emerge

Experience Hacker News with a free, open-source client built for a fast, native iOS experience. Optimized for performance and efficiency, it's community-driven and welcomes developer contributions.

Highlights
  • Native iOS experience
  • Open source and community-driven
  • Performance and efficiency optimized
  • Fast and lightweight design
  • Developer contributions welcome
Features
Read full description

The best way to read Hacker News Introducing a free, open-source HN client designed to give you the best Hacker News experience. Developed by Emerge Tools (a Y Combinator company) in partnership with Supergooey. This app is a labor of love, crafted by a team with deep expertise in mobile app development. Why choose this HN client? • Native iOS Experience: We believe in the power of native apps. Hacker News for iOS is designed to offer a fast, smooth, and intuitive user experience that only a truly native app can provide. • Open Source and Community-Driven: The app is completely open source, inviting developers to contribute, learn, and improve it together. We want to give back to the HN community, which has been instrumental in our growth. • Performance & Efficiency: Leveraging Emerge’s newest tool, Reaper, we’ve optimized Hacker News for iOS to be as lean as possible, stripping away unnecessary code and resources to deliver a fast, lightweight app. • Dogfooding at its Best: We built this app to experience firsthand what our users do. By using Emerge’s own suite of mobile development tools, we’re constantly refining our product to make it better for everyone. We welcome your feedback and contributions. Whether it’s a feature request, a bug report, or a new idea, your input helps shape the future of the app. And if you’re a developer, contribute to our open-source codebase on GitHub: https://github.com/EmergeTools/hackernews/tree/main/ios Privacy Policy: https://www.emergetools.com/HackerNewsPrivacyPolicy.html

About

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.

Highlights
  • 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
Features
Read full description

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

Hacker News by Emerge4 screens
Hacker News Reader4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hacker News by Emerge at none against Hacker News Reader's 6. Hacker News by Emerge also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1). Hacker News Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 6 weeks). 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Hacker News Reader sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Hacker News by Emerge asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Hacker News by Emerge against 5.0 for Hacker News Reader. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hacker News by Emerge has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews split almost evenly too, at 100% and 100% positive.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hacker News by Emerge ships an update every 6 weeks, Hacker News Reader every 10 days. The most recent releases landed on October 21, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Hacker News by Emerge versus Hacker News Reader: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHacker News by EmergeHacker News Reader
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (5 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings)
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings5 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksEvery 10 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.5 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB22 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperEmerge ToolsRodrigo Cardoso

Customer experience

Hacker News by Emerge

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Hacker News Reader

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

In-app purchases

None

Hacker News by Emerge

No in-app purchases

6 purchases

Hacker News Reader

Subscriptions3
  • Iron$0.991 Month
  • Steel$1.991 Month
  • Mithril$2.991 Month
One-time3
  • Small Tip$0.99
  • Medium Tip$2.99
  • Large Tip$4.99

Questions

Is Hacker News by Emerge free?
Hacker News by Emerge is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hacker News Reader free?
Hacker News Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Hacker News by Emerge or Hacker News Reader?
Hacker News by Emerge and Hacker News Reader are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 5 and 1 ratings respectively.
Do Hacker News by Emerge or Hacker News Reader have ads?
Neither Hacker News by Emerge nor Hacker News Reader shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hacker News by Emerge or Hacker News Reader?
Hacker News by Emerge ships an update every 6 weeks, and Hacker News Reader every 10 days. Most recently, Hacker News by Emerge was updated on October 21, 2026 and Hacker News Reader on October 24, 2026.

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