Comparison

Hacker News Reader vs Hacksy

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

Head to head
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

About

Hacksy

Features
Read full description

Hacksy is a modern and minimalistic Hacker News reader that serves as a one-stop shop for all tech-related news. Found an interesting article you’d like to read later? Just swipe to add it to your bookmarks. Read a comment that resonated with you? Save it to reference it anytime. Want to search the extensive Hacker News archives? Hacksy’s got you covered. What truly makes Hacksy stand out is its seamless reading experience — you can follow both the discussion and the article at the same time, without ever having to choose between one or the other.

Screenshots

Hacker News Reader4 screens
Hacksy4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Hacksy at none against Hacker News Reader's 6. Hacker News Reader's advantage is update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Hacksy asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hacker News Reader ships an update every 10 days, Hacksy every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on October 14, 2026 and October 1, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
Hacker News Reader versus Hacksy: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHacker News ReaderHacksy
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 10 days — betterEvery 2 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.018.0
Further details — not scored
Size22 MB6 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperRodrigo CardosoJanusz Polowczyk

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
None

Hacksy

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hacker News Reader free?
Hacker News Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hacksy free?
Hacksy is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hacker News Reader or Hacksy have ads?
Neither Hacker News Reader nor Hacksy shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Hacker News Reader or Hacksy?
Hacker News Reader ships an update every 10 days, and Hacksy every 2 months. Most recently, Hacker News Reader was updated on October 14, 2026 and Hacksy on October 1, 2026.

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