Hacker News Reader vs Hacksy
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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
Hacksy
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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
Verdict
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
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.
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.
| Parameter | Hacker News Reader | Hacksy |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 1 — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 10 days — better | Every 2 months |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 22 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Rodrigo Cardoso | Janusz Polowczyk |
In-app purchases
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
Hacksy
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Hacker News Reader free?
Is Hacksy free?
Do Hacker News Reader or Hacksy have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hacker News Reader or Hacksy?
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