Comparison

Hacker News Reader vs stdout.

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

stdout.

Features
Read full description

stdout. is a native iOS client for Hacker News, built from the ground up with SwiftUI. It goes far beyond content aggregation — offering a rich, interactive experience designed around how you actually read. DUAL THEMES Switch between two handcrafted visual modes. Zen offers warm, editorial typography with Georgia serif headlines. Terminal transforms the app into a retro green-on-black CRT aesthetic, complete with monospaced type and animated scanlines. OFFLINE-FIRST WITH SWIFTDATA Stories and comments are cached locally so the app loads instantly on launch. When your connection drops, you keep reading seamlessly with a subtle offline indicator. HOME SCREEN WIDGETS Add a Top Stories widget to your home screen in Small or Medium size. The widget updates every 30 minutes and matches your in-app theme. Tap any story to jump straight to it. NATIVE INTERACTIONS Long-press any story to save it to Favorites, share the link, or hide it from your feed. Pull-to-refresh and save actions are accompanied by haptic feedback for a tactile, responsive feel. IN-APP READING Story links open in a themed Safari View Controller with optional Reader Mode — no context switching to external apps.

Screenshots

Hacker News Reader4 screens
stdout.4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: stdout. at none against Hacker News Reader's 6. stdout. also leads on update cadence (every 4 days vs every 11 days). Hacker News Reader's advantage is ads (none vs shown). On price, 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. stdout. asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Hacker News Reader ships an update every 11 days, stdout. every 4 days. Both last shipped on September 21, 2026.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Hacker News Reader versus stdout.: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHacker News Readerstdout.
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews100.0% of reviews—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 11 daysEvery 4 days — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchases—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS18.017.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size19 MB5 MB
Age rating12+17+
DeveloperRodrigo CardosoHanshuo Tan

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

stdout.

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Hacker News Reader free?
Hacker News Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is stdout. free?
stdout. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Hacker News Reader or stdout. have ads?
stdout. shows ads; Hacker News Reader does not.
Which is updated more often, Hacker News Reader or stdout.?
Hacker News Reader ships an update every 11 days, and stdout. every 4 days. Most recently, Hacker News Reader was updated on September 21, 2026 and stdout. on September 21, 2026.

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