# Hacker News Reader vs BetterNews

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: BetterNews at none against Hacker News Reader's 6. BetterNews also leads on ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

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

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Hacker News Reader against 5.0 for BetterNews. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: BetterNews has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Hacker News Reader ships an update every 10 days, BetterNews every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 20, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Hacker News Reader | BetterNews |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [5.0 (1 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-reader-hackernows/id6749719853/reviews) | [5.0 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/betternews/id6786482282/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | 1 | **5** |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 10 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | **Free** |
| Size | 22 MB | 5 MB |
| Requires iOS | 18.0 | **17.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 12+ | 12+ |
| Developer | [Rodrigo Cardoso](https://appshunter.io/developer/1831862800) | [Steven Truong](https://appshunter.io/developer/6786482584) |

## What reviewers say

### Hacker News Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hacker-news-reader-hackernows/id6749719853)

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:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (6)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Iron | $0.99 | per month |
| Steel | $1.99 | per month |
| Mithril | $2.99 | per month |
| Small Tip | $0.99 | one-time |
| Medium Tip | $2.99 | one-time |
| Large Tip | $4.99 | one-time |


### BetterNews

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/betternews/id6786482282)

A modern reader for Hacker News, offering enhanced features not found on the original site. It provides personalized feeds, keyword alerts, and a built-in reader with customizable themes and text sizes.

**Highlights:** Personalized Home feed, Keyword alerts, Built-in reader, Customizable themes and text size, Cross-device sync, Search stories and comments

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Hacker News Reader free?

Hacker News Reader is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is BetterNews free?

BetterNews is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Hacker News Reader or BetterNews?

Hacker News Reader and BetterNews are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 5 ratings respectively.

### Do Hacker News Reader or BetterNews have ads?

Neither Hacker News Reader nor BetterNews shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Hacker News Reader or BetterNews?

Hacker News Reader ships an update every 10 days, and BetterNews every 2 weeks. Most recently, Hacker News Reader was updated on October 24, 2026 and BetterNews on October 20, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*