Hacker Reader vs stdout.
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side ā with what reviewers say about each.
Hacker Reader
A native iOS client for Hacker News offering a streamlined reading experience with home screen widgets, community interaction, and a beautiful, dark-mode-friendly design. Securely log in to upvote, comment, and bookmark stories.
- Browse all story categories
- Upvote stories and comments
- Secure login with HN account
- Post comments and replies
- Bookmark stories
- Home screen widgets
- Dark mode support
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Hacker Reader is a beautifully designed native iOS client for Hacker News, featuring home screen widgets, authentication, and a delightful reading experience. BROWSE ALL STORY CATEGORIES ⢠Top Stories - The most popular stories on HN ⢠New Stories - Recently submitted content ⢠Ask HN - Questions and discussions from the community ⢠Show HN - Projects, products, and creations shared by users ⢠Jobs - Opportunities from YC companies and startups INTERACT WITH THE COMMUNITY ⢠Upvote stories and comments with your HN account ⢠Secure login using the official Hacker News website ⢠Post comments and replies to stories and comments ⢠Bookmark stories for later reading HOME SCREEN WIDGETS ⢠Three widget sizes: Small (3 stories), Medium (5 stories), Large (10 stories) ⢠Dark mode support matches your system theme ⢠Tap stories to open directly into the app BEAUTIFUL, NATIVE DESIGN ⢠True dark mode with lights-out black theme ⢠Automatic theme switching follows your system preference ⢠Link previews with Open Graph images ⢠Collapsible comment threads for easy navigation PRIVACY & SECURITY ⢠Your credentials never leave your device ⢠Login uses the official Hacker News website in a secure WebView ⢠Session cookies stored in device keychain via SecureStore ⢠Open source - view the code on GitHub More features coming soon! Hacker Reader is built with modern technologies: React Native, Expo Router, TypeScript, and SwiftUI for widgets. It's designed and developed by an indie developer who loves Hacker News and wanted to create the best possible reading experience. Questions or feedback? Open an issue on GitHub, hit me at X @danielcspaiva or reach out via the support URL. Not affiliated with Y Combinator or Hacker News. Built using the official HN API: https://github.com/HackerNews/API
stdout.
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stdout. is a native iOS client for Hacker News, built from the ground up with SwiftUI. It goes far beyond content aggregation ā 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 ā no context switching to external apps.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Hacker Reader at none against stdout.'s shown. stdout.'s advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price Ā· Rating Ā· Positive reviews Ā· Number of ratings Ā· Update frequency Ā· Ads Ā· In-app purchases Ā· Monetization Ā· Best chart rank Ā· Devices Ā· Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hacker Reader ships an update every 3 months, stdout. every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and September 21, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Hacker Reader | stdout. |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | ā |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 4 days ā better |
| Ads | No ā better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | ā |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad ā better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.4 ā better | 17.0 |
| Further details ā not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 9+ | 17+ |
| Developer | Daniel Capistrano Sarinho Paiva | Hanshuo Tan |
In-app purchases
Hacker Reader
No in-app purchases
stdout.
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Hacker Reader free?
Is stdout. free?
Do Hacker Reader or stdout. have ads?
Which is updated more often, Hacker Reader or stdout.?
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