Comparison

Rune vs Hacker Flow

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

Head to head
About

Rune

Features
Read full description

Stay informed, effortlessly. Rune brings your favourite blogs, news sites, and publications into one beautiful, distraction-free reading experience. Add any website and Rune automatically discovers its RSS feed - no technical knowledge required. Your content, your pace, no algorithms. __________ SMART FEED DISCOVERY Just paste a URL. Rune finds the feed for you - whether it's RSS, Atom, or JSON Feed. Browse your personalised timeline and never miss a post. ORGANISE WITH TAGS Build a tagging system that works the way you think. Apply tags manually or let Rune's on-device AI do it for you - privately, without ever leaving your device. AI SUMMARIES, ON DEVICE Get the gist of any article in seconds with on-device AI summaries. Choose brief or detailed. No cloud, no data sharing. Just fast, private intelligence. SAVE FOR LATER Bookmark articles with a swipe. Your saved reading list syncs instantly and is always available, even offline. POWERFUL IMPORT Migrating from Pocket or another service? Import your reading list in seconds via CSV or plain text - tags included. READER-FIRST DESIGN Clean article cards. A distraction-free reader view. Multiple accent colours. Haptic feedback. Built for the way you actually read. __________ FREE FEATURES - Subscribe to up to 3 feeds - Save up to 20 articles - Full reading experience - Smart feed discovery RUNE PRO - Unlimited feeds & saved articles - On-device AI article tagging - On-device AI article summaries - Import from Pocket and more __________ Terms of Service: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://lachlaneagling.com/apps/rune/privacy/

About

Hacker Flow

Features
Read full description

Hacker Flow is a smarter way to read Hacker News. A native iOS client that learns what you care about and puts the best stories first. Your personal front page - For You Feed. A personalized feed powered by AI that learns your interests over time. No two feeds are the same โ€” yours surfaces the stories you actually care about. - Popular Threads. Instantly see the most upvoted comments in any discussion. Skip the noise and jump straight to the replies driving the conversation. - Read Later & Liked. Save articles to your personal reading list with one tap. Keep track of stories you've liked so you can always find them again. Also includes: ยท Clean, distraction-free article reader with adjustable text size ยท Home and lock screen widget ยท Top, Best, and New feed filters ยท Native Share Sheet support ยท Dark mode Got feedback? Please share it in-app (Go to Settings -> Feedback)

Screenshots

Rune4 screens
Hacker Flow4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Hacker Flow at every 2 days against Rune's monthly. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price ยท Rating ยท Positive reviews ยท Number of ratings ยท Update frequency ยท Ads ยท In-app purchases ยท Monetization ยท Best chart rank ยท Devices ยท Requires iOS

CostPrice ยท In-app purchases ยท Ads ยท Monetization

Both are free to download. Rune sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per month and Hacker Flow sells 10 one-off in-app purchases. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Rune ships an update monthly, Hacker Flow every 2 days. The most recent releases landed on September 17, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference ยท 5 level
Rune versus Hacker Flow: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterRuneHacker Flow
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 days โ€” better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS26.026.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size20 MB7 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperLachlan EaglingByte Goods

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Rune

Subscriptions2
  • Rune Pro (Monthly)7 Days trial$1.991 Month
  • Rune Pro (Annual)7 Days trial$19.991 Year
10 purchases

Hacker Flow

One-time10
  • Nice Tip$0.99
  • Hacker Flow Small Tip$0.99
  • Starter Pack (50 AI Credits)$1.99
Show 7 more
  • Generous Tip$3.99
  • Medium Tip$4.99
  • Regular Pack (150 AI Credit)$4.99
  • Large Tip$9.99
  • Bundle Pack (350 AI Credits)$9.99
  • Amazing Tip$14.99
  • Power Pack (800 AI Credits)$19.99

Questions

Is Rune free?
Rune is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Hacker Flow free?
Hacker Flow is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do Rune or Hacker Flow have ads?
Neither Rune nor Hacker Flow shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Rune or Hacker Flow?
Rune ships an update monthly, and Hacker Flow every 2 days. Most recently, Rune was updated on September 17, 2026 and Hacker Flow on September 19, 2026.

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