HackNe vs Signal for Hacker News
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HackNe
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HackNe for Hacker News is a native iPhone app built for reading Hacker News in a clean, fast, and simple way. Browse the feeds you actually care about: - Top - New - Best - Ask - Show - Jobs Open articles directly inside the app, then jump into the discussion with one tap. Read nested comment threads, check user profiles, and follow the conversation without losing your place. HackNe is designed for people who want a straightforward Hacker News experience that feels at home on iPhone. No clutter, no unnecessary complexity, just stories, comments, and links that matter.
Signal for Hacker News
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Signal is a faster way to explore Hacker News. Open Top Today, Top Week, or Top Year, then dig into the stories, domains, authors, and discussions behind the headlines. Build reusable saved lenses for the topics you care about: AI this week with 100+ comments, Show HN launches, quiet gems with high points but fewer comments, or comment-first searches that jump back to the parent discussion. Signal is read-only, requires no account, and stores your saved lenses, bookmarks, recent searches, and reading history locally on your device. Search results come from the public HN Search API powered by Algolia, article and discussion links open in Safari, and the app is supported by Google AdMob banner ads.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: HackNe at none against Signal for Hacker News's shown. HackNe also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 4 months) and iOS requirement (17.0 vs 26.0). On price, in-app purchases and device support 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
HackNe ships an update every 5 days, Signal for Hacker News every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HackNe | Signal for Hacker News |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days — better | Every 4 months |
| Ads | No — better | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 10 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Tansu Asici | Clarved Inc. |
In-app purchases
HackNe
No in-app purchases
Signal for Hacker News
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is HackNe free?
Is Signal for Hacker News free?
Do HackNe or Signal for Hacker News have ads?
Which is updated more often, HackNe or Signal for Hacker News?
Other comparisons
