stdout. vs Hack News for HN
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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 — 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.
Hack News for HN
A fast and lightweight application for browsing Hacker News stories and discussions. It offers a clean, native interface for a clutter-free reading experience, focusing on essential features for quick navigation and engagement with comments and user profiles.
- Fast native story lists
- Clean comment reading
- Hacker News user profiles
- iPhone and iPad support
- Simple settings
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Hack News is a fast, lightweight reader for Hacker News. Browse stories, open comment threads, read discussions, and move around quickly with a clean native interface. The app is built for people who want Hacker News without extra clutter, slow loading, or unnecessary features. Features: - Fast native story lists - Clean comment reading - iPhone and iPad support - Hacker News user profiles - Simple settings
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is ads: Hack News for HN at none against stdout.'s shown. stdout.'s advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs every 3 weeks) 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.
stdout. ships an update every 4 days, Hack News for HN every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 5, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | stdout. | Hack News for HN |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | — | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Number of ratings | — | 1 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 4 days — better | Every 3 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | — | Free |
| Devices | iPhone | iPhone, iPad — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 — better | 26.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 5 MB | 6 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 9+ |
| Developer | Hanshuo Tan | E.J. Dyksen |
In-app purchases
stdout.
No in-app purchases
Hack News for HN
No in-app purchases
