Comparison

stdout. vs Hack News for HN

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

Head to head
About

stdout.

Features
Read full description

stdout. is a native iOS client for Hacker News, built from the ground up with SwiftUI. It goes far beyond content aggregation โ€” 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 โ€” no context switching to external apps.

About

Hack News for HN

Features
Read full description

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

stdout.4 screens
Hack News for HN2 screens

Verdict

The call

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 2 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 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

stdout. ships an update every 4 days, Hack News for HN every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 8, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences ยท 3 level
stdout. versus Hack News for HN: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
Parameterstdout.Hack News for HN
PriceFreeFree
Update frequencyEvery 4 days โ€” betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsYesNo โ€” better
In-app purchasesNoNo
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad โ€” better
Requires iOS17.0 โ€” better26.0
Further details โ€” not scored
Size5 MB6 MB
Age rating17+9+
DeveloperHanshuo TanE.J. Dyksen

In-app purchases

None

stdout.

No in-app purchases

None

Hack News for HN

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is stdout. free?
stdout. is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Hack News for HN free?
Hack News for HN is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do stdout. or Hack News for HN have ads?
stdout. shows ads; Hack News for HN does not.
Which is updated more often, stdout. or Hack News for HN?
stdout. ships an update every 4 days, and Hack News for HN every 2 weeks. Most recently, stdout. was updated on October 8, 2026 and Hack News for HN on October 9, 2026.

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