Kite vs Hacker News Reader
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Kite
A specialized web browser designed for individuals passionate about news. It offers a curated browsing experience focused on delivering news content efficiently.
- News-focused browsing
- Curated content experience
- Efficient news delivery
- Ad-free browsing
Read full descriptionHide full description
Kite is a boutique web browser for news lovers.
Hacker News Reader
A native iOS application offering a streamlined Hacker News experience. Users can read, vote, comment, and post stories, browse different sections, and organize content with custom groups. It prioritizes speed and privacy.
- Vote, comment, and post stories
- Browse Ask, Show, Jobs, and New sections
- Read threaded discussions
- Submit stories
- Create custom story groups
- iCloud sync for groups
Read full descriptionHide full description
The best native Hacker News reader for iOS. Read, vote, comment, and post. HackerNows is a native iPhone app that brings the full Y Combinator Hacker News experience to your device. No webviews, no compromises, just a fast, clean way to stay on top of tech news and developer discussions. Everything you expect from HN: • Vote, comment, post, and favorite stories • Browse Ask, Show, Jobs, and New sections • Read threaded discussions with a clean, native layout • Submit stories directly from the app Organize your way: • Create custom story groups to save and sort what matters • iCloud sync keeps your groups updated across all your devices Built for the community: • Lightweight, fast, and privacy-focused • Optional patronage: support the app if you want, when you want https://hackernows.app/eula
Screenshots
Verdict
Kite and Hacker News Reader both sit at 5.0 stars, but that hides the real split: 100% of Hacker News Reader's written reviews are positive against 53% of Kite's. Hacker News Reader also leads on update cadence (every 10 days vs every 2 months). Kite's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 6) and iOS requirement (14.1 vs 18.0). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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. Hacker News Reader sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Kite asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Kite against 5.0 for Hacker News Reader. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 2 and 1 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 53% of Kite's written reviews are positive against 100% of Hacker News Reader's.
Kite ships an update every 2 months, Hacker News Reader every 10 days. Both last shipped on October 14, 2026.
| Parameter | Kite | Hacker News Reader |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (2 ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 52.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2 — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Every 10 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 14.1 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 1 MB | 22 MB |
| Age rating | 17+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Kite Inc. | Rodrigo Cardoso |
Customer experience
Kite
Hacker News Reader
In-app purchases
Kite
No in-app purchases
Hacker News Reader
- Iron$0.991 Month
- Steel$1.991 Month
- Mithril$2.991 Month
- Small Tip$0.99
- Medium Tip$2.99
- Large Tip$4.99
