Comparison

HN Reader vs Pulse for Hacker News

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

Head to head
About

HN Reader

Access Hacker News articles and comments offline with background refresh and a convenient Today widget. Save articles to Safari Reading List for later viewing. Open source and developed in Swift.

Highlights
  • Offline reading
  • Today widget integration
  • Background refresh
  • Save to Safari Reading List
  • Read comments
  • Open source
Features
Read full description

HN Reader is made for iOS 8 and entirely developed in Swift. Never miss a news again, HN Reader feature a useful today widget which is refreshed every time you pull down the notification center. You can quickly read the latest titles and open Safari from there. Apart from that, HN Reader fully works offline, the news feed is refreshed in background using the iOS background refresh feature and provide some solid caching mechanisms. You can also save the article to the Safari Reading List with a simple cell swipe. The Safari Reading List is a powerful tool because each article added is saved for offline reading. In the future you'll be able to automatically send latest articles to the Safari Reading List. Like any good Hacker News client HN Reader let you read the comments for any item. It works on both iPhone & iPad with the same set of features. At the moment HN Reader doesn't allow you to login with your Hacker News account, it's a read-only app. But this feature alongside some others will be added soon! The applications is also totally open source, so if you want to add some features or speedup the development of some others, you can! The goal when I decided to begin the development of HN Reader was to create a new application from nothing entirely in Swift tailored for iOS 8. With the less amount of code possible. In future updates I want to stay true to this statement.

About

Pulse for Hacker News

Features
Read full description

Welcome to Pulse for Hacker News, the dedicated, high-performance client for the world’s most insightful tech community. Stop settling for slow, cumbersome interfaces. Pulse for Hacker News is engineered from the ground up to be the fastest, smoothest, and most dependable way to read, comment on, and track your favorite discussions across all your devices. - Extreme Fluidity and Speed Our primary focus is performance. Pulse for Hacker News delivers an "extreme fluidity" that transforms your reading experience: Instant Loading: Articles and comment threads load instantly, minimizing wait times and maximizing consumption. Buttery Smooth Scrolling: Navigate even the longest comment threads and front pages without a single stutter. Resource Optimized: Designed to be lightweight, preserving your battery life while delivering maximum speed. - Transparently Open Source We believe in transparency and community contribution. Pulse for Hacker News isn't just a reader; it's a public project built by the community, for the community. Trust and Security: You can inspect every line of code. There are no hidden trackers, no excessive permissions, and absolutely no ads. Your reading is your own. Community Driven: Found a bug? Have an idea for a feature? Our open-source model means you can contribute directly or influence the roadmap. We listen to our users. Contribute Today: Find our complete source code on GitHub (https://github.com/jarvislin/HackerNews-KMP). - Modern Design, Essential Features Pulse for Hacker News strips away the distractions and focuses on what matters: the content. Enjoy a suite of features designed to enhance readability and productivity: Intuitive Navigation: Easily switch between the Top, New, Best, and Ask HN feeds with a simple tap. Readability Mode: Open external articles in a clean, stripped-down view for distraction-free reading. Powerful Comment Threading: Clearly organized comment sections with easy-to-use collapse/expand options to follow conversations effortlessly. Cross-Device Consistency: Whether you’re on iOS or another platform, enjoy a consistent, reliable experience. Adaptive Themes: Choose between beautiful Dark, Light, and AMOLED modes to suit your environment and preferences. Why Download Pulse for Hacker News? If you are a serious Hacker News user who values privacy, speed, and a modern, reliable interface, Pulse for Hacker News is the perfect client for you. It’s an ad-free commitment to making the world’s best tech content accessible, fast, and completely transparent. Download Pulse for Hacker News now and join the community that's building the future of the mobile reading experience.

Screenshots

HN Reader4 screens
Pulse for Hacker News4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Pulse for Hacker News at every 3 weeks against HN Reader's every 2 months. HN Reader's advantage is iOS requirement (8.0 vs 15.3). On price, ads, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

HN Reader ships an update every 2 months, Pulse for Hacker News every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 19, 2026 and October 12, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 8 level
HN Reader versus Pulse for Hacker News: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHN ReaderPulse for Hacker News
PriceFreeFree
Rating1.8 (5 ratings) — better—
Positive reviews46.7% of reviews—
Number of ratings5 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS8.0 — better15.3
Further details — not scored
Size12 MB38 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperThomas RicouardDong Sian Lin

In-app purchases

None

HN Reader

No in-app purchases

None

Pulse for Hacker News

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is HN Reader free?
HN Reader is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Pulse for Hacker News free?
Pulse for Hacker News is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do HN Reader or Pulse for Hacker News have ads?
Neither HN Reader nor Pulse for Hacker News shows ads.
Which is updated more often, HN Reader or Pulse for Hacker News?
HN Reader ships an update every 2 months, and Pulse for Hacker News every 3 weeks. Most recently, HN Reader was updated on September 19, 2026 and Pulse for Hacker News on October 12, 2026.

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