# HN Reader vs Pulse for Hacker News

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.

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

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.

## The numbers

| Metric | HN Reader | Pulse for Hacker News |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[1.8 (5 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hn-reader-hacker-news-reader/id919243741/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **5** | — |
| Positive reviews | 46.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Free | — |
| Size | 12 MB | 38 MB |
| Requires iOS | **8.0** | 15.3 |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 17+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Thomas Ricouard](https://appshunter.io/developer/372456982) | [Dong Sian Lin](https://appshunter.io/developer/1754164176) |

## What reviewers say

### HN Reader

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/hn-reader-hacker-news-reader/id919243741)

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:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### Pulse for Hacker News

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/pulse-for-hacker-news/id6504872454)

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked 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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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*