Comparison

Native Reader for Hacker News vs Electric Pants

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

Head to head
About

Native Reader for Hacker News

Explore Hacker News with advanced filtering and customizable text sizes. Share articles easily and hide unwanted stories with a swipe. Enjoy an ad-free reading experience with dark mode options.

Highlights
  • Filter stories by Rank, Points, or Comments
  • Responsive text sizes
  • Share articles to social platforms
  • Swipe to hide stories
  • Ad-free reading
  • Dark mode
Features
Read full description

Experience Hacker News like never before with our new app! Take full advantage of your iOS device to: * Explore the Top 100 Hacker News stories in innovative ways: filter by Rank, Points, or Comments. * Enjoy fully responsive text sizes that cater to your reading comfort. * Share the articles that resonate with you across all your favorite social platforms. * Quickly hide stories from your feed with a simple swipe to the left! * Immerse yourself in ad-free reading with built-in reader mode. * Switch to dark mode for comfortable reading day or night.

About

Electric Pants

This app offers a mindful reading experience by allowing users to subscribe to RSS, Atom, and Reddit feeds without algorithmic manipulation or infinite scrolling. It presents content beautifully and signals when you're all caught up, giving you back control of your time.

Highlights
  • RSS and Atom feed support
  • Reddit community support
  • Beautiful card-based timeline
  • Distraction-free article reader
  • Customizable folders
  • Dark mode support
Features
Read full description

STOP DOOM SCROLLING. START READING. We've all been there: opening an app to check "just one thing" and emerging an hour later, wondering where the time went. Doom scrolling is designed to trap you - optimized for engagement, not enrichment. Electric Pants takes the opposite approach. YOUR FEED, YOUR RULES Subscribe to RSS, Atom & Reddit from the sources you actually care about. No algorithms deciding what you see. No infinite scroll designed to keep you trapped. Just the content you chose, presented beautifully. FINITE BY DESIGN Here's something revolutionary: when you've read your articles, you're done. Electric Pants shows you an "All Caught Up" screen - a satisfying moment that most apps deliberately hide from you. Your time is yours again. BEAUTIFUL, FOCUSED READING - Rich card layouts for images, videos, and galleries - Clean, distraction-free article reader - Dark mode with warm, comfortable colors - Automatic read tracking as you scroll ORGANIZE YOUR WORLD Create custom folders with beautiful colors and icons. Group your tech news, favorite blogs, Reddit communities, and more. Switch between folders instantly from the tab bar. FEATURES - RSS and Atom feed support - Reddit community support - Beautiful card-based timeline - Image, video, and gallery support - Customizable folders with colors and icons - Pull-to-refresh with progress tracking - Automatic article extraction - OPML import for easy migration - Native iOS and iPadOS experience - Dark mode support - No account required - No tracking or ads THE PHILOSOPHY The name Electric Pants is a deliberate play on doom - as in doom scrolling. We believe your time should flourish, not disappear into an algorithmic void. Stop scrolling through what others want you to see. Start reading what matters to you. Download Electric Pants and let your time bloom.

Screenshots

Native Reader for Hacker News3 screens
Electric Pants4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Electric Pants at 100% against Native Reader for Hacker News's 20%. Electric Pants also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.2). Native Reader for Hacker News's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 3) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 2 weeks). On price, ratings volume, ads and monetization model 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. Electric Pants sells 3 one-off in-app purchases. Native Reader for Hacker News asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Electric Pants holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5 and 3 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 20% of Native Reader for Hacker News's written reviews are positive against 100% of Electric Pants's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Native Reader for Hacker News ships an update every 2 days, Electric Pants every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 3, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Native Reader for Hacker News versus Electric Pants: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNative Reader for Hacker NewsElectric Pants
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.2 (5 ratings)5.0 (3 ratings) — better
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings5 — better3
Update frequencyEvery 2 days — betterEvery 2 weeks
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPadiPhone, iPad
Requires iOS16.4 — better26.0
Further details — not scored
Size5 MB13 MB
Age rating17+17+
DeveloperCristian MonterrozaJames Woodroffe

Customer experience

Native Reader for Hacker News

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative20.0%
Written reviews5 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative80.0%

Electric Pants

All ratings3 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews2 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

Native Reader for Hacker News

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Electric Pants

One-time3
  • Silver Sponsorship$0.99
  • Gold Sponsorship$4.99
  • Platinum Sponsor$9.99

Questions

Is Native Reader for Hacker News free?
Native Reader for Hacker News is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Electric Pants free?
Electric Pants is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Native Reader for Hacker News or Electric Pants?
Electric Pants is rated higher. Native Reader for Hacker News averages 4.2 out of 5 from 5 ratings, while Electric Pants averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.
Do Native Reader for Hacker News or Electric Pants have ads?
Neither Native Reader for Hacker News nor Electric Pants shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Native Reader for Hacker News or Electric Pants?
Native Reader for Hacker News ships an update every 2 days, and Electric Pants every 2 weeks. Most recently, Native Reader for Hacker News was updated on October 3, 2026 and Electric Pants on October 18, 2026.

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