9to5Mac vs Hacker Feed
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
9to5Mac
Stay informed with the latest news for Apple devices and other tech. Enjoy an ad-free reading experience with a clean layout and push notifications for breaking stories. An optional premium subscription offers enhanced features.
- Latest Apple news
- Ad-free reading
- Push notifications
- Dark Theme
- Optimized layout
- Access to network sites
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9to5Mac is the leading news website for iPhone, iPad, Mac, and more. The 9to5Mac app offers an ad-free way to stay up to date with the latest Apple news, along with connecting you to the full network of 9to5 sites. View the latest stories from 9to5Mac, 9to5Google, Electrek, and more in a layout optimized for the iPhone and iPad with large photography. Take advantage of the Dark Theme for comfortable reading at any time of day. Get push notifications for instant alerts when a new post goes live so you can always stay up to date with the latest stories. The 9to5Mac app is a beautiful companion to the website experience. Give us your feedback and look forward to more updates coming in the future. Upgrade to the Premium Subscription to read stories in the app with an ad-free, privacy-respecting native reading experience. Premium costs $1.99 per month in the US. The subscription automatically renews — but you can cancel at any time.* 9to5Mac Premium is subject to the standard Apple Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ See Privacy and Additional Terms: https://9to5mac.com/privacy/ *Subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Account will be charged for renewal within a 24-hour prior to the end of the current period. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase.
Hacker Feed
A fast and elegant application for reading Hacker News stories. Browse top, new, and specialized sections with beautiful typography and thumbnail options. Includes built-in reader mode, comment management, and iCloud syncing for bookmarks.
- Browse Top, New, Show HN, Ask HN, Jobs stories
- Beautiful typography with compact/large thumbnails
- Built-in Safari view with reader mode
- Expand/collapse story comments and threads
- Bookmark favorite stories with iCloud sync
- Share story links to other apps
- System Dark Mode support
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Hacker Feed is a modern, fast and elegant app for reading Hacker News. Features: • Swipe between tabs to browse Top, New, Show HN, Ask HN and Jobs stories • Scroll through stories in beautiful typography, along with compact or large thumbnails • Open story links in the built-in Safari view, with reader mode support • Expand and collapse story comments and threads via intuitive tap gestures • Bookmark your favourite stories to read later, synced across all your devices via iCloud • Easily share story links to other apps • System Dark Mode support for browsing in low-lighting conditions • Universal app - split view support on iPad for easy viewing • Optimised for performance Contact me @ken_toh on Twitter, if there are any issues. Enjoy!
Screenshots
Verdict
9to5Mac and Hacker Feed both sit at 4.7 stars, but that hides the real split: 83% of Hacker Feed's written reviews are positive against 41% of 9to5Mac's. Hacker Feed also leads on in-app purchases (none vs 1) and update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 months). 9to5Mac's advantage is ratings volume (4.8K vs 439). On price, rating, ads 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
Both are free to download. 9to5Mac sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $1.99 per month. Hacker Feed asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for 9to5Mac against 4.8 for Hacker Feed. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: 9to5Mac has 4.8K ratings behind it against 439, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of 9to5Mac's written reviews are positive against 83% of Hacker Feed's.
9to5Mac ships an update every 3 months, Hacker Feed every 5 days. Both last shipped on October 26, 2026.
| Parameter | 9to5Mac | Hacker Feed |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (4.8K ratings) | 4.8 (439 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 40.9% of reviews | 82.5% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 4.8K — better | 439 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | 14.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 34 MB | 12 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Seth Weintraub | Ken Toh |
Customer experience
9to5Mac
Hacker Feed
User reviews
9to5Mac
From 4.8K App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Informative content
- 📱 Great app for Apple news
- 🌓 Useful dark mode
- 👍 Modern design
Room to improve
- 🔒 Paywall restricts access
- 🐛 Crashes and bugs
- ⏱️ Slow content loading
- 💸 Expensive subscription
- 🔍 Lack of search functionality
Hacker Feed
From 439 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🚀 Fast and responsive performance
- 👍 Clean, simple, and intuitive interface
- 🆓 Free with no ads or tracking
- 📱 Lightweight app that doesn't drain resources
- 🔖 Built-in bookmarks/save feature
Room to improve
- 🎨 Limited customization options
- 📏 Fixed font size not adjustable
- 🖱️ Accidental thread collapsing on touch
- ⏱️ Recent loading delays when opening HN links
- 📊 Limited feed density/compactness
Bugs and requests
9to5Mac
Reported bugs
5 issues- Subscription issues
- Inconsistent dark mode support
- Unreliable push notifications
- Crashes when opening articles
- Broken Disqus login functionality
Requested features
7 requests- Dark mode icon support
- Improved notifications
- In-app commenting
- Yearly subscription option
- Faster content updates
Show 2 moreShow fewer
- Accessibility improvements
- Seamless integration with other 9to5 sites
Hacker Feed
Reported bugs
4 issues- Cached stories not updating with latest content
- Stories not loading
- Intermittent loading delays when opening links
- Thread collapsing on accidental screen touch
Requested features
13 requests- Dark mode
- Adjustable text/font size
- User account login for voting and commenting
- Ability to post new threads
- Search functionality
Show 8 moreShow fewer
- Edge browser support on iOS
- Export/backup bookmarks feature
- Text selection in comments for dictionary lookup
- Dim visited posts
- Compact feed view option
- Landscape video support
- Pull-to-refresh for new content
- Open HN links within app instead of external browser
In-app purchases
9to5Mac
- Premium Subscription7 Days trial$1.991 Month
Hacker Feed
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is 9to5Mac free?
Is Hacker Feed free?
Which has better reviews, 9to5Mac or Hacker Feed?
Do 9to5Mac or Hacker Feed have ads?
Which is updated more often, 9to5Mac or Hacker Feed?
Other comparisons
