Hacker News AlternativesTop News Readers & Social News like Hacker News

Hacker News is described as 'Social news website that caters to programmers and entrepreneurs, delivering content related to computer science and entrepreneurship' and is a very popular News Reader in the news & books category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Hacker News, not only websites but also apps for a variety of platforms, including Android, iPhone, Self-Hosted and Google Chrome apps. The best Hacker News alternative is Reddit, which is free. Other great sites and apps similar to Hacker News are Lemmy, /kbin, Lobsters and SaidIt.net.

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Hacker News alternatives are mainly Social Networks but may also be Social Newss or Tech News Sites.  Filter by these or use the filter bar below if you want a narrower list of alternatives or looking for a specific functionality of Hacker News.
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Hacker News is a social news website that caters to programmers and entrepreneurs, delivering content related to computer science and entrepreneurship.

More about Hacker News
Hacker News alternatives page was last updated Mar 9, 2024
  1. Reddit icon
     581 likes

    An extensive platform for user-shared content and discussions, organized into niche 'subreddits' across numerous interests like news and video games, with a dynamic voting system influencing what appears on the front page.

    197 Reddit alternatives
    Reddit screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Windows
    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Android Tablet
    • iPad
    • Tor

    Top Reddit Features

    1.  Community-based
    2.  Built-in Commenting System
    3.  Voting
    4.  Q&A
    5.  MEMES
    6.  Moderation
    7.  Social feed
    8.  Share content
    9.  Dark Mode
    10.  Support for MarkDown
    11.  Two-factor Authentication
    12. IFTTT icon  IFTTT Integration
    Reddit iconHacker News Icon

    Reddit VS Hacker News

    Is Reddit a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
    • Most users think Reddit is a great Hacker News alternative.

    • Reddit is the most popular Web-based, Windows, Android & iPhone alternative to Hacker News.

    • Reddit is the most popular free alternative to Hacker News.

    • Reddit is Freemium and ProprietaryHacker News is Free and Proprietary
  2. Lemmy icon
     161 likes

    Lemmy is similar to sites like Reddit, Lobste.rs, or Hacker News: you subscribe to forums you're interested in, post links and discussions, then vote, and comment on them. Behind the scenes, it is very different; anyone can easily run a server, and all these servers are...

    74 Lemmy alternatives
    Lemmy screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • iPhone
    • Self-Hosted

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2.  Federation
    3.  Community-based
    4.  Fediverse
    5.  Threaded Conversations
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Mobile friendly
    8.  No Tracking
    9. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    10.  Dark Mode
    11.  Multiple Account support
    12.  Support for MarkDown
    Lemmy iconHacker News Icon

    Lemmy VS Hacker News

    Is Lemmy a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
    Comments about Lemmy as an Alternative to Hacker News
     
    Rodney42

    Similar topics and similar user interface.

    Positive commentJan 31, 2020
    0
    Hacker News Icon
    Lemmy icon
    • Lemmy is the most popular Self-Hosted alternative to Hacker News.

    • Lemmy is the most popular Open Source alternative to Hacker News.

    • Lemmy is Free and Open SourceHacker News is Free and Proprietary
    • Lemmy is Decentralized, Lightweight and Privacy focusedHacker News is not according to our users
  3. /kbin icon
     31 likes

    /kbin is an open source reddit-like content aggregator and microblogging platform for the fediverse.

    37 /kbin alternatives
    Live updates

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Fediverse
    2.  Threaded Conversations
    3.  Community-based
    4. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    5.  Decentralized
    6.  Ad-free
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  No Tracking
    9.  Support for @mentions
    10.  Multiple Instances
    11.  Federated
    12.  Federation
    Discontinued

    The official website is offline, and the latest update is from February 2024.

    /kbin iconHacker News Icon

    /kbin VS Hacker News

    Is /kbin a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  4. Lobsters icon
     31 likes

    Lobsters is a technology-focused link-aggregation site. The site is driven by Ruby on Rails with the source code being freely available for those seeking to create a site similar to Reddit or Hackernews.

    38 Lobsters alternatives
    Lobsters screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Ruby on Rails

    Lobsters Features

    1.  Tagging
    Lobsters iconHacker News Icon

    Lobsters VS Hacker News

    Is Lobsters a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
    Comments about Lobsters as an Alternative to Hacker News
     
    Rodney42

    Similar topics, similar user interface.

    Positive commentJan 31, 2020
    1
    Guest

    Sourced data about real world topics. to heavily programming/tech to quite compare with YC, but seems like a higher IQ base than most of these other suggestions.

    Positive commentAug 13, 2020
    -1
    Hacker News Icon
    Lobsters icon
    • Almost everyone thinks Lobsters is a great Hacker News alternative.

    • Lobsters is Free and Open SourceHacker News is Free and Proprietary
  5. SaidIt.net icon
     43 likes

    Uncensored free speech alternative to the extreme Reddit and Voat forums, democratically civilized by Graham's Debate Pyramid, no illegal transactions nor porn. Truth-seeking anti-corruption news are among the popular themes. Android app, iOS soon.

    138 SaidIt.net alternatives
    SaidIt.net screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online
    • Android
    • F-Droid

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  Community-based
    2.  In-App Voting
    3.  Mobile friendly
    4.  Server Moderation
    5.  Independent
    6.  No Censorship
    SaidIt.net iconHacker News Icon

    SaidIt.net VS Hacker News

    Is SaidIt.net a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  6. Mbin icon
     6 likes

    Mbin: a federated content aggregator, voting, discussion and microblogging platform (By the community, for the community).

    38 Mbin alternatives
    Mbin screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Privacy focused
    2.  Support for Themes

    Features

    1.  Decentralized
    2. ActivityPub icon  Support for ActivityPub
    3.  Federated
    4.  Support for @mentions
    5.  Ad-free
    6.  No Tracking
    7.  Dark Mode
    8.  Two-factor Authentication
    9.  No registration required
    10.  No Coding Required
    11.  Fediverse
    Mbin iconHacker News Icon

    Mbin VS Hacker News

    Is Mbin a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  7. Steemit icon
     103 likes

    A non-censored social platform where users are incentivized to contribute and curate content. The users decide what is valuable by voting, and content regarded valuable is rewarded with money.

    118 Steemit alternatives
    Steemit screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online

    Steemit Features

    1.  No Censorship
    2.  In-App Voting
    3.  Content Filtering
    4.  Cryptocurrency payment
    Steemit iconHacker News Icon

    Steemit VS Hacker News

    Is Steemit a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  8. WikiSpooks.com icon
     23 likes

    WikiSpooks is a global alternative encyclopedia on politics, spy craft, deep state intelligence, and conspiracies, free of corporate influence, partisan politics, or government propaganda for historians and truth-seekers to read, edit, and share.

    78 WikiSpooks.com alternatives

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online

    WikiSpooks.com Features

    1.  Anticensorship
    WikiSpooks.com iconHacker News Icon

    WikiSpooks.com VS Hacker News

    Is WikiSpooks.com a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  9. Tildes icon
     15 likes

    A non-profit community site driven by its users' interests.

    96 Tildes alternatives
    Tildes screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeOpen Source

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight

    Features

    1.  No Tracking
    2.  No registration required
    3.  Community-based
    4.  Voting
    5.  Invite Only
    6.  Topic tags
    Tildes iconHacker News Icon

    Tildes VS Hacker News

    Is Tildes a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  10. News as Facts icon
     17 likes

    Read the most important global news in minutes presented as quick and unbiased facts. Forever ad-free and privacy respecting.

    130 News as Facts alternatives
    Default theme
    Dark theme
    Custom theme

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online

    News as Facts Features

    1.  Email digests
    2.  Custom themes
    3.  Dark Mode
    4.  Integrated Search
    5.  Daily News Feed
    6.  Content Discovery
    News as Facts iconHacker News Icon

    News as Facts VS Hacker News

    Is News as Facts a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  11. Nonio icon
     2 likes

    Nonio is a Reddit-like platform that gives directly back to content creators. Nonio takes a small portion of subscription costs to run the service and anything over that is split evenly between everything users upvote that month.

    52 Nonio alternatives
    Nonio screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreemiumProprietary

    Application type

    Platforms

    • Online

    Properties

    1.  Lightweight
    2.  Privacy focused

    Features

    1.  Ad-free
    2.  No Tracking
    Nonio iconHacker News Icon

    Nonio VS Hacker News

    Is Nonio a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
  12. Slashdot icon
     39 likes

    News for nerds, stuff that matters. Slashdot (aka /.) is a technology-related news and discussion site with a focus on Linux, free and open source software and information freedom and privacy issues. The software it runs on, called Slashcode, is open source.

    45 Slashdot alternatives
    Slashdot screenshot 1

    License model

    • FreeProprietary

    Application types

    Platforms

    • Online

    Slashdot Features

    1.  In-App Voting
    Slashdot iconHacker News Icon

    Slashdot VS Hacker News

    Is Slashdot a good alternative to Hacker News?
     
12 of 69 Hacker News alternatives