Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Distill Web Monitor VS Hacker Newsletter

Compare Distill Web Monitor VS Hacker Newsletter and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Distill Web Monitor logo Distill Web Monitor

Distill is a web monitoring tool. It can monitor RSS feeds, a webpage or a part of webpage. Alerts in the form of pop-up, audio or emails can be received.

Hacker Newsletter logo Hacker Newsletter

Best of Hacker News in your inbox every Friday.
  • Distill Web Monitor Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-07

Distill is a web monitoring tool. It can monitor RSS feeds, a webpage or a part of webpage. Alerts in the form of pop-up, audio or emails can be received.

Featured highlights:

• Content selection from any webpage including iframes. • Supported actions: • Push notifications on phone • Pop-up • Audio • Email • SMS • Webhook • Easy to use inbox style Watchlist with label, trash etc. • Conditions for smart actions. • History of previous changes for each monitor. • Powerful expressions to select source content. Supports XPath expression, CSS rule or JavaScript expression to select content. • View highlighted changes.

  • Hacker Newsletter Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-03-15

Distill Web Monitor features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Distill Web Monitor features an intuitive and easy-to-navigate interface, making it accessible even for users with limited technical skills.
  • Multi-Platform Support
    It supports multiple browsers and platforms including Chrome, Firefox, and iOS, providing flexibility for users.
  • Customizable Notifications
    Users can tailor notification settings to receive alerts via email, SMS, or push notifications, ensuring they stay informed in real-time.
  • Advanced Monitoring Options
    Offers a range of monitoring options including visual comparison, text recognition, and element-based tracking, catering to various monitoring needs.
  • Free Version Available
    A free basic version of Distill Web Monitor is available, allowing users to try out the service before committing to a paid plan.

Possible disadvantages of Distill Web Monitor

  • Limited Features in Free Plan
    The free version has limited functionalities, such as fewer checks and longer intervals, which may be inadequate for intensive monitoring needs.
  • Pricing
    The cost of premium plans can be relatively high for individuals or small businesses, potentially limiting accessibility for cost-sensitive users.
  • Resource-Intensive
    Running continuous monitoring can consume significant system resources, particularly affecting performance on lower-end hardware.
  • Learning Curve
    While the interface is user-friendly, some of the advanced features and customization options may require a learning curve for less tech-savvy users.
  • Privacy Concerns
    Monitoring sensitive or personal data on some websites could present privacy risks, depending on the sites being tracked and how data is handled.

Hacker Newsletter features and specs

  • Curated Content
    The newsletter provides a handpicked selection of content from Hacker News, saving readers time and helping them discover the most interesting or valuable posts.
  • Email Delivery
    Subscribers receive the newsletter directly in their email inbox, making access convenient and ensuring they don't miss any updates.
  • Weekly Recap
    The weekly format offers a comprehensive recap of the week's best stories, giving readers an overview of what's happened in the tech world without the need for daily monitoring.
  • Minimalist Design
    The newsletter has a simple and clean design, making it easy to read without unnecessary distractions.

Possible disadvantages of Hacker Newsletter

  • Delayed Information
    Since the newsletter is weekly, some information may be outdated by the time it reaches readers, especially in the fast-paced tech industry.
  • Email Overflow
    Receiving another newsletter can contribute to email overload, which may deter some users who already receive too many emails.
  • Limited Depth
    The newsletter provides summaries and links, but it may not offer in-depth analysis or detailed information on the topics covered.
  • Focused Audience
    The content is heavily tech-focused, which may not appeal to readers outside of the tech industry or those with a broader range of interests.

Analysis of Distill Web Monitor

Overall verdict

  • Overall, Distill Web Monitor is a reliable and efficient tool for those needing to keep up with web page changes. Its robust set of features and ease of use make it a strong choice for both personal and professional use.

Why this product is good

  • Distill Web Monitor is considered good due to its user-friendly interface, customizable monitoring features, and compatibility with various websites. It allows users to track changes on web pages and receive alerts, making it ideal for monitoring price changes, product availability, and content updates.

Recommended for

  • Individuals tracking price changes on e-commerce websites
  • Professionals who need to follow content updates on competitors' sites
  • Researchers who want to monitor specific changes in online publications
  • Anyone interested in receiving timely alerts for changes in web content

Analysis of Hacker Newsletter

Overall verdict

  • Hacker Newsletter is well-regarded and considered a valuable resource for staying updated with tech trends and insights. It's reliable and consistently provides content that is both informative and engaging.

Why this product is good

  • Hacker Newsletter is a curated tech newsletter that compiles the best articles, tutorials, and insights from the startup and tech world. It's popular among developers, entrepreneurs, and tech enthusiasts for its high-quality content and efficient summarization of the week's news. It's especially valued for cutting through the noise and delivering only the most relevant and interesting information.

Recommended for

  • Developers seeking the latest tech news and tutorials.
  • Entrepreneurs interested in startup trends and challenges.
  • Tech enthusiasts who want a concise digest of the week's top content.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Distill Web Monitor and Hacker Newsletter)
Monitoring Tools
100 100%
0% 0
Hacker News UI
0 0%
100% 100
Website Monitoring
100 100%
0% 0
Web App
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Distill Web Monitor and Hacker Newsletter

Distill Web Monitor Reviews

  1. Great tool to keep track of competitor's website

    One of the best tools I have used to keep track of changes on my competitors website. I love the chrome extension and its ease of use.

    👍 Pros:    Advanced features|Easy to use|Chrome extension available|Sync across all my devices

Hacker Newsletter Reviews

We have no reviews of Hacker Newsletter yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Hacker Newsletter seems to be a lot more popular than Distill Web Monitor. While we know about 26 links to Hacker Newsletter, we've tracked only 2 mentions of Distill Web Monitor. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Distill Web Monitor mentions (2)

  • looking for a specific software
    I haven't used any in recent years so I'm not up to speed with the pros/cons of each, but PageProbe, SiteDelta Watch, and Distill Web Monitor are a few to try. Source: about 3 years ago
  • App monitoring and reading parts of the screen
    I’ve had pretty good luck with the distill web monitor https://distill.io/apps/web-monitor. Source: about 4 years ago

Hacker Newsletter mentions (26)

  • If nothing is curated, how do we find things
    I've been a subscriber for the hacker newsletter [1] for years and it does a great job of curating content from this website. This inspired me to create The Gaming Pub [2] which is a similar kind of curated newsletter but for gaming content. I believe newsletters like that are a great way to find interesting stuff. 1. https://hackernewsletter.com/ 2. https://www.thegamingpub.com/. - Source: Hacker News / about 1 month ago
  • LLM-hacker-news: LLM plugin for pulling content from Hacker News
    Can I summarize a given day (or week)? I mean, to get something like https://hackernewsletter.com/, but personalized for my tastes and interests. - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • Ask HN: Those making $500/month on side projects in 2024 – Show and tell
    Still running https://hackernewsletter.com/ after 15 years and 60k+ subscribers. It has been hard to put a lot of focus on it the past couple years, but been finally getting some time to spend on some improvements there. Income here has always been simple sponsors which I'm very grateful for. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • What we learned after spending 5,000 EUR on developer marketing
    One last channel, we tried was newsletter sponsoring. I don't have the feeling, developers are overly into E-Mail newsletters, but we wanted to give it a try. The Hacker Newsletter has 60,000 subscribers and collects trending discussions on Y Combinator's popular Hacker News website. - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
  • Show HN: Visit the front page of Hacker News on a random day
    As an alternative, you may subscribe to the Hacker Newsletter: https://hackernewsletter.com/?ref=find-your-newsletter. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Distill Web Monitor and Hacker Newsletter, you can also consider the following products

Visualping - Visualping is the easiest to use website checker, webpage change monitoring, website change detector and website change alert software of the web. Read more about Visualping.

Hacker News Front Page Explorer - A database of top ranking Hacker News front page posts

Wachete - Track web page changes and get notified. Free Sign-up. Have all data in one place

Hacker News Stack - Focus on the really fresh and unread news in Hacker News.

WebSite-Watcher - WebSite-Watcher detects website updates and highlights all changes in the text. WebSite-Watcher monitors web pages, password protected pages, disucssion forums and much more.

Box Piper Hacker News - Re-Imagined Hacker News for this decade.