Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Hacker News VS MakeUseOf

Compare Hacker News VS MakeUseOf and see what are their differences

Hacker News logo Hacker News

Hacker News is a social news website focusing on computer science and entrepreneurship. It is run by Paul Graham's investment fund and startup incubator, Y Combinator.

MakeUseOf logo MakeUseOf

MakeUseOf is your guide in modern tech. Learn how to make use of tech and gadgets around you and discover cool stuff on the Internet.
  • Hacker News Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-07-23
  • MakeUseOf Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-11-17

Hacker News features and specs

  • Quality Content
    Hacker News focuses on high-quality, tech-centric content which is often insightful and valuable for those in the tech industry.
  • Community
    The community consists largely of professionals and enthusiasts in tech, providing a knowledgeable and skilled user base for discussions.
  • Upvote System
    The upvote system helps in promoting the most relevant and useful posts, ensuring users see content that is often vetted by the community.
  • Minimalist Design
    The simple, text-based design minimizes distractions and focuses on content and discussions without unnecessary clutter.
  • Diverse Topics
    While mainly focused on technology, Hacker News also covers a variety of subjects including entrepreneurship, science, and more.

Possible disadvantages of Hacker News

  • Echo Chamber Effect
    Given its focused and like-minded community, there is a risk of homogeneous opinions and lack of diverse viewpoints.
  • Moderation Issues
    The manual moderation can sometimes be inconsistent, leading to frustrations around which posts or comments get removed or promoted.
  • Signal-to-Noise Ratio
    Despite the upvote system, some low-quality or irrelevant content can still surface, diluting the overall information quality.
  • Niche Audience
    Its strong focus on tech topics can alienate those who are not as tech-savvy or interested, limiting broader appeal.
  • Limited Features
    The platform offers very basic functionality compared to other modern forums, which might deter users who prefer more advanced features.

MakeUseOf features and specs

  • Comprehensive Content
    MakeUseOf covers a wide range of topics, from tech news and reviews to how-to guides and tips, catering to various interests and skill levels.
  • Regular Updates
    The site is frequently updated with new articles, ensuring that the content is current and relevant.
  • User-Friendly Design
    The website has a clean, easy-to-navigate layout, making it simple for users to find the information they need.
  • Free Resources
    MakeUseOf offers a wealth of free resources, including downloadable guides and tool recommendations.
  • Expert Writers
    Articles are often written by knowledgeable and experienced writers, adding credibility to the information presented.

Possible disadvantages of MakeUseOf

  • Ads and Sponsored Content
    The presence of ads and sponsored content can sometimes distract from the reading experience.
  • Variable Article Quality
    While many articles are well-researched and informative, the quality can occasionally be inconsistent.
  • Overwhelming for Beginners
    The sheer volume of content may be overwhelming for new users or those less familiar with technology topics.
  • Limited In-Depth Analysis
    Some articles may lack the in-depth analysis that advanced users might be looking for, focusing instead on more general information.
  • Navigation Challenges
    Despite the generally user-friendly design, occasionally finding specific information or older articles can be challenging.

Hacker News videos

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MakeUseOf videos

MakeUseOf com FitBit Surge Review

More videos:

  • Review - Review from Makeuseof -- TerraMaster D5 Thunderbolt 3

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Hacker News and MakeUseOf)
Social Networks
87 87%
13% 13
Startup Community
0 0%
100% 100
Social News
100 100%
0% 0
Startups
69 69%
31% 31

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare Hacker News and MakeUseOf

Hacker News Reviews

Best Forums for Developers to Join in 2025
Hacker News is a great place to learn how to code. You'll find many interesting articles about new projects in the open-source community. You can also see what's happening with your favorite programming language or framework daily.
Source: www.notchup.com
Make sure to list your SaaS on these marketplaces to get users
I would highly recommend if you have a SaaS, try to list it here as news this will surely get a good amount of traffic to your SaaS. Hacker News is simple and is maintained by Ycombinator which is a gold mine for startups to get started.
Source: medium.com
15 Best Reddit Alternatives in 2024: Find Your New Online Community
Hacker News, run by Y Combinator, is a popular platform for technology enthusiasts and entrepreneurs.
Great Products for Finding Startup Jobs
Hacker News—Not a job board, per se, but the HN Who’s Hiring post at the start of every month has dozens of engineering-focused job posts. HN also regularly pushes select YC jobs to the front page.
Source: medium.com
18 Best Sites for Finding a Startup Job
Hacker News has a job board that lists jobs exclusively at various startups. Obviously, as Hackers News is associated with Y Combinator, most of the listed startup jobs are at companies that have gone through the accelerator’s program.
Source: tech.co

MakeUseOf Reviews

We have no reviews of MakeUseOf yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Hacker News seems to be a lot more popular than MakeUseOf. While we know about 611 links to Hacker News, we've tracked only 11 mentions of MakeUseOf. 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.

Hacker News mentions (611)

  • Tell HN: \/active and showdead might lead to a more informative HN experience
    If you go on https://news.ycombinator.com/active instead of the default https://news.ycombinator.com page, the results are very different. In my experience, much more interesting content. Here is a quick list of submissions that are currently on the top 10 of /active that are not on the default front page at all. [“Most promising signs yet” of alien life on a planet beyond our Solar... - Source: Hacker News / 18 days ago
  • Unveiling MongoDB SSPL 1.0: A Deep Dive into Open Source Fairness and Innovation
    In the coming years, expect more community-led projects to adopt innovative funding models that complement licenses like MongoDB SSPL 1.0. By harnessing platforms such as GitHub Sponsors and new initiatives discussed on Hacker News, the open source community may:. - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • Elastic License: A Comprehensive Exploration of Fair Code Licensing and Open Source Sustainability
    This post offers an in-depth exploration of the Elastic License, an innovative model that bridges the gap between open collaboration and fair compensation for developers. We review its background, core concepts, real-world applications, challenges, and its future outlook in the evolving ecosystem of open source and fair code licenses. Drawing insights from the Original Article and other authoritative sources such... - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • Unveiling Common Public Attribution License 1.0: A Comprehensive Overview and Future Trends
    Discussions on forums such as Stack Overflow Q&A and Hacker News provide ample examples where the lack of integrated compensation mechanisms has led to disputes or legal ambiguities. In such contexts, additional measures—like supplementary contributor license agreements (CLAs) or blockchain-based logging—are often recommended to address enforcement challenges. - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • Save search results to a text file
    I open https://news.ycombinator.com/ in my android phone. On this page, at the bottom there is a text box for input search. How do I capy and paste the search result to a text file with URLs, because on the search result page, I can't select all as we can do on the PC or is there any way to save the result. - Source: Hacker News / 28 days ago
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MakeUseOf mentions (11)

  • Discover the Top 20 Productivity Blogs of 2024
    Leverage technology to boost your productivity with MakeUseOf, which provides easy-to-understand guides and reviews on the latest tech to streamline your workflow. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • HP Printer cancels printing jobs?
    It was downloaded from makeuseof.com, but it's worth a shot. I know LO Draw can open them, but I didn't try re-exporting them. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • New Security Risk? - Bluetooth device paired with Windows even though onboard Bluetooth is disabled in BIOS
    a) Bolt receiver should not work with other Bluetooth peripherals. "Likewise, both Unifying and Bolt are proprietary technologies from Logitech. Therefore, they're not compatible with wireless peripherals from other brands." (makeuseof.com). Source: almost 2 years ago
  • Create real distro instead of live environment
    I want to create a linux distro based off of void linux, running in my main system right now. I love everything about it and think it is a great project. I would like to make my own version, however, utilising much of the same things. I have searched it up and found a lot of articles from websites such as makeuseof.com which all show ways to make a live CD type thing from a pre existing OS. I would like to make a... Source: about 2 years ago
  • Why does storm fiber ban certain links?
    Is it only my connection or does everyone face this issue? Like they ban the most harmless and dumb links one can think of. For instance, if you copy a video link from YT the link is like this "https://youtu.be/....." and it doesn't work! While the youtube.com domain works perfectly fine. Same is the case with other completely harmless websites like bbc.co.uk, makeuseof.com and many more! IDK if this is a storm... Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing Hacker News and MakeUseOf, you can also consider the following products

Reddit - Reddit gives you the best of the internet in one place. Get a constantly updating feed of breaking news, fun stories, pics, memes, and videos just for you.

TechCrunch - TechCrunch is a web publication that offers technology news and analysis, as well as profiling of...

License-Token.com - Monetize your source code while still keeping it open.

The Verge - From gadgets to startups, apps, and tech culture, The Verge has you covered with in-depth...

Lobsters - Lobsters is a technology-focused link-aggregation site.

GeekWire - Breaking News in Technology & Business