Hacker News and Reddit discussion extensions, compared
A handful of extensions tell you whether the page you are on was discussed somewhere. They work, they are free, and several are open source. Here is what each one does, and where Graspr is genuinely different.
Everything stated below about another extension comes from its own store listing or repository. If we have described yours inaccurately, tell us and we will correct it.
| Extension | Sources | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| NewsitOpen source | Hacker News, Reddit | Checks whether the current page has been posted to Hacker News or Reddit and surfaces a link to the top-voted discussion. |
| CrowdWiseOpen source (MIT) | Hacker News, Reddit | Shows relevant Hacker News and Reddit discussions for the page you are on, with an incognito mode that only searches when you click. |
| Comments Owl | Hacker News | A Hacker News reading client with improved comment threading, also available on iOS. |
| Graspr | Hacker News, Reddit, X, Bluesky, GitHub, Dev.to, YouTube | Searches seven sources for discussion about the page, ranks results by relevance to the topic, and opens threads, videos and articles inside the sidebar — with a reader, highlights, notes and a saved library. |
Where Graspr differs
Seven sources, not two
The established extensions in this category check Hacker News and Reddit. Graspr also searches X, Bluesky, GitHub, Dev.to and YouTube in parallel, and surfaces three kinds of context from them — the discussion, the videos, and the in-depth articles — which is where the answer often is for a library, a paper or a release note that never reached the front page of either.
Ranked by relevance, not just URL match
Looking up a URL only finds threads where somebody posted that exact link. Graspr resolves what the page is about and ranks discussion against the topic, so the thread where people hit the failure mode still surfaces even when it links somewhere else entirely.
You never leave the page
Link-out extensions hand you a URL and a new tab. Graspr renders the comment tree, the video and the article in the sidebar beside what you were reading — which is the whole point, since the reason you wanted the thread was to keep reading the thing you were on.
It keeps what you found
Discussion is where this category stops. Graspr adds a distraction-free reader, highlights, notes and a library you own — exportable to Notion and Readwise, so six months later the thing you learned is still findable.
When you should use one of the others
If all you want is a link to the Hacker News thread for the page you are on, Newsit and CrowdWise do that, they do it free, and their source is public so you can see exactly what they touch. Graspr is the heavier tool: it is built for the case where you are evaluating something and need what practitioners found out, then need to keep it. If you are not doing that, the lighter option is the right one.
Try it on the page you are on next
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