The best government websites, according to hackers
4 government websites were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 1 earns the Hacker Approved badge.
Top pick
The most recommended government website with the badge. Each figure is 2 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
Better than most government websites
People recommend it for fast, clear, consistent pages that make government tasks easy to find and complete, with one recurring caveat that it can treat users like children.
All 4 government websites, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GOV.UK | 29 | 4 | 88% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 2 | America.gov | 19 | 26 | 42% | 1 | — | — |
| 3 | realfood.gov | 6 | 7 | 46% | 2 | — | — |
| 4 | USA.gov | 5 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same government website in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to government websites that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
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