Encyclopaedia Britannica
by Jan Morris
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 15 reference books
People recommend Britannica for well-written, carefully checked articles and a readable online format, though critics say it is out of date, lightly cited and paywalled.
People recommend Britannica for well-written, carefully checked articles and a readable online format, though critics say it is out of date, lightly cited and paywalled.
37 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 29
- criticize it
- 8
- approval share
- 78%
Recommended in 11 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 29 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 3.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 11 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Well-written, readable articles
“The articles seem well written, and as mentioned here, you have the fact and the history and everything all mixed in to some articles, and it's super interesting.”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica” “Britannica concisely summarizes the basic knowledge about diamonds in an easy-to-read short paragraph.”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “25 Years of Wikipedia” “Britannica makes the opening a lot more readable”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “25 Years of Wikipedia” - Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “25 Years of Wikipedia”
Trusted first stop for facts
“If you have a question, try to use the encyclopedia before you log on.”
Comment from 29 Jul 2026 in “I Want to Leave the Internet” “I always check Britannica first. If it's not there, then I move on.”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “25 Years of Wikipedia” “I use eb.com and so should everyone.”
Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Prolific Wikipedia editors are threatening to go on strike” - Comment from 29 May 2026 in “Prolific Wikipedia editors are threatening to go on strike”
Valued 1911 edition
“The most important entry I found in my physical copy of the 1911 Britannica”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica” “the 1911 Britannica is heralded for several reasons”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica” “a fascinating snapshot of the late 1800s”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica” - Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica”
Expert-checked, curated content
“Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example, would get articles cross-checked by people who have an interest or a knowledge of that particular subject.”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “There's a new "Google Jail" for independent wikis” “each area were managed and curated with subject matter expert input”
Comment from 17 Jan 2026 in “After 25 years, Wikipedia has proved that news doesn't need to look like news” “curated professionally written Encarta or Britannica”
Comment from 27 Oct 2026 in “Show HN: Encarta 95 Web”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Out of date content
“it's severely lacking in citations and definitely out of date, no matter how new.”
Comment from 5 Feb 2026 in “CIA to Sunset the World Factbook” “I remember all of our encyclopedias being decades out of date growing up”
Comment from 10 Nov 2025 in “LLMs are steroids for your Dunning-Kruger” Opinionated, emotionally charged writing
“the authors aren’t shy about inserting emotionally charged adjectives and personal options on what they consider interesting or curious”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica” “the authors have more license to express their own opinions, which naturally reflect those current at the time”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica” Uneven article depth
“the articles on Euler and Gauss are so much shorter than the ones on Kant and Schopenhauer”
Comment from 21 Apr 2026 in “Britannica11.org – a structured edition of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica” “The Brittanica article seems substantially poorer”
Comment from 15 Jan 2026 in “25 Years of Wikipedia”
Other reference books people recommend
The four most recommended other reference books, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Encyclopaedia Britannicaby Jan MorrisThis page | 29 | 8 | 78% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 507 Mechanical Movementsby Henry T. Brown | 12 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| The Ashley Book of Knotsby Clifford Ashley | 8 | 1 | 89% | 4 | — | — |
| World Book Encyclopediaby World Book | 5 | 1 | 83% | 4 | — | — |
| The Atlas of Middle-earthby Karen Wynn Fonstad | 5 | 0 | 100% | 1 | — | — |
What people said
38 of the 42 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Britannica's dead, no one will remember it in 50 years”
“imposing a really annoying paywall just as Wikipedia was beginning to take off”
“curated professionally written Encarta or Britannica”
“Britannica is a good source so I stand corrected on this subject.”
“Encyclopaedia Britannica, for example, would get articles cross-checked by people who have an interest or a knowledge of that particular subject.”
“it sourced it from an Encyclopedia Brittanica page”
“If you have a question, try to use the encyclopedia before you log on.”
“We had Wikipedia and Encyclopaedia Britannica..”
“I use eb.com and so should everyone.”
“I use eb.com and so should you.”
“Encyclopedia Britannica used to be that source of 'facts'. Then it became whatever page-rank told you.”
“Pretty much as bang on as one could reasonably be given what they knew.”
“Sure sounds like someone was a (fellow) fan.”
“the articles on Euler and Gauss are so much shorter than the ones on Kant and Schopenhauer”
“The articles seem well written, and as mentioned here, you have the fact and the history and everything all mixed in to some articles, and it's super interesting.”
“The 9th is a great in its own right”
“a fascinating snapshot of the late 1800s”
“the authors have more license to express their own opinions, which naturally reflect those current at the time”
“the authors aren’t shy about inserting emotionally charged adjectives and personal options on what they consider interesting or curious”
“the 1911 Britannica is heralded for several reasons”
“The most important entry I found in my physical copy of the 1911 Britannica”
“has something even an offline copy of Wikipedia doesn't”
“It's one way of avoiding AI garbage.”
“I have never once found what is written about hard science in Britannica to not be in accord with my observed reality”
“it's severely lacking in citations and definitely out of date, no matter how new.”
“I really wish more people funded Britannica or some other traditional encyclopedia.”
“You can say that about Encyclopedia Brittanica or any of the old-school encyclopedias too.”
“each area were managed and curated with subject matter expert input”
“Britannica's online format suits it very well”
“The quality was so much better.”
“The Brittanica article seems substantially poorer”
“Britannica concisely summarizes the basic knowledge about diamonds in an easy-to-read short paragraph.”
“Britannica makes the opening a lot more readable”
“I always check Britannica first. If it's not there, then I move on.”
“Britannica was the shining example of capitalism, being sold door to door.”
“There will always be people who value a medium with words and ideas that can't be memory holed without a trace.”
“the old sets of World Book and Encyclopædia Brittanica our family had”
“I remember all of our encyclopedias being decades out of date growing up”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.