How Does Reddit Make Money?

Reddit's revenue comes mainly from advertising — promoted posts and ads sold through its self-serve Reddit Ads Manager and larger brand deals. On top of that it earns from premium subscriptions (Reddit Premium, which removes ads and adds perks), virtual goods and awards, and, more recently, data-licensing deals that let companies use Reddit's content to train AI models. Advertising is by far the largest share.

Yes. The large majority of Reddit's revenue is advertising — promoted posts, display ads, and brand campaigns targeted by community, interest, keyword, and location. Subscriptions, awards, and data licensing add meaningful but smaller revenue streams.

Reddit licenses access to its vast archive of public posts and comments to companies — notably for training large language models. These data deals have become a notable newer revenue line, monetizing the same user-generated content that powers the site, separate from advertising.

Because Reddit monetizes through self-serve ads, any business can buy targeted reach without a sales call — and can target the exact communities where its audience already talks. If you're considering it, estimate spend with the Reddit Ads Cost Calculator and follow a step-by-step setup in our guide to advertising on Reddit.