- Karma represents how impactful your contributions have been to the community. This is based on how many upvotes your posts and comments have received.
- Post interesting, thought-provoking, or funny posts and comments to quickly increase your karma.
- You can also gain karma by giving and receiving awards.
What is Karma on Reddit?
Karma refers to points received from upvotes and awards. This is the Reddit equivalent of "likes" on Facebook. Note that karma doesn’t directly correspond to the number of upvotes you get but heavily influences it. On some subreddits, you'll need a minimum amount of karma to post. If you want to post on a subreddit with karma requirements, you'll need to gain karma first by making valuable posts on other subreddits.
You can receive different types of karma on Reddit. This includes Post Karma, Comment Karma, Award Giving Karma, and Award Receiving Karma. Post Karma - Posting an external link or creating a post and then receiving upvotes will grant you "post" karma. Comment Karma - Posting a comment on an existing post and receiving upvotes will result in "comment" karma. Award Giving Karma - Giving awards to posts and comments will increase your "award giving" karma. Award Receiving Karma - Getting awards on your posts and comments will increase your "award receiving" karma.
Gaining Karma
Post and comment on large subreddits. Subreddits with more users (especially those in the millions range) have more opportunities for gaining karma. More people can upvote your posts and comments. Sort by either top posts from now/today, rising, or new, and leave a comment on those threads. This ensures that your comment won't be buried under those that got there before you. Some popular subreddits that are great for gaining karma include r/AskReddit, r/pics, r/funny, and r/aww.
Post interesting questions on r/AskReddit. This subreddit focuses on title-only posts where users respond to the question in the comments. r/AskReddit has more than 30 million users, so a good post can gather a ton of upvotes and comments, quickly increasing your karma.
Comment on new and rising posts. One of the easiest ways to give your comments visibility when you're starting out is to leave a thought-provoking comment, image, or GIF on other users' existing posts. Witticisms get the most karma, but trivia, stories, and in-depth knowledge also work well. Commenting on Reddit is less likely to earn you large amounts of karma all at once. Still, it will build up your karma score over time while simultaneously establishing you as a dedicated user.
Post early in the morning on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. Ideally, you’ll want to post around 7 am so several people see your post throughout the day. The weekends and Mondays are great peak times to post to get more karma.
Avoid making negative or poor-quality posts. Your links and comments should add value to Reddit's overall content base. Posts that fall outside Reddit's commonly accepted posting rules (also known as "reddiquette") tend to receive downvotes. You'll also want to refrain from violating Reddit's terms of use, since doing so will most likely result in downvotes. It's okay to criticize, so long as the criticism is presented civilly. The exception to this rule is comedic posting, though even these posts must err on the side of civility. Never ask for upvotes.
Post relevant and discussion-worthy content. Reddit is a community based on idealistic discussion and expansion of any given topic. Posting well-researched, well-thought-out content may not rake in upvotes, but it will show other users that you're worth listening to. The more users who consider you a valuable resource, the larger your future posts' audience — and, therefore, the potential for upvotes — will be. Add a “spoiler” tag before posts that discuss movies, books, or other media that might spoil a plot for another Redditor.
Engage with people who comment on your posts. When you start a conversation, continuing it will both add to the conversation and net you upvotes based on your responses. It's important to be respectful of others' opinions while doing so. It's okay (and encouraged) to disagree with others, so long as you respectfully present a thoughtful counterargument. Ignore negative or provocative comments, as responding to them — even if you're in the right — will likely result in downvotes. You can quote other comments to respond directly to something someone said.
Take advantage of potential top comments. Respond to a prospective top comment soon after it is posted. If the comment does indeed receive many upvotes, your response will likely receive upvotes due to its proximity. For this strategy to work, you'll need to gauge the likelihood of a comment receiving mass positive reception, which will take time and practice. This is a high-risk, high-reward tactic: if the comment receives negative attention and the resulting downvotes, you'll also probably receive downvotes. You can use the RemindMeBot to come back to comments you want to check on later.
Post links to photos or videos. As with any social media platform, users enjoy visual media. Using a creative or informative title with an engaging visual is a good way to capture users' interest and earn upvotes. Common subreddits for this include r/pics, r/mildlyinteresting, and r/videos.
Use creative titles for your links. Since Reddit presents links in the form of the title you add, the context provided for the title will often set up the tone for the discussion. Consider using humor in these titles (e.g., puns or irony). Witty or surprising posts tend to receive upvotes.
Give awards to posts and comments. Giving Reddit awards will increase your "award-giving" karma. The earlier you give an award (compared to other users), the more karma you’ll get!
Create posts and comments that get awards. Receiving awards will increase your "award-receiving" karma. The amount of Karma you get increases depending on the coins spent on the award. Posts that are unique, interesting, and wholesome tend to get a lot of awards. Try posting an obscure fact on r/todayilearned or a cute pet photo on r/aww for tons of awards. In-depth and knowledgeable Comments tend to get several awards from other users. On the flip side, comments that are funny or a reference also usually receive a ton of awards. If you're having trouble generating post ideas, try reading different news sources' angles on current events or determining one yourself.
Finding Your Karma (Mobile)
Tap your profile picture in the Reddit mobile app. It’s in the top right of the app. This will open the profile information menu.
Tap Karma. This is under your profile name. A pop-up menu will appear.
View your karma. You’ll see how much of each type of karma you have in the pop-up menu. Note that you can’t see award karma in the app. You’ll need to go to the website to view your award karma.
Finding Your Karma (Desktop)
Click your profile picture on Reddit.com. It’s in the top right of the website next to your username. This will open the profile menu.
Select Profile. It’s an option in the profile menu.
Hover over the number under “Karma.” This is located under your profile avatar and name. You’ll see how much of each type of karma you have.
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