Reddit Karma Requirements: How Much You Need to Post

There is no single Reddit karma requirement. Each community sets its own minimum, and Reddit does not publish the numbers. To see what you are missing for a specific community, start creating a post there: Reddit will show which criteria you meet and which you do not.

That is why "how much karma do I need to post on Reddit" has no one-number answer, and why any list claiming "you need 50 karma" is a guess. This guide covers what karma is, how to see your shortfall, and how to earn it without getting flagged.

What karma is and how Reddit counts it

Karma is a score that reflects the upvotes and downvotes your posts and comments receive. Reddit says it is only an approximate reflection, so upvotes and karma do not have a 1:1 relationship.

Your total is split into post karma and comment karma. To see them on desktop, click your avatar, choose View Profile, and hover over the total karma in the profile card. In the iOS and Android apps, open your profile and tap the About tab.

Why communities set karma minimums

Communities use karma and account age to keep spammers out. Reddit's help page says some communities require a certain amount of karma before allowing you to post, a measure taken to prevent spam.

Each community sets its own minimum, so it differs from one to the next. Moderators usually enforce it with AutoModerator, whose rules can check an author's post karma, comment karma and karma in that community and remove posts below the line. A new account posting in a community that is wary of spam is the usual case where a post never appears.

How to check the karma requirement for a subreddit

Reddit's own tool for this is the Poster Eligibility Guide. When you select Create a post in a community you cannot yet post in, a window explains why and what you can do about it.

Reddit lists three possible reasons: account age, karma restrictions, and not having a verified email address. For each one it shows which criteria you meet and which you do not.

Criterion	What Reddit shows you	What to do
Karma	Whether you meet the community's karma criteria	Comment helpfully in communities that welcome new users
Account age	Whether your account is old enough	Wait until it meets the community's criteria
Verified email	Whether your email is verified	Verify your email address

Reddit also states that the specific karma and account age thresholds communities use are not disclosed, so you will see met or not met, not a target number. Read the community's rules in its sidebar too, and if you are still unsure, message the moderators through modmail.

How to get karma on Reddit honestly

Earn karma by being useful in places that let new accounts in. Reddit's advice is to participate in communities you are interested in and make posts and comments people enjoy.

1. Open r/NewToReddit and use its list of welcoming communities. Reddit's help page points to it for communities that are new-user friendly and do not have high karma restrictions. It is an unofficial, community-run help subreddit.
2. Answer questions where you know the subject. A specific answer to a specific question earns more than a one-word reply.
3. Comment before you post. Sort a community by New and reply to recent threads while they still collect votes.
4. Post once you have a track record there. Our guide to how to post on Reddit covers flair and rules.

What not to do to raise karma

Reddit's spam policy names repeatedly posting or sharing old content for the purpose of rapidly gaining karma as a violation. Reddit Rule 2 asks you to participate authentically and not engage in disruptive behaviors, including content manipulation.

In practice, skip reposting old popular content and "free karma" threads. Those shortcuts risk the account you are trying to build.

Why your post still does not show up

Karma is only one reason a post vanishes. Reddit lists others: you may be looking at Hot instead of New, you may have broken a community rule that a moderator removed the post for, or a spam filter may be holding it.

If you think a spam filter caught it, Reddit says even a small amount of karma earned by commenting on another post in that community can help you get past it. If you believe a moderator removed it by mistake, send a modmail message. If the community itself is the problem, see how to report a subreddit.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is 100 karma on Reddit good?

Reddit publishes no benchmark for karma, so 100 is neither good nor bad on its own. It only matters against one community's undisclosed minimum. The Poster Eligibility Guide tells you whether you meet that community's karma criteria, which is a more reliable test than any number you read online.

Do I need karma to comment on Reddit?

There is no universal karma requirement to comment. Reddit does limit how often users can post and comment in a community to stop spam, and brand-new accounts may hit that filter. Spacing out your comments and joining welcoming communities usually clears it.

Does Reddit Premium give you karma or skip the requirements?

No. Reddit states that becoming a Premium member does not affect the spam filter and is not a quick fix for avoiding the need to earn karma. Premium also does not change any community's minimum, so the same eligibility checks and the same rules apply to you.

Does one upvote equal one karma?

No. Reddit says karma is only an approximate reflection of the upvotes and downvotes your posts and comments get, so upvotes and karma do not have a 1:1 relationship. Your profile shows post karma and comment karma separately, and a community's minimum is measured against its own undisclosed criteria.

Sources

1. Reddit Help, What is karma?
2. Reddit Help, Post Check and Poster Eligibility Guide
3. Reddit Help, Why can't I see my post?
4. Reddit Help, Why am I being told "You're doing that too much"?
5. Reddit Help, Spam
6. Reddit Inc., Reddit Rules