How much karma do you need to post on Reddit?
It varies by subreddit - typically 3 to 90 days of account age and 0 to 2,000 comment karma. Here is how to find the exact number for any sub before you post.
- 01Direct answer (TL;DR)
- 02Post karma vs comment karma vs CQS
- 03Thresholds by subreddit type
- 04Can I post here yet? Decision tree
- 05How to find a sub's exact requirements
- 06Still blocked despite enough karma
- 07Worked examples
- 08NSFW and extra-strict communities
- 09How AutoMod enforces gates
- 10Fastest ways to build karma
- 11FAQ
How much karma do you need to post on Reddit?
Reddit has no sitewide karma floor. Every subreddit sets its own thresholds via AutoModerator. In practice: open communities need 0 karma, hobby and niche subs typically need 0-50 comment karma with a 7-day account, mid-size communities need 50-200 comment karma with a 30-day account, and large or strict subs need 200-2,000 comment karma with 30-90 days of account age. NSFW communities run tighter still. Both gates - karma and account age - are checked independently, so clearing one does not help if the other fails. The fastest way to find any sub's exact requirement is to read its sidebar rules or check its wiki. SubredditAnalyzer surfaces documented gate levels for any subreddit without digging through rule pages.
Post karma vs comment karma vs Contributor Quality Score
These three things are not interchangeable. Confusing them is the most common reason people clear one gate and still get blocked.
Comment karma
Earned when other users upvote your comments. This is the type moderators care most about because it proves you actively engage with communities rather than just submitting links. AutoModerator rules almost always reference comment_karma as a separate field from total karma. A user with 5,000 post karma and 8 comment karma will still be blocked in communities that require 100 comment karma. Target this first.
Post karma (link karma)
Earned when users upvote posts or links you submit. Reddit uses a non-linear scoring system, so a post with 500 upvotes does not give you 500 karma - each additional upvote after the first few is worth progressively less. Some subs do check post karma as a secondary gate, but moderators generally trust comment karma more because farming post karma through open communities is easier than farming comment karma.
Contributor Quality Score (CQS)
New in 2025-2026Reddit's internal behavioral score, exposed to mods via AutoModerator's contributor_quality field. Five tiers: Highest, High, Moderate, Low, Lowest. New accounts start at Moderate. As of 2026, many major subreddits filter Low and Lowest accounts outright. CQS is damaged by: posts removed for spam, ban evasion, farming karma in free-karma communities, and posting too fast across too many subs. A clean account with 200 comment karma and a High CQS will outperform a farm account with 2,000 karma and a Low CQS. You can check your own CQS in r/WhatIsMyCQS.
Award karma (deprecated): Reddit removed the awards system in 2024. If you see references to "award karma" in older guides, ignore them - that number no longer exists in your profile or in AutoMod checks.
Karma and account-age thresholds by subreddit type
These are community-reported and researcher-documented ranges, not official Reddit figures. Reddit does not publish AutoMod rules. Aim for 1.5x to 2x the listed threshold to clear edge cases - especially if both your karma and account age are near the floor.
| Subreddit type | Size range | Comment karma | Post karma | Account age | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open / beginner-friendly | Any | 0 | 0 | None | r/NewToReddit, r/CasualConversation, r/FreeKarma4U |
| Hobby / niche | <50K | 0-30 | 0-10 | 0-7 days | r/woodworking, r/learnpython, r/gardening |
| General entertainment | 50K-500K | 50-100 | 10-25 | 7-30 days | r/memes, r/gaming, r/unpopularopinion |
| Major discussion | 500K-5M | 100-500 | 25-100 | 14-30 days | r/AskReddit (50+), r/Entrepreneur (100+), r/programming (100+) |
| Finance / crypto | Any | 500+ | 50-100 | 30-90 days | r/CryptoCurrency, r/personalfinance, r/investing |
| Support / safety | Any | 400+ | Varies | 90 days | r/Assistance - among strictest thresholds documented |
| Default-strict (5M+) | 5M+ | 500-2,000 | 50+ | 30+ days | r/politics, r/science, r/worldnews - per-subreddit karma often required |
| NSFW / adult | Any | 100-1,000+ | 50-100+ | 30-365 days | Requirements hidden; 1-year-old account with 500+ karma is the safe floor |
Per-subreddit karma: Some major communities (notably r/wallstreetbets and several finance subs) track karma earned inside their own community separately. 40,000 sitewide karma does not help if the sub requires 100 karma from posts and comments within that sub specifically. Always read sidebar rules for a per-subreddit clause before posting.
See each subreddit's karma and account-age gate before you post
SubredditAnalyzer scores mod strictness, minimum account age, and karma gates for every subreddit on your list, so you never waste a post on a sub that auto-removes it.
Check sub requirementsCan I post in this subreddit yet?
Walk through this before every first post in a new community. Each gate is checked independently by AutoMod - all must pass.
Is your account at least 7 days old?
Yes - proceed to step 2. Most open and hobby subs pass on a 7-day account.
No - stop. Comment only in open communities (r/CasualConversation, r/AskReddit) until you clear 7 days. Do not post in any restricted sub.
Does the sub require 30+ days? Check its sidebar.
No / not stated - proceed to step 3. Unlisted minimums usually mean the threshold is low or non-existent.
Yes, requires 30-90 days - wait. Use the time to build comment karma in open communities.
Do you have enough comment karma for the sub's tier?
Yes - proceed to step 4.
No - comment in accessible communities with substantive answers. Avoid r/FreeKarma4U - it hurts your CQS.
Is the sub's karma requirement per-subreddit or global?
Global (most common) - your sitewide comment karma applies. Proceed to step 5.
Per-subreddit - you need karma earned inside that specific sub. Comment in that community first.
Is your Contributor Quality Score Moderate or above?
Moderate, High, or Highest - you are ready to post. Follow the promotion playbook for best results.
Low or Lowest - build karma through original content and helpful comments over 3-4 weeks. Avoid free-karma subs.
How to find a subreddit's exact karma requirements
Six methods, roughly ordered from fastest to slowest.
- 1
Read the sidebar rules
Open the subreddit on desktop (reddit.com/r/SUBNAME) and read the full sidebar. Many subs list minimum karma and account age directly in their rules section. On mobile, tap the three-dot menu and choose 'Community info' to access the same content.
- 2
Check the subreddit wiki
Navigate to reddit.com/r/SUBNAME/wiki. Larger communities often maintain a detailed rules wiki that goes beyond the sidebar, including karma thresholds that mods prefer not to publicize too widely.
- 3
Search within the sub for 'karma requirement' or 'account age'
Use reddit.com/r/SUBNAME/search?q=karma+requirement&restrict_sr=1 to find mod posts and user reports about the threshold. This surfaces real numbers from posts where people got blocked and asked why.
- 4
Try posting and read the AutoMod removal message
If AutoMod blocks you, it often states the exact requirement in the removal notification: 'Your post was removed because your account does not meet the minimum comment karma requirement of 100.' That message is the ground truth.
- 5
Ask a mod directly via modmail
Send a polite modmail asking what the minimum karma and account age are to post. Most mods reply within 24-48 hours for genuine questions. Do not ask via comment - that often gets deleted.
- 6
Use SubredditAnalyzer to check mod strictness
SubredditAnalyzer compiles documented mod strictness levels, known karma gates, and account-age minimums across thousands of subreddits - so you can check before posting instead of discovering the gate after your post disappears.
Common reasons a post is still blocked despite enough karma
Clearing the karma gate is necessary but not sufficient. Here are the other reasons AutoMod or human mods remove posts even when karma is fine.
Account age gate not cleared. Karma and account age are independent checks. 500 comment karma on a 5-day-old account still fails any sub with a 7-day or 30-day age minimum. The two gates run separately, and clearing one does not waive the other.
Per-subreddit karma required, not global. Subs like r/wallstreetbets track their own internal karma score based on activity within that specific community. Your 10,000 sitewide karma is irrelevant if the rule requires 50 karma earned from posts and comments inside that sub.
Low or Lowest Contributor Quality Score. CQS is separate from karma. An account with 300 comment karma but a Low CQS (from prior removals or free-karma farming) can still be blocked silently. The post appears live on your end but is invisible sitewide. Check r/WhatIsMyCQS and verify with r/ShadowBan if this is suspected.
Domain or link filter triggered. Many subs maintain a blocklist of domains. If your post includes a link to a domain on that list - even a legitimate one - it gets removed regardless of karma. This is separate from any user threshold check.
Posting too fast across too many subs. Submitting more than 8 posts in 24 hours sitewide triggers Reddit's automated rate-limit. Posting the same link to 4+ subreddits in one day triggers a separate spam flag that can result in silent removal across all posts, past and future.
Flair requirement not met. Some subs require post flair before AutoMod passes the submission. Posts without the required flair tag are removed automatically even if all karma and age requirements pass.
Human mod removed it after AutoMod passed. AutoMod clears a post based on numeric rules, but human mods can still review and remove it afterward. This typically happens in high-volume or promotional-sensitive subs. There is no karma fix for this - the post may just not fit the community at that moment.
Shadowban check: If you suspect your posts are disappearing silently, go to reddit.com/r/ShadowBan and post there. A bot (u/MarkdownShadowBot) will reply with your current visibility status. You can also check why Reddit posts get removed for a full removal-reason breakdown.
Real scenarios: who gets through and who gets blocked
Three hypothetical accounts showing how karma, account age, and CQS interact in practice.
New founder, 14-day account, 45 comment karma
r/Entrepreneur requires 100 comment karma and 30 days account age. This account clears neither gate. The post is removed by AutoMod before any human sees it. The error message says "account does not meet minimum requirements." Fix: spend 16 more days commenting on startup topics in r/SideProject and r/indiehackers to build karma while the account ages. Revisit r/Entrepreneur at day 30 with 100+ comment karma.
3-year account, 2,000 post karma, 60 comment karma
r/programming requires 100 comment karma and 100 post karma (60-day account). This account has 2,000 post karma (passes) and 60 days of age (passes), but only 60 comment karma (fails). Despite the 3-year-old account and 2,060 total karma, AutoMod removes the post. The user sees no removal message and assumes a shadowban. Fix: comment genuinely on programming questions for 1-2 weeks to cross 100 comment karma.
45-day account, 150 comment karma, CQS: High
r/SaaS requires approximately 200 comment karma and 30-day account age. This account passes age (45 days) and has a strong CQS (High), but 150 comment karma is below the 200 threshold. Post gets held for review rather than auto-removed - because the High CQS signals legitimate behavior, some subs route borderline accounts to human mod review rather than instant removal. Outcome depends on the mod queue and post quality. Fix: 3-4 weeks of substantive commenting to reach 200+ comment karma.
Why NSFW and high-stakes subs run tighter gates
Adult and finance communities enforce the strictest barriers on the platform, and many deliberately hide their exact thresholds.
Why NSFW subs are stricter
Reddit requires NSFW subreddits to gatekeep more aggressively under its content policies. Adult communities attract higher rates of spam, ban evasion, and underage access attempts. Many NSFW moderators deliberately keep thresholds unpublished so bad actors cannot reverse-engineer the exact number to clear. The practical safe floor for any adult community: 30+ day account, 100-500+ comment karma, and a CQS of at least Moderate. Premium or exclusive NSFW communities often enforce 1-year-old accounts with 1,000+ comment karma.
Finance and crypto communities
r/CryptoCurrency typically requires around 500 comment karma and 60-day account age. r/personalfinance and r/investing filter accounts with fewer than 10-50 karma at the comment level. r/wallstreetbets tracks its own internal "WSB karma" metric - sitewide karma does not substitute. r/Assistance, a support sub, enforces 400 comment karma and a 90-day minimum to prevent scammers from targeting vulnerable users.
r/AskHistorians and academic communities
Academic and expert-moderated communities often use manual review rather than pure AutoMod thresholds. r/AskHistorians deletes answers that do not meet citation and length standards, regardless of karma. In these subs, meeting the numeric threshold is the floor, not the ceiling. Read pinned mod posts and example threads before posting.
How AutoModerator enforces karma gates - and what it misses
Understanding AutoMod's logic helps you diagnose removals accurately and fix the right problem instead of guessing.
The standard AutoMod rule pattern
type: submission author: comment_karma: "< 100" account_age: "< 30 days" action: remove action_reason: "Account does not meet minimum requirements"
This is the most common pattern. Both conditions are checked with OR logic by default - meaning failing either one triggers removal. Mods can also use AND logic (both must fail) or set them as separate independent checks. Theaction_reasontext is what gets sent to you in the removal notification.
What AutoMod catches
- Comment karma below threshold
- Post karma below threshold
- Account age below minimum
- Contributor Quality Score (Lowest/Low)
- Blocked domains in post content
- Flair missing when required
- Too many posts in a time window
What AutoMod misses
- Post quality (human mods handle this)
- Whether karma was farmed or earned
- Context of past removals in other subs
- Tone or promotional intent
- Username similarities to banned accounts
- VPN / IP history (Reddit's backend handles this)
Silent removal: AutoMod can be configured to remove posts without notifying the author. The post appears live in your profile but is invisible to the community. If you suspect this, visit the sub while logged out or use a private browser window and check if your post is visible. Reddit's r/ShadowBan community has a bot that checks this for you.
Fastest legitimate ways to build comment karma
The safe path. Shortcuts that inflate karma while damaging CQS leave you in a worse position than starting with zero.
Answer questions in your area of expertise
Find 5-10 questions per day in communities where you have real knowledge and write substantive answers - at least 2-3 sentences. A one-line answer rarely gets upvotes. Aim for r/learnpython, r/personalfinance, r/Entrepreneur, or whatever is closest to your actual background. Accounts using this method report 200-500 comment karma in 2-3 weeks.
Participate in daily / weekly threads
Major subs run recurring threads for introductions, weekly check-ins, and prompts. r/Entrepreneur has a weekly thread. r/SaaS has monthly showcases. These threads are lower-competition environments where a thoughtful 100-word comment consistently earns 10-30 upvotes.
Post original content in open communities
Original posts (guides, tutorials, case studies, data reports) outperform links in karma efficiency. A well-written 'I tried X for 30 days' post in r/SideProject or r/indiehackers can earn 200+ comment karma in a single thread from replies. Original content also builds CQS faster than upvoting patterns alone.
Comment early on rising posts
Sort by 'new' instead of 'hot' and comment on posts within the first 30 minutes of submission. Early substantive comments earn more upvotes because they are visible to every subsequent reader. This is one of the highest-leverage tactics for fast comment karma.
Avoid free-karma subreddits
r/FreeKarma4U and similar subs do produce karma points, but they damage your Contributor Quality Score. AutoMod on major subs checks CQS independently of karma numbers. Accounts with Low CQS from karma farming get blocked even when the karma number passes. The karma from these subs is a net negative for any account used for real posting.
For a full karma-building strategy with timelines and community recommendations, read the how to get karma on Reddit guide. For picking the right subreddits to build karma in, use the subreddit finder to surface accessible communities in your niche. Once you have enough karma, the best time to post on Reddit guide covers timing optimization for each sub.
Reddit karma requirements FAQ
The most common questions about karma gates, account age, and why posts get blocked.
How much karma do you need to post on Reddit?+−
There is no single answer - it depends entirely on the subreddit. Small hobby subs often need 0-30 comment karma. Mid-size communities typically require 50-200. Large subs (500K+ members) commonly enforce 200-500 comment karma gates, and finance or safety communities like r/CryptoCurrency and r/Assistance can require 400-2,000. Your account also needs to be old enough: most strict subs require 30-90 days. Both gates are checked independently - clearing karma does not help if your account is too new.
Does post karma count the same as comment karma for subreddit requirements?+−
No. Moderators and AutoModerator rules almost always weight comment karma more heavily than post karma, because comment karma proves active engagement rather than passive upvote harvesting on link posts. Many AutoMod rules specifically check comment_karma as a separate field. A user with 2,000 post karma and 10 comment karma will still be blocked in communities that require 100 comment karma.
What is the Contributor Quality Score (CQS) and does it affect posting?+−
The Contributor Quality Score is a Reddit-internal signal that rates account behavior across five levels: Highest, High, Moderate, Low, and Lowest. New accounts start at Moderate. As of 2026, many major subreddits include contributor_quality checks in their AutoModerator rules, meaning a Low or Lowest score can block you even if your karma and account age both clear the threshold. CQS is hurt by ban evasion, removed posts, and farming low-effort karma sources like r/FreeKarma4U.
Why is my post removed even though I have enough karma?+−
Several things can block you despite clearing the karma gate: (1) your account age is below the minimum even if karma is fine, (2) the sub requires per-subreddit karma earned inside that specific community rather than global karma, (3) your Contributor Quality Score is Low or Lowest, (4) you triggered a domain block or link filter, (5) you hit the rate limit (more than 8 posts in 24 hours), or (6) a human mod manually removed it after AutoMod passed it.
How do I find a specific subreddit's karma requirements?+−
Read the sidebar rules and any pinned mod posts first - many subs list requirements there. If not listed, look at the sub's wiki (reddit.com/r/SUBNAME/wiki). You can also post in the sub's meta thread or message the mods directly. For large subs, searching '[subreddit name] karma requirement' on Reddit itself often surfaces user reports of the real threshold. Tools like SubredditAnalyzer surface mod strictness ratings and documented gate levels without manual digging.
Do NSFW subreddits have higher karma requirements than regular subs?+−
Yes, typically. NSFW communities often set higher bars than comparably-sized SFW communities - partly to reduce spam and partly because Reddit requires age verification and account standing checks for adult content. Many NSFW subs deliberately keep their exact thresholds private to deter ban evaders. The safe assumption for posting in any adult community is a minimum 30-day-old account with at least 100-500 comment karma. Premium or exclusive NSFW subs may require 1,000+ karma and a 1-year-old account.
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