The one thing Redditors agree on is the platform should be free to use. But paid subreddits are coming, along with more monetization features. The big question is, how will users react?
CEO Confirms Paid Subreddits
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman shared an AskMeAnything video with users that included different ways he plans to monetize Reddit. While it was rumored paid subreddits were a possibility, Huffman confirmed they’ll be coming soon, though he didn’t provide details on how they’d work.
This, of course, has led to numerous questions, such as whether moderators and contributors within these paid subreddits would be compensated or whether you’d just have the same general experience, but within an exclusive subreddit. Since Reddit already has a Contributor Program, the platform may not offer any other compensation methods.
Before anyone panics, it’s important to note that this change will supposedly only apply to new subreddits, so the free subreddits you’re enjoying now should stay free.
Right now, the only premium subreddit is r/lounge, which is part of the Reddit Premium membership. Users get an ad-free experience, a special subreddit, avatar gear, and more perks for $5.99/month or $49.99/year.
It’s unclear whether premium members would automatically get access to these new paid subreddits as part of their membership or have to pay extra.
Continuing to Monetize Reddit
With over 97 million daily active users, Reddit has to monetize to keep the proverbial doors open. This started with introducing ads. Naturally, users fought back, trying to use third-party tools to access Reddit and skip the ads. Reddit then changed its API policy, effectively shutting down many of these tools.
Just last year, Reddit made deals with several major sporting leagues to bring in more content for sports fans. As an added bonus for the bottom line, Reddit got to serve more sports-related ads.
Right now, ads are still fairly minor. But, Huffman wants to increase these, hopefully increasing revenue. And yes, contextual ads are a major part of what’s planned.
Another strategy is to add a commerce option. The idea is to take advantage of subreddits where users are already posting items they’re looking to buy, sell, or trade. Instead of conducting business on other sites, like eBay, Redditors could just do it directly on Reddit. Naturally, Reddit would get some percentage to help fund the platform.
All of these monetization strategies, including paid subreddits, are planned for 2025 and 2026. The key is to carefully balance monetization with the user experience. If too much content is behind a paywall, users could walk away. If there are too many ads, users may leave.
But Reddit does have to continue finding ways to monetize, even if it means losing some users. For now, nothing’s changing right away, so take the time to customize your Reddit feed beforehand. Or, if you’re not a fan of the upcoming changes, learn how to delete your Reddit account.
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