Reddit is a social news and discussion website that also rates web content. The platform was created in 2005 after founders Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman met venture capitalist Paul Graham and pitched the company as the “front page of the internet.” Reddit makes money primarily via advertising: in the second quarter of 2026, Ad revenue was $762 million out of total revenue of $805 million, with Other revenue at $43 million. It also offers premium membership plans.
Updated 6 October 2026: we refreshed 10 figures on this page, now taken from SEC EDGAR filings and dtnext.in. Anything we could not check against a current source keeps its original year, so you can see how old it is.
In the second quarter of 2026, Reddit’s total revenue was $805 million, including $762 million of Ad revenue and $43 million of Other revenue. SEC EDGAR filings
Reddit’s Daily Active Uniques (DAUq) reached 130.3 million in the second quarter of 2026. SEC EDGAR filings
Reddit’s Weekly Active Uniques (WAUq) reached 514.6 million in the second quarter of 2026. SEC EDGAR filings
Reddit’s global average revenue per unique (ARPU) was $6.18 in the three months ended June 30, 2026, with U.S. ARPU at $11.85. SEC EDGAR filings
Reddit Origin Story
Reddit is a social news and discussion website that also rates web content.
Reddit, three months to 30 June 2026. Source: Reddit Q2 2026 and Q4 2025 earnings releases (SEC EDGAR); costs calculated. Analysis by The Business Engineer.
Key numbersChecked 6 October 2026
$2.2 billionReddit's total revenue for full year 2025 was $2.2 billion, with Ad revenue of $2.1 billion and OtherโฆSEC EDGAR filings
$530 millionReddit reported net income of $530 million for full year 2025.SEC EDGAR filings
$805 millionIn the second quarter of 2026, Reddit's total revenue was $805 million, including $762 million of AdโฆSEC EDGAR filings
$253 millionReddit's net income was $253 million in the second quarter of 2026.SEC EDGAR filings
In one lineReddit is a social news and discussion website that also rates web content.
FourWeekMBABusiness EngineerAt a glance
Reddit's total revenue for full year 2025 was $2.2 billion, with Ad revenue of $2.1 billion and Other revenue of $140 million.
Reddit's Daily Active Uniques (DAUq) reached 130.3 million in the second quarter of 2026.
Layout refreshed 6 October 2026. The article text below is unchanged.
Why it mattersFrom the article
There is potential that content agreements also result in sponsorships and other forms of revenue as Reddit works with other organizations to produce content.
Ability to adapt and grow in the ever-evolving online landscape.
The platform was created in 2005 after founders Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman attended a lecture by programmer and entrepreneur Paul Graham.
After his lecture, Graham spoke with the pair and invited them to apply for his start-up incubator Y Combinator.
Ohanian and Huffman initially pitched an SMS-based food ordering service, but it was deemed unviable.
Their second attempt, imagined by Graham as the “front page of the internet”, did receive funding from Y Combinator and was launched as Reddit in June of the same year.
In October 2006, Conde Nast Publications acquired Reddit โ with Graham and Ohanian leaving the company three years later once their contractual obligations had ended.
In 2014, Reddit secured several high-profile investments and was valued at $500 million.
The following year, Huffman returned to the company to serve as CEO. Several subsequent rounds of funding culminated in a $300 million investment by Tencent in 2019, valuing Reddit at $3 billion.
In February 2012, valuation had doubled to $6 billion.
Reddit ongoing popularity
One of the things that strikes the most when looking at Reddit is its ability (nonetheless being a social media site) to be popular for over a decade.
Indeed, Reddit managed to be interesting to newer generations that can engage in discussions around anything.
The Reddit Brand’s Search Volume trend over the years. Opposite to other social media and sites, Reddit managed to keep growing its popularity over the years, thus as 2021, still representing among the most searched websites across the globe (Data Source: KW Everywhere).
FourWeekMBABusiness EngineerTimeline, as stated in the article
2006
In October 2006, Conde Nast Publications acquired Reddit โ with Graham and Ohanian leaving the company three years later once their contractual obligations had ended.
2014
In 2014, Reddit secured several high-profile investments and was valued at $500 million.
2019
Several subsequent rounds of funding culminated in a $300 million investment by Tencent in 2019, valuing Reddit at $3 billion.
Reddit revenue generation
Reddit makes money primarily through selling advertising space and membership plans.
Advertising space
Advertising space is sold in two ways:
The first is the Reddit Ads managed service for large-scale advertisers or political advisors with a minimum advertising budget of $50,000 per quarter. Advertisers are given access to a dedicated Reddit sales team and a full suite of tools and best practices.
The second form of advertising involves an auction-based system where advertisers bid using a click per thousand (CPM) model. Prices per 1,000 impressions start at $3.50 and then rise as bidding commences.
Advertising on the Reddit platform arguably requires more finesse when compared to other platforms.
Reddit users are privacy-conscious and are highly suspicious of paid advertisements.
Nevertheless, companies such as Nissan, McDonald’s, Subaru, and Costco have been relatively successful on the platform.
In recent years, advertising has taken the form of sponsored AMA (Ask Me Anything) sessions and other interactive events that promote a more organic form of paid promotion.
Native mobile advertisements followed soon after.
Membership plan
Reddit users can also choose to sign up for the ad-free Reddit Premium membership plan.
Reddit charges $5.99/month for this service. In addition to an ad-free experience, premium members used to receive a monthly supply of coins to award to other members, but a Reddit product team post reported by DT Next said awards and existing coins would only remain available until September 12, 2023.They also get exclusive access to selected subreddits and a personalized avatar called a snoovatar.
Content agreements
In 2019, Reddit signed an advertising and content generation deal with the NFL.
Players and other key personnel from the National Football League participated in AMAs while the NFL itself produced and supplied video content.
While Reddit did not earn a direct free from the content agreement, it is safe to assume the extra traffic brought an increase in ad revenue.
There is potential that content agreements also result in sponsorships and other forms of revenue as Reddit works with other organizations to produce content.
Reddit Business Model In Numbers
Reddit reported $804.03 million in revenue in 2023, and $-90.82 million in net losses, compared to $666.7 million in revenue and $-158.55 million in net losses in 2022. By Q4 2023, Reddit had 73.1 million daily active users, 36.4 million in the US, and 36.7 million in the rest of the world. In Q4 2023, Reddit reported $3.42 ARPU globally, $5.51 in the US, and $1.34 in the Rest of the World.
Key takeaways:
Reddit is a social news and discussion website founded in 2005 by Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman. The idea for the platform was pitched to Paul Graham, founder of the start-up accelerator program Y Combinator.
Reddit makes money by selling advertising space in two ways. The Reddit Ads managed service give large businesses with deep pockets access to a sales team and propriety tools. There is also an auction-based CPM system.
Reddit also offers a membership plan to its users, giving them an ad-free interface plus access to coins and custom avatars.
Key Highlights
Introduction:
Reddit: Social news and discussion website, also rates web content.
Founded in 2005 by Alexis Ohanian and Steve Huffman, pitched as the “front page of the internet.”
Origin Story:
Created after meeting with programmer Paul Graham and Y Combinator funding.
Initially pitched SMS-based food ordering, transformed into Reddit in 2005.
Acquired by Conde Nast in 2006, founders left in 2009.
Continued growth, high-profile investments, and change of leadership.
Popularity and Longevity:
Sustained popularity over a decade, attracting newer generations.
Reddit Ads Managed Service: For large-scale advertisers with $50,000+ budget per quarter, access to tools and sales team.
Auction-Based System: Advertisers bid using click per thousand (CPM) model, starting at $3.50 per 1,000 impressions.
Advertising finesse needed due to privacy-conscious users.
Sponsored AMAs, interactive events, and native mobile ads.
Membership Plan:
Reddit Premium Membership: Ad-free experience for $5.99/month.
Includes exclusive subreddit access and personalized snoovatar; according to a Reddit product team post reported by DT Next, awards and existing coins were only available until September 12, 2023.
Content Agreements:
NFL Content Agreement: Advertising and content generation deal with the NFL.
AMAs and video content with NFL personnel, increasing traffic and ad revenue.
Key Points:
Reddit’s social news and discussion format remains popular over time.
Multiple revenue streams: Advertising, membership plans, and content agreements.
Ability to adapt and grow in the ever-evolving online landscape.
Google is a platform, and a tech media company running an attention-based businessmodel. As of 2021, Alphabet’s Google generated over $257 billion in revenue. Over $209 billion (over 81% of the total revenues) came from Google Advertising products (Google Search, YouTube Ads, and Network Members sites). They were followed by over $28 billion in other revenues (comprising Google Play, Pixel phones, and YouTube Premium), and by Google Cloud, which generated over $19 billion in 2021.
The organization doesn’t monetize the user directly in an asymmetric businessmodel. Still, it leverages the data users provide and technology, thus having a key customer pay to sustain the core asset. For example, Google makes money by leveraging users’ data and its algorithms sold to advertisers for visibility. This is how attention merchants make monetize their business models.
In an asymmetric businessmodel, the organization doesn’t monetize the user directly. Still, it leverages the data users provide and technology, thus having a key customer pay to sustain the core asset. For example, Google makes money by leveraging users’ data and its algorithms sold to advertisers for visibility.
Facebook, the main product of Meta, is an attention merchant. As such, its algorithms condense the attention of over 2.91 billion monthly active users as of June 2021. Meta generated $117.9 billion in revenues, in 2021, of which $114.9 billion was from advertising (97.4% of the total revenues) and over $2.2 billion from Reality Labs (the augmented and virtual reality products arm).
TikTok is a Chinese creative social media platform driven by short-form video content enabling users to interact and generate content at scale. TikTok primarily makes money through advertising, and it generated $4.6 billion in advertising revenues in 2021, thus making it among the most popular attention-based business models or attention merchants.
Instagram makes money via visual advertising. As part of Facebook products, the company generates revenues for Facebook Inc.’s overall businessmodel. Acquired by Facebook for a billion dollars in 2012, today Instagram is integrated into the overall Facebook business strategy. In 2018, Instagram founders, Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger left the company, as Facebook pushed toward tighter integration of the two platforms.
YouTube was acquired for almost $1.7 billion in 2006 by Google. It makes money through advertising and subscription revenues. YouTube advertising network is part of Google Ads, and it generated more than $28B in revenue by 2021. YouTube also makes money with its paid memberships and premium content.
Twitter makes money in two ways: advertising and data licensing. In 2021, Twitter generated $4.5 billion from advertising and $570 million from data licensing. While Twitter generated $5 billion in total revenues, it lost 221 million.
Quora is among the most popular Q&A platforms, where people can post questions and get answers to any question. Quora is also a great content marketing platform, where it’s possible, with the right strategy to amplify your content and build a strong brand and convert traffic in potential customers.
LinkedIn is a two-sided platform running on a freemium model, where to unlock unlimited search and other features, you need to switch to a paid account. Acquired by Microsoft for $27 billion in 2016, LinkedIn made $5.2 billion in revenues in 2018 and nearly 630M members by October 2019.
Discord makes money in several ways. From its Discord Store, where users can buy premium games, to the seller shops, that primarily works with a 90/10 revenue share for developers and game sellers. And the ability for sellers to get more visibility on the platform by adding features to the game visibility.
Keep exploring
More on Reddit? The Reddit Business Models In A Nutshell and its peers
Gennaro Cuofano is a CRO and tech executive who has worked in AI since late 2015, starting with bringing NLP, natural-language generation, voice and chatbot products to the marketing industry. His background is in law and finance: he holds a Master's degree in Law and an International MBA with an emphasis on corporate finance (LUISS Business School and the University of San Diego, 2012), and worked as a financial analyst at a real-estate investment firm in San Diego and as an assistant controller. His work focuses on business model strategy, business engineering and, more broadly, structural analysis: how companies make money, read from their own filings. He created FourWeekMBA and leads research there and at The Business Engineer, his newsletter on AI and business strategy, with over 95,000 subscribers and more than 1,000 published analyses. His writing has also appeared on Entrepreneur, HackerNoon and Search Engine People. Find him on LinkedIn and Substack. See how we source.
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