Reddit Ads: the channel your competitors are not using yet

Author: Mariliis Uibomäe · Published: 2026-09-21 · Last updated: 2026-10-06

Reddit is no longer a niche channel. It has 444 million weekly active users and 116 million daily users, growing around 20 percent year over year. Even Estonia has nearly 120,000 members in r/Eesti alone. Meanwhile most marketers still ignore the channel entirely.

Who is actually on Reddit

The audience is surprisingly valuable from a marketing perspective:

• 90 percent of users are under 50, with 44 percent aged 18 to 29
• 26 percent come from households earning over 75,000 dollars a year
• The average US user spends about 30 minutes a day on Reddit
• 45 percent of Reddit users are not on Instagram, 58 percent are not on TikTok and 69 percent are not on LinkedIn

That last point matters most: Reddit gives you reach you simply cannot buy elsewhere.

Why people trust Reddit

Entertainment is the main draw, but 90 percent of users say they trust Reddit for real information about products and brands. The reason is simple: answers come from peers, not from a marketing department. Anonymity lowers the barrier, so people ask blunt questions and answer honestly.

That is why Reddit works best for considered purchases where people compare, ask and read reviews before buying: fintech, SaaS, education, travel, beauty, ecommerce and IT.

The organic side: value first, promotion later

Pitching and self-promotion get downvoted on Reddit. The pattern that works:

1. Research the subreddit before posting: see what is already being asked and answered
2. Participate before you promote: answer questions in threads other people started and learn the tone of the room
3. Earn the post: comparisons, tips and honest summaries consistently outperform sales pitches

Reddit rewards authenticity over polish. A rough, honest post can outperform a designed ad.

The free Reddit Pro toolkit surfaces relevant communities, guides how to contribute without breaking community norms and tracks organic performance over time.

Paid Reddit Ads: eight formats

Ad formats include free-form text ads, image ads, video, carousel, conversation ads inside comment threads, dynamic product ads, front page takeovers and sponsored AMAs.

Most advertisers start with free-form ads, then add video as a second format once the messaging is validated.

Targeting and cost

Four main targeting methods:

• Subreddit targeting: place ads inside communities already discussing your category
• Keyword and conversation targeting: reach people mid-discussion, like "best CRM for a ten person team?"
• Interest targeting: broader reach based on historical interests
• Custom and lookalike audiences: retargeting your own list and expanding to similar users

Keep each targeting method in its own ad group, otherwise you will not know what is actually working.

Costs are directionally around 0.50 to 1.25 dollars per click and 3.50 to 6.50 dollars CPM, roughly 40 to 50 percent below Meta and 40 to 80 percent below LinkedIn. Adding Reddit to a social media mix has delivered an average ROAS lift of over 11 percent.

Before you switch it on

• Write like someone who uses Reddit, not like a marketing team
• Install the Reddit Pixel before your first campaign goes live
• Start with 3 to 5 genuinely relevant subreddits
• Enable comments and pin a reply that addresses the obvious objection
• Give the campaign 7 to 14 days before making major changes

Reddit will not replace Meta or Google, but as a low-competition test channel it is hard to ignore right now. If you want to assess whether Reddit fits your business, get in touch and we will look at it together.