Simple 6 Steps Guide On How To Get Karma On Reddit — FeedPixel Blog

Jessica Iris Gilmore
6 min readDec 23, 2020

Reddit users often battle over the true value of Reddit karma and how much value it should carry. Some argue that it’s just useless internet points, others claim that it is a good indicator of a user’s value as a Redditor. In any case, every Reddit user wishes to increase their karma. In this post, we will discuss how to get karma on Reddit with six simple steps.

What is Reddit Karma?

Well, I guess if you are searching for this question, you probably already know what Reddit karma is. But in case you don’t, keep reading. Users receive karma when their posts or comments get upvoted, or in other words ‘liked’. Equally, when your posts or comments get downvoted/disliked, you lose your karma. Basically, karma represents how well your content is received by other Reddit users.

Upvotes & Downvotes

On Reddit upvotes and downvotes work as likes/approve and dislike/disapprove on other social media platforms. Except if you get downvoted you lose your overall karma. If you think something contributes to the conversation, upvote it. If you think it does not contribute to the subreddit it is posted in or is off-topic in a particular community, downvote it. You can find the most upvoted comments in the ‘Hot’ and ‘Trending’ sections of your Reddit home page.

How to get karma: 1. Take a super popular meme from few months ago. 2. Add a reaction image that makes literally no sense at all and ruins all comedic value of the original meme from r/ComedyCemetery

Comment Karma vs. Post Karma

Generally, there are two types of Reddit karma: Post Karma, which is awarded when your thread posts get upvoted, and Comment Karma, which is given when your comments get upvoted.

Your overall karma is the total number of Comments Karma and Post Karma points. Thread posts tend to receive more upvotes than comments and, therefore, will get you more karma. So, try to create as many valuable thread posts in different communities.

Recently, Reddit also added Awardee Karma and Awarder Karma, which is granted whenever you recognize the content of others with an award, or when you get awarded. You can purchase Awardee and Awarder Karma with Reddit Coins. The more Reddit Coins you spend, the more karma you get.

What Does Karma Mean On Reddit?

In order to understand how to get karma on Reddit, you need to first know what Reddit karma means. According to Reddit, a user’s karma is reflective of how much that “user has contributed to the Reddit community”.

karma has no value outside of the Reddit platform is purely an internal indicator. While some users dismiss the value of Reddit karma as unworthy of attention, it can potentially affect your reputation and ability to post and comment on the platform. Reddit users who have a lot of karma and many posts demonstrate that they are active and credible.

Some Reddit communities have guidelines on what is allowed to be posted and how the post should be formatted. For example, some communities may ask you to include a ‘Flair’, which is basically a subtopic of your post. Others will ask you when you post original content (OC), offensive content (NSFW) or spoilers. Follow the guidelines of communities where you post to make sure that your post does not get flagged.

Apart from formatting guidelines, some communities require users who post to have a certain number of karma points. Having a substantial number of Reddit karma points makes you more trustworthy, so some community admins look out for that.

How To Get Karma On Reddit?

Usually, users get karma by posting something relevant or adding some nuanced opinion to the discussion as quickly as possible, most preferably on rising posts. However, there are plenty of other things to keep in mind if you want to increase your karma. So, how do you get Reddit Karma?

In a nutshell, build your karma up in the less exclusive/restrictive communities before moving into the exclusive/restrictive ones. Visit popular and most subscribed subreddits of your interest and find out whether they allow posting from random users. If you’re leaving a comment, always sort them by hot, new, top, and rising. It’s especially helpful to post on rising posts because your comments will quickly gain exposure and receive upvotes, depending on the quality of your post of course.

The best way how to get karma on Reddit is to find subreddits that you actually enjoy reading and become an active member. Post regularly, contribute to the discussion, and create valuable content. Most popular posts and comments on Reddit are usually funny, witty, and entertaining. If you join the subreddits of your interest, you won’t even have to try. Just be yourself and post your honest opinion and thoughts.

3. Avoid making poor-quality posts or negative posts and comments

Reddit users love good quality content. If you create value posts and comments, they will quickly get upvoted. The practice of spamming and posting random content on Reddit is called “karma farming”, which is viewed negatively and sometimes even punished. Don’t spam subreddits with links because you will get flagged. Reddit hates blatant marketing. If you want to self promote your product/service, find subreddits made specifically for marketing and promotion. Check out these:

4. Always create discussion-worthy content

It’s never enough to stress this point as this is the most important touchstone in the race for karma. Well-researched content tends to receive more upvotes on Reddit. While there are plenty of subreddits that only post memes and other comedic content without much context, Reddit is a place where people share thoughts. So, you have to prove your credibility to other users by providing relevant and quality content.

5. Make creative and triggering titles (no clickbait!)

Being slightly provocative does not always mean clickbaiting. When you are creating your thread post, make sure you are asking a question or making a statement that is unique and attention-grabbing. Don’t be afraid to raise some eyebrows, but don’t be overly misleading, and most importantly, do not spread misinformation.

Go to karma jail. Bonk! from r/dankmemes

6. Delete heavily downvoted posts and comments

If your post gets too many downvotes — delete it. It does affect your karma by bringing it down. No one will know, no one will remember and no one will care. That does not mean that you should delete any post that gets a certain number of downvotes. But if the number of downvotes outweighs the number of upvotes, you can go ahead and get rid of that post.

Apart from deleting heavily downvoted comments and posts, try evaluating why they received so many downvotes. This will be the best practice for you on how to get karma on Reddit.

Who Has The Most Karma On Reddit?

According to our research, u/GallowBoob has the most karma on Reddit. A Redditor since 2014, he has 36.6 million Reddit karma points in total. GallowBoob posts memes, funny and entertaining videos, interesting facts, and other random stuff that Reddit users usually enjoy.

Post karma — 35.5 million

Comment karma — 1.1 million

Joined Reddit (Cake Day) — October 7, 2014

Here are some helpful insights from GallowBoob on Reddit moderation if you are planning to start or grow your account on Reddit:

Regarding the state of reddit and moderation: from u/GallowBoob

By steadily following this simple 6 steps guide on how to get karma on Reddit, you will be able to increase your karma in no time. Enjoy your ride, Redditor!

Did you find this article on how to get Reddit karma useful? Leave a comment below to let us know.

Suggested Reading: How To Delete Reddit Account?

Originally published at https://feedpixel.com on December 23, 2020.

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Jessica Iris Gilmore

Digital Media grad passionate about Marketing, Creativity, Communications, Human Development, and everything in between. Absolute foodie and movie buff.