TLDR: Reddit’s 97 million daily users are organised into thousands of niche interest communities called subreddits, and they are actively choosing what they care about, which makes Reddit advertising one of the most precisely targeted paid social channels available.
What is Reddit advertising?
Reddit is one of the most distinctive platforms in paid social and one of the most misunderstood.
Where Instagram, TikTok and Meta rely on individual content creators and algorithmically curated feeds, Reddit is built around communities. These communities, called subreddits, are organised by interest: from cooking and gaming to incredibly niche topics like air fryer recipes for a specific brand of appliance. Users actively choose which communities to join, which means when they log in, their feed is a direct reflection of what they have explicitly said they care about.
People are choosing the way they’re targeted by ads, because they are explicitly flagging their niche interests in a way that Instagram or TikTok or even Google doesn’t quite replicate.
That self-selection is what makes Reddit advertising valuable. You’re placing ads in front of people who are actively and visibly engaged with the exact topic your product or service is relevant to.
Reddit’s Ads Manager is the platform used to run campaigns. It works similarly to Meta Ads Manager or Google Ads in structure: you set objectives, define your audience (by subreddit, interest, location, device and more), build creatives, and set budgets. The interface is arguably cleaner than Google Ads and less complex than Meta, though it offers fewer advanced features than either.
Reddit reaches over 97 million daily active users globally, with 444 million weekly active users as of Q3 2025. In the UK alone, 22.9 million adults visited the platform in May 2025. Notably, 45% of Reddit users are not on Instagram, 58% are not on TikTok, and 69% are not on LinkedIn, making it a genuine incremental reach opportunity for brands already active on other paid social channels.
What are the different types of Reddit Ads?
Reddit offers eight core ad formats, ranging from straightforward image and video placements through to brand-led community events.
Image ads
Image ads are single static images with a headline, optional body copy, and a CTA. They perform well on Reddit because the platform’s visual culture still rewards strong imagery over short-form video in a way that sets it apart from TikTok or Reels.
Carousel ads
These are galleries of two to six images that users can scroll through. Each card can have its own headline and destination URL, making them useful for showcasing multiple products, features or use cases in one placement.
Video ads
Video ads follow the standard format: a short video with a headline and CTA. Anything between five and 30 seconds tends to perform best, though the platform supports clips up to 15 minutes. Like image ads, these appear in-feed and within subreddits.
Free-form ads
Free-form ads allow advertisers to combine text, images, video and links into a single promoted post. There is no strict format; they are designed to mimic an organic Reddit post, which is part of their appeal for brands trying to blend into community content naturally.
Conversation ads
Conversation ads open a dialogue between a brand and Reddit users. They appear as promoted posts with an optional reply thread, encouraging users to engage directly rather than simply click through. The collapsed preview requires a thumbnail, headline and body copy.
AMA (Ask Me Anything) ads
AMAs are modelled on one of Reddit’s most popular organic formats: a notable person opens themselves up to questions from the community for a set period of time. As a brand, you can promote an AMA in the same way, making it useful for product launches, expert positioning or generating community trust around a brand voice. These work best as event-style activations rather than always-on placements.
Takeover ads
Takeover ads sit outside the self-serve model and require direct negotiation with Reddit. They brand an entire subreddit or category with custom overlays, banners and themes for a defined period. Investment is significant, but the visibility and community association can be substantial for major campaigns, particularly in gaming, entertainment and consumer tech.
Product ads
Product ads are the newest addition, allowing ecommerce brands to connect a product feed to Reddit and enable in-platform purchasing. This brings Reddit in line with Meta and TikTok Shop. It’s relatively recent and still behind Instagram and Google, but it’s there now.
What are Reddit Ad sizes and specs?
Reddit’s ad specs follow the standard aspect ratios you’ll recognise from other platforms. Here’s what you need to know for each format.
Image ads
| Spec | Requirement |
|---|---|
| File types | JPG, PNG, GIF (GIFs may display as static) |
| Recommended sizes | 1080x1080px (1:1), 1080x1350px (4:5), 1920x1080px (16:9) |
| Max file size | 3 MB |
| Headline | Up to 300 characters |
| Body copy | Up to 300 characters (optional) |
| CTA | Required, selected from Reddit’s preset list |
| Destination URL | Required |
Video ads
| Spec | Requirement |
|---|---|
| File types | MP4 or MOV |
| Aspect ratios | 1:1, 4:5, 16:9 |
| Minimum resolution | 720p (1080p recommended) |
| Max file size | 1 GB |
| Recommended length | 5–30 seconds (maximum 15 minutes) |
| Thumbnail | 1200x628px recommended (auto-generated or custom) |
| Headline | Up to 300 characters |
| CTA and destination URL | Required |
Carousel ads
| Spec | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Number of cards | 2–6 cards |
| File types per card | JPG, PNG, GIF (no video) |
| Recommended card size | 1200x1200px (1:1) |
| Max file size per card | 20 MB |
| Headline per card | Up to 300 characters |
| CTA | One per carousel |
| Destination URL | One shared URL or unique URL per card |
Conversation ads
| Spec | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Headline | Under 100 characters recommended |
| Body copy | Up to 300 characters |
| Collapsed thumbnail | 400x300px |
| CTA | Required |
These formats run standard image, video or carousel creative within the conversation format.
The key principle across all formats: square (1:1), landscape (16:9) and portrait (4:5) are your three working aspect ratios. Headlines and copy requirements are consistent across most formats. Always check Reddit’s official ad specifications before going live, as these are updated periodically.
How to run Reddit Ads: A step-by-step guide
Running Reddit ads follows the same logical structure as most paid social platforms.
Step 1: Set up your Reddit Ads account
Go to ads.reddit.com and create a business account. You’ll need a Reddit account first if you don’t already have one. Connect your billing details and set your account currency.
Step 2: Choose your campaign objective
Reddit offers objectives across awareness (brand awareness, reach), consideration (traffic, video views, app installs) and conversion (conversions, catalogue sales). Choose based on where your audience is in the funnel.
Step 3: Define your audience
This is where Reddit’s targeting becomes distinctive. You can target by subreddit (placing ads directly in specific communities), by interest category, by keyword, and by standard demographic signals like location, device and gender. Subreddit targeting is the most powerful option for precision: you’re reaching people who have opted into that community.
Step 4: Set your budget and schedule
Reddit works on a daily or total campaign budget. Set a start and end date for campaign-level control, or run campaigns continuously for always-on activity.
Step 5: Build your ad creative
Choose your format (image, video, carousel etc.), upload your assets to spec, write your headline and body copy, and select your CTA from Reddit’s preset options. Keep copy human; see the best practices section below.
Step 6: Submit for review
Reddit reviews ads before they go live. This typically takes up to 24 hours, though it can be faster.
Step 7: Monitor and optimise
Use Reddit’s reporting dashboard to track impressions, clicks, CTR, spend and conversions. Review performance at subreddit level to identify where your creative is landing and where it isn’t.
What are Reddit Ads benchmarks in 2026?
Reddit’s ad inventory has become significantly more competitive over the past two to three years as advertisers have woken up to the platform’s targeting potential. That has pushed costs up from where they were in the platform’s earlier advertising days, though it still compares favourably to Meta and Google.
CPM (cost per thousand impressions)
Average CPMs on Reddit run roughly £2 to £6 across most sectors, with premium formats like takeovers exceeding £10. For context, Meta’s Q4 2024 eCPM was £11.73, against Reddit’s £2.29 for the same period.
CPC (cost per click)
The average CPC sits around £0.59, significantly below Meta (£1.33 average) and well below Google Search (£4 to £5). In practice, CPCs vary widely by sector. B2B/SaaS campaigns can run between £0.50 and £2.00, while gaming and consumer categories are typically lower at £0.10 to £0.80.
CTR (click-through rate)
Baseline CTR runs at 0.2 to 0.3%, with well-matched subreddit campaigns achieving 0.5 to 1.0% and tightly targeted, high-relevance campaigns occasionally exceeding 2%.
Video CPV
Cost per view on video typically falls below £0.10 on standard placements.
Conversion rates
For low-friction actions like sign-ups or app installs, Reddit campaigns typically deliver 2 to 8% CVR. Higher-consideration purchases tend to land between 1 and 3%.
It’s more expensive than it used to be. CPCs have increased across most sectors, and the narrower you get, particularly in competitive niches, the more expensive it gets.
The upside is efficiency: advertisers can reach up to four times as many impressions for the same budget compared to other major platforms, and Reddit users are 46% more likely to trust brands they see advertised on the platform.
Reddit’s ad revenue grew 74% year-on-year in FY2025, reaching $2.1 billion. That growth reflects an expanding advertiser base and improving ad products, but also signals a more competitive auction environment going forward.
Reddit Ads best practices: How to avoid downvotes
Reddit users are unlike audiences on any other paid social platform. They are engaged, community-minded, and famously sceptical of advertising, particularly anything that reads as corporate, formulaic or AI-generated. Getting downvoted on a Reddit ad is public feedback, and it can affect delivery.
Here is what works.
Sound like a person, not a press release
The language of corporate marketing does not land on Reddit. Eliminate jargon, avoid brand-speak, and write the way a knowledgeable person would talk about the product. You need to address it like, ‘we’re a business made of people and we’re doing people business stuff.’
Avoid visible AI-generated creative
Many Reddit communities are moderated by users who have explicitly banned AI-generated content. If your ad creative reads as AI-generated, in copy, imagery or tone, it will stand out for the wrong reasons in communities that pride themselves on human, peer-to-peer interaction.
Adapt to the community, not the other way round
Each subreddit has its own culture, language and standards. An ad that works in r/ecommerce will not necessarily work in r/Entrepreneur or r/smallbusiness, even if the audience overlap is high. Tailor creative per community rather than cross-posting the same asset everywhere.
Pair paid activity with organic engagement
The most effective Reddit advertisers don’t just run paid campaigns, they participate in communities as a brand. If someone in your target subreddit is asking a question your brand can genuinely answer, engaging organically builds the trust that makes your paid ads land better. This approach works particularly well for B2B brands with real expertise to offer.
Use images over text-only ads
Reddit is one of the platforms where strong static imagery still competes effectively with video. Text-only promoted posts can work, but image ads consistently outperform them for engagement. If you have the resource for video, use it, but don’t underestimate a well-executed image.
Treat each subreddit as its own context
Tone, vocabulary and even units of measurement can differ between communities. r/DIYUK and a US-based construction subreddit may appear demographically similar but will have distinctly different expectations for how brands show up.
Match your message to the moment
Reddit users are often deep in research mode, looking for information, recommendations and honest opinions. Ads that acknowledge a genuine problem or question outperform ads that open with brand claims.
How Modo25 can help with Reddit Ads and paid social
Reddit advertising rewards advertisers who understand communities, not just campaigns. Getting the targeting right, the creative right, and the tone right for each subreddit requires a level of platform fluency that takes time to develop.
Modo25’s paid social team, led by practitioners who manage Reddit campaigns alongside Meta, TikTok and programmatic activity, can help you identify whether Reddit is the right channel for your brand, which communities are worth targeting, and what kind of creative will actually perform rather than get downvoted.
Whether you want full agency management of your Reddit activity, support building an in-house capability, or a one-off audit of an existing campaign, we work in the way that suits your team.
Get in touch to talk through what Reddit advertising could look like for your brand.
