The Reddit Contributor Program pays eligible redditors cash for paid awards on their posts and comments. Reddit's earning money help page says you must be 18 or older, live in a supported country, keep the account in good standing, reach 100 total karma and $10 in award earnings, then enrol through Persona and Stripe; content tagged NSFW, posted in NSFW communities, or sexual or suggestive in nature can't earn at all.
The programme rewards being useful in safe-for-work communities, not promoting a business. This guide combines the eligibility rules spread across Reddit's pages, tabulates the rates and fees Reddit publishes, gives you a worksheet for estimating a payout from the gold you have received, and lists what cancels earnings. Promotion on Reddit is a separate subject, covered in our Reddit promotion strategy.
How the money flows
Redditors buy gold and spend it on awards. Reddit's gold help article says gold is non-transferable and non-refundable and can't be used to pay another redditor directly. Its awards article says awards generally cost between 15 and 50 gold, that a free award can be given once per eligible post or comment, and that awards can't be given to NSFW-tagged or sexually explicit content, graphic violence, content in NSFW or quarantined communities, ads, or anything posted outside a community.
Reddit then tracks the total gold used on paid awards to your eligible posts and comments. Your karma decides your tier, the tier sets the rate paid per gold, and once your balance clears the minimum, Reddit pays you through Stripe each month. Free awards and legacy awards such as the old silver, gold and platinum don't count, according to the Contributor Program article, and participants get a public Contributor or Top Contributor status on their profile card.
Other platforms pay creators through subscriptions or impressions instead of awards; compare our guides to X Original Content Rewards and WhatsApp channel subscriptions.
Eligibility checklist
Reddit spreads its rules across several pages, so this list combines them. Work through it before expecting the Earn option to appear.
- Age. 18 or older, or the minimum age in your country, per the earning money article.
- Residence. You live in a supported country. Reddit's list includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States, and it says citizens and residents of certain countries are ineligible.
- Account age and email. The Earn Policy requires an account that has been active for at least 30 days and is registered with a verified email address.
- Standing. An account in good standing. Reddit's ineligibility article says a history of rule-breaking or inappropriate behaviour can rule you out.
- Earnings and karma. At least $10 of award earnings and 100 total karma from qualifying contributions within the last year, per the Contributor Program article.
- Identity. A Persona check of your legal name, date of birth and country of residence, with a government ID or selfie check possible once lifetime payouts pass certain thresholds.
- Payment account. A verified Stripe Connect account with your address, bank account or debit card and the tax details Stripe requests. The earning article lists US identifiers, and the Earn Terms mention IRS Form W-9 or W-8BEN.
- Advertiser history. No link to an advertiser account suspended under Reddit's Ads Policy, which the Earn Policy lists as a disqualifier.
- Content. Posts and comments that are safe for work, outside quarantined and NSFW communities, and clear of the topics in the next section.
- Agreement. You accept the Earn Terms and Earn Policy during enrolment.
When you qualify, Reddit says an Earn option appears: on desktop in the side drawer opened from your avatar, and on mobile under Resources in the menu. If it isn't there, you aren't eligible yet.
Content that cannot earn
The Earn Policy, effective 24 September 2024, says Reddit won't pay for content that, at posting or at any point before payout:
- sits in a quarantined community, is tagged NSFW, or is posted in a community tagged NSFW;
- is sexually explicit or suggestive, including nudity, sexual items, sexual entertainment or services, animated sexual content, and links that redirect to sexual content;
- depicts or promotes violence, death, severe injury or gore, with exceptions such as professional combat sports and fiction;
- promotes drugs, alcohol, tobacco, firearms, explosives, gambling or lotteries, including contests and raffles;
- solicits get-rich-quick schemes, donations to charitable or political causes, or illegal or dangerous behaviour.
The earning article also lists advertisements as ineligible. For adult creators the practical reading is simple: promotional posts, NSFW communities and anything linking to adult pages won't earn, so the programme is no substitute for a promotion plan. Safe-for-work contributions in safe-for-work communities are judged like anyone else's.
Tiers, rates and fees Reddit publishes
| Item | Reddit's published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Non-contributor tier | 0 to 99 karma earns no payout yet, and the balance rolls over | Earnings and payouts article |
| Contributor tier | 100 to 4,999 karma, paid $0.009 for each gold used on your awards | Earnings and payouts article |
| Top Contributor tier | 5,000 or more karma, paid $0.01 for each gold | Earnings and payouts article |
| Minimum payout | $10 for the Contributor Program, together with 100 total karma | Earning money article |
| Payout fee | $2.25 plus 0.25% withheld from each payout to cover Stripe's costs | Earning money article |
| Currency conversion | 1% when you are paid in a currency other than US dollars | Earning money article |
| Timing | 30 to 45 days after the close of the month the earnings belong to | Earning money article |
| Inactivity | Contributor earnings are forfeited if the account is inactive for 12 months | Earn Terms |
Two details differ between Reddit's own pages. The earnings and payouts article gives an example of March earnings arriving by 30 April, while the earning money article says between 30 April and 15 May, so plan around the later date. And the payouts article describes the threshold as $10 earned on eligible contributions, while the earning money article says your eligible payout after fees must exceed the minimum. Trust the progress bar on your Earn dashboard over your own arithmetic.
Payout worksheet
Fill this in from the Awarded Content section of your Earn dashboard, which lists each paid award, the gold used and your potential earnings. Rates and fees come from the table above; Reddit doesn't spell out the order in which it applies fees, so treat the result as an estimate.
| Line | Calculation | Source | Your figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Gold received | Total gold used on paid awards to your eligible content this month | Your Earn dashboard | |
| B. Tier rate | 0.009 dollars per gold with 100 to 4,999 karma, or 0.01 with 5,000 or more | Reddit's tier table | |
| C. Award earnings | Multiply line A by line B | Your calculation | |
| D. Carried balance | Any unpaid balance rolled over from earlier months | The dashboard progress bar | |
| E. Total before fees | Add line C and line D | Your calculation | |
| F. Payout fee | $2.25 plus 0.25% of line E | Reddit's fee note | |
| G. Conversion fee | 1% of line E if you are paid in a currency other than US dollars, otherwise nothing | Reddit's fee note | |
| H. Expected payout | Line E minus line F minus line G | Your calculation | |
| I. Threshold check | If line H is not above $10, expect the balance to roll over to next month | Reddit's minimum payout rule | |
| J. Adjustments | Subtract refunds, chargebacks and awards on content Reddit later removed | Dashboard and payout emails |
Enrolling, step by step
- Open the Earn page and check your progress towards eligibility.
- When you qualify, an enrolment banner appears at the top; select Enroll Now.
- Verify your email address if you haven't already done so.
- Complete the Persona identity check with your legal name, date of birth and country of residence.
- Set up a Stripe Connect account with your address, tax details, government ID if asked, and bank or debit card details.
- Accept the Earn Terms and Earn Policy.
- To change payout details later, use the validation link in Stripe's email rather than looking in Reddit's settings.
- To leave the programme, use the support form that the Contributor Program article links to.
Reddit's earning article says it doesn't store the information you give Persona and Stripe on its own servers, and links to both providers' privacy policies.
What reduces or cancels earnings
- Refunds and chargebacks on the gold someone used to award you, which the earning article lists as reasons a payout comes in lower.
- Removal by Reddit for breaking the Reddit Rules or Earn Policy, which wipes that content's earnings; removal by moderators for a community rule leaves earnings received before removal intact, according to the payouts article.
- Content switching between SFW and NSFW, which Reddit says can change what shows on your dashboard.
- Self-awarding. The awards article says you can't award your own content, including through an alternative account, and the Earn Policy treats giving yourself suspicious amounts of awards or gold as a serious violation that can end participation immediately.
- Losing eligibility, after which the Earn Policy says Reddit may pause or permanently remove your ability to earn, which can affect unpaid past earnings.
- Account bans, which take the account out of good standing; our guide to Reddit bans and appeals explains the routes back.
- Programme changes. The Earn Terms let Reddit change payout rates and fees or cancel programmes at any time, and say Reddit doesn't guarantee that earnings can be redeemed in the future.
- Representation. If a manager or agency enrols on your behalf, the Earn Terms say they must have authority to bind you, and that Reddit won't deduct or pay their fees, so settle commission in your own agreement.
Tax and record-keeping
The Earn Terms say you are responsible for taxes on your earnings, that Reddit may withhold tax where the law requires it, and that Reddit treats earnings as payments for services you provide. Keep a monthly record of your dashboard, Stripe payouts and fees. In Australia, the ATO's page on business income says influencers and content creators may need to work out whether they are in business. Our explainer on W-9 and W-8BEN forms covers the US forms in more depth. For advice on your own position, use a registered tax agent or accountant.
Limitations of this guide
Figures here are Reddit's published rates, fees and thresholds as read on 1 October 2026, quoted in US dollars, and the Earn Terms let Reddit change them at any time. The worksheet estimates rather than predicts, because refunds, chargebacks and eligibility reviews can happen after an award is given, and Reddit doesn't set out the order in which its fees apply. Country lists and identity checks also change. This is general information, not tax or financial advice.