How Much Does Reddit Advertising Cost in 2025? | WordStream

Ah, Reddit. One minute you’re browsing r/ShowerThoughts, and the next you’re questioning the concept of time, capitalism, and whether pigeons have feelings.

It’s weird, it’s wonderful, and it’s a good place to advertise…that is, if you know how to properly target your ads and how much it’ll cost you.

Let’s dive into how the Reddit advertising cost model works, how much you’ll pay for Reddit ads, and whether Reddit ads are worth your moolah.

Contents

How Reddit ads pricing works

If you’re going to be using Reddit for marketing, let’s first lay down the foundation on how Reddit ad pricing works. It’s primarily a CPM bidding model (cost per 1,000 impressions), which allows you to set a daily budget and bid for visibility across the platform.

Reddit Ads Manager also supports CPC (cost per click) and CPV (cost per view) bidding for certain campaigns, like those optimized for engagement or video views. More on that later.

Note that Reddit does have minimums:

• Minimum daily spend: $5
• Minimum bid: Varies by objective but often starts around $0.20–$0.50 CPM

💪 Reddit can be a great source of website traffic. Download 25 Ways to Increase Traffic to Your Website for more

What is the average Reddit ad cost?

Online advertising costs are never cut and dry—and Reddit ads are no exception—so the best answer to this question is to provide a range. Since Reddit Ad CPMs vary depending on your targeting, ad type, and competition, we generally say that campaigns typically range in CPMs from $0.50 to $15, but advertisers have reported CPMs as low as $0.20 and as high as $100+, especially for premium placements (like front-page takeovers).

Here’s a chart of ranges from various sources:

Reddit ad costs by ad type

Now that you have a feel for how Reddit ad costs compare to other social media platforms, let’s go a layer deeper and take a look at average costs by ad type. There are several different Reddit ad types, and their names are always evolving, but this should give you a general idea of ad formats and prices:

As you can see, Takeover ads have the highest CPMs as they are a premium placement.

Note that pricing fluctuates based on audience size, targeting options, and competition. More on this in a bit.

🛑 Before you advertise on Reddit, make sure you’re targeting the right audience! Learn How to Find Your Target Audience

Reddit ad costs vs. other platforms

Below are Reddit CPMs compared to other social media advertising platforms, including Facebook, Twitter/X, and LinkedIn:

So the good news is that Reddit typically offers lower CPMs than larger social platforms, but success depends largely on message fit and community relevance.

Side note: If you’re looking to understand the costs of other advertising platforms, we have posts on Facebook ad costs, Google Ads costs, LinkedIn ad costs, and more.

Factors that affect Reddit advertising costs

As we’ve established, advertising on Reddit can be cost-effective, but rates vary based on how, where, and to whom you’re advertising. Here’s a breakdown of the key factors that influence your CPM and overall ad performance:

Audience targeting

Reddit offers granular targeting options, and your selections play a major role in determining ad cost. Here’s what we’re working with:

• Broad targeting: Here, you’re targeting general interests (gaming, technology, or entertainment). These typically have lower CPMs because you’re reaching a wider pool of users, which reduces competition in the ad auction.
• Narrow targeting: Here, you’re targeting specific subreddits, device types, or precise geolocations. This increases specificity but also competition. The more niche your audience, the higher your CPM is likely to be.

Our advice? Start broad to gather performance insights, then layer in subreddit or interest-based targeting once you know where engagement is strongest. We have more Reddit ad targeting tips here.

Pretty good targeting for the r/Adulting subreddit.

Ad placement

We’ve just covered who your ads appear to; now we’re talking about where they appear. Here are your options and how they impact Reddit ad costs:

• Premium placements: Front Page Takeovers or Trending Takeovers give you tons of visibility across the platform, but they come at a hefty price (five to six figures per day). These are typically reserved for enterprise campaigns or major product launches.
• In-feed promoted posts: These appear within users’ home feeds or subreddit threads, and are a better fit for small to mid-sized businesses. They function similarly to native ads, allowing for flexible budgeting and optimization.

In-feed placement example (and good content for the r/law subreddit if you ask me).

Campaign objective

Reddit’s ad platform lets you choose from several objectives, and each one affects your bidding strategy and cost. Let’s break them into two groups:

• Awareness-based objectives: Objectives like reach or impressions generally lead to lower CPMs, since you’re paying for visibility, not engagement.
• Performance-based objectives: Objectives like conversions, clicks, or app installs usually require higher bids to remain competitive, but you’re also getting solid engagement. Reddit will prioritize showing these ads to users more likely to take action, which increases value (and cost).

Quality and relevance

Reddit is a community-driven platform, perhaps the most community-driven out of all the social media platforms, so relevance matters more here than on many other ad networks. What that means is:

• Ads should fit in: Ads that feel native, align with subreddit culture, and generate upvotes, comments, or click-throughs can reduce CPMs over time.
• Ads shouldn’t stir the pot: Ads that are downvoted, reported, or ignored may get deprioritized by Reddit’s delivery algorithm, which can drive up costs or hurt delivery altogether.

Quick tip: Consider testing multiple ad variations with community-minded copy and creative. Redditors respond well to authenticity and humor that respects subreddit norms.

Authenticity and humor exhibit A.

5 tips to maximize Reddit ad ROI

If you’re looking to drive traffic from Reddit at optimal costs, here are some final tips:

1. Be authentic: Reddit users value transparency and do not like being “sold to.” Use a conversational tone.
2. Remember the communities. Reddit ads are particularly effective for SaaS products, B2B tech, gaming and entertainment, niche e-commerce brands, and direct-to-consumer products. That doesn’t mean that if you aren’t in that category, you won’t be successful, but you may need to work a little harder to match your messaging to the tone, interests, and culture of the communities you’re targeting. Which leads me to my next tip…
3. Engage in the community: Try blending in by participating in relevant threads before running a campaign. Get familiar with the culture so you can find the best ways to resonate.
4. Test multiple subreddits: A/B test targeting to discover where your audience actually converts.
5. Use video or GIFs: Reddit users engage more with visual storytelling than static banners, so add some movement into the mix.

The verdict: Are Reddit advertising costs worth it?

Reddit advertising presents a unique opportunity for brands that want to (and can) lean into community culture. While costs are generally lower than those of other platforms, success depends more on messaging, market fit, and authentic creative content than on pure budget.

So it can be a low-risk arena to test out ad experiments, but if you’re looking for plug-and-play campaigns requiring minimal creative effort, Reddit may not be your best bet.

If you’re curious to test Reddit for your brand, start small, engage organically, and optimize from there. With the right strategy, Reddit can deliver outstanding ROAS.