Reddit's New Contributor Program: Monetizing Karma and Gold

• Reddit

In a recent announcement, Reddit, the popular online discussion forum, revealed its new contributor program. This program will allow eligible users to convert their Reddit gold and karma into fiat currency. This program is a significant step for Reddit, adding a new monetary aspect to its platform and aligning it with other social networks that offer similar monetization features.

In a surprising move, Reddit introduced a program that allows users to convert their earned “karma” and “gold” into real money.

Who is Eligible for the Contributor Program?

The Reddit contributor program is currently limited to users in the United States who are above 18 and can verify their identity through Persona and Stripe. Additionally, these users must have had an account for at least 30 days, and only safe-for-work posts can be monetized.

Karma to Cash: How Does it Work?

The Reddit karma, the number of upvotes a user receives, determines how much money they can earn. To withdraw money, users must earn at least ten gold within a 30-day days. If the user does not reach the threshold, the balance carries forward. Users with between 100 and 4,999 karma will receive $0.90 per gold. Once a user earns more than 5,000 karma, they can earn $1 per gold.

Concerns Over Monetization Programs

Although innovative, Reddit's program is one of many of its kind. Twitter, now known as X, launched a similar program for creator monetization, allowing specific creators to earn ad revenue based on the impressions generated by their posts. Nevertheless, there are concerns that such programs may encourage spammy posting or "engagement bait."

Changes to the Gold Award System

Alongside the new contributor program, Reddit is revising its system for awarding gold. Previously, users could purchase coins to buy gold or other awards, which could be given to high-quality posts. However, Reddit has discontinued the medals and coins system to make gold more straightforward. Users can now long-press the upvote icon in the app or hover over it on the desktop to buy gold. Prices start at $1.99 for one gold, up to $49.00 for 25 gold. This implies that Reddit retains around 50% of the payment.

Reddit's Challenges

These new payment programs come at a time of upheaval for Reddit. Controversial API changes have left parts of its user base disgruntled, making it costly for many developers to build on Reddit. As a result, popular third-party apps such as Apollo, Reddit is Fun, ReddPlanet, and Sync have shut down.