Reddit CEO Says Paid Subreddits Are Coming to Platform Quickly

• Reddit plans to introduce paywalls for unique content material this yr.
• The corporate mentioned creating paid subreddits and an e-commerce system throughout a This fall earnings AMA.
• CEO Steve Huffman stated the paywalled boards are nonetheless a “work in progress.”

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman says paywalls are coming to the favored discussion board dialogue platform this yr.

Reddit hosted an AMA this week and took consumer questions on its fourth-quarter earnings.

One Reddit consumer requested Huffman if the corporate had made any progress on creating paid subreddits or “content material that solely paid members can see.”

“It is a work in progress proper now,” Huffman stated. “In order that one’s coming. We’re engaged on it as we converse.”

A second consumer requested Huffman if Reddit deliberate to introduce paid subreddits or a “system of marketplaces” in 2025.

“Paid subreddits, sure,” Huffman stated. “A market, in all probability not, although we’ll be laying the muse for it.”

Huffman first talked about the concept of paid subreddits throughout a second-quarter earnings name in August, throughout which he stated the corporate was contemplating boards with “unique content material or non-public areas.”

In the course of the AMA, one other consumer requested Huffman if Reddit would add options to additional monetize e-commerce, like letting customers pay on the positioning as an alternative of via a third-party app like PayPal. Huffman stated Reddit was contemplating these sorts of options in the long run however was at present targeted on different priorities.

Reddit’s shares dropped by 15% on Thursday after the corporate introduced its fourth-quarter earnings, which confirmed consumer progress under analysts’ expectations.

Over the previous yr, Reddit has typically gained floor on Google within the web’s search market. Reddit additionally struck a cope with Google and OpenAI in February to coach their respective AI fashions utilizing Reddit feedback.

Huffman has repeatedly stated that extra individuals are looking out on Google with the time period “Reddit” included within the search.

Nevertheless, within the fourth-quarter earnings name, Huffman informed traders that the corporate noticed “volatility” in visitors final quarter after Google tweaked its search algorithm.

Within the AMA, a Reddit consumer requested Huffman how Reddit would stop being “depending on Google for visitors.”

Huffman referred to as Reddit’s relationship with Google “lengthy, deep, and symbiotic.” He stated Reddit will get “quite a bit” of visitors from Google and that the corporate “appreciates that visitors ” however isn’t “dependant on Google for visitors.”

“Reddit stands by itself as an impartial platform with majority direct visitors,” he added. “That is how we have grown.”

On the earnings name, Huffman stated that the volatility within the fourth quarter did not concern him and did not affect income.