# Does Reddit have an API?

Yes, but commercial use needs a separate agreement with Reddit under its Data API Terms. SocialToAI reads its publicly visible posts, comments, accounts and trends without a Reddit developer account: 11 interfaces from 2 credits a call (≈ $0.004–$0.0067), and failed calls are free. Official facts checked 2026-10-21.

- Page: https://socialtoai.com/does-reddit-have-an-api/
- Last updated: 2026-10-29

## The short answer

Yes, but commercial use needs a separate agreement with Reddit under its Data API Terms.

## What the official API allows

Reddit offers official Data APIs under its Data API Terms. Using them for commercial purposes, for research beyond the rate limits, or for anything the terms do not expressly permit needs a separate agreement with Reddit, and deriving revenue from them needs Reddit's express written approval.

Source: [Reddit's own developer documentation](https://redditinc.com/policies/data-api-terms), checked 2026-10-21. What a platform allows changes; its own pages are the authority.

## Reddit's official APIs, side by side

| Official API | Who can use it and how | Cost | Limits | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reddit Data API | Developers under Reddit's Data API Terms; commercial use, research beyond the rate limits and earning from it need Reddit's agreement. | Commercial terms are agreed with Reddit; its terms page states no public price. | Reddit announced on 2026-09-30 that public access ends by March 2027; apps not registered before 2027-01-12 lose access, and RSS feeds stop on 2026-11-13 (as reported by TechCrunch). | [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/), checked 2026-10-29 |

## Reading Reddit's public data with SocialToAI

SocialToAI is an API and MCP server for publicly visible content and account information. You need no Reddit account and no app review: one SocialToAI key, or signing in from [Claude](https://socialtoai.com/connect/claude.md), [ChatGPT](https://socialtoai.com/connect/chatgpt.md), [Claude Code](https://socialtoai.com/connect/claude-code.md), [Cursor](https://socialtoai.com/connect/cursor.md) and [Codex](https://socialtoai.com/connect/codex.md). Each call costs a fixed number of credits, and a failed call costs nothing.

| Interface | What it returns | Price key | Credits |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| [Search](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-search-api.md) | Find posts by keyword: text, author, likes, comment count and publish time. | `reddit.search` | 2 |
| [Trending](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-trending-api.md) | The posts trending now. | `reddit.trending` | 2 |
| [Trending · type=trends](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-trending-api.md) | What is trending now: title, rank and heat. | `reddit.trending:trends` | 2 |
| [Detail](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-detail-api.md) | One post by ID or link: text, author, likes, comment count and publish time. | `reddit.detail` | 2 |
| [Detail · include=transcript](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-detail-api.md) | One post by ID or link: full text and timed segments. | `reddit.detail:transcript` | 2 |
| [Comments](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-comments-api.md) | The comments under one post: text, likes, reply count and time. | `reddit.comments` | 2 |
| [User Profile](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-user-profile-api.md) | One account: name, bio and post count. | `reddit.user_profile` | 2 |
| [User Posts](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-user-posts-api.md) | The recent posts of one account. | `reddit.user_posts` | 2 |
| [User active communities](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-user-subreddits-api.md) | Get the communities a Reddit user is active in by username. | `reddit.user_subreddits` | 2 |
| [Community profile](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-subreddit-api.md) | Get a Reddit community by its name. | `reddit.subreddit` | 2 |
| [Community posts](https://socialtoai.com/reddit-subreddit-posts-api.md) | Get a page of the posts of a Reddit community by its name, hot, newest or top score first. | `reddit.subreddit_posts` | 2 |

**One call: Search**

```
curl https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/search \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $SOCIALTOAI_API_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "platform": "reddit",
    "query": "saturn rings"
  }'
```

- No Reddit account, cookie or developer approval on your side.
- What comes back is what the platform shows publicly; commenters are anonymised.
- Every platform answers in the same response format, so the same code reads Reddit and the others.
- Prepaid credits from 2 credits a call; 100 free credits on sign-up, no card.

## Reading Reddit without the official API

There are three ways in, and they differ in what you have to hand over and keep running. These are kinds of tool, not products.

| Way | What you need | What to watch for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Write your own scraper | Code, proxies, and often your own Reddit login or cookies | Requests made in your account's name can get it limited or banned; pages and signatures change, so the code needs upkeep. |
| Run an open-source MCP server or script locally | Install it, then sign in with your account or paste its cookies | It reads as your account, and stops when the platform changes or your computer is off. |
| Call a hosted API (SocialToAI) | One SocialToAI key, or one MCP address and sign-in | No account of yours is used; you pay from 2 credits a call and nothing for a failed one; keeping up with Reddit is our job. |

## FAQ

### Is Reddit shutting down its API?

Its public part, yes: on 2026-09-30 Reddit announced that public access to its Data API ends by March 2027, and that AI assistants will need commercial agreements for its data (as reported by TechCrunch). Source: [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/), checked 2026-10-29.

### When does Reddit API access end?

RSS feeds stop on 2026-11-13; developers who have not registered their apps before 2027-01-12 lose API access; public access ends by March 2027 (as reported by TechCrunch). Source: [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/), checked 2026-10-29.

### Is the Reddit API free for commercial use?

No: under Reddit's Data API Terms, commercial use needs a separate agreement with Reddit, and deriving revenue needs its express written approval. Source: [redditinc.com](https://redditinc.com/policies/data-api-terms), checked 2026-10-21.

### Can I read Reddit without a developer account?

Yes. SocialToAI reads its publicly visible posts, comments, accounts and trends for you: 11 interfaces from 2 credits a call (≈$0.0067), and failed calls are free. You need one SocialToAI key, or sign-in from your AI client.

### Will reading Reddit this way get my account banned?

No account of yours is involved: you never sign in to Reddit, hand over a cookie or install anything, so nothing is read in your account's name.

### How much does reading Reddit cost here?

From 2 credits a call: $0.0067 at the first pack, $6.67 for a thousand such calls. A failed call costs nothing, and every answer states what it charged. 100 free credits on sign-up, no card.

### Can Claude and ChatGPT read Reddit?

Yes: add SocialToAI's MCP address in Claude or ChatGPT, sign in and press Allow, then ask in plain words. Each answer states the credits it used.

## Read next

- [How to read Reddit after its free API access ends](https://socialtoai.com/how-to/read-reddit-after-free-api-access-ends.md): what Reddit announced, with sources, and reading Reddit without its API
- [How to track brand mentions on Reddit after RSS ends](https://socialtoai.com/how-to/track-brand-mentions-on-reddit.md): keep Reddit keyword and brand alerts after RSS ends, with a daily watch
- [Reddit API shutdown timeline (2027)](https://socialtoai.com/data/reddit-api-changes.md): Every date Reddit announced, with sources.
- [Official social media API prices and limits](https://socialtoai.com/data/official-social-api-pricing.md): Every platform's official API on one page, with sources.

## Sources

- [Reddit: redditinc.com](https://redditinc.com/policies/data-api-terms), checked 2026-10-21
- [techcrunch.com](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/), checked 2026-10-29
- [Reddit API on SocialToAI](https://socialtoai.com/platforms/reddit.md): every call and its credits, last tested 2026-10-17
- [The live catalog](https://api.socialtoai.com/v1/capabilities): what is offered now and its credits, readable without a key

- [Reddit API](https://socialtoai.com/platforms/reddit.md): Every call on Reddit, with a request to copy.
- [Reddit API changes](https://socialtoai.com/data/reddit-api-changes.md): Every dated change and what it breaks, with sources.
- [Reddit MCP server](https://socialtoai.com/mcp/reddit.md): Let your AI read Reddit.
- [Claude](https://socialtoai.com/connect/claude.md): Connect Claude: sign in, no key.
- [ChatGPT](https://socialtoai.com/connect/chatgpt.md): Connect ChatGPT: sign in, no key.