# How to read Reddit after its free API access ends

Reddit has announced that public access to its Data API ends by March 2027, and commercial use already needs an agreement with Reddit. SocialToAI reads publicly visible Reddit posts, comments, accounts and trends for you, with no Reddit app to register: one MCP address for your AI client, or one key over HTTP, from 2 credits a call. Failed calls are free.

- Page: https://socialtoai.com/how-to/read-reddit-after-free-api-access-ends/
- Last updated: 2026-10-29

## What Reddit has announced

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 developer documentation](https://redditinc.com/policies/data-api-terms), checked 2026-10-21.

On 2026-09-30 Reddit announced that public access to its Data API will end by March 2027. Developers who have not registered their apps with Reddit before 2027-01-12 lose API access, RSS feeds stop on 2026-11-13, and tools such as AI assistants will need a commercial agreement with Reddit for its data.

Source: [TechCrunch's report of Reddit's announcement, 2026-09-30](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/), read 2026-10-29. Rules change; the platform's own pages are the authority.

| Date | What happens | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 2026-09-30 | Reddit announces the end of public Data API access and of RSS feeds. | [TechCrunch's report of Reddit's announcement, 2026-09-30](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/) |
| 2026-11-13 | RSS feeds stop. | [TechCrunch's report of Reddit's announcement, 2026-09-30](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/) |
| 2027-01-12 | Developers who have not registered their apps with Reddit lose API access. | [TechCrunch's report of Reddit's announcement, 2026-09-30](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/) |
| 2027-03 | Public access to the Data API ends; AI assistants need a commercial agreement for Reddit's data. | [TechCrunch's report of Reddit's announcement, 2026-09-30](https://techcrunch.com/2026/09/30/reddit-is-killing-rss-feeds-ending-public-api-access-because-of-ai-bots/) |

## Your options

- **Stay on Reddit's own API:** register your app with Reddit before its deadline, and for commercial use agree terms with Reddit, as its Data API Terms require.
- **Read what is publicly visible through SocialToAI:** no Reddit app or account on your side; you pay per call in credits. The rest of this page shows how.

## Reading Reddit with SocialToAI

| Call | 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 · trending topics](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 · the transcript of the video](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 |

**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"
  }'
```

## In your AI client

Add one MCP server to your AI client: `https://mcp.socialtoai.com/mcp`. Clients that sign in (Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Cursor, Codex) open a sign-in page: sign in with the code we email you and press Allow, no key to copy. Others send a key in a header. Each client's own steps are on [the MCP page](https://socialtoai.com/mcp.md).

| Ask | Price key | Credits |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Search Reddit for posts about "saturn rings". | `reddit.search` | 2 |
| Read this Reddit post: t3_1nnrvkr | `reddit.detail` | 2 |
| Read the comments under this Reddit post: t3_1nnrvkr | `reddit.comments` | 2 |
| What is trending on Reddit right now? | `reddit.trending` | 2 |

## Moving what you run today

### From Reddit RSS feeds

A feed of a search or a subreddit becomes a watch: your AI runs the same search or reads the same subreddit every day or week and brings only what is new, by email or webhook if you like. Say “watch this every morning” to your AI, or see [Schedules](https://socialtoai.com/docs/schedules.md). [Tracking brand mentions on Reddit](https://socialtoai.com/how-to/track-brand-mentions-on-reddit.md) walks through one.

### From your own Reddit app or library

Register the app with Reddit before its deadline to keep it, and agree commercial terms if you need them. Or replace its calls one by one with the ones above: each answers in the same JSON format, and your code needs no Reddit credentials.

### From an AI assistant that read Reddit

Connect the assistant to the MCP address below; it then calls these interfaces itself, with no Reddit account and no app.

## What it costs

One `reddit.search` call costs 2 credits (≈ $0.004–$0.0067); a thousand cost 2,000 credits, $6.67 at the first pack and $4.00 at the largest. Failed calls are free, and every answer states what it charged. 100 free credits on sign-up, no card.

## FAQ

### When does Reddit's free API access end?

RSS feeds stop on 2026-11-13, apps not registered before 2027-01-12 lose access, and public access ends by March 2027, as TechCrunch reported Reddit's announcement of 2026-09-30.

### What replaces Reddit RSS?

A watch on a Reddit search or subreddit: it runs every day or week and delivers only the new posts. Each run is one ordinary call, from 2 credits.

### Do I need a Reddit account or API approval?

No. You need one SocialToAI key, or sign-in from your AI client.

- [Reddit API](https://socialtoai.com/platforms/reddit.md): Every call on Reddit and its credits.
- [Does Reddit have an API?](https://socialtoai.com/does-reddit-have-an-api.md): What its own API allows, with sources.
- [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): Recorded conversations and their cost.