Reddit Karma Explained: What It Is and Why It Matters for Marketing

Post karma vs comment karma

Reddit tracks two types of karma separately. Post karma comes from upvotes on submissions (links, images, text posts). Comment karma comes from upvotes on comments you leave on other posts.

Subreddits that require karma often check comment karma specifically — because comment karma is harder to farm and correlates more strongly with genuine participation. An account with 10,000 post karma but 50 comment karma looks like a link-spammer.

The karma ratio problem

Reddit's internal spam filters look at the ratio between your posts and comments. A healthy user typically comments far more than they post. Accounts with very high post karma and very low comment karma trigger spam filters, regardless of the total karma count.

All OFMDepot accounts are farmed with a natural comment-to-post ratio, which is why the per-account card shows both post karma and comment karma separately — so you can see the distribution before you buy.

Karma thresholds in subreddits

Many subreddits set minimum karma requirements to post or comment. Common thresholds are 10, 50, or 100 comment karma. Some require a specific combination (e.g., 100 combined karma AND account age over 30 days). You can check subreddit requirements in the sidebar or community info before posting.

What karma does NOT do

Karma does not protect you from bans in specific subreddits — moderators can ban any account regardless of karma. It does not make posts go viral. And it does not prevent shadowbanning if you violate subreddit rules. Karma is a signal to Reddit's systems, not a shield against moderation.

The practical takeaway

When buying aged accounts for OFM, look at comment karma (not just total karma) and the post/comment ratio. An account with 500 comment karma and a 1:4 post-to-comment ratio will outperform an account with 2,000 post karma and almost no comments.