Reddit reintroduces its rewards system

Reddit announced Wednesday that it was reintroducing its rewards system after shutting down the program last year. The company said that most of the mechanics related to rewards will remain the same, with a few new additions. For example, there is a new design for rewards, a new rewards button below eligible posts, and a leaderboard displaying the top rewards earned for a comment or post.

Earlier this month, Reddit discussed the return of its rewards program during its first earnings call as a public company.

The company ended its rewards program last year as well as the ability for users to purchase coins. At the same time, Reddit introduced “Golden Upvotes”, which were purchased directly with cash. In a new post, the company said the system isn’t as expressive as the rewards.

“While the golden upvote was certainly simpler in theory, in practice it missed the mark. It wasn’t as fun or expressive as legacy awards, and it wasn’t clear how it benefited the recipient,” the social network said.

Users who want to reward posts and comments will need to purchase “gold,” which is a sort of replacement for coins. On a support page, the company mentioned that on average, rewards cost between 15 and 50 gold. Gold plans in Reddit’s mobile apps currently start at $1.99 for 100 gold. Users can purchase up to 2,750 gold for $49.99.

The company is also adding certain safeguards to the rewards system, such as disabling rewards in NSFW subreddits, trauma and addiction support subreddits, and subreddits with adult content. Additionally, users will be able to report rewards to prevent them from being used for moderator removal.

Last year, Reddit launched a community rewards program for users in the United States and began paying users for their helpful contributions. With its latest announcement, the social media company has also expanded the program to 35 countries.