Reddit's numbers in 2026
Reddit is the fastest-growing major ad platform in the US right now: advertiser spend is up 46.3% year over year, against Instagram at 22%, TikTok at 9% and Facebook at 7.6%. Ad revenue is tracking to about $2.5B for 2026.
The benchmarks this calculator runs on:
- CPM — $3 to $10 for tech and SaaS targeting, $1 to $5 for broad consumer.
- CTR — 0.2% to 0.5% for B2B SaaS.
- CPC — $0.50 to $2.00, typically around $0.85.
- Click to trial or demo — 1% to 5%.
The comparison that matters
At roughly $0.85 CPC against LinkedIn's $3.50, the same budget buys about four times the clicks. That is the entire argument for Reddit as a B2B channel, and it is arithmetic rather than opinion.
The second payoff
Around 24% of Perplexity's citations on commercial-intent queries come from Reddit. Presence in the subreddits where your category is discussed shapes what AI assistants say about you. Reddit work is answer-engine optimisation that happens to also drive clicks — which is why we treat it as two channels, not one.
The window is closing
Active advertiser count on Reddit is up more than 75%. Cheap inventory is a function of low competition, and competition is arriving.
Questions
Why is my effective CPC different from the $0.85 benchmark?
Because CPC here is derived from your CPM and your click-through rate rather than assumed. If your CTR is below 0.2%, your effective CPC rises fast — creative quality shows up here more than anywhere else.
What CTR should I assume before I have data?
Start at 0.3% for B2B. Native-looking creative in tightly relevant subreddits can reach 0.5%+; anything that reads like a display ad will sit below 0.2%.
Is Reddit better than LinkedIn for B2B?
It is roughly four times cheaper per click. Intent is generally lower, so the honest comparison is cost per qualified opportunity, not cost per click. For most seed-stage companies the volume difference still wins.
What is the smallest budget worth trying?
Around $1,500 a month for a month. Below that you cannot gather enough clicks to distinguish a bad subreddit from bad creative.