Contributor Quality Score

CQS is the closest thing Reddit has to a trust score, and you cannot see your own. Reddit's help center calls it a user classification built to identify potential spammers and users less likely to contribute positively.

How it works

Every account is assigned a CQS. Reddit names the inputs only broadly: past actions taken on the account, network and location signals, and steps the user has taken to secure it, such as email verification. The reputation filter page adds karma and verification to that list.

The score places each account in one of five tiers:

1. Highest
2. High
3. Moderate
4. Low
5. Lowest

Reddit says scores "are updated regularly," and accounts can move up or down based on their activity and behavior.

Reddit announced CQS as an AutoModerator property available to all communities in r/modnews on September 14, 2023. In that post it reported that pilot communities that switched from karma and account-age gates to CQS saw a 43 percentage point drop in AutoMod reversal rates, meaning fewer good users were wrongly filtered.

How moderators use it

Two ways:

AutoModerator. The contributor_quality field works like a karma check. Reddit's own example rules:

type: comment
author:
    combined_subreddit_karma: "< 5"
    contributor_quality: "< moderate"
action: filter
action_reason: "CQS Filter"

Another of Reddit's examples exempts high and highest tier users from a karma minimum, and a third filters every post from a "lowest" account regardless of karma. AutoModerator's documentation describes CQS checks as "a more holistic replacement for karma or account age checks."

The reputation filter. A one-toggle safety setting that filters content from accounts that "may be potential spammers, are likely to have content removed, or have unestablished accounts," informed by CQS.

Why it matters for marketers

CQS explains why two accounts with similar karma can get different treatment. Because the score mixes account history, verification and network signals, karma is one input among several, and a high karma count does not guarantee a comment gets through.

It also explains why shortcuts backfire. Removals and enforcement actions are "past actions taken on a user's account," and behavior Reddit treats as spam, such as repetitive posting, mass messaging or karma farming, is what draws them. An account pushed hard early risks landing in exactly the tiers communities filter.

What builds a good standing is the boring list: verify the email, secure the account, take part in communities you care about, and avoid removals. That is the honest version of account warming.

Common mistakes

• Treating CQS as karma. It is not visible, not a number you can check, and karma alone does not set it.
• Assuming an old account is automatically trusted. Age helps, but a history of removed content works against it.
• Trying to reverse-engineer the signals. Reddit keeps them broad on purpose.

Frequently asked questions

Can I check my Reddit Contributor Quality Score?

No. Reddit does not show users their CQS. Moderators use it through AutoModerator rules and the reputation filter, which act on content from accounts in the tiers they choose.

How do I improve my CQS?

Reddit says scores update regularly and users can move between tiers based on activity and behavior. Verifying your email, securing your account, participating normally and avoiding content removals all line up with the signals Reddit names.

When did Reddit launch the Contributor Quality Score?

Reddit made CQS available to all communities as an AutoModerator property in September 2023, announced in r/modnews.

Sources

1. Reddit Help: What is the Contributor Quality Score?
2. Reddit Help: Full automoderator documentation
3. Reddit Help: Reputation filter