Reddit search
Also called: search reddit, reddit search operators, reddit advanced search, site:reddit.com
Definition
Reddit search is the built-in search for posts, communities, comments, media and people on Reddit. It supports sorts, time filters and field operators such as subreddit:, author:, title: and site:, plus an Ask button for AI-generated answers.
Reddit's search has a reputation for being bad. It is better than its reputation if you use the filters. Here is how it works as of October 2026.
What you can search
Reddit Help lists five result types:
- Posts
- Communities (subreddits)
- Comments, which Reddit suggests for "discussion heavy" topics like advice or recommendations
- Media (images, video, GIFs)
- People (not available when searching inside a community)
Searching from a community page limits results to that community; select "Show results from all of Reddit" to widen it. Inside a post, you can search its comments.
Sorts and time filters
Search results can be sorted by Relevance (the default, which favors rarer words, plus post age, votes and comments), Hot, Top, New or Comment count. Comments can be sorted by Relevance, Top and New. A time filter narrows results to the past hour, 24 hours, week, month, year or all time.
Search operators
Reddit Help documents field filters you type straight into the search bar, with no space after the colon:
| Operator | What it matches | Example |
|---|---|---|
| author: | Who posted | author:reddit |
| subreddit: | The community | subreddit:smallbusiness |
| title: | Post title | title:"invoicing tool" |
| selftext: | Text post body | selftext:quickbooks |
| site: | Linked domain | site:example.com |
| url: | Linked URL | url:pricing |
| flair: | Post flair text | flair:question |
| self: | Text posts only | self:true |
You can combine them (cats subreddit:pics site:imgur.com) and wrap multi-word values in quotes. Reddit's help page also covers Boolean operators and grouping.
Ask: AI search
Type a question and select Ask instead of pressing Enter to get an AI-generated summary with citations. That is the former Reddit Answers, merged into search in May 2026.
Why it matters for marketers
Search is the free, manual way to find people asking for what you sell:
- title:"recommend" subreddit:yourniche with a "past week" filter finds fresh recommendation requests.
- site:yourdomain.com shows where your site has been linked.
- Comments search finds mentions buried in threads that post search misses.
- flair:question (or the community's equivalent) isolates help requests.
The limits are real: you have to run searches yourself, results are not ranked by buying intent, and you will miss things posted between checks. Many people also search Google with "site:reddit.com" because Google surfaces the threads that rank, which are the ones worth answering. For continuous coverage, that is what Reddit monitoring is for; BoomReddit, for example, scans new posts and comments around the clock and scores each thread for buying intent.
Frequently asked questions
How do I search a specific subreddit?
Go to the subreddit and use its search bar, or add subreddit:name to any search.
Can I search Reddit comments?
Yes. Choose the Comments tab in search results, or use the search box inside a post to search that thread's comments.
Why does Reddit search miss posts I know exist?
Relevance sorting can bury them, and very common words dominate results. Switch to New or Top with a time filter, use title: or subreddit: operators, or try Google with site:reddit.com.