Upvote
Also called: upvotes, upvoted, up arrow
Definition
An upvote is a positive vote on a Reddit post or comment, cast with the up arrow. Upvotes signal that content contributes to the conversation, push it higher in sorts like Hot and Best, and add to the author's karma.
An upvote is the up arrow next to every Reddit post and comment. Reddit's help center says upvotes "show that users think content is positively contributing to a community or the site as a whole." The opposite is a downvote.
What an upvote does
- Ranking. Votes feed every sort. Under Hot, recent upvotes lift a post up a subreddit's front page. Under Best, well-upvoted comments float to the top of a thread.
- [Karma](/glossary/karma/). Upvotes add to the author's post or comment karma, though Reddit says the relationship is approximate, not 1:1.
- Feeds. Reddit's recommendation system uses upvotes and downvotes as one input when deciding what to show in home feeds, and r/popular for logged-out users is ranked by net upvotes.
What you see (and don't)
The number next to the arrows is the net score, not a raw count. For the first few hours after a post is created, Reddit may hide vote counts so people are not swayed by how others voted, and some communities hide comment scores for up to 24 hours. Displayed numbers are also subject to vote fuzzing. If you are the author, post and comment insights show more detail, including an upvote ratio on comments.
Why it matters for marketers
Upvotes decide whether anyone sees your comment. In a thread with 80 replies, the top five comments under Best get most of the reading, including from people who land on the thread from Google months later. A reply that earns early upvotes keeps working long after you post it.
The way to earn them does not change: answer the question that was asked, early, with specifics. Reddiquette's version is simple: if something contributes to the conversation, upvote it.
Example
Two founders answer the same "what do you use for payroll?" thread. One posts a one-line product link. The other compares three tools by price tier and team size and mentions which one they built. The second comment gets upvoted into the top three and keeps getting clicks; the first gets buried.
What not to do
- Ask for upvotes. Reddiquette lists "Hint at asking for votes" under things not to do, along with sending messages asking people to vote for your submission, which it says "will result in a ban from the admins."
- Vote from multiple accounts. Reddit allows multiple accounts but says not to use them to vote on the same posts or comments: "This is considered vote manipulation."
- Buy upvotes or join vote rings. That is vote manipulation, and it gets accounts suspended.
- Have coworkers upvote the company's posts. Coordinated voting is still manipulation, even with real people.
Frequently asked questions
Do upvotes equal karma?
Not exactly. Reddit says upvotes and karma do not have a 1:1 relationship, so 100 upvotes will not always mean 100 karma.
Why does the upvote count on my post keep changing?
Scores update as people vote, and the displayed numbers are fuzzed to make manipulation harder. Small swings up and down are normal.
Can I see who upvoted my post?
No. Reddit does not show voters' identities to authors or other users.