Can you post on Reddit with 0 karma?

Sometimes, in communities that do not gate new accounts. We could not find a site-wide karma minimum for posting in Reddit's documentation, so the limit usually comes from each subreddit's own rules and AutoModerator setup. Many communities gate new accounts, and many do not.

Why does my Reddit post disappear right after I submit it?

Often a subreddit filter removed it because the account is new or has low karma. The post can still show on your profile while it never appears in the community, and you often get no clear notice.

Should I buy or farm karma to get past the gate?

No. Karma is only one signal, and moderators and Reddit look at behavior too. A bought or farmed account with a thin real history is likely to be filtered, and manipulation can lead to a ban. It also teaches you nothing about how a community talks.

Is commenting easier than posting with a new account?

Often, yes. Many communities gate posts more strictly than comments, and useful comments are a legitimate way to build the history that later unlocks posting. Check each community's rules, since they vary.

How long until a new account can post freely?

There is no fixed date. It depends on the community and on how the account behaves, so use signals such as whether your comments stay up and get replies rather than a calendar.

How to Post on Reddit Without Karma: A New Account Guide | RedditGrow Blog

You can post on Reddit without karma only in communities that do not gate new accounts. We could not find a site-wide karma minimum for posting in Reddit's documentation, and each subreddit sets its own rules, often through AutoModerator. Many communities do not publish their gates in full. So the real question is not "how do I get around karma." It is "where can this account post today, and what should it do before it tries anywhere else."

This guide covers that order of operations. If you already need thresholds, read Reddit karma requirements by subreddit. If you want the slow, durable path, read how to build Reddit karma fast. This page is for the first day with a new account.

Why can't a new Reddit account post?

A new account usually hits one of three walls:

A hard karma or age rule. The subreddit's AutoModerator can remove posts from accounts under a threshold the community sets.
A quality filter. Reddit announced in September 2023 (r/modnews, 14 September 2023) that its Contributor Quality Score was available to moderators as an AutoModerator property (contributor_quality). The score sorts accounts into tiers, and moderators can use it instead of, or alongside, karma and age gates. We could not confirm from Reddit's own pages whether users can see their tier.
A platform spam filter. Reddit's site-wide spam filters can also act on new accounts, particularly when they post links right away.

The difficult part is that walls 1 and 2 are often silent. The post can look fine on your profile and never show up in the community, which is why people sometimes mistake it for a shadowban. Check which one you are dealing with before you change anything: the shadowban checker runs a quick check, and this explainer covers the difference.

How do you find communities that allow zero-karma posts?

Do not guess. Test and read, in this order.

Read the rules and the pinned post. Some communities state their gate outright. Others say nothing, which is not the same as having no gate.
Run the rules through a tool. The subreddit rules analyzer helps you read a community's posting rules quickly.
Try smaller and niche communities, then verify. Some smaller communities run fewer automated gates, but this varies widely, so check each one.
Look for newcomer-friendly communities. Many communities have a newcomer or help thread in their sidebar or pinned posts. Use it to ask your question.
Message the moderators. A short, polite modmail ("I'm new here, is there an account age or karma requirement for posts?") can get a direct answer.
Comment before you post. If a comment stays up and a post does not, you have likely found a post-specific gate.

What should a zero-karma account do first?

Skip the post. Comment.

Answer questions you actually know. Specific, useful answers earn upvotes and replies, which is the kind of activity Reddit and moderators look at.
Reply to people, not just to the post. A comment that gets a reply shows a real conversation happened.
Stay in a few communities at first. Spreading across many unrelated subreddits on day one can look like automated activity.
Keep links out. No product links, no profile links. Links from new accounts are a common reason posts get filtered.
Go slowly in the first days. Fast bursts of activity from a new account can trigger spam filters. Quality over volume is the safer pace.

If you want a structured version, our karma guide covers how to build standing in communities over time.

What should you never do to skip the wait?

Buy an account or karma. The number is not the point, and the history behind a purchased account is not yours.
Run a karma-farming loop. Reposts and low-effort threads build a number without the genuine participation that quality filters look for.
Use several accounts to upvote each other. This is vote manipulation, which Reddit's rules prohibit and which can lead to a ban.
Open with a promotional post. If the product is the first thing the account ever says, the account is the problem. See how to promote a startup on Reddit without getting banned.

When can you start posting for real?

Use signals, not a calendar:

Your comments consistently stay up and get replies.
A test post in a small, rules-friendly community survives.
The account checker shows nothing alarming.

Then post the thing you would be glad to have seen yourself: a real question, a result, a lesson. Promotion comes after standing.

Where RedditGrow fits

RedditGrow does not skip the wait and does not promise it can. It gives you a warm-up roadmap for a new account, shadowban checks, and helps you find threads worth answering so your first comments land where they count. A human approves every reply. Growth is $19 per month and the Founder Pack is $79 one-time; see the plans.

If you are earlier than that, start with how to fix a shadowban if a post vanished, or the karma requirements guide if you need thresholds.