Reddit's Estimated Visits Fell 13% in October While the Platform Reported More Weekly Users

Estimated global visits to Reddit fell 13 per cent year on year in October, according to Similarweb. Reddit separately reported a 16 per cent increase in average weekly active uniques in the third quarter, although the figures measure different forms of activity.

Business Insider reported the Similarweb estimate on 12 November 2026. The comparison comes as Reddit faces falling search referrals and prepares to test a primarily logged-in experience in selected markets.

Similarweb Estimates Reddit Visits Fell 13 Per Cent

Similarweb, a digital intelligence company that estimates website traffic, estimated a 13 per cent decline in global visits to Reddit between October 2025 and October 2026. The figure covers visits to Reddit's website, not individual users or activity inside its mobile application.

Visits are a volume measure: one person can generate several during a week. Similarweb's estimate therefore does not represent a count of Reddit's audience across its website and app.

Reddit's Weekly Users Rose 16 Per Cent in Third Quarter

Reddit's third-quarter 2026 shareholder letter, released on 29 October, reported an average of 515.2 million weekly active uniques (WAUq), up 16 per cent from a year earlier. WAUq counts unique users who visit Reddit's website or open its application at least once during a seven-day period.

The 515.2 million figure is a quarterly average calculated from daily counts, including logged-in and logged-out users. It is not an October-only measurement and cannot be directly compared with Similarweb's estimate of website visits.

Reddit Search Referrals Fell by More Than 1 Million a Week

Reddit also disclosed a meaningful decline in search referral traffic during the third quarter, with the drop accelerating towards the period's end. Logged-out users and web traffic were affected most, although some impact extended to logged-in and app users.

In October, search traffic fell by more than 1 million referrals a week on average. Reddit warned that, if the trend continued, daily active uniques (DAUq) could decline by a low double-digit percentage in the fourth quarter from a base of about 130 million. The warning was conditional, not a reported fourth-quarter result.

Reddit CEO Points to Google's AI Search Features

Reddit co-founder and chief executive Steve Huffman identified Google's AI Overviews, which display AI-generated summaries in search results, and AI Mode as leading elements of the company's explanation for falling search referrals. He said the features were not driving traffic to Reddit.

Huffman also suggested that machine-translated content was being ranked lower in search results, potentially affecting Reddit's visibility outside the United States. Reddit has not quantified the contribution of individual causes, and its comments do not establish that Google's AI features account for Similarweb's 13 per cent estimate.

Reddit Revenue Rose 53 Per Cent as Logged-In Users Grew

Reddit's third-quarter results showed continued revenue growth. Revenue reached $895 million (about £675 million), up 53 per cent year on year. Advertising revenue rose 54 per cent to $847 million (about £638 million), while net income increased to $283 million (about £213 million) from $163 million a year earlier.

Logged-in daily active uniques and app daily active uniques grew quarter on quarter in the United States and internationally. Reddit said those users accounted for more than 80 per cent of monetisation, while average global DAUq reached 130.3 million, up 12 per cent year on year.

Reddit to Test Logged-In Experience Outside the US

Reddit plans to test a primarily logged-in experience in selected markets outside the United States during the fourth quarter. The company has cited personalisation, advertising targeting, engagement and protection against content scraping among the reasons for the tests.

The change could affect how people arriving through search engines access discussions, particularly those browsing without accounts. Reddit has not announced a global rollout or detailed how much content logged-out visitors will be able to see.