How to get a Reddit API key in 2026 (and what to do instead)

You can't get a Reddit API key the old way anymore. Reddit closed self-service API access on November 11, 2025, and every new OAuth token now needs explicit approval. On September 30, 2026 Reddit announced it stops accepting new public API requests on October 31, 2026 and will close public access for everyone left in March 2027. For most people the question is no longer "how do I get a key" but "which of the remaining paths fits what I'm building."

This post covers the paths Reddit still offers, what developers report when they try them, and how to make a first Reddit call through a hosted API if none of them fit. Every Reddit policy below links to Reddit's own page. We checked all of them on October 14, 2026.

Can you still get a Reddit API key?

The short answer: until October 31, 2026, you can request one, but you can't create one yourself.

Reddit's Responsible Builder Policy says it directly: "You must request access and get explicit approval before accessing any Reddit data through our API." The rule applies to developers, moderators, researchers and apps. The policy also bans registering several accounts or filing several requests for the same use case, so a second account won't get you around it.

The YouTube tutorials that rank for "how to get reddit api key" still send you to reddit.com/prefs/apps, where you click "are you a developer", pick "script", enter a redirect URI, and copy the client ID and secret. That is how it worked before November 2025. In the September thread, one longtime bot developer asked Reddit to update the apps page "people previously used to get API tokens" because, in his words, "We still get people all the time who are completely confused".

What changed: a timeline of Reddit API key access

Reddit's August post explains why: the public Data API "wasn't built for today's scale, automated abuse, or commercial scraping." Over the long term, Reddit wants "all good, trusted automation on Reddit" to run on its Developer Platform, Devvit.

How to get a Reddit API key through Reddit today

The path you take depends on who you are and whether money is involved. Reddit's help article on Developer Platform and accessing Reddit data and the Responsible Builder Policy set out four routes.

Get Reddit API access as a non-commercial developer or mod

Reddit sends developers to Devvit first. The policy says "Developers should use the Developer Platform ('Devvit') to build apps on Reddit," and moderator tools also go through Devvit App Review. If Devvit can't support your use case, file a ticket through the request form linked from the policy before October 31, 2026.

If Reddit approves you, the Data API wiki sets the house rules. You authenticate with a registered OAuth token and send a descriptive User-Agent in the form <platform>:<app ID>:<version string> (by /u/<reddit username>). When users remove content from Reddit, you delete it too, and Reddit recommends doing that "within 48 hours."

Commercial use needs a contract

Reddit's definition of commercial use is broad. The help article covers any use "by a business or on behalf of a business or as part of a monetized product or service", with examples that include apps with ads or paywalls, subscription services, and "free product features available for upsell." For any of these, "you'll need our permission, and we'll require a contract." The Data API Terms say the same, and they also forbid reselling access or deriving revenue "unless there is express written approval from Reddit."

Commercial requests go through the contact form linked from the policy. In Reddit's words, the team "will be in touch if your proposal fits our criteria." Reddit doesn't publish those criteria or a timeline.

Researchers

Researchers don't get a general key. The help article calls Reddit for Researchers "the only official and authorized avenue for performing research using Reddit data," and the policy treats research on data collected outside that program as a violation. You apply by filing a ticket through the link in the policy.

If you already have Reddit API keys

Existing keys still work for now. The November 2025 post promised that "current access won't be affected" for anyone acting within Reddit's policies, but Reddit's 2027 dates change that. Register each app at developers.reddit.com/app-registration before January 12, 2027, then start on the Data API/PRAW to Devvit migration guide. Apps that existed before March 25, 2026 and serve communities with 1,000 or more weekly active users can apply for a $1,000 bounty under the App Migration Program terms. That program closes to new registrations on November 30, 2026.

Is the Reddit API free?

Partly. Reddit's help article says it "offers both free and paid access," and that developers who need broader access "may be charged fees to lift those limits." The Data API wiki sets the free rate limit for eligible users at 100 queries per minute per OAuth client ID, averaged over a 10-minute window. Commercial pricing is set by contract and isn't published. Our Reddit API pricing guide breaks down what each route costs, hosted alternatives included.

Why approval is hard to get: what developers report

Reddit never committed to a response time, and that is the most common complaint in r/redditdev. When the approval process was announced, Watchful1, who maintains RemindMeBot, asked for one: "reddit is notorious for never responding to form applications like this." In the same thread shiruken wrote, "We all know the commercial API access request form is where projects go to die..."

At the time those were predictions. Ten months later, the reports confirm them. A moderator posted in September 2026: "Reddit killed my bot that I used to help mod a sub with 1.1M members and another with 500k. No response to any of their forms they told me to fill out." Under the migration announcement, Merari01 added: "I still have not heard back for any of my requests."

Even when the process works, it asks a lot. baseballlover723 pointed out that "Needing to have a full blown proposal just to get API access for testing or a prototype is a huge barrier to entry." A weekend project files through the same form as a funded company.

These are individual accounts, not a measured approval rate, and Reddit hasn't published one.

The case for Devvit (and where it falls short)

Reddit's side of this deserves a fair hearing. When someone asked whether bulk data services would survive the shutdown, shiruken replied: "Services like those are literally why Reddit is shutting down the Public API." Reddit gives abuse and commercial scraping as its reasons, and Devvit puts policy enforcement in one place. The migration is happening, too. Reddit reports more than 14,000 registered apps and bots, and RemindMeBot, DeltaBot and MagicEyeBot have finished migrating or nearly have. Watchful1 offered to port other teams' bots: "If it's remotely possible to do in devvit I can get it done."

Devvit doesn't fit every app, though. It is JavaScript-based, and Reddit's August post says Python support isn't on the roadmap. emily_in_boots described what that means for large moderation codebases: "I have 300,000 lines of python code. I cannot rewrite that in 6 months even if I were to work on it full time". Devvit apps also run inside Reddit and are scoped to the communities that install them, so they're a poor fit for a product that reads Reddit from the outside. As one developer noted, "devvit apps can't be used for things like accessing your saved posts/comments."

For a mod tool, a game or a utility that lives inside a subreddit, Devvit is the supported path and probably the right one. For a SaaS dashboard, a research pipeline or an AI agent that reads Reddit from outside, it usually isn't.

Options when you can't get a Reddit API key

You have four options, and each one costs you something:

1. Build on Devvit. It's free and supported, and it's the best fit for apps that live inside Reddit. It won't work for an external product.
2. Apply anyway, before October 31, 2026. This is worth doing for a commercial product that can sign a contract. Plan for a wait of unknown length.
3. Scrape it yourself. Reddit blocks unauthenticated traffic. The wiki says "Traffic not using OAuth or login credentials will be blocked," and Reddit is limiting Old Reddit to recent users. You would own the maintenance, the blocks and the terms risk.
4. Use a hosted Reddit data API. A third party collects the data and gives you its own key, so you skip the application. The trade is that you depend on that provider, so read its terms alongside Reddit's for your use case.

Endpoint shapes, pagination and rate limits differ from route to route. Our Reddit API guide compares them in detail.

Using a hosted Reddit API key instead: a first call with ChatterAPI

ChatterAPI is the fourth option. It gives you one API key for Reddit and X data, it is independent of Reddit, Inc., and there is no developer account to apply for. Reddit endpoints are read-only. Here is the whole setup.

Get a key

1. Sign up with Google. You get 100 free credits with no card.
2. Copy your key from the dashboard and export it:

export CHATTERAPI_KEY="your_key_here"

Make your first call

Search Reddit posts with GET /v1/reddit/search. Each call costs 2 credits, and failed calls cost nothing.

curl -s "https://api.chatterapi.com/v1/reddit/search?q=best%20crm%20for%20small%20business&limit=3" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CHATTERAPI_KEY"

The same call in Python:

import os, requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://api.chatterapi.com/v1/reddit/search",
    params={"q": "best crm for small business", "limit": 3},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['CHATTERAPI_KEY']}"},
)
for post in r.json()["data"]:
    print(post["score"], post["subreddit"], post["title"])

This is the real response, trimmed to the useful fields. We ran it with a test key, which returns recorded real responses for free, so charged shows 0. A live key charges 2 credits for this call.

{
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "1wdihhj",
      "title": "What CRM should a small business use?",
      "author": "NotedWhisky",
      "subreddit": "CRM",
      "score": 51,
      "numComments": 186,
      "createdAt": "2026-09-11T14:52:16.000Z",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/CRM/comments/1wdihhj/what_crm_should_a_small_business_use/"
    },
    {
      "id": "1vmy4xb",
      "title": "If You Had to Pick the Best CRM for Small Business Today, What Would It Be?",
      "author": "Living_Dependent242",
      "subreddit": "CRMSoftware",
      "score": 10,
      "numComments": 56,
      "createdAt": "2026-08-13T02:25:31.000Z",
      "url": "https://www.reddit.com/r/CRMSoftware/comments/1vmy4xb/if_you_had_to_pick_the_best_crm_for_small/"
    }
  ],
  "page": { "nextCursor": "AQx3Lr9dK2vQ...", "hasMore": true },
  "credits": { "charged": 0, "remaining": 771 },
  "requestId": "req_01M4WW86VMVKPSGRBARN",
  "cached": true
}

Every response comes in the same envelope: data, page with nextCursor and hasMore on lists, credits with charged and remaining, a requestId, and cached. Pass nextCursor back to fetch the next page. The quickstart covers the rest. The endpoint list shows every Reddit route with its credit cost, from full comment threads to subreddit rules and account status. To try search before writing code, use the free Reddit post search tool, which runs the same endpoint in the browser. Agents can call the hosted MCP server at https://api.chatterapi.com/mcp with the same key.

Whichever route you pick, Reddit's rules on user content still apply to your product. Don't use the data for spam, vote manipulation or anything else the Responsible Builder Policy prohibits.

Make your first Reddit call today

If you've spent the morning on a form that never says when you'll hear back, try this instead: sign up with Google for 100 free credits (no card needed) and run the curl command above. You get one key without applying for it, and it works for both Reddit and X. When you need more, plans start at $19/month for 25,000 credits (pricing).