How to cite Reddit in MLA, APA, or Chicago style comes down to one idea: treat the post or reply as an entry from an online forum, with the poster’s username standing in as the credited source. You need the username, the title of the post (or a short description of the reply), the subreddit, the word “Reddit” as the site name, the publication date, and the direct permalink. This guide follows the current edition of each style manual, the MLA Handbook, the APA Publication Manual, and the Chicago Manual of Style, with real examples for citing both a Reddit post and a reply.
Reddit is organized differently than a blog or a news site, so a citation needs a few extra details that other web sources do not: the subreddit the post lives in, and whether you are citing the original post or a reply buried in the thread. Before building your citation, open the post on Reddit, click the timestamp (or the share icon) to copy the permalink, and note the exact username of the poster. A permalink looks like reddit.com/r/subreddit/comments/abc123/post_title/, not the shortened redd.it link Reddit’s mobile app generates for sharing.
Tip: Always cite the full permalink URL, not a shortened share link. Shortened links can expire or redirect, which breaks your works-cited entry for anyone trying to verify the source.
How to Cite Reddit in MLA Style
The MLA Handbook, current edition, treats a Reddit post or reply as a work from an online forum. The username stands in for the poster’s name, and the subreddit is listed as part of the container information. For the complete official guidance, see the MLA Style Center’s notes on citing material posted to Reddit.
Citing a Reddit Post (MLA)
Format: Username. “Title of the Post.” Reddit, r/Subreddit, Day Month Year, permalink.
Example: quietgrad_2024. “Is It Normal to Feel Burned Out After Grad School?” Reddit, r/GradSchool, 14 Mar. 2024, www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/abc123/is_it_normal_to_feel_burned_out.
Citing a Reddit Comment (MLA)
Format: Username. Comment on “Title of the Original Post.” Reddit, r/Subreddit, Day Month Year, permalink.
Example: almost_done_phd. Comment on “Is It Normal to Feel Burned Out After Grad School?” Reddit, r/GradSchool, 15 Mar. 2024, www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/abc123/comment/xyz789.
Avoid: “Grad school stress.” Reddit.com. This drops the username, the subreddit, and the date, so a reader cannot locate or verify the source.
How to Cite Reddit in APA Style
The APA Publication Manual, current edition, lists the username as the author, bracketed as the screen name, and labels the entry an online forum post or comment in square brackets after the title. The American Psychological Association publishes its own worked example for citing an online forum post, which covers additional edge cases.
Citing a Reddit Post (APA)
Format: Username. (Year, Month Day). Title of the post [Online forum post]. Reddit. Permalink
Example: quietgrad_2024. (2024, March 14). Is it normal to feel burned out after grad school? [Online forum post]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/abc123/is_it_normal_to_feel_burned_out
Citing a Reddit Comment (APA)
Format: Username. (Year, Month Day). Re: Title of the original post [Comment on the online forum post “Title of the original post”]. Reddit. Permalink
Example: almost_done_phd. (2024, March 15). Re: Is it normal to feel burned out after grad school? [Comment on the online forum post “Is it normal to feel burned out after grad school?”]. Reddit. https://www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/abc123/comment/xyz789
For the in-text citation, use the username and year in parentheses, for example (quietgrad_2024, 2024), the same way you would cite any other author-date source. The APA citation generator can build this reference for you if you paste in the permalink.
How to Cite Reddit in Chicago Style
The Chicago Manual of Style, current edition, covers Reddit under its general guidance for citing social media and online content, which supports both the notes-bibliography system and the author-date system.
Notes-Bibliography Format
Footnote: Username, comment on “Title of the Post,” Reddit, Month Day, Year, permalink.
Example: quietgrad_2024, comment on “Is It Normal to Feel Burned Out After Grad School?,” Reddit, March 14, 2024, www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/abc123/is_it_normal_to_feel_burned_out.
Author-Date Format
In-text: (quietgrad_2024 2024)
Reference list: quietgrad_2024. 2024. Comment on “Is It Normal to Feel Burned Out After Grad School?” Reddit, March 14. www.reddit.com/r/GradSchool/comments/abc123/is_it_normal_to_feel_burned_out.
What to Gather Before You Write the Citation
Every one of your Reddit citations needs the same six pieces of information, no matter which style you’re using:
- The poster’s exact username, including capitalization
- The title of the post, or a short description if you’re citing a reply
- The subreddit name, written as r/SubredditName
- The word “Reddit” as the container or site name
- The full date the post or reply went up
- The direct permalink URL, not a shortened share link
Citing Anonymous, Deleted, or Edited Reddit Posts
Reddit usernames are already pseudonyms, so you cite whatever username the poster used at the time, even if it looks like a string of random characters. If the account has since been deleted and the username now reads “[deleted],” cite the post using the title and note in your text that the original poster’s username is no longer available.
If a post has been edited, Reddit usually shows an “edited” tag with a timestamp. Cite the version you actually used, and if the edit is significant to your argument, take a screenshot and save the page through the Wayback Machine (web.archive.org) before it changes again. Reddit content can be removed or heavily edited at any time, so archiving is worth the extra step for any post central to your paper.
Citing an Entire Subreddit or a Reddit User Profile
To cite a subreddit as a whole rather than a single post, list the subreddit name as the title and Reddit as the site, followed by the URL of the subreddit’s main feed. To cite a user’s full profile or history, use their username as the credited source, “Profile” or “Comment history” as a short description, Reddit as the site, and the address of their profile. Because a subreddit or profile changes constantly, include the date you accessed it.
Citation Styles at a Glance
| Style | Manual Edition | Format Label | Date Placement |
|---|---|---|---|
| MLA | MLA Handbook, current edition | None (Reddit named as container) | Day Month Year, before permalink |
| APA | APA manual, current edition | [Online forum post] or [Comment on…] | (Year, Month Day), after username |
| Chicago | Chicago Manual of Style, current edition | “comment on” phrasing | Month Day, Year, before permalink |
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it okay to cite Reddit in an academic paper?
It depends on your assignment and instructor. Reddit is a primary source for studying public opinion, online communities, or a personal firsthand account of an event, but it is not a peer-reviewed source for factual claims. If you’re citing Reddit to illustrate a real conversation or a community’s reaction to something, it’s usually appropriate. If you’re citing it as proof of a factual claim, look for a source the Reddit users themselves are citing.
How do I find the permalink for a specific reply on Reddit?
Open the post, find the reply, and click the timestamp next to the username (for example, “3h” or “2 days ago”). That link takes you to the reply’s own permalink URL, which is what you use in your citation, rather than the address of the whole post.
What if the Reddit account only has an anonymous username, not a real name?
Use the username exactly as it appears, including the “u/” if your style guide’s example includes it. Reddit usernames function as author names for citation purposes, the same way a pen name would in any other online source.
Do I need to cite Reddit if I only used it for background research, not a direct quote?
Yes. If a specific post or reply shaped your argument, gave you an idea, or is the source of a paraphrased claim, it needs a citation even without a direct quote. This applies to Reddit the same way it applies to citing a website you paraphrased instead of quoted.
Related Citation Guides
Reddit is one of several social platforms with its own citation quirks. See the guide on how to cite a tweet to learn the same breakdown applied to X (formerly Twitter), or check the full social media citation hub for other platform citations. For help working a Reddit reference smoothly into a sentence rather than dropping it in as a block quote, the guide on how to introduce quotations covers the transitions that make that easy. And once you know the format, the MLA and APA citation generator can build the reference entry for you automatically from the post address.
Was this article helpful?
Written by
Terry is a Chicago-based writer and editor who creates practical, student-friendly guides on essay writing, research, and citation styles (APA, MLA, and Chicago). He’s spent 15+ years editing educational content and building clear examples that help readers apply rules without guessing. When he’s not revising drafts, he’s usually turning messy notes into clean outlines and hunting down the one detail everyone skips.