Startups & founders
Best time to post in r/startups
The best and worst hours to post, the rules that get posts removed, and a check of your draft against both.
Posts in r/startups are most often removed for self-promotion issues. It is a public subreddit that does not allow link posts and does not require post flair. In our latest sample of 269 recent posts, an estimated 95% were still up about a day later.
Welcome to /r/startups, the place to discuss startup problems and solutions. Startups are companies that are designed to grow and scale rapidly. Be sure to read and follow all of our rules--we have specific places for common content and requests.
The best and worst hours to post in r/startups
In our sample of 684 recent and top r/startups posts, activity and scores peak around Tuesday 10pm UTC, and are weakest around Sunday 5am UTC. Based on posts sampled through Sep 4, 2026. Times in this sentence are UTC; the grid below converts to your local timezone. Timing helps a clean post get seen. It does not save a post that breaks a rule.
- Window 1
Tue around 10pm
avg score 400 · 2 posts sampled
- Window 2
Sun around 11am
avg score 265 · 2 posts sampled
- Window 3
Sun around 1am
avg score 95.7 · 3 posts sampled
Your timezone: UTC (GMT+0). Darker cells mean more posts in our sample.
Compare r/startups against every tracked community on the best time to post on Reddit tool.
Estimated survival rate
95%
of 269 recent r/startups posts we sampled were still publicly visible about a day later.
How this is measured
Estimate. We sample recent public posts and check again about 18 hours later to count how many are still publicly visible. Posts removed at the moment of submission never become publicly visible at all, so the true removal rate is at least this high. Last sampled Sep 5, 2026.
r/startups rules: what actually gets removed
Each rule below is paired with the way it is most likely enforced. Where the rules state a number, we quote it. Where they do not, we say so instead of guessing.
1.Relevant Content Only
Enforcement variesWe are a community of discussion based around startups, not traditional businesses. All content must be relevant to startups. You are welcome to ask how to apply startup methodologies to your traditional business if you frame your question in a non-promotional way. We want you to be able to ask any question that helps your startup.
2.No direct sales, advertisements, or promotion
Enforcement varies**No direct sales, advertisements, or promotional posts of any kind**. We have designated places that are an exception to this rule and they will always be stickied at the top of /r/startups. * You MAY share your startup in the Monthly Share Your Startup thread Self-promotion is anything you have an interest, stake or relationship with including being friends with someone at the company. At the end of the day, /r/startups moderators have the final say if your comments are promotional or not.
3.Submissions Serve a Specific Purpose
Enforcement variesSubmissions are for discussing methodologies, experiences, strategies, techniques, markets, and other such things WITHOUT tying them directly to your own project using its name or URL. Titles must be clear and descriptive. Submissions must have at least 250 characters of content. The more details you provide us the better support our community can provide you with. Like life, the more you put into something the more you get out of it. No legal questions. Use our Legal Office Hours.
4.Feedback Has a Place
Enforcement variesAll Feedback Requests (including surveys/polls) belong in our [Feedback Thread or other appropriate weekly thread](https://www.reddit.com/r/startups/comments/boq669/your_weekly_threads_guide_learn_about_the_new/). You are invited to repost each week. Be sure to contribute to the others in the thread and ask them to return the favor to increase engagement. You may not publicly offer feedback or direct support outside of the Stickied Threads.
5.Rules for Links in Comments/Discussion
Enforcement variesSometimes you think the best solution is simply to link to a resource that might answer someone's question. We want you to be able to link in discussion to relevant content. We also don't want the discussion to turn into a self promotional mess and link farm. If you are going to link to something in the comments please make sure to: * Write at least a sentence explaining why the link is relevant to the discussion. * Link only content you have no affiliation with. Affiliate links = banned.
6.Do Not Solicit PM Requests / Post DM Notices
Enforcement variesThe purpose of making a submission or comment is to engage in a public discussion with the community. It is not to request a PM/DM from someone. Do not post a notice that you DMed someone. You are more than welcome to engage privately with one another, but it is up to you to take the initiative directly.
7.Sharing Your Blog is To Start a Discussion, Never For Self-Promotion
Enforcement variesSharing your blog is not a means to self promote. A link to the original blog post is allowed with **prior** Mod approval. If you are submitting your own blog content, the full body of the content must be included in the post, properly formatted for reddit. Include an outline & timestamps with a video. If your blog is over 2000 words you may ask for an exemption. All other rules still apply. No blogs about your "startup" journey allowed.
8.Always Be Kind and Supportive
Enforcement variesThe goal of this community is to encourage people to learn and be inspired to pursue ventures related to startups. Do not troll, harass people, or be an asshole. **This does not mean to lie. It means to give support and explain why you don't like something.** Try to remember people likely do not have much experience yet or might be simply ignorant to what you know. Be willing to hold a discussion and try to explain your opinion or point of view to the benefit of the entire community.
9.No Unscheduled AMAs
Enforcement variesWe do not allow unscheduled AMAs. We need to verify and approve all AMAs. If you wish to do an AMA you must use the "Message the Moderators" feature in the side bar and you must give us at least TWO (2) Weeks Lead Time to organize it with you.
r/startups does not publish karma or account-age minimums in its rules. Subreddits often enforce unpublished filters on top of what they write down, which is why posts from new accounts can vanish without a message here.
Can you self-promote in r/startups?
Only in the designated thread. r/startups restricts promotion to Monthly Share Your Startup thread; a standalone promo post gets removed. The sub's own wording: "No direct sales, advertisements, or promotional posts of any kind. You MAY share your startup in the Monthly Share Your Startup thread". Post your promo there and keep regular posts value-first.
r/startups by the numbers
- Members
- 2.1M
- Active right now
- Not public
- Posts / day
- 10
- 248 comments / day
- Community age
- 18 years
- since Jan 25, 2008
| Median title length | Posts with a link | Posts with flair | Dominant format |
|---|---|---|---|
| 82 characters | 0% | 97% | text posts |
What gets removed in r/startups
Self-promo outside the designated thread
Promotion is only allowed in Monthly Share Your Startup thread. A standalone promo post gets removed.
Low karma or a new account
r/startups publishes no karma or age minimum, but unpublished account filters are common at this size. New accounts should comment before posting.
Reddit's sitewide spam filter
A separate layer before the subreddit ever sees your post. New accounts posting links, URL shorteners, and repeated domains are its favorite targets. Removals are instant and silent.
A shadowbanned account
If the account itself is shadowbanned, every post looks live to you and invisible to everyone else, in any subreddit.
Wondering about a post that already disappeared? Start with why Reddit posts get removed or run the free shadowban check.
Subreddits like r/startups
Posting somewhere adjacent? Each of these has its own rules and its own removal pattern. Check the one you actually plan to post in.
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r/startups posting questions
Can I post links in r/startups?
No. r/startups accepts text posts only, so a link-only submission is rejected at the door. You can usually mention a link inside the body text, but the sub's rules on self-promotion still apply to it. Check your draft against the rules before posting.
Does r/startups require karma to post?
r/startups does not publish a karma minimum. That does not mean there is none: many subreddits enforce unpublished karma and account-age filters that remove posts silently. If your account is new or has little karma, that is the first thing to rule out when a post disappears.
Can you self-promote in r/startups?
Only in the designated thread. r/startups restricts promotion to Monthly Share Your Startup thread; a standalone promo post gets removed. The sub's own wording: "No direct sales, advertisements, or promotional posts of any kind. You MAY share your startup in the Monthly Share Your Startup thread". Post your promo there and keep regular posts value-first.
Is r/startups strict?
Relaxed, by our estimate (20/100 on our strictness scale, from its measured removal rate, 9 rules, and its stated gates). About 5% of recent posts disappeared within a day in our sample. Strictness is about enforcement, not hostility: a strict sub is predictable if you follow its rules.
What is the best time to post in r/startups?
Based on our sample of recent and top posts, activity and scores peak around Tuesday 10pm UTC and Sunday 11am UTC. Treat this as a starting point, not a guarantee: a post that breaks a rule gets removed at any hour. The heatmap on this page converts these windows to your local time.
Why do posts get removed in r/startups?
The most common reasons are self-promotion violations, plus the layers every subreddit has: Reddit's sitewide spam filter, unpublished AutoMod rules, and account-level gates like karma and age. In our recent sample, roughly 5% of r/startups posts disappeared within about a day of going up. Many removals are silent, so checking your draft first beats finding out after.
Rules last checked Sep 2, 2026
Go deeper: how AutoMod removals work, the shadowban explainer, or earning karma the allowed way.
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