How to get Reddit data in 2026 now that the API is closed

Reddit stopped giving out new API keys. Here is what still works for reading posts and comments, what each option costs, and which one to pick for your use case.

If you tried to create a Reddit app recently, you hit a wall. Since November 2025 Reddit no longer hands out API keys on request: every new app needs manual approval under the Responsible Builder Policy, and personal or small commercial projects are often turned down or never hear back. Even automation tools like Make and Pipedream now ask you for your own approved Reddit app before they connect.

So what do you do if you just need posts and comments for research, lead generation or monitoring? Here are the options that still work, from simplest to most capable.

1. RSS feeds, for light monitoring

Almost every Reddit listing has an RSS version. Add .rss to the URL:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/new/.rss
https://www.reddit.com/search.rss?q=looking+for+a+crm&sort=new
https://www.reddit.com/r/SaaS/comments/abc123/.rss

You get titles, full post text, authors and dates, up to 100 items per request. Good enough to watch a few subreddits or keywords.

The limits: no scores, no comment counts, and Reddit rate limits RSS hard. If you poll more than a few times a minute from one IP you start getting 429 Too Many Requests. Combine several subreddits into one feed (/r/a+b+c/new/.rss) to make fewer requests.

2. Apply for API access anyway

If you need to post or vote, the API is the only legitimate way, so it is worth applying. Use the support request form on reddithelp.com, describe one concrete use case, the volume, and how you handle data. Be honest about commercial use. Expect anything from a week to no answer at all, so do not build a business that depends on it.

3. A scraper that reads public pages

For anything bigger than a few feeds, you want a tool that reads Reddit's public pages for you, handles rate limits and gives you clean data. I built Reddit Scraper & AI Lead Finder for this. It needs no API key and no Reddit login:

search posts by keyword, sitewide or inside subreddits
pull new, hot, top or rising posts from any subreddit
get posts from a user profile, or comments from a post URL
scores, comment counts, upvote ratio and full text, ready for CSV or JSON

{
  "searchQueries": ["looking for a crm", "alternative to hubspot"],
  "subreddits": ["SaaS", "startups"],
  "sort": "new",
  "timeRange": "week",
  "maxPostsPerSource": 100
}

It costs $1 per 1,000 posts. If you add a short description of what you sell, its optional AI mode scores each post for buying intent and drafts a reply, which turns it into a lead finder rather than a plain scraper.

Which one to pick

Watching a few keywords for yourself: RSS feeds and a small script.
Research, dashboards, lead lists, anything over a few hundred posts a day: a managed scraper.
Posting, voting or messaging: only the official API. Do not automate those any other way, Reddit bans accounts for it.

Play fair

Whatever you use, stick to public data, keep request rates reasonable, and do not collect personal information you do not need. Reddit is a community first. Tools that read it to find people who need help are fine. Tools that spam it get everyone blocked.