What two vote types can Reddit users cast on posts and comments?

Reddit users can cast upvotes and downvotes on posts and comments. An upvote signals approval or usefulness, while a downvote signals disapproval, irrelevance, or poor quality; the combined score helps determine how prominently content appears.

Voting is one of Reddit’s defining features. Posts and comments are submitted inside subreddits, and community votes influence their ranking on feeds and listing pages. Reddit’s ranking systems are more complicated than a simple count, however: factors such as vote timing, engagement, and subreddit algorithms can affect what users see.

Upvotes and downvotes are not the same as likes and shares on many other social networks. Reddit’s two-direction voting model is designed to sort discussion, not merely to express approval. Votes also contribute to a user’s karma, although karma is not a direct one-for-one record of every vote.

A common misunderstanding is that a downvote always means a post is false. In practice, users may downvote content because it is off-topic, repetitive, poorly presented, or violates a community’s norms. Moderators and subreddit rules still determine what is allowed.