There seems to be a subreddit for everything these days — there’s a subreddit for people wanting to look at “superb owls” aka r/superbowl, there’s even a subreddit for those wanting to peruse floor and ceiling fans. That one is aptly called r/onlyfans. But did you know that about a quarter of the content on Reddit is actually porn? Let’s take a look at the top NSFW subreddits in 2022 and just how many millions of subscribers they have.

Top 10 NSFW Reddit subs 

Here are the top 10 NSFW Reddit subs and the number of subscribers each has as of August 1, 2022. This is according to Redditlist, a site that tracks the top growing subreddits. 

1. r/gonewild‍

Subscribers: 3.9 million+ 

2. r/nsfw‍

Subscribers: 3.5 million+ 

3. r/RealGirls

Subscribers: 3.2 million+ 

4. r/hentai

Subscribers: 2.6 million+ 

5. r/porn ‍

Subscribers: 2.6 million+ 

6. r/NSFW_GIF

Subscribers: 2.5 million+ 

7. r/cumslut

Subscribers: 2.4 million+ 

8. r/LegalTeens

Subscribers: 2.4 million+ 

9. r/Rule34

Subscribers: 2.3 million+‍

10. r/AsiansGoneWild‍

Subscribers: 2.1 million+ 

The most popular NSFW Reddit is r/gonewild, with nearly four million subscribers and self-described as “a place for open-minded Adult Redditors to exchange their nude bodies for karma; showing it off in a comfortable environment without pressure.” Most posters in these NSFW subreddits are people posting nude photos or videos of themselves to provide a feeling of “realness,” Reddit users comment, that can be hard to find on other porn platforms, while other subs are gifs, animations, and links to produced pornographic content. 

How big is NSFW Reddit? 

This month, a post by Reddit user flashman was trending which visually represents all of the NSFW subreddits in 2015. You can take a look at the graphic below or use the interactive map to see just how just how big NSFW Reddit really is and the similarities between the top subs of today and in 2015. 

Each circle in this graphic represents a NSFW subreddit, and the size of the circle is based on the number of subscribers. The bigger the circle, the more subscribers the sub has. If you look closely, you’ll notice that there are lines connecting each of the circles. Those lines represent places where one community connects to another in its related links section. The creator of the map says “the colors represent different ‘communities’ as determined by the algorithm in this paper.” 

 If you spend some time on the interactive map zooming in on the smaller dots, you’ll notice there is a dot for nearly every porn category you can think of, or an adjacent category to what you’re looking for. Same with the categories on Redditlist, you can scroll through eight pages — or nearly 900 total subreddits. (And yes, the links are included on Redditlist, in case you want to visit each subreddit directly).

In response to this data, many Redditors chimed in. 

“This just shows how much pornhubs ‘category’ tab needs to be expanded,” one Reddit user commented, 

“As a woman, I'm always sort of surprised at how many young girls are down to post nudes on a site with millions of strangers (and they aren't getting paid for it). I'm not a prude. So I'm not against this by any means. I also can see the appeal of it being a thrill, knowing people are looking at your naked body and getting off on it. And one aspect of it is getting compliments (boosts their confidence). But I guess it just kind of surprises me at how young a lot of these people are, and how one-sided it is (a lot more girls than guys doing it). Although with Reddit being mostly male, I guess it's not a shocker,” added another user. 

How NSFW Reddit has changed over time

You’ll notice that the top three NSFW Reddit subs in 2015 are the same as they are today — gonewild, nsfw, and realgirls. There are some differences, however. The subreddit r/imgoingtohellforthis that came in around number five in 2015 is no longer in the top 10 NSFW subreddits and has been removed from Reddit entirely. That sub included content described as fatphobic, misogynistic, racist, and discriminatory in other ways.

However, not all of the discriminatory content on these NSFW subreddits has been removed. While not all racialized porn is necessarily discriminatory, the 10th most popular NSFW subreddit is AsiansGoneWild — a mainstream porn category that typically fetishizes young Asian women. 

Is NSFW Reddit ethical?

Because of the vast amount of NSFW content on Reddit, it’s impossible to definitively determine whether all of the content is ethical porn. Some of NSFW Reddit is ethical — and some may not be. That said, Reddit does include some safeguards by ensuring each subreddit is moderated — though moderators cannot ensure each piece of content posted was ethically made and produced. When individuals post content featuring themselves — as many do on the top NSFW subreddits — it’s safer to bet that it was ethically made. 

While subreddits are moderated differently, many moderators make an effort to also report any photos that could reveal someone’s identity, like a snapchat handle, and try to remove content that has been taken from Google or Facebook. However, because all of the content is free — and a number of the subreddits don’t allow for original content — it means performers may not know where their videos or photos are being posted, and are not being fairly paid for their content. 

Furthermore, you won’t often come across videos or photos featuring female, queer, or trans pleasure that isn’t via the male gaze. Most content is of white, able-bodied cis women. While there are also problematic subreddits that fetishize certain bodies, identities, or races, Reddit is at least making some effort to remove some blatantly discriminatory subreddits. As a whole, Reddit has been known to ban some racist subreddits, but not others.  If you’re looking for a source for free NSFW content that is ethically made, check out free feminist porn.

The bottom line

When it comes to getting porn, Reddit is a go-to site for many people. With hundreds of NSFW subreddits, there’s something for nearly every kink and category you can think of. While content creators are not compensated and there's limited body diversity, there does seem to be efforts to protect the safety of users. And knowing all of the images on select top subreddits are subscribers’ own photos is a big turn on for some people. If you like looking at NSFW Reddit during solo play or with a partner, explore our catalog of pleasure products to make things even hotter.