Reddit puts its plans for paid subreddits on hold

Reddit has put its plans for paid subreddits on hold, at least for now. CEO Steve Huffman announced that the company is "shifting resources away" from this initiative and instead focusing on improving the site's search functionality to make it a "go-to search engine." The decision comes as a shift in Reddit's priorities, with the company now concentrating on growing its logged-in core user base rather than pursuing user economy initiatives like paid subreddits. Huffman acknowledged that while paid communities were intended to appeal to Reddit's power users, the company's most pressing need is to increase its overall user base. Advertising remains the primary revenue source for Reddit, accounting for $465 million in the last quarter compared to just $35 million from other sources, including data licensing and Reddit Premium. As a result, the company sees ads on search return pages as a future opportunity for growth, even though paid subreddits may still be on the company's roadmap in the long term.