By Nicole Murphy (u/washedupextra)

December is always fun at Reddit, because we get to take stock of a year’s worth of work and engagement to identify the launches, communities and topics that defined the platform in 2019. From introducing our first live broadcasting experience to rolling out Custom Awards for communities and hosting a Season 8 Game of Thrones pool, there were a number of big moments that made 2019 memorable.

Before we dig into the highlights, here’s a snapshot of how much the Reddit community has grown in the last year (as of October 2019):

430 million monthly active users – 30% YoY increase

199 million posts – and counting!

1.7 billion comments – and counting!

32 billion upvotes – and counting!

Monthly comments have grown 37% YoY

Monthly view count has jumped 53% YoY

In 2019, redditors came together to discuss and share the things they cared about the most, from honoring a lost Reddit icon (you’ll be missed, Grumpy Cat) and leading a viral movement of redditors stapling bread on trees, to sparking a redditor-driven paintception and raising money for Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke’s See You foundation.

Redditors have never shied away from discussing the tough issues, and the community turned out for it in 2019. Users showed interest in a number of world events, including the Hong Kong protests, net neutrality, vaccinations and the #Trashtag movement. However, it was a post in r/pics of Tiananmen Square with a caption critical of our latest fundraise that earned nearly 230K upvotes, making it the top post of the year (presented below, uncensored by us overlords).

Here’s a further look at our most upvoted posts and AMAs of the year (as of October 2019):

Most Upvoted Posts in 2019

Most Upvoted AMAs of 2019 – r/IAmA

With more than 100K active communities, there is a home for everyone on Reddit, whether you’re into browsing memes on r/funny, catching up on the latest current events in r/news or falling down a rabbit hole in communities like r/amItheasshole and r/relationships.

Our data team took a deeper dive into the top communities of the year, and we partnered with Brandwatch to uncover some of the biggest moments and trends of 2019 that were popular on Reddit. So without further ado, let’s dive in…

Tl;dr:

Increase in YoY subscribers in the top 50 beauty (+63%) and style (+52%) communities.

Beauty blogger feuds in 2019 helped drive an 87% YoY subscriber increase in r/beautyguruchatter.

Several ‘weddit’ (wedding + Reddit) communities saw growth in YoY activity, including r/weddingsunder10k (+ 109 %) and r/bridezillas (+ 852 %).

Redditors continue to show their love for all things skin care – r/skincareaddiction is 2019’s most popular beauty community, hitting over 1 million subscribers earlier this year. Cerave was the most discussed beauty brand.

Community Rankings by Activity

*activity=comments + posts

Top Beauty Communities

Top General Style Communities

Top Wedding Communities

Top Makeup Communities

Brandwatch’s Top Beauty Trends on Reddit by Mentions

Most Discussed Beauty Trends

Hauls Highlighter Bangs Collagen Glossy

Most Discussed Skin Care Topics

Acne Cleansing AHA Aging Cystic Acne

Most Discussed Beauty Products/Brands

Cerave Neutrogena Clinique Glossier Cetaphil

Tl;dr:

35% YoY increase in subscribers in top 50 food communities.

Fast food was huge on Reddit, thanks to a little fried chicken sandwich war ( r/popeyes saw a 390% YoY growth in activity vs. r/ChickFila’s 122% increase).

Recipe sharing remains a staple for food enthusiasts on Reddit with six recipe communities ranked in the top 100 food communities.

Spirits were also a popular category in 2019, with r/homebrewing ranked in the top 10 food communities of the year. There was also a significant growth in YoY activity across a number of spirit-related communities, including r/tequila (+99%), r/whiskey (+52%), r/vodka (+44%), r/bourbon (+27%) and r/winemaking (+16%).

Community Rankings by Activity

Top Food Communities

Top Cooking Communities

Top Spirits Communities

Top Recipe Communities

Brandwatch’s Top Food Trends on Reddit by Mentions

Most Discussed Restaurants

Starbucks Taco Bell Chipotle McDonald’s In-N-Out

Most Discussed Food Trends in 2019

Kombucha Brunch Charcuterie Chicken Sandwich Impossible Burger

Tl;dr:

17% YoY increase in subscribers in top 50 news communities.

From the #trashtag challenge to worldwide protests , redditors let their voices be heard on a number of environmental issues, including climate change, which was the #5 most discussed news topic in 2019.

Not only were news stories around the Hong Kong protest the most shared articles in r/worldnews and r/news , China was the most discussed news topic amongst redditors in 2019.

Political scandals were among the most discussed major events on Reddit in 2019, including Robert Mueller’s hearings (#1) and the current impeachment inquiry (#3)

Community Rankings by Activity

Top News Discussion Communities

Brandwatch’s Top Issues That Mattered in 2019 on Reddit by Mentions

Most Discussed News Topics in 2019

China Russia Police/Law Enforcement Healthcare Climate Change

Most Discussed Major Events in 2019

Robert Mueller Hearings Nancy Pelosi’s Formal Impeachment Announcement Brexit Ongoing Impeachment Inquiry Jeffrey Epstein Scandal

Most Discussed Presidential Candidates Leading Into 2020 Election

Donald Trump Bernie Sanders Joe Biden Elizabeth Warren Kamala Harris

Tl;dr:

87% YoY increase in subscribers in family/parenting communities.

Expecting parents came to Reddit to discuss, lend support and seek advice in a number of communities, including r/babypumps , r/tryingforababy and r/pregnant , which all ranked in the Top 10 parenting communities of 2019.

Parents on Reddit were looking for baby name inspo in r/namenerds , which saw a 74% increase in YoY subscribers.

As blended families across the country continue to rise , so did the r/blendedfamilies community, which saw a 501% increase in YoY activity.

Community Rankings by Activity

Top Parenting Communities

Top Resource Communities for Expecting Parents

Top Mom & Dad Support Communities

Brandwatch’s Top Parenting Trends on Reddit by Mentions

Most Discussed Brands Among Parents

Pampers Huggies Britax Comotomo Summer Infant

Most Discussed Names in Parenting Communities

Jack Charlotte Olivia Finn Theodore/Felix (TIE)

Tl;dr:

30% YoY increase in subscribers in top 50 fitness/wellness communities.

From r/ketogains and r/xxketo , to r/ketoscience , keto continues to be a popular diet trend among redditors. r/keto was the #2 overall fitness/wellness community in 2019 and saw a 65% YoY increase in subscribers.

Both r/intermittentfasting and r/Fasting ranked in the top 15 fitness and wellness communities of 2019, with the latter seeing a 99% YoY growth in subscribers. OMAD, a form of intermittent fasting, also saw a gain in popularity on the platform with r/omad increasing its YoY activity by 108% in 2019. The trend was also the third most discussed diet trend on Reddit.

Several outdoor recreation communities saw significant growth in subscribers, including r/trailguides (+312%), r/nationalpark (+130%) and r/camping (+113%).

Community Rankings by Activity

Top Fitness/Wellness Communities

Top Exercise Communities

Top Outdoor Exploration Communities

Brandwatch’s Top Fitness/Wellness Trends on Reddit by Mentions

Most Discussed Fitness/Wellness Brands

FitBit Nike Apple Watch Adidas Weight Watchers

Most Discussed Fitness Trends of 2019

Deadlifting Bjj At-home workouts Bodybuilding CrossFit

Most Discussed Diet Trends of 2019

Keto Low carb OMAD Intermittent Fasting High Protein

Tl;dr:

27% increase in YoY subscribers in top 50 entertainment communities.

Two Game of Thrones communities – r/freefolk and r/gameofthrones – landed at the top of the television heap in 2019 on Reddit.

Reality TV had a big year on the platform, holding 7 of the top 10 TV community spots of 2019 – r/bachelor (#3), r/rupaulsdragrace (#4), r/bigbrother (#5), r/90dayfiance (#6), r/teenmomogandteenmom2 (#7), r/survivor (#9), r/bravorealhousewives (#10).

Hip Hop was huge on Reddit in 2019, with r/HipHopHeads named the #1 music community and the #5 overall entertainment community in 2019. r/kanye scored the #1 artist community and r/Tylerthecreator saw a 209% increase in YoY activity.

Community Rankings by Activity

Top Music Communities

Top Music Genre Communities

Top Television Communities

Top Reality TV Communities

Top Franchises of the Year Based on Community Activity

Game of Thrones Marvel Star Wars Star Trek DC Cinematic

Brandwatch’s Top Movies Released in 2019 by Mentions

Most Discussed Movies Released in 2019

Joker Captain Marvel Aquaman Aladdin Shazam! Avengers: Endgame Glass The Lion King Toy Story 4 Once Upon A Time in Hollywood

Tl;dr:

34% increase in YoY subscribers in top 50 sports communities.

The NBA was massive on Reddit in 2019. r/nba was the #1 overall sports community this year, and a number of NBA communities made it into the Top 50 sports communities, including r/torontoraptors , which hosted 2x the activity in 2019 than r/warriors.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup helped elevate r/womenssoccer to a 448% increase in YoY activity, while r/reddevils , r/liverpoolfc and r/MLS all placed in the Top 25 overall sports communities of 2019.

Fantasy sports were big on Reddit with r/fantasyfootball , r/fantasybaseball and r/fantasypl all ranked within the top 20 sports communities of 2019. YoY subscriber growth was seen in r/fantasybball (+82%), r/fantasycl (+74%) and r/fantasybaseball (+73%).

Community Rankings by Activity

Top Sports Communities

Brandwatch’s Top Sports Trends of 2019 on Reddit by Mentions

Most Discussed NBA Teams

Los Angeles Lakers Golden State Warriors Toronto Raptors Boston Celtics Milwaukee Bucks

Most Discussed NFL Teams

New England Patriots Cleveland Browns Chicago Bears Philadelphia Eagles Los Angeles Rams

Most Discussed NFL Players

Tom Brady Antonio Brown Michael Thomas Julio Jones Patrick Mahomes

Most Discussed Soccer Players

Alisson Becker Harry Kane Cristiano Ronaldo Eden Hazard Lionel Messi

Most Discussed NHL Teams

St. Louis Blues Boston Bruins San Jose Sharks Vancouver Canucks Dallas Stars

Most Discussed MLB Teams

New York Yankees Atlanta Braves Houston Astros Chicago Cubs L.A. Dodgers

Tl;dr:

42% YoY increase in subscribers in top 50 gaming communities.

Battle Royales had a big year with r/fortnitebr ranking as the #1 overall game community on Reddit, with two other Fortnite-related communities ranked in the Top 100.

Throwback games made a splash on the platform with a number of classic hits listed in Reddit’s Top 50 gaming communities, including r/classicwow (#7), r/pokemon (#20), r/mortalkombat (#24) and r/dnd (#30); Crash Bandicoot ( r/ crashbandicoot ), which had a huge release earlier this year, saw a 731% increase in YoY activity.

Not only is r/DotA2 in the top 15 gaming communities, but Dota 2 players were also the most discussed Esports figures on Reddit in 2019.

Community Rankings by Activity

Top Game Communities

Top Sports Game Community

Top MOBA Game Community

Top Competitive Game Community

Top Action RPG Community

Top Board Game Community

Brandwatch’s Top Gaming Trends of 2019 on Reddit by Mentions

Most Discussed Esports Events

Blizzcon E3 PAX Gamescom GDC Comic Con DreamHack Leipzig ChinaJoy / Minecon / Tokyo Game Show (TIE)

Most Discussed Esports Figures