Alexis Ohanian headshot We recently noted that despite having 70 million monthly readers, Reddit isn't profitable. Basically, expenses are still running ahead of revenues but by the end of the year Reddit hopes to get into the black, with much of the money coming from advertising.

But Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian said recently that Reddit will become profitable through its "Reddit Gold" subscription service, not through its "self-serve" advertising program (which allows advertisers to plug their own ads into Reddit):

“Self-serve is doing very well, but Reddit Gold is a way to monetize those millions upon millions of users that is not at odds with their experience,” said Ohanian, who sits on Reddit’s board. “It is actually something that works with the user base and not against them.”

Reddit Gold subs cost $3.99 per month or $29.99 for the year. It gives you an ad-free Reddit, some commenting highlight powers and early access to new Reddit test products.