r/alphaandbetausers: rules, karma requirements and posting culture
A notice board where founders and indie developers post apps for alpha and beta testing. Open to almost anyone, very high volume, and most posts get no replies.
The place to get Alpha and Beta users and testers to test your app/website · Open on Reddit
- Members
- 47k
- Created
- 2014
- New posts a day
- 132.8
- Comments on a typical post
- 0
- New posts removed
- 24%
The short answer
r/alphaandbetausers states no karma or account age requirement. The sidebar asks for a link to a product that can be tested now, a description, and a title tagged with stage and platform, such as [Android, Beta]. About three quarters of recent posts stayed up and the rest were caught by Reddit's filters. The catch is attention: with around 130 posts a day, the median post gets zero comments.
Who posts here
No expertise is assumed of posters or testers. Posts explain the product in plain terms and many say no technical knowledge is needed to help. No question is pitched too low here. The risk is being ignored, not corrected.
- Solo developers who need testers before a Google Play or TestFlight release.
- Early founders with a web app looking for first users and blunt feedback.
- Students and hobbyists sharing a side project.
- Other posters testing in return, which is what the sidebar asks for.
Karma and account requirements
What it takes to get a post through in r/alphaandbetausers.
| Karma | Not stated publicly. |
|---|---|
| Account age | Not stated publicly. |
| Link | Required, and it must lead to something a tester can use today. Email capture, waitlist and apply-to-test pages are removed.Mods' wording: “Posts must include links to products that are ready to be tested” |
| Title format | Tag the stage and the platform in square brackets, for example [Android, Alpha] or [IOS, Beta].Mods' wording: “Please tag title with stage and system” |
| Description | Say what the product is. A bare link is not enough.Mods' wording: “Please add a description of your product” |
| Post type | Text or link. Image, video and poll posts are switched off, and about 9 in 10 posts are text. |
What you can post
| Post type | Subreddit setting | Share of recent posts |
|---|---|---|
| Text | Allowed | 92% |
| Link | Allowed | 9% |
| Image | Not allowed | 0% |
| Video | Not allowed | 0% |
| Poll | Not allowed | 0% |
What happens to a new post
Where the most recent posts ended up. Sample size: 400.
- Stayed up76%
- Removed by Reddit's filters24%
- Deleted by the author<1%
Reddit counts a removal by the subreddit's own AutoModerator rules as a moderator removal, so that share is not all human. Held by AutoModerator means the post is waiting in the mod queue.
The culture
This is a classifieds board, not a discussion forum. Almost every post is the same thing: here is what I built, here is the link, please try it and tell me what is confusing. Only about 7% of titles are questions.
Supply far outstrips demand. Around 130 posts go up a day in a community of about 47,000, and the typical post gets no comments and a score of one. Many come from Android developers who need a set number of testers for a set number of days before Google Play lets them publish, and a lot of them offer to test back in return.
When feedback does come it can be good. A few commenters write detailed notes on a landing page or a bug they hit. Others use the comment box to drop their own product, sometimes the same pasted advert more than once. There are no formal rules beyond the sidebar, and no moderator removals showed up in our sample.
What lands
- A concrete task for the tester: add two items, log a payment, say what you expected to happen.
- A stated time cost, such as five to ten minutes, and no account needed to try it.
- A direct TestFlight, Play testing or web link in the post.
- An offer to test other people's apps in return.
What gets removed or ignored
- Pages that only collect an email address, a launch registration or an application to test later.
- Products that are not in alpha or beta.
- NSFW products.
- Anything the moderators judge to be spam. In our sample every removal came from Reddit's filters, about 24% of posts.
The unwritten rules
- Test someone else's product before you post. The sidebar asks for it, and it is the only way the place works.
- Nothing here takes off. A good result is a few real testers, not upvotes.
- Comment threads are where plugs happen. Nearly one comment in five contains a link.
- A wall of marketing copy gets no testers. The posts that get replies ask a narrow question about one flow.
- If you need a fixed number of Android testers, expect to trade tests instead of waiting for volunteers.
Self-promotion
Promotion is the point of the subreddit, so the usual ratio rules do not exist. What the sidebar polices is whether the product is real and testable: a working link, a description, and something still in alpha or beta. In practice finished products and plain adverts also get posted and stay up, but they get the same silence as everything else. Asking for specific feedback is what separates a tester request from an ad.
How people write here
- Typical post length
- 166 words
- Typical title length
- 13 words
- Titles phrased as a question
- 7%
- Typical comment length
- 57 words
- Comments that include a link
- 17%
When people post
- 0:00 UTC, 12
- 1:00 UTC, 14
- 2:00 UTC, 11
- 3:00 UTC, 12
- 4:00 UTC, 11
- 5:00 UTC, 6
- 6:00 UTC, 12
- 7:00 UTC, 14
- 8:00 UTC, 13
- 9:00 UTC, 9
- 10:00 UTC, 13
- 11:00 UTC, 18
- 12:00 UTC, 26
- 13:00 UTC, 17
- 14:00 UTC, 22
- 15:00 UTC, 19
- 16:00 UTC, 25
- 17:00 UTC, 28
- 18:00 UTC, 26
- 19:00 UTC, 25
- 20:00 UTC, 16
- 21:00 UTC, 18
- 22:00 UTC, 15
- 23:00 UTC, 18
New posts by hour of day, UTC.
The regulars
The accounts that showed up most in our sample. Worth reading before you post: they set the tone, and they are usually the first to reply.
Most active posters
- u/Asly973 posts
- u/Individual_Main73773 posts
Most active commenters
- u/investigatormaker19 comments
- u/orvax_app10 comments
- u/manmuli5 comments
- u/AlmudenaPasante5 comments
- u/Asly974 comments
Top keywords
The words and phrases that show up far more often here than in other communities, from recent posts in r/alphaandbetausers.
- testers 131 posts
- beta 126 posts
- feedback 187 posts
- confusing 84 posts
- app 148 posts
- android 77 posts
- test 102 posts
- honest feedback 58 posts
- beta testers 38 posts
- honest 74 posts
- testing 67 posts
- google play 34 posts
- useful 70 posts
- web 60 posts
- join 48 posts
- tell 72 posts
- play 54 posts
- account 70 posts
- ios 39 posts
- install 42 posts
- web beta 14 posts
- tester 22 posts
- comment 45 posts
- welcome 42 posts
- love 72 posts
- testflight 19 posts
- especially 57 posts
- browser 37 posts
- closed test 14 posts
- phone 45 posts
- link 46 posts
- minutes 45 posts
- android testers 11 posts
- android beta 11 posts
- group 38 posts
- short 43 posts
- early 44 posts
- google 49 posts
- google group 10 posts
- love feedback 21 posts
Recurring topics: test, built, free, looking, testers, app, android, beta, ai, tool.
Growth
- 20142.4k
- 20153.3k
- 20164k
- 20174.7k
- 20185.5k
- 20196.9k
- 202110k
- 202313k
- 202418k
- 202526k
- 202647k
Related subreddits
- r/betatests
- r/TestMyApp
- r/Student
- r/Notion
- r/SideProject
- r/TikTok
- r/Python
- r/ProductHunters
- r/nocode
- r/software
Common questions
How much karma do you need to post in r/alphaandbetausers?
No karma or account age requirement is stated publicly. The sidebar lists what a post needs instead: a link to a product that is ready to test, a description, and a title tag for stage and platform. About 24% of recent posts were removed by Reddit's own filters.
Can I promote my app in r/alphaandbetausers?
Yes, if it is in alpha or beta and people can test it now. That is what the subreddit is for. Links to pages that only collect emails or sign-ups for a future launch are removed, and so are products that are already past beta, NSFW products and spam.
How do I get testers from r/alphaandbetausers?
Lower the effort and be specific. Give a direct link, say how long the test takes, give testers one task to try, and say what feedback you want. Offer to test back, and go test a few other posts first. Most posts here get no comments, so treat it as one channel among several.
How should I title a post in r/alphaandbetausers?
Start with the stage and platform in square brackets, such as [Android, Beta] or [Web, Beta], then the product name and what you want tested. The sidebar asks for the tag. The typical title is about 13 words.
Data as of October 4, 2026. Numbers come from public Reddit data (the Arctic Shift archive and GummySearch) sampled on this date. Removal share counts posts taken down by moderators, AutoModerator or Reddit's own filters. Banner and icon belong to the community. Moderators change rules without notice, so treat the sidebar as the final word.
