--- title: Can you trust Reddit recommendations when choosing software or vendors? author: Giacomo Balli published: 2026-10-08 url: https://BigBalli.com/blog/can-you-trust-reddit-when-choosing-software tags: Reddit, Vendor Evaluation, Fake Reviews, FTC, Software Buying --- # Can you trust Reddit recommendations when choosing software or vendors? *By Giacomo Balli* | *Published: October 8, 2026* **Short answer:** Use Reddit to build a shortlist and to find complaints, not to pick the winner. Brand mentions from aged Reddit accounts are sold openly for under $10 each, and a study of 51,129 comments could not tell loyal fans from paid posters. Decide with reference calls, a trial on real work, and independent reviews. Reddit recommendations are useful for finding software options and hearing about problems, and unreliable for choosing between vendors. Paid brand mentions from "aged" Reddit accounts are advertised openly, and the one public attempt to measure them this month could not separate paid posters from loyal fans. Treat a Reddit thread as a lead to check, then verify the vendor with evidence Reddit cannot fake. 1. **Use Reddit for**Names you had not heard of, recurring complaints, migration stories 2. **Check on Reddit**Account age, other brands mentioned, posts outside the topic 3. **Decide with**Reference calls, a paid trial on real work, independent reviews A thread can put a vendor on your list. It should not be the reason one wins. ## Can companies buy brand mentions on Reddit? Companies can buy Reddit brand mentions openly, from vendors that advertise prices and account quality. REDCmts lists one comment from "Real Aged Accounts" at $9.99 and 100 comments at $699.99. Soar says its accounts are warmed for weeks before any brand mention, and Bazzly sells automated replies to posts where people ask what to buy. The [REDCmts price list](https://redcmts.com/) also offers 10 comments for $89.99 and a "drip feed" option for the 100-comment package, which spreads comments out so they look organic. Soar's [Reddit marketing page](https://www.soar.sh/solutions/reddit-marketing-agency) says every account is "aged, hand-picked for relevant subreddit history, and manually warmed for weeks before a single brand mention." Bazzly's home page says it "replies to every relevant post where people are looking for a product like yours," and its demo uses a r/SaaS thread asking for the best project management tool for small teams. Software buyers are the target market. ## What did the Reddit astroturfing study actually find? Peter Vijeh's September 2026 study of 51,129 comments in six knife subreddits found that 49 brand-heavy accounts wrote 11.3% of brand mentions in "what should I buy" threads, against 7.9% expected by chance. Their full histories looked like ordinary long-time users, and he leans toward loyal fans over paid posters. In [the write-up](https://www.petervijeh.com/projects/reddit-astroturf), only 2 of 1,000 random reshuffles of authors matched the 11.3% share, so the concentration is real. For one chef's-knife brand, 31.2% of buying advice came from those accounts, against 8.0% by chance. Then the case weakens. The accounts were a median 4.5 years old, the same as a comparison group, and across about two dozen features no difference stood out. Vijeh discloses that the article was drafted with AI, that the brand tagger and buying-thread filter were not checked against hand labels, and that eight hidden account histories "could hold the whole story." The study covers knife forums, and the same method works for any product category. ## What did Hacker News commenters add to it? Hacker News commenters added two cautions: brand loyalists and paid shills leave the same traces, and spotting obvious bots breeds false confidence. In a thread with 91 comments, one reader noted that a competent astroturfing operation would build its accounts to pass exactly the checks the study used. One commenter in [the Hacker News discussion](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49877678) called it a toupee fallacy: catching clumsy accounts pushing a niche product makes people believe they would also catch the careful ones. Another argued the study treated brand loyalty as if it were astroturfing, since hobby communities are full of people who simply love one brand, and said none of the results were statistically significant. That overstates it: the overall concentration was unlikely by chance, while the account-history comparison found nothing. A third pointed out that Reddit now lets users hide their post history, which removes the easiest check a reader has. ## How should you research a software vendor instead? Research a software vendor with evidence a marketing budget cannot produce: calls with customers you find yourself, a trial on your own real work, and reviewers who disclose how they test and who pays them. Use Reddit to find what to ask about, such as a billing complaint or a painful migration, then confirm it directly. 1. **Shortlist**Collect names from Reddit, peers, and your industry association 2. **Check the recommender**Open the account: age, other brands named, posts outside the topic 3. **Reference calls**Two customers your size, at least one you found yourself 4. **Trial on real work**Two weeks with your own data and your own staff 5. **Independent reviews**Named reviewers who explain their method and funding Ask each reference what went wrong and how the vendor handled it. Vijeh's data points to the most useful Reddit check: click the recommending account and see whether it has ever named a different brand. In his corpus, two thirds of a brand-heavy account's mentions went to the same brand. A single-brand history, a young account, or a hidden history is a reason to discount the comment. It does not prove payment. Signal on the accountWhat it can mean Names one brand almost every timePaid poster, employee, or devoted fan Weeks old, few commentsNew user or a fresh throwaway History hidden or wipedPrivacy choice, or something to hide Years of varied postsProbably a person, though aged accounts are sold for this reason ## Is paying for Reddit mentions legal for a business? Paying for disguised Reddit mentions exposes a business to US federal penalties. The FTC's rule on fake reviews and testimonials, in force since 21 October 2024, bans buying reviews that misrepresent who wrote them, undisclosed insider reviews, and buying fake social media engagement. Reddit's own rules also forbid content manipulation. The [FTC announced the rule](https://www.ftc.gov/news-events/news/press-releases/2024/08/federal-trade-commission-announces-final-rule-banning-fake-reviews-testimonials) on 14 August 2024 after a 5-0 vote, and it lets courts impose civil penalties for knowing violations. In January 2025 the FTC set the maximum penalty for such violations at $53,088 each. Its guidance says a business that buys reviews can be liable when it "knew or should have known" they were fake. Separately, the FTC's Endorsement Guides say employees and paid promoters should disclose the connection. A founder replying "Founder of XYZ here" is fine. A comment bought from an account posing as a happy customer is the conduct the rule describes, and one screenshot on Hacker News can cost more trust than the campaign earned. ## Related guides - [What are the red flags in a software development proposal?](https://BigBalli.com/blog/software-proposal-red-flags) - [Agency or freelancer for a mobile app?](https://BigBalli.com/agency-vs-freelancer-mobile-app) - [Build custom software or buy off the shelf?](https://BigBalli.com/build-vs-buy-software) - [The Second Opinion: an independent review of a vendor decision](https://BigBalli.com/second-opinion) - [FTC: Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule, questions and answers](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers) - [FTC Endorsement Guides: what people are asking](https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/ftcs-endorsement-guides-what-people-are-asking) - [Reddit Rules, including the ban on content manipulation](https://redditinc.com/policies/reddit-rules) ## Key takeaways - Reddit comments from aged accounts are sold openly, from $9.99 for one to $699.99 for 100. - A study of 51,129 Reddit comments found concentrated brand recommendations but could not tell paid posters from loyal fans. - Use Reddit to build a shortlist and find complaints, then decide with references, trials, and independent reviews. - Before trusting a recommender, check whether the account has ever named a different brand. - Buying disguised reviews or fake engagement can violate the FTC's fake review rule, in force since October 2024. ## Frequently asked questions ### How can you tell if a Reddit comment is paid? You usually cannot tell for certain. Warning signs include an account that names one brand almost every time, a young or thin account, a hidden history, and store or affiliate links. Vendors sell aged, warmed accounts to pass these checks, so treat any single recommendation as a lead to check. ### Is Reddit still useful when choosing software? Yes, for finding options and problems. Threads about cancelling, billing disputes, outages, and migrations are harder to fake at scale and show what goes wrong after the sale. Use those threads to write your questions for reference calls, then confirm each complaint with the vendor and with customers directly. ### Can my company post about its own product on Reddit? Yes, if the post discloses the connection and follows the subreddit's rules. The FTC's Endorsement Guides expect employees to disclose their relationship when they mention their company's products. Posting as a supposed customer, or paying accounts to do it, is what the FTC's fake review rule and Reddit's rules prohibit. ### What is a vendor reference call, and what should you ask? A reference call is a conversation with a current customer of the vendor. Ask how long they have used the product, what broke, how support responded, what the real total cost was, and whether they would sign again. Ask for customers your size, and find at least one yourself. ## About the author Giacomo Balli is an independent technology advisor in San Francisco. He has built software and mobile apps since 2010 and reviews software, vendor, and contract decisions for owners before they commit the money. ## Disclosure Giacomo Balli sells fixed-fee independent reviews of technology decisions, including vendor selection. He does not build software for clients, resell platforms, or take referral fees. No company named on this page paid to be mentioned, and none of the Reddit marketing vendors named here are recommended. This page is general guidance and not legal advice. ## Questions this answers **How can you tell if a Reddit comment is paid?** You usually cannot tell for certain. Warning signs include an account that names one brand almost every time, a young or thin account, a hidden history, and store or affiliate links. Vendors sell aged, warmed accounts to pass these checks, so treat any single recommendation as a lead to check. **Is Reddit still useful when choosing software?** Yes, for finding options and problems. Threads about cancelling, billing disputes, outages, and migrations are harder to fake at scale and show what goes wrong after the sale. Use those threads to write your questions for reference calls, then confirm each complaint with the vendor and with customers directly. **Can my company post about its own product on Reddit?** Yes, if the post discloses the connection and follows the subreddit's rules. The FTC's Endorsement Guides expect employees to disclose their relationship when they mention their company's products. Posting as a supposed customer, or paying accounts to do it, is what the FTC's fake review rule and Reddit's rules prohibit. **What is a vendor reference call, and what should you ask?** A reference call is a conversation with a current customer of the vendor. Ask how long they have used the product, what broke, how support responded, what the real total cost was, and whether they would sign again. Ask for customers your size, and find at least one yourself. --- **Tags:** Reddit, Vendor Evaluation, Fake Reviews, FTC, Software Buying --- *View the [HTML version](https://BigBalli.com/blog/can-you-trust-reddit-when-choosing-software) of this post.*