What Reddit Contest Mode Hides, and What It Means for Your Reply

What is Reddit contest mode?

Moderators switch a single thread into Reddit contest mode to stop votes from deciding where comments appear: every comment is shuffled into a random order, all comment scores are hidden, and replies to top-level comments are collapsed. Reddit's What mods can do article describes the switch in one line: contest mode "automatically hides all replies to top-level comments, scrambles all comments, and hides the scores to all comments." When a thread you want to answer is in contest mode, post a top-level comment that stands on its own, because a nested reply sits out of sight.

Contest mode is set per post, not per community. A moderator turns it on for one thread, and every other thread in the subreddit keeps its normal sort.

Why do moderators turn on contest mode?

Moderators use contest mode for threads where the first comments should not win just by arriving early. Reddit's Scheduled and Recurring Posts article frames it that way: "Enable contest mode to randomize the order of comments in a post, and hide vote scores of the comments for users, if the post is for a contest."

On a normal thread, the comments that collect votes first rise to the top and collect more, which our Reddit hot vs new vs top guide explains for posts. Contest mode breaks that loop. That suits photo contests, caption contests, giveaways and nomination threads, where each entry should get read in a random position instead of the first ten entries getting all the attention.

What changes in a thread when contest mode is on?

Contest mode changes four things that decide whether a comment gets read: its position, its score, its replies and the sort menu. The table compares a contest-mode thread with a normal one from a member's view.

	Normal thread	Contest mode thread
Order of top-level comments	Set by the sort, Best by default	Shuffled at random
Comment scores	Shown, unless the community hides new scores for a set time	Hidden from members
Replies to a top-level comment	Shown under the parent	Collapsed by default
Advantage for early comments	Large, early votes compound	None from position
Moderators' view	Same as members	Scores visible, Top sort by default

The shuffle happens fresh, not once. In Reddit's open-source code, archived on GitHub in 2017, a member viewing a contest-mode thread gets the random sort, and the comment builder shuffles the scores of top-level comments each time it builds the page. Two people opening the same thread see the entries in different orders.

The collapsed replies are the part that hits a hand-written answer hardest. Old Reddit's archived template wraps the replies under each top-level comment behind a "show replies" link, and its notice to members reads: "contest mode randomizes comment sorting, hides scores, and collapses replies by default." A reply to someone else's comment is there, but only readers who click open that comment's replies will see it.

What do moderators see in contest mode?

Moderators see the real scores and can sort the thread however they like, which is how they pick winners. The archived controller code defaults a moderator to the Top sort in a contest-mode thread, with a comment that reads "Default to top for contest mode to make determining winners easier." The old Reddit notice shown to moderators says "as a mod, you can sort comments however you wish and scores are visible. regular users have randomized sorting and cannot see the scores."

Votes still count while scores are hidden. Members keep voting, Reddit keeps the tallies, and the moderator reads them at the end. The archived code also has a subreddit option, contest_mode_upvotes_only, that makes the moderators' view count upvotes only, so downvotes do not count against an entry when winners are picked.

How do moderators turn contest mode on and off?

A moderator turns contest mode on from the moderation menu on the post, and there are three other routes for automation.

1. From the post: Reddit's What mods can do article lists it under Manage Contest Mode as "Turn on contest mode for any submission."
2. From a scheduled post: the Scheduled and Recurring Posts settings include an option to enable contest mode before the post goes live.
3. From AutoModerator: Reddit's AutoModerator documentation defines set_contest_mode, which "Enables (true) or disables (false) contest mode for the submission's comments."
4. From the API: the Data API's POST /api/set_contest_mode sets or unsets "contest mode" for a link's comments, takes a state boolean, and needs the modposts scope.

Turning it off restores the normal sort and shows the scores again, because the votes were recorded the whole time.

How does contest mode change where you should reply?

In a contest-mode thread, a top-level comment is the only reply format that every reader sees without clicking. Early arrival earns nothing, so a reply posted an hour late lands in a random slot just like the first one, and its content decides whether readers engage.

That flips some habits from normal threads. On a normal thread, replying under the highest comment puts your answer in front of the most readers. In contest mode the highest comment does not exist for members, and your reply under it is collapsed. When you answer a question in a contest-mode thread:

1. Post a top-level comment, not a reply to another comment.
2. Restate the question you are answering in your first line, since readers see your comment without the context of where it would have sat.
3. Answer in full in that comment, because nobody can see a follow-up nested under it without clicking.
4. Do not judge the reply by its score. You will not see one until the moderator turns contest mode off.
5. Read the rules for the thread. A contest post sets its own entry rules, and a product mention in an entry thread reads as spam under reddiquette.

If your comment does not appear at all, contest mode is not the cause. Contest mode reorders comments, it does not hide them. Check whether the comment was removed, or whether the account itself is hidden, using the Reddit shadowban test.

What a reader meets in a contest-mode thread

Reader opens the thread

Comments shuffled

Scores hidden

Replies collapsed

Top-level comment gets read

Where does RedReplier fit when a thread is in contest mode?

RedReplier finds the thread and leaves the posting decision to you. RedReplier watches Reddit, X, Bluesky, Facebook and Hacker News for your keywords and ranks each match by buyer intent, product fit and freshness. Matches land on your RedReplier dashboard within minutes of a post or comment going live, and email alerts go out as digests on a cadence you set per keyword, from hourly to daily. Through Reddit keyword monitoring, each match arrives with its thread context and a drafted reply that you review, edit and post yourself. In a contest-mode thread, that edit is where you turn a draft into a standalone top-level comment.

Frequently asked questions

What does contest mode do on Reddit?

Contest mode shuffles every comment in a thread into a random order, hides all comment scores and collapses replies to top-level comments. Reddit's help centre says it "hides all replies to top-level comments, scrambles all comments, and hides the scores to all comments."

Can you still vote in contest mode?

Yes. Members vote as usual and Reddit records the votes, but members cannot see the scores. Moderators see the real scores and can sort by Top to find the winners.

Can moderators see scores in contest mode?

Yes. Old Reddit's archived notice for moderators says "you can sort comments however you wish and scores are visible," and the archived code defaults moderators to the Top sort in a contest-mode thread.

Does contest mode change the order every time you load the thread?

In Reddit's archived open-source code, it does. Members get a random sort, and the builder shuffles top-level comments each time it builds the page, so two readers see different orders.

Should I reply to a comment or post a top-level comment in contest mode?

Post a top-level comment. Contest mode collapses replies to top-level comments by default, so a nested reply stays out of view until a reader opens that comment's replies.

Can AutoModerator turn on contest mode?

Yes. Reddit's AutoModerator documentation defines a set_contest_mode action that enables or disables contest mode for a submission's comments. Moderators also set it on scheduled posts and through the /api/set_contest_mode endpoint.

Is Reddit contest mode set for a whole subreddit or one post?

Contest mode is set per post. A moderator turns it on for one thread, and every other thread in the subreddit keeps its normal sort.

How do you see replies in a contest mode thread?

Replies to top-level comments are collapsed by default. You open them by clicking the link under each top-level comment, which old Reddit labels "show replies".

What happens to the scores when contest mode is turned off?

The normal sort comes back and the scores show again. Reddit recorded the votes the whole time, so nothing is lost.

Why is my comment missing in a contest mode thread?

Contest mode reorders comments but does not hide them, so it is not the cause. Check whether the comment was removed, or whether your account is hidden, using the Reddit shadowban test.