r/dating_advice vs r/relationship_advice
Side-by-side using public descriptions, members, growth and rule titles from SubMouse. Missing fields show as n/a. Adult communities are excluded.
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Related to r/dating_advice
Related to r/relationship_advice
Dating-stage questions vs relationship advice for established dynamics
r/dating_advice says it is for specific dating situations—not general debates—and points longer relationships toward r/relationship_advice. r/relationship_advice covers romance, family, friends and coworkers when you need help with a real interpersonal situation.
In our directory relationship_advice is larger (about 15.9M, rank #57) than dating_advice (about 4.9M, rank #186). Both are extremely active in our samples (~755 vs ~544 posts/day). They list each other as related.
Format rules are strict on relationship_advice (title, description, TL;DR, ages/genders; specific advice; no yes/no moral judgment posts). dating_advice bans pickup-artist/red-pill language, gender-war generalizations and low-effort off-topic posts.
- Use r/dating_advice for early-stage dating dilemmas and apps/meeting contexts.
- Use r/relationship_advice for ongoing relationships—and follow its required post structure.
- relationship_advice has a full SubMouse /r/ page; dating_advice uses the info tool outside the Top cut.
Written comparison based on public descriptions and rule titles · updated 2026-11-06.
r/dating_advice
Dating Advice
this sub is for advice about specific dating situations not general debates. posts about relationships longer than 6 months post go to r/relationship_advice or if you are married post to r/marriage
- Members
- 4.9M
- 7-day growth
- +7.2K
- Posts/day
- 543.7
- Directory rank
- #186
- Created
- Sep 27, 2010
- Submissions
- Text posts
Sample mix: text posts 100%
Topics: Advice, Dating
Rule titles (short names we collected)
- No hate-speech, personal attacks, or harassment
- Spam / Advertising/ Solicitation of Dms
- Pickup Artist / Red pill language /MGTOW
- Off-topic / Low-effort
- Self-pity
- Repetitive topic
- Generalizations & Gender war
- Body Count
Open r/dating_advice on SubMouse
About this community: r/dating_advice (#186, about 4.9 million) is for advice on specific dating situations—not general debates. Its own description steers relationships longer than six months to r/relationship_advice and married topics to r/marriage. Rules bar hate/harassment, PUA/red-pill/MGTOW language, spam/DM solicitation, self-pity, gender-war generalizations, and several other low-value patterns. Text (~543.7 ppd).
r/relationship_advice
Relationship Advice
Need help with your relationship? Whether it's romance, friendship, family, co-workers, or basic human interaction: we're here to help!
- Members
- 15.9M
- 7-day growth
- +6K
- Posts/day
- 755.4
- Directory rank
- #57
- Created
- Jun 14, 2009
- Submissions
- Text posts
Sample mix: text posts 100%
Topics: Advice, Relationships
Rule titles (short names we collected)
- Posts must contain a title, description, TLDR, & basic info like ages, genders
- All posts must request specific advice on a specific, real situation between two or more people
- No questions that can be answered with yes or no (aka moral judgment)
- Things This Sub Can't Give Advice On:
- Only One Update Is Allowed
- Surveys, Academic Research, Information Requests, and Media Questions Should Be Sent to Modmail
- All comments must be on topic, and focus on the OP, and be made in good faith
- Keep It Civil
- No referencing hateful or abusive subs/individuals/content
- Do not directly message users
- No situations involving people under 18
Open r/relationship_advice on SubMouse
About this community: r/relationship_advice (#57, about 15.9 million) is for interpersonal relationship counsel. Rules: Posts must contain a title, description, TLDR, & basic info like ages, genders; All posts must request specific advice on a specific, real situation between two or more people; No questions that can be answered with yes or no (aka moral judgment); Things This Sub Can't Give Advice On:; Only One Update Is Allowed; Survey…
Supported differences
| Aspect | r/dating_advice | r/relationship_advice |
|---|
| Public focus (from each community’s public description) |
this sub is for advice about specific dating situations not general debates. posts about relationships longer than 6 months post go to r/relationship_advice or if you are married post to r/marriage |
Need help with your relationship? Whether it's romance, friendship, family, co-workers, or basic human interaction: we're here to help! |
| Size r/relationship_advice is larger in our directory (about 3.2×). |
4.9M members |
15.9M members |
| Posting activity (our sample) |
543.7/day |
755.4/day |
| Common post types in our sample |
text posts 100% |
text posts 100% |
| Topic tags on SubMouse |
Advice, Dating |
Advice, Relationships |
| Selected rule titles (short names we collected) |
No hate-speech, personal attacks, or harassment; Spam / Advertising/ Solicitation of Dms; Pickup Artist / Red pill language /MGTOW; Off-topic / Low-effort; Self-pity |
Posts must contain a title, description, TLDR, & basic info like ages, genders; All posts must request specific advice on a specific, real situation between two or more people; No questions that can be answered with yes or no (aka moral judgment); Things This Sub Can't Give Advice On:; Only One Update Is Allowed |
What they share
- Shared SubMouse topics: Advice
- Our directory lists each of these communities on the other’s related list.
Rules and tone we can verify
r/dating_advice titles include bans on hate speech, certain sex topics, spam/DM solicitation, PUA/red-pill/MGTOW language, off-topic/low-effort, self-pity, repetitive topics, generalizations and “body count” debates.
r/relationship_advice requires structured posts with basics like ages/genders, specific real situations, bans yes/no moral-judgment questions, limits updates, demands on-topic good-faith comments, and forbids situations involving minors.
Where this comparison comes from
Directory descriptions/members, collected short rule titles and activity samples, plus mutual related-list links. Short titles only.
Members and public descriptions come from SubMouse's safe-for-work directory (as of 2026-11-02 UTC); 7-day growth measured from 2026-10-26. Posts/day and post-type mixes appear when we have an activity sample. Rule lines are short titles, not the full sidebar. Directory rank is listing order — communities outside the current Top 100 open in the info tool instead of a full community page.
Comparisons we prepared
Hand-written explanations for pairs where the public descriptions and rules support a real distinction: