r/science vs r/askscience
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/science
Related to r/askscience
Research sharing vs Q&A with science answers
r/science is for sharing and discussing new scientific research across fields. r/askscience is framed as ask a science question, get a science answer.
Both are huge Top-cut communities (science ~34.6M rank #11; askscience ~26.4M rank #20). Activity samples show askscience much busier day-to-day (~196 posts/day vs ~38), fitting a Q&A format. science’s submission type in our sample is link-oriented.
Rules enforce different evidence bars: science requires peer-reviewed research under six months old, bans sensational titles and summary-of-summaries. askscience removes medical advice, homework, memes and top-level comments that do not answer the question.
- Share a recent peer-reviewed paper on r/science—not a blog summary or personal theory.
- Ask a clear science question on r/askscience; do not use it for medical advice or homework dumps.
- Both have full SubMouse /r/ pages in the current Top 100.
Written comparison based on public descriptions and rule titles · updated 2026-11-06.
r/science
Reddit Science
This community is a place to share and discuss new scientific research. Read about the latest advances in astronomy, biology, medicine, physics, social science, and more. Find and submit new publications and popular sci…
- Members
- 34.6M
- 7-day growth
- +4K
- Posts/day
- 37.7
- Directory rank
- #11
- Created
- Oct 18, 2006
- Submissions
- Link posts
Sample mix: links 99%, text posts 1%, images 0%
Topics: Science
Rule titles (short names we collected)
- Must be peer-reviewed research
- No summaries of summaries, rehosts, or reposts
- No editorialized, sensationalized, or biased titles
- Research must be less than 6 months old
- No off-topic comments, memes, low-effort comments or jokes
- No abusive or offensive comments
- Non-professional personal anecdotes will be removed
- Criticism of published work should assume basic competence of the researchers and reviewers
- Comments dismissing established findings and fields of science must provide evidence
- No medical advice
Open r/science on SubMouse
r/askscience
AskScience: Got Questions? Get Answers.
Ask a science question, get a science answer.
- Members
- 26.4M
- 7-day growth
- +2.8K
- Posts/day
- 195.5
- Directory rank
- #20
- Created
- Sep 5, 2008
- Submissions
- Text posts
Sample mix: text posts 100%
Topics: Questions & Discussion, Science
Rule titles (short names we collected)
- Medical advice
- Offensive or abusive language
- Homework question
- Meme, joke, or just link
- Top-level comment not answering the question
- Nonreputable answer
- Simple calculation or easily Googleable
- No bots, no AI generated answers
Open r/askscience on SubMouse
Supported differences
| Aspect | r/science | r/askscience |
|---|
| Public focus (from each community’s public description) |
This community is a place to share and discuss new scientific research. Read about the latest advances in astronomy, biology, medicine, physics, social science, and more. Find and submit new publications and popular sci… |
Ask a science question, get a science answer. |
| Size r/science is larger in our directory. |
34.6M members |
26.4M members |
| Posting activity (our sample) |
37.7/day |
195.5/day |
| Common post types in our sample |
links 99%, text posts 1%, images 0% |
text posts 100% |
| Allowed submission type (meta) |
Link posts |
Text posts |
| Topic tags on SubMouse |
Science |
Questions & Discussion, Science |
| Selected rule titles (short names we collected) |
Must be peer-reviewed research; No summaries of summaries, rehosts, or reposts; No editorialized, sensationalized, or biased titles; Research must be less than 6 months old; No off-topic comments, memes, low-effort comments or jokes |
Medical advice; Offensive or abusive language; Homework question; Meme, joke, or just link; Top-level comment not answering the question |
What they share
- Shared SubMouse topics: Science
- Our directory lists each of these communities on the other’s related list.
Rule titles that matter for choosers
r/science: must be peer-reviewed; no rehosts/summary-of-summaries; no editorialized titles; research < 6 months old; no memes/low-effort; no abusive comments; limits on non-professional anecdotes; evidence required when dismissing established fields; no medical advice.
r/askscience collected titles include removals for medical advice, offensive language, homework, memes/jokes/just-links, and top-level comments that do not answer.
Where this comparison comes from
Safe-for-work directory stats with collected short rule titles and activity samples for both. 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.