Reddit Comment Exporter: 4 Ways to Export Comments in 2026

Need to export Reddit comments? Here are 4 working methods in 2026 — from Reddit's own data export to browser extensions and scripts.

Why Export Reddit Comments?

There are several reasons you might want to export Reddit comments:

Saving your own comment history before deleting your account
Archiving valuable comments from other users before they get deleted
Research and analysis — studying comment patterns, sentiment, or specific topics
Backing up saved comments that are important to you
Moving content to a personal knowledge base like Notion, Obsidian, or a local archive

Whatever your reason, Reddit doesn't make this easy. There's no "Export Comments" button anywhere in the interface. But there are several methods that work.

Method 1: Reddit's Official Data Export

Reddit lets you download a copy of your own data, including every comment you've ever made.

How to do it:

Go to reddit.com/settings/data-request (you must be logged in)
Click "Request Data"
Wait for Reddit's email (can take a few hours to several days)
Download the ZIP file when it arrives

What you get:

The export includes a file called comments.csv that contains:

Comment text (body)
Subreddit name
Post ID (the parent post)
Timestamp
Score (upvotes minus downvotes at time of export)
Permalink

Limitations:

Only exports your own comments — not comments by other users
The data is a snapshot in time — you'd need to re-export for updates
Format is CSV, which isn't the most readable for long comments
Some fields may be truncated in the CSV format

For more on data exports, see our guide on Reddit data request and saved posts.

Method 2: Use a Browser Extension

Several browser extensions can export Reddit comments, though the landscape has changed significantly since Reddit's 2023 API pricing overhaul.

Readdit Later exports your saved comments (along with saved posts) in multiple formats — CSV, Markdown, and JSON. It works by syncing your saved content to your browser's local storage, then letting you export from there. This is particularly useful if you've been saving interesting comments from other users and want them in a portable format.

Other extensions to look at:

Reddit Enhancement Suite (RES) — includes some export functionality, though it's primarily a browsing enhancement tool
Reddit Comment Search — focused on searching, but some versions include export features

Important note: Since Reddit's API changes, many older export extensions have stopped working or become unreliable. Check recent reviews and update dates before installing anything.

Method 3: Use the Reddit JSON Trick

Reddit pages can be accessed as raw JSON by appending .json to any URL. This works for comment threads too.

For a full post with all comments:

https://reddit.com/r/SUBREDDIT/comments/POST_ID/title.json

For a specific user's comments:

https://reddit.com/user/USERNAME/comments.json?limit=100

You can paginate through results using the after parameter:

https://reddit.com/user/USERNAME/comments.json?limit=100&after=t1_COMMENT_ID

Limitations:

Requires some technical knowledge to process the JSON
Rate-limited to approximately 10 requests per minute without authentication
Subject to the same 1,000-item listing cap as the regular interface
Returns raw JSON that needs parsing into a usable format

For a deeper dive into this approach, see our guide on the Reddit JSON API.

Method 4: Python Scripts (PRAW)

For bulk exports or recurring needs, Python with the PRAW (Python Reddit API Wrapper) library is the most flexible option.

Basic setup:

You'll need to create a Reddit API application at reddit.com/prefs/apps, then install PRAW with pip install praw. Use the PRAW library to authenticate with your client ID and secret, then iterate over your comments with reddit.redditor('USERNAME').comments.new(limit=None). Write each comment's subreddit, body, score, timestamp, and permalink to a CSV file.

What you need:

A Reddit account
A Reddit API application (create one at reddit.com/prefs/apps)
Python 3.x installed
The PRAW library

Advantages:

Fully customizable — export exactly the fields you need
Can export comments from specific subreddits, date ranges, or score thresholds
Repeatable — save the script and run it whenever you need a fresh export
Can export other users' public comments (with rate limiting)

Limitations:

Requires programming knowledge
Reddit API rate limits apply (60 requests/minute with OAuth)
Still subject to the 1,000-item listing cap per endpoint
Requires creating an API application on Reddit

Which Method Should You Use?

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For most people, Reddit's official data export is the simplest starting point. If you specifically want to manage and export comments you've saved from other users, a browser extension is the way to go. And if you need serious data extraction at scale, Python is the most powerful option.

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