Side-by-side using public descriptions, members, growth and rule titles from SubMouse. Missing fields show as n/a. Adult communities are excluded.
Swap sides New comparison Related to r/whatsthisbug Related to r/whatisthisthing
r/whatsthisbug’s public description invites identification of insects, spiders, crustaceans and similar. r/whatisthisthing’s directory text is for identifying mysterious objects.
In our directory, whatisthisthing is larger (about 3.2M, rank #331) than whatsthisbug (about 1.3M, rank #838). Activity samples show whatsthisbug posting more often (~141 posts/day vs ~55). Both samples are gallery- and image-heavy. whatsthisbug’s sample flairs include ID request and just sharing; whatisthisthing’s sample uses solved/open status flairs. Our directory lists each name among the other’s related communities. SubMouse already compares tipofmytongue with whatisthisthing; this pair is specifically bug ID versus general object ID.
Collected short rule titles were available for whatisthisthing (civility, solved replies, no AI answers, submission guidelines). For whatsthisbug, collected short rule titles were n/a in our snapshot.
Written comparison based on public descriptions and rule titles · updated 2026-11-07.
Bug identification! All insects, spiders, crustaceans, etc. welcome!
Sample mix: galleries 48%, images 38%, videos 12%
Rule titles: n/a — we have not collected short rule names for this community yet.
For the identification of mysterious objects
Sample mix: galleries 57%, images 40%, text posts 2%
Rule titles (short names we collected)
| Aspect | r/whatsthisbug | r/whatisthisthing |
|---|---|---|
| Public focus (from each community’s public description) | Bug identification! All insects, spiders, crustaceans, etc. welcome! | For the identification of mysterious objects |
| Size r/whatisthisthing is larger in our directory (about 2.5×). |
1.3M members | 3.2M members |
| Posting activity (our sample) | 141/day | 55/day |
| Common post types in our sample | galleries 48%, images 38%, videos 12% | galleries 57%, images 40%, text posts 2% |
| Allowed submission type (meta) | Text or links | Link posts |
| Selected rule titles (short names we collected) | n/a | Be civil; Be helpful / No Jokes; Try to include a link...; Reply "Solved!"; DO NOT DELETE YOUR POST |
whatsthisbug: collected short rule titles n/a in our snapshot. Our sample is gallery/image/video-heavy with ID-request and just-sharing flairs.
whatisthisthing short titles include: be civil; be helpful / no jokes; try to include a link; reply “Solved!”; do not delete your post; be detailed; do not post AI generated answers; no URL shorteners or tracking links; check the F.A.T.; posts must adhere to submission guidelines. Our sample uses solved/open status flairs.
Public descriptions and member counts from SubMouse’s safe-for-work directory. Short rule titles (where collected) and activity samples SubMouse collected. Mutual related-list links. Short titles only. Related curated page: tipofmytongue-vs-whatisthisthing.
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.