How the history communities compare
A few giants dominate — r/history, r/HistoryMemes and r/AlternativeHistory together account for 95% of the combined membership. Size and activity don't line up perfectly: r/history has the most members, but r/HistoryMemes gets the most new posts (about 66 a day, against 11 in r/history). Per member, the liveliest is r/AlternateHistory: 36 posts a day from 223.1K members — a smaller crowd, but an engaged one. Among the communities we track weekly, r/HistoryMemes grew fastest recently (+0.04%, +5.1K members since Oct 19). The oldest is r/history, founded in 2008, and only one community here is younger than five years: r/Historycord (2022).
The 13 biggest history subreddits
r/history 18,755,053 members · ~11 posts/day · +2.5K since Oct 19 · since 2008r/history is a place for discussions about history. Feel free to submit interesting articles, tell us about this cool book you just read, or start a discussion about who everyone's favorite figure of minor French nobility is! Thi…
r/HistoryMemes 12,777,151 members · ~66 posts/day · +5.1K since Oct 19 · since 2012A place for history memes about events over 20 years ago.
- Ar/AlternativeHistory 324,362 members · ~8.4 posts/day · since 2008
This is a subreddit for the free and open discussion of history related independent thoughts and research. Including but not limited to lost or suppressed historical events, out of place artifacts, fabricated chronological timeli…
- Ir/IndianHistory 285,970 members · ~21 posts/day · since 2013
Welcome to r/indianhistory, a community dedicated to exploring and discussing the rich and diverse history of India and the Indian subcontinent. Please familiarize yourself with the rules in the sidebar before posting, and let's …
- Hr/HistoryAnimemes ↗ 249,853 members · ~1.0 posts/day · since 2018
Anime memes related to history.
- Ar/AlternateHistory ↗ 223,052 members · ~36 posts/day · since 2010
The original alternate history subreddit
- Ar/ArtHistory ↗ 220,615 members · ~18 posts/day · since 2009
This is a community of art enthusiasts interested in a vast range of movements, styles, media, and methodologies. From novice to professional, please feel free to share your favorite articles, essays, and discussions on artists a…
- Ar/AskHistory ↗ 206,064 members · ~16 posts/day · since 2011
For asking casual questions about historical events prior to 01/01/2000. Also see r/History or r/AskHistorians.
- Hr/HistoryWhatIf ↗ 158,980 members · ~12 posts/day · since 2014
Welcome to HistoryWhatIf! We're here to explore alternate history scenarios in interesting ways.
- Ir/IrishHistory ↗ 112,057 members · ~6.1 posts/day · since 2012
A place for discussions about Irish history. This is a somewhat more serious subreddit compared to many others. Make sure to familiarize yourself with our rules and guidelines BEFORE participating. We invite you to submit interes…
- Hr/HistoryAnecdotes ↗ 103,876 members · ~4.6 posts/day · since 2015
Home to the most interesting, and often humorous, anecdotes and short accounts from history.
- Hr/Historycord ↗ 82,442 members · ~4.6 posts/day · since 2022
Official Subreddit for the largest partnered history server on discord. Find people who live and breathe history. Find, analyze, share, discuss, critique and improve your knowledge in this environment. 🤝
- Mr/MilitaryHistory ↗ 78,626 members · ~7.7 posts/day · since 2010
Military History, Modern or Ancient - check out top posts of all time for a guide on the content we want here. Reposts are allowed under certain conditions - See Rule #9 for clarification.
What these communities upvoted this week
This week's best-received posts from a few of the communities above — a quick way to get a feel for each one.
- Case of mysterious medieval skeleton buried in Roman era sarcophagus at Westminster Abbey finally solvedr/history · Oct 24
- There’s always a catchr/HistoryMemes · Oct 24
- How A Canoe Helped Turn Hawaiian Culture Into A Source Of Pride And Even Influenced Hollywoodr/history · Oct 26
- I understand where they were coming fromr/HistoryMemes · Oct 29
Choosing where to post
For beginner questions, r/AskHistory is the natural first stop — it exists for advice, and roughly 16 new threads a day keep it moving. Competition for attention differs a lot: r/history has 18.8M members but only about 11 new posts a day — roughly one new post for every 1.7M members — while r/HistoryMemes gets about 66 a day, one for every 193.6K. A strong, well-made post therefore has more room to be seen in r/history; r/HistoryMemes is better when you want quick replies. Jokes and memes have their own homes in r/HistoryMemes and r/HistoryAnimemes; the serious communities tend to remove them, so keep the two apart. Rule sets vary: of the communities we have rules for, r/history lists 15, against 4 in r/AlternativeHistory, so a post that is fine in one can be removed in another.
Big subreddits give a post the widest audience, but they also bury it quickly; the mid-sized communities on this list are usually friendlier for questions and first posts. Always read the rules in the sidebar first — each community is run by its own volunteer moderators. Our guide to searching Reddit explains how to dig through any of these communities, and the subreddit info tool gives you the stats of one we don't list.
Frequently asked questions
What is the biggest history subreddit?
r/history is the largest, with 18,755,053 members, followed by r/HistoryMemes (12.8M) and r/AlternativeHistory (324.4K).
Which history subreddit is the most active?
By new posts per day, r/HistoryMemes leads with about 66, ahead of r/AlternateHistory (36). Counts are averages over the last seven days.
Where should a beginner ask about history on Reddit?
r/AskHistory is the one built around questions and advice, with about 16 new posts a day. Check its rules and search it first — common questions have usually been answered.
How many history subreddits are there?
We list 13 active, safe-for-work history communities with at least 25,000 members each, 33.6M members in total (people can be in several). Reddit has many smaller ones too; our guide on searching Reddit shows how to find them.
What is the oldest history subreddit?
r/history, created on Jan 25, 2008.
Are these history subreddits safe for work?
Yes. Every community on this page is public and not marked 18+ by Reddit, and we filter out communities whose name or description points to adult content.
Data: Reddit's public subreddit search and the Arctic Shift archive (Oct 30, 2026), growth from SubMouse's weekly snapshots. Member counts of communities outside our Top 1000 come from the archive and can lag a little. Not affiliated with Reddit.