Wellbutrin
Shares rank 5 of 11 antidepressants by recommenders
People recommend Wellbutrin for low motivation, seasonal depression, and quitting smoking, with few long-term health concerns. Critics say it lacks the effect of a stimulant.
People recommend Wellbutrin for low motivation, seasonal depression, and quitting smoking, with few long-term health concerns. Critics say it lacks the effect of a stimulant.
9 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 3
- approval share
- 67%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Helps motivation and seasonal depression
“if you have a global sense of low motivation and want to raise that general baseline, Wellbutrin is awesome”
Comment from 24 Aug 2026 in “Why Aren't Smart People Happier?” “it improved my seasonal depression and motivation significantly”
Comment from 1 Sep 2026 in “Reverse engineering my ADHD test” Works well, better than before
“Works great, even better than before.”
Comment from 29 Jan 2026 in “Vitamin D and Omega-3 have a larger effect on depression than antidepressants” “Wellbutrin worked for me.”
Comment from 23 Sep 2026 in “People hooked on vapes try a new way to quit: cigarettes”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Weaker than real stimulants
“there is just no comparison to what a moderate dose of a real stimulant does”
Comment from 21 Aug 2026 in “Why Aren't Smart People Happier?” “it just doesn't have the same efficacy”
Comment from 21 Aug 2026 in “Why Aren't Smart People Happier?”
Other antidepressants people recommend
The four most recommended other antidepressants, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 11 antidepressants, rankedWhat people said
9 of the 10 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Wellbutrin worked for me.”
“it improved my seasonal depression and motivation significantly”
“if you have a global sense of low motivation and want to raise that general baseline, Wellbutrin is awesome”
“there is just no comparison to what a moderate dose of a real stimulant does”
“it just doesn't have the same efficacy”
“I blame the Ritalin to adderall to wellbutrin train of drugs for most of that”
“it doesn't pose big long term health risks”
“Works great, even better than before.”
“immediately lost all interest in smoking, haven't had one since”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.