In total, the album sold more than 2.5 million copies and gained several certification awards around the globe.

Rolling Stone's Anthony DeCurtis thought Clapton combines both blues and pop music very well and "blends virtually every style he's worked in during the past thirty-five years".

Clapton, circumspect as a composer and still highly adept as a musical practitioner, has his own authentic blues to draw on now and, in many ways, they hit a truer note than when he dips into the older, existing catalogue of standards.

[8] Christa L. Titus from Billboard magazine calls the album a perfect example for Clapton's typical "heritage rock format".

[12] In the United States, Reptile peaked at number five on the Billboard 200 top albums chart, gaining a so-called "Hot Shot Debut" recognition by the American magazine, as the album sold a total of 101,500 units in its first week.

[15] On 8 June, the rock album was certified with a Gold disc by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) to commemorate outstanding sales figures reaching more than 500,000 copies.

[18] In Canada, Clapton's 2001 release went to number 11 on Billboards top Canadian albums chart in 2001.

[20] However, in Australia, the Clapton album reached number 20 on the ARIA charts in 2001,[21] and was certified Platinum for sales exceeding 70,000 copies in the country.

[39] Reptile was also certified Gold in Switzerland by the local IFPI office,[40] previously peaking at number two on the Schweizer Hitparade.