Engagement Rate Calculator

How to use this calculator

1. Pick the platform. It sets the average your rate is compared with; the rate itself is worked out the same way on all three.
2. Enter your followers, or your subscribers on YouTube.
3. Enter likes and comments per post, and shares and saves if you have them. Use one post or the average across recent posts, but the same posts for every figure.
4. Add views per post to see the rate by views.
5. Read the rate by followers, the rate by views, the account size and the comparison with the average. Open the Summary tab to see the working.

It works for creators checking their own numbers and for brands checking a creator they might hire. A brand usually sees only likes and comments on a public post, because only the account owner can see saves, shares and reach. Enter what you can see, or ask the creator for screenshots from their analytics.

What do I need to enter?

• Platform — Instagram, TikTok or YouTube. It chooses the average your rate is compared with and does not change the rate.
• Followers or subscribers — your audience size, at least 1 for a rate, up to 10 billion. Subscribers on YouTube.
• Views per post — optional. It gives the rate by views; leave it blank to skip that figure.
• Likes per post and Comments per post — per post or an average across recent posts, using the same posts for every figure.
• Shares per post and Saves per post — optional, and only the account owner can see them. They count towards your rate, and towards the platform comparison only where that average counts them.

What do the results show?

• Engagement rate by followers (subscribers on YouTube) — the main figure: engagements as a percentage of your audience.
• Engagement rate by views — engagements as a percentage of views, shown once you enter views.
• Engagements per post — likes, comments, shares and saves added together.
• Account size — Nano, Micro, Macro or Mega, from your follower count.
• Versus the platform average — your rate as a multiple of the published average, counted the same way. YouTube has no sourced average, so it reads Not available.
• Summary — the sums behind each figure, so you can check them.

How do you calculate engagement rate?

Divide the engagements on a post by the audience and multiply by 100. The calculator shows two versions, one for each audience.

Take the calculator's defaults: an Instagram account with 20,000 followers whose posts average 400 likes, 20 comments, 10 shares and 50 saves. That is 480 engagements a post, so the rate by followers is 480 ÷ 20,000 × 100 = 2.40%. With 6,000 views a post, the rate by views is 480 ÷ 6,000 × 100 = 8.00%.

Socialinsider's Instagram average counts likes and comments only, so the comparison leaves out shares and saves: 420 ÷ 20,000 = 2.10%. The Instagram average is 0.45%, so the calculator reports that as 4.7× the average.

Which interactions count, and what do you divide by?

There is no official formula. Platforms publish raw counts such as likes, comments, shares, saves, views and reach, not a rate, so every tool picks its own. The same post can give very different percentages depending on what is counted and what it is divided by, which is why an average is only comparable with a rate built the same way.

Should I measure engagement rate by followers or by views?

Each answers a different question, so the calculator shows both.

• By followers shows how much of your existing audience responds. It is the basis of published averages, so it is the one to compare with them. It ignores people who saw a post without following the account.
• By views shows how well a post held the people who actually saw it. It suits TikTok and YouTube, where many viewers do not follow the account. Do not compare it with an average that is a rate by followers.
• By reach divides by the unique accounts that saw the post. Enter your reach in the views box to get it.

On Instagram, Meta’s developer documentation lists views, reach, likes, comments, shares and saves as separate metrics and marks impressions as deprecated. Many older guides still tell you to divide by impressions; views has taken its place.

What is a good engagement rate?

It depends on the platform and the size of the account. The only sourced averages here are for Instagram and TikTok.

Averages change, so these are Socialinsider's figures for Q1–Q2 2026, last reviewed 12 October 2026. Both are rates by followers, and both cover accounts of every size.

• Instagram counts likes and comments. TikTok counts likes, comments, shares and saves. The calculator compares like for like.
• Socialinsider’s study analysed 70 million posts from January 2024 to December 2025 and describes the TikTok figure as its lowest in a year and a half.
• The averages are global. They are not specific to the UK or the US, and they do not cover your niche.
• YouTube has no average here, because there is no recent, documented one to cite. Compare with your own recent videos and with channels of a similar size.

How does account size affect engagement rate?

Smaller accounts usually see higher rates than larger ones, so a rate means more when it is compared with accounts of a similar size. The calculator labels the account with the tiers influencer marketing commonly uses. No body defines them and sources differ at the edges, so treat them as a description, not a rule. They do not change the comparison with the average.

Does a high engagement rate mean an influencer is worth hiring?

Not on its own. An engagement rate shows how much of an audience responds, not whether that audience matches your customers or will buy. Before you pay for a post:

• Compare like with like: the same platform, a similar size and the same kind of content.
• Ask for screenshots from the creator’s own analytics. Saves, shares and reach are visible only to the account owner.
• Read the comments. Genuine conversation about the product tells you more than a count of them.
• Treat a rate far from what similar accounts get, in either direction, as a reason to ask questions, not as proof of anything.

To judge a campaign by its return rather than its reactions, use the Return on Investment Calculator. To see what a customer is worth over time, use the Customer Lifetime Value Calculator.

Do paid or gifted posts have to be labelled as ads in the UK and US?

Yes, in both. If a brand has paid you or given you something, the post has to be clearly identifiable as advertising. The rules differ in the detail.

“#ad” meets both. “Sponsored” is accepted by the FTC but falls short of the ASA’s guidance. The CMA also publishes guidance for content creators. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the regulators’ pages for the current rules.

What does this calculator not do?

• It does not look up an account. You enter the figures, so it works for any account and needs no login.
• It uses the figures you enter. If one viral post would skew an average, enter a typical post instead.
• It compares with a platform-wide average, not with your niche, country or content type.
• It describes past engagement. It does not predict reach, sales or what a creator will charge.

Sources

• Socialinsider: Social media benchmarks. The Instagram and TikTok averages, and how each counts engagement.
• Meta: Instagram media insights. The metrics Instagram publishes, and the deprecation of impressions.
• ASA: Recognising ads on social media. When and how UK influencer posts must be labelled as ads.
• CMA: Social media endorsements, guidance for content creators. The consumer-law regulator’s guidance for UK creators.
• FTC: Disclosures 101 for social media influencers. When and how US influencers must disclose a material connection.

The averages are published figures that change, so check the linked page for the current position. This is general information, not marketing, legal or financial advice.

Frequently asked questions