Calculate your engagement rate
Enter the likes, comments, and shares on a post, then your follower count or the video's views. The calculator returns the engagement rate and grades it against 2026 benchmarks. Use the follower basis for Instagram and the views basis for TikTok.
Calculate any post or account's engagement rate.
Follower-based rate = (likes + comments + shares + saves) / followers x 100. View-based rate = (likes + comments + shares) / views x 100. TikTok is usually measured on views, which runs higher than the follower-based rate, so compare creators on the same basis. Verdict bands are 2026 creator-market benchmarks and vary by niche.
What is the engagement rate formula?
There is no single universal formula, so the honest answer is that it depends on what you divide by. The three common versions:
| Formula | Calculation | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| By followers | (likes + comments + shares + saves) / followers x 100 | Instagram and most follower-based comparisons. |
| By reach or views | (likes + comments + shares) / views x 100 | TikTok, and any post where reach is the honest denominator. |
| By impressions | (total interactions) / impressions x 100 | Paid campaigns where you have impression data. |
*The three formulas produce different numbers for the same post, so always compare creators on the same basis. A view-based TikTok rate is not comparable to a follower-based Instagram rate.
Want to find creators with real engagement?
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What is a good engagement rate in 2026?
Engagement rate falls as an account grows, because a bigger audience is harder to activate. Judge a creator against others in their tier, not against the platform average.
| Follower tier | Good Instagram ER | Good TikTok ER (by views) |
|---|---|---|
| Nano (1K to 10K) | 3% to 8% | 8% to 15%+ |
| Micro (10K to 100K) | 2% to 5% | 6% to 12% |
| Mid (100K to 500K) | 1.5% to 3% | 4% to 9% |
| Macro (500K to 1M) | 1% to 2.5% | 3% to 7% |
| Mega (1M+) | 0.8% to 2% | 2% to 5% |
*2026 creator-market benchmark bands. Engagement varies widely by niche: beauty, fashion, and fitness tend to run higher, while broad entertainment runs lower. Treat these as a band, not a guarantee.
TikTok rates read higher than Instagram because they are calculated on views, not followers, and a video can reach far more people than follow the account. That is why you never compare a TikTok view-based rate directly to an Instagram follower-based rate.
Why engagement rate beats follower count
Follower count tells you how many people could see a post. Engagement rate tells you how many actually care. For brands paying creators, the second number predicts results far better than the first.
A 30,000-follower creator with a 10% engagement rate often drives more sales than a 300,000-follower creator at 1.5%, because the smaller audience is more active and more trusting. Engagement rate is also the fastest way to spot bought followers: a large account with a rate under 1% usually has an inflated or disengaged audience.
When you vet creators for a TikTok Shop program, screen on engagement rate and niche fit before follower count. The creators who convert are the ones whose audience reacts, comments, and buys, not the ones with the biggest vanity number.
