Free Engagement Rate Calculator
Calculate your engagement rate on Instagram, TikTok, YouTube Shorts, or YouTube long-form in seconds. Paste in your average likes, comments, and follower count, pick a platform, and this free calculator returns your engagement rate as a percentage plus an instant verdict — top quartile, above median, typical, or below typical — against the 2026 PostPaid creator benchmark for your follower tier.
How the engagement rate formula works
Engagement rate = (likes + comments) ÷ followers × 100. On YouTube long-form the denominator is views, not followers, because a single video's engagement is tied to its audience, not the channel subscriber count.
What counts as a good engagement rate in 2026?
- Instagram micro (1K–25K): 2.0%–5.0% is typical; above 5% is top-quartile.
- TikTok micro (1K–25K): 5.0%–10.0% is typical; above 10% is top-quartile.
- YouTube Shorts micro: 3.0%–7.5% is typical.
Benchmarks come from our 2026 CPE benchmark report.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as a good engagement rate on Instagram in 2026?
For micro-influencers (1K–25K followers), 2.0%–5.0% is the typical range. Above 5% is top-quartile. Nano creators (<1K) often run higher (4%–8%) because tight-knit audiences drive disproportionate engagement. On TikTok the typical micro range is 5%–10%, reflecting the platform's higher baseline engagement.
How is engagement rate calculated?
Engagement rate = (likes + comments) ÷ followers × 100. For YouTube long-form the denominator is views per video, not channel subscribers, because engagement on a single video scales with its actual audience rather than the channel's total subscriber count.
Should I count shares or saves in my engagement rate?
The platform-standard formula uses only likes + comments against followers. Shares and saves are leading indicators of reach and are worth tracking separately — include them in your own internal dashboards, but not in the ER figure you publish on a rate card.
Why is my engagement rate lower than expected?
The most common causes are posting cadence (algorithms reward consistency), audience-follow mismatch (followers who don't actually watch your niche), and platform saturation (older followers drift without unfollowing). Benchmark against your tier and platform before making changes.