Free tool
Engagement rate calculator
Add up likes, comments, saves, and shares, divide by followers or reach, and multiply by 100. This works it out and tells you how the result compares.
Engagement rate by followers
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Enter at least one engagement and a follower or reach figure.
The formula
Engagement rate (%) = (likes + comments + saves + shares) ÷ followers × 100
By reach instead:
Engagement rate (%) = (likes + comments + saves + shares) ÷ reach × 100The denominator is the part that causes confusion. Dividing by followers measures what share of your audience acted. Dividing by reach measures what share of the people who actually saw it acted, and always produces a higher number.
Neither is more correct, but they are not comparable. Whenever you quote an engagement rate, say which one it is, because a brand comparing your reach-based figure against another creator's follower-based figure is comparing nothing.
For a figure that means something, average across your last 10 to 12 posts rather than using a single one. One post that outperformed is not your engagement rate.
What counts as good
These are Instagram benchmarks by follower count. Engagement falls predictably as an audience grows, so the only fair comparison is against creators of a similar size on the same platform.
| Rate | Reading | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1% | Low | Common on very large accounts. On a smaller account it is worth checking audience quality. |
| 1% to 3% | Typical | Where most Instagram accounts of moderate size sit. |
| 3% to 6% | Strong | A genuinely engaged audience. Supports a rate above the base formula. |
| Over 6% | Exceptional | Normal for nano accounts. On a large account, check for pod activity. |
Common questions
- How do you calculate engagement rate?
- Add likes, comments, saves, and shares for a post, divide by follower count, and multiply by 100. To calculate by reach instead, divide by the number of unique accounts that saw the post. Average across the last 10 to 12 posts for a figure worth quoting.
- What is a good engagement rate on Instagram?
- One to 3 percent by followers is typical, above 3 percent is strong, and nano accounts under 10,000 followers often exceed 5 percent. Very large accounts commonly sit below 1 percent without anything being wrong.
- Should saves and shares count as engagement?
- Yes, and they signal far more intent than a like. Where a platform reports them separately it is worth looking at the mix as well as the total, because a post with many saves is doing something a post with many likes is not.
Related terms
- Engagement rate
- Engagement rate is the share of an audience that interacts with a post, calculated as total engagements divided by a chosen denominator, most often followers or reach, expressed as a percentage.
- Reach
- Reach is the number of unique accounts that saw a piece of content at least once. Each person is counted once no matter how many times they saw it.
- Impressions
- Impressions are the total number of times a piece of content was displayed, counting repeat views by the same person.
- Audience audit
- An audience audit checks whether a creator's followers are real and relevant, looking for bought followers, engagement pods, and mismatches between the audience's location or age and the brand's market.
Engagement rate is one input into what you should charge. The rate calculator uses it, and the pricing guide explains the rest.