What Is a Good Engagement Rate on Instagram and TikTok?
The engagement rate formula, benchmarks by follower count, and practical ways to raise it. Includes a free engagement rate calculator.
Quick answer: on Instagram, 1–3% is average, 3–6% is good and above 6% is excellent. TikTok rates run higher, and 4–10% is common. Smaller accounts naturally have higher rates than big ones. Check any account with the Engagement Rate Calculator.
The formula
Engagement rate = (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ posts ÷ followers × 100
Example: an account with 5,000 followers gets 250 likes and 20 comments on a post. (250 + 20) ÷ 1 ÷ 5,000 × 100 = 5.4%, which is a good rate.
Using the average of your last 10–12 posts gives a fairer picture than a single viral post.
Benchmarks by account size
| Followers | Typical Instagram rate |
|---|---|
| Under 10K | 3% – 8% |
| 10K – 100K | 1.5% – 4% |
| 100K – 1M | 1% – 2.5% |
| 1M+ | 0.5% – 1.5% |
Why it matters
- Sponsors pay for attention. A 20K account with 6% engagement often gets better deals than a 200K account with 0.8%.
- The algorithm shows posts that get early interactions to more people, so engagement compounds.
- Fake followers show up as a very low rate: lots of followers, few interactions.
7 ways to raise your engagement rate
- Post Reels and carousels. They get the most saves and shares.
- Hook in the first second. Text on screen and a clear promise.
- Ask a specific question in the caption, not "thoughts?".
- Reply to comments in the first hour. Conversations count.
- Make save-worthy posts: tips, checklists, templates.
- Post when your audience is online (check Insights).
- Clean out inactive or bot followers. They drag the rate down.
Is a very high rate suspicious?
Rates above 15–20% on bigger accounts can point to engagement pods or bought likes. Look at the comments: generic "Nice 🔥" spam from random accounts is a red flag.
Check any account: Engagement Rate Calculator →