Engagement Rate Calculator for TikTok and Instagram
Enter a post's likes, comments, shares and saves, plus followers, views or reach. You get your engagement rate by each formula, shown next to published averages that used the same formula, with their sources. It's free, needs no sign-up, and the numbers you type stay in your browser.
Calculate your engagement rate
Platform
- TikTok
- Other platform
Interactions on this post
- Likes
- Comments
- Shares
- Saves
Divide by (fill in any you have)
- Followers
- Views
- Reach
How engagement rate is calculated
Engagement rate compares the interactions a post got with the size of its audience. The top of the fraction is always the same: likes + comments + shares + saves. What changes is the number you divide by.
| Formula | Calculation | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| By followers | (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ followers × 100 | How much of your audience size the post turned into interactions |
| By views | (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ views × 100 | How often a view turned into an interaction |
| By reach | (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ reach × 100 | How often a person who saw the post interacted |
Example: a Reel with 900 likes, 40 comments, 30 shares and 30 saves has 1,000 interactions. With 20,000 followers, that's 5% by followers. With 50,000 views, it's 2% by views. Same post, two honest numbers, which is why the formula matters more than the percentage.
Which formula should you use?
- By views, for TikTok videos and Reels. Your follower count barely moves between two posts, so a follower-based rate mostly tracks how many interactions you got. A views-based rate shows how the post did relative to how often it was watched.
- By followers, to compare accounts. Several published studies divide by followers, including Rival IQ's and Socialinsider's Instagram figures, so use this one when you want to line your rate up with theirs.
- By reach, on Instagram. Instagram shows reach as Viewers, the number of unique accounts that saw your post. One person watching twice counts once.
Fill in what you have: the calculator shows every formula your numbers allow, so you don't have to pick.
Where to find each number
TikTok
- In TikTok Studio, open Analytics, then the Content tab, and tap a post to see its performance (TikTok Creator Academy).
- A post's metrics include views, likes, comments, shares and favorites. Favorites are saves (Hootsuite's TikTok analytics guide).
- Your follower count is on your profile.
- In Hootsuite's guide, TikTok's reach figure (reached audience) is an account-level metric, so use views or followers for a single TikTok.
- Open the post or Reel and tap View insights. You'll see Views, Viewers and Interactions. Interactions are likes, comments, saves and shares (Instagram Help Center).
- Views counts every time the content was played or displayed, so repeat views count. Viewers counts unique accounts. Use Viewers as reach. Repeat views raise Views but not Viewers, so a Reel people rewatch shows a lower rate by views than by reach.
- Insights need a public account. Your follower count is on your profile.
What published averages say
If you've read that a good rate "generally falls between 1% and 5%" (Hootsuite's rule of thumb) and felt either proud or crushed, check which formula your number used first. Every figure below comes from the study named next to it. None of them is an official TikTok or Instagram benchmark, and they use different formulas, so compare your result only with rows that match the formula you used.
| Source (date) | Platform | Formula | Published figure | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Socialinsider TikTok benchmarks (2026 edition) | TikTok | (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ views | 4.20% in 2025; 3.85% in Q2 2026 | 2M TikTok videos from 214,507 profiles, Jan 2024 – Dec 2025 |
| Socialinsider Instagram benchmarks (2026 edition) | (likes + comments) ÷ followers | 0.48% overall; Reels 0.52% (2025) | 35M posts from 447,613 profiles, 2025 | |
| Rival IQ 2026 benchmark report (Mar 5, 2026) | Instagram, TikTok | All interactions ÷ followers, median per post | Instagram 0.30%; TikTok 2.01% | 150 companies per industry, 18 industries |
| Buffer State of Social Media Engagement (Mar 5, 2026) | Instagram, TikTok | Engagements ÷ reach, median | Instagram ~5.5%; TikTok ~4.6% | 52M+ posts, 2025 |
| Hootsuite (Oct 6, 2026) | Instagram, TikTok | Not stated | Instagram 4.2% (carousels); TikTok 1.5% (videos) | Not stated |
Why they disagree:
- The denominator. Instagram's rate is 0.30% by followers in Rival IQ's data and about 5.5% by reach in Buffer's. Dividing by reach or by followers can give very different numbers for the same posts.
- What counts as an interaction. Socialinsider's Instagram figure counts likes and comments only. Buffer and Rival IQ count more actions.
- Whose accounts. Socialinsider describes its sample as international brands. Rival IQ samples companies across 18 industries, one of which is influencers. Buffer studies posts published through Buffer.
- Median or average. Rival IQ and Buffer report medians. Socialinsider reports averages. A few viral posts can't drag a median up the way they drag up an average.
Download the engagement benchmarks sheet (CSV): every row above plus one more TikTok source, each with formula, sample, date and link, so you can check a figure before you quote it. Free, no sign-up.
Compare with your own posts
An average built from thousands of brand accounts says little about yours. Your own history is the closest comparison you have. Run your last 10 posts through the calculator using the same formula (views works best for videos), sort the results and take the middle value. That median is your baseline. Pick one cut-off and keep it, for example anything below half your median. Posts above your baseline are worth repeating; posts under the cut-off are worth a closer look.
For retention, the same idea applies to watch time: see average watch time for a 10-video worksheet.
What to do with your number
A rate tells you how many people reacted, not why. If a post landed under your cut-off:
- Run the free Video Flop Checker for a quick read on what went wrong. It needs no account.
- For the full picture, Video Analyzer reads up to 4 screenshots of one TikTok or Reel's analytics and explains in plain language what worked, what hurt and what to change next. No video upload.
Want another quick check before you set sail? Browse more free tools.
Questions
How do you calculate engagement rate?
Add up a post's likes, comments, shares and saves, divide by followers, views or reach, and multiply by 100. The divisor changes the result a lot: the same post can be 5% by followers and 2% by views. Say which one you used when you compare numbers.
What is considered a good engagement rate?
There's no single answer. Published averages depend on the formula: Rival IQ's 2026 report puts the median Instagram rate at 0.30% by followers, while Buffer's 2026 report puts it at about 5.5% by reach. The fairest test is your own median across your last 10 posts, calculated the same way.
Is a 4.2% engagement rate good on Instagram?
It depends on the formula. 4.2% is Hootsuite's 2026 figure for Instagram carousels, but Hootsuite doesn't say which formula it used. By followers, 4.2% is well above Rival IQ's 0.30% and Socialinsider's 0.48%. By reach, it's below Buffer's median of about 5.5%.
Is 12% engagement on Instagram good?
12% is higher than every published Instagram average in the table above, whichever formula you used. Check the formula first: by followers, one post can pass 12% when it reaches many people who don't follow you. Then compare it with your own last 10 posts.
Should I calculate engagement rate by followers or by views?
For TikTok videos and Reels, use views: follower count barely changes between posts, while views do. Use followers when you want to compare with studies that divide by followers, such as Rival IQ's. The calculator shows both.
Is this engagement rate calculator free?
Yes. It's free, needs no account and runs in your browser, so the numbers you type aren't sent anywhere.