Influencer Engagement Rate Calculator

What Is Engagement Rate and Why Does It Matter?

Engagement rate measures how actively an audience interacts with an influencer's content relative to their follower count. It is the single most reliable indicator of whether a creator's audience is real, attentive, and likely to act on recommendations.

Follower counts are easy to inflate. Brands that rely on follower numbers alone risk spending budget on creators whose audiences never see or respond to sponsored posts. Engagement rate solves this problem by expressing audience activity as a percentage: the higher the rate, the more followers are paying attention.

A creator with 20,000 followers and a 6% engagement rate will typically drive more conversions than a creator with 500,000 followers and a 0.3% rate. Marketers use engagement rate to shortlist influencers, negotiate fair pricing, and forecast campaign performance before a single dollar is spent.

Engagement rate also serves as an early warning system for fake followers. Accounts that have purchased followers or used growth bots almost always show engagement rates well below the platform average for their follower tier, because those fake accounts do not like, comment, or share content.

How Do You Calculate Engagement Rate?

Divide the sum of average likes and average comments by the total follower count, then multiply by 100. The result is the engagement rate expressed as a percentage.

ER = (Likes + Comments) ÷ Followers × 100

Worked Example

Suppose an Instagram influencer has 50,000 followers. Over their last 12 posts, they average 2,000 likes and 100 comments per post.

Step 1: Add engagements: 2,000 + 100 = 2,100

Step 2: Divide by followers: 2,100 ÷ 50,000 = 0.042

Step 3: Multiply by 100: 0.042 × 100 = 4.2%

An engagement rate of 4.2% falls within the "good" range for a micro-influencer on Instagram according to 2026 benchmarks. Use the calculator at the top of this page to run the same formula on any influencer profile in seconds.

What Is a Good Engagement Rate? (2026 Benchmarks)

A "good" engagement rate depends on the platform and the influencer's follower tier. Nano influencers consistently achieve higher rates than mega creators because smaller audiences tend to be more engaged and algorithmically favoured.

Instagram Engagement Rate Benchmarks

Tier	Followers	Good ER
Nano	1K – 10K	5 – 10%
Micro	10K – 100K	3 – 6%
Macro	100K – 1M	1 – 3%
Mega	1M+	0.5 – 1.5%

TikTok Engagement Rate Benchmarks

Tier	Followers	Good ER
Nano	1K – 10K	10 – 18%
Micro	10K – 100K	5 – 10%
Macro	100K – 1M	4 – 8%
Mega	1M+	2 – 4%

YouTube Engagement Rate Benchmarks

Tier	Subscribers	Good ER
Nano	1K – 10K	3 – 6%
Micro	10K – 100K	2 – 4%
Macro	100K – 1M	1 – 2%
Mega	1M+	0.5 – 1%

These benchmarks reflect aggregated data from ViralMango's database of over 450 million influencer profiles. Individual performance varies by niche, posting frequency, and content format.

Why Are TikTok Engagement Rates Higher Than Instagram?

TikTok's For You Page algorithm distributes content to users who do not follow the creator, dramatically increasing impressions and interactions compared to Instagram's follower-centric feed.

On Instagram, a post is primarily shown to existing followers. The algorithm may boost a Reel to the Explore page, but the default distribution pool is limited to the people who already follow the account. Engagement is therefore constrained by follower loyalty and feed position.

TikTok operates differently. Every video enters a testing pool on the For You Page, where it is shown to a sample of users regardless of whether they follow the creator. If those users engage, TikTok expands the distribution pool. This means a nano creator with 5,000 followers can routinely reach 50,000 to 100,000 viewers per video, generating engagement numbers that would be impossible on a follower-gated platform.

The practical implication for brands is that comparing raw engagement rates across platforms is misleading. A 5% engagement rate on Instagram represents stronger follower loyalty than a 5% rate on TikTok, where much of the engagement comes from non-followers discovering the content through algorithmic distribution.

What Is the Mango Score?

The Mango Score is a composite metric from 0 to 100 that combines engagement rate with audience quality, growth trajectory, and comment authenticity to give brands a single, reliable performance indicator.

Engagement rate alone does not tell the full story. An influencer could have a high engagement rate driven by bot comments, giveaway spam, or engagement pods. The Mango Score addresses these blind spots by weighing four factors together:

Engagement Rate

Average likes and comments relative to follower count, benchmarked against the creator's tier and platform.

Quality Audience

Percentage of followers that are real, active accounts rather than bots, inactive users, or mass-follow accounts.

Growth Trend

Consistency and trajectory of follower growth over time. Sudden spikes may indicate purchased followers.

Comment Authenticity

Analysis of comment quality, language patterns, and diversity to detect engagement pods and bot comments.

A Mango Score above 70 generally indicates a healthy, authentic influencer profile. Scores below 40 warrant closer inspection. ViralMango calculates the Mango Score automatically for every profile across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.

What Is the Difference Between Engagement Rate, Reach Rate, and View Rate?

Engagement rate divides interactions by followers, reach rate divides interactions by unique viewers, and view rate divides video views by followers. Each metric answers a different question about content performance.

Metric	Formula	Best For
Engagement Rate	(Likes + Comments) ÷ Followers × 100	Comparing influencers before a campaign
Reach Rate	(Likes + Comments) ÷ Reach × 100	Measuring post-level performance with first-party data
View Rate	Views ÷ Followers × 100	Evaluating video content distribution on TikTok and YouTube

Engagement rate is the most commonly used metric for influencer vetting because follower count is publicly available data. Reach rate requires access to the influencer's first-party analytics (available only through direct sharing or platform partnerships), making it more accurate but harder to obtain at scale. View rate is particularly useful on video-first platforms where a view represents meaningful attention even without a like or comment.

ViralMango displays all three metrics when the data is available, allowing brands to make decisions based on the most relevant measurement for their campaign objectives.

Frequently Asked Questions

Instagram engagement rate is calculated by adding the total likes and comments on a post, dividing by the creator's follower count, and multiplying by 100. For example, an account with 50,000 followers that averages 2,000 likes and 100 comments per post has an engagement rate of 4.2%. ViralMango calculates this automatically across the most recent posts for a more reliable average.

In 2026 the average TikTok engagement rate ranges from about 2% for mega influencers (1M+ followers) to 10–18% for nano creators (1K–10K followers). TikTok engagement rates are significantly higher than other platforms because the For You Page algorithm distributes content beyond a creator's existing follower base.

Yes. ViralMango automatically calculates the engagement rate for every influencer profile across Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Beyond the basic engagement rate, ViralMango also provides a composite Mango Score (0–100) that factors in audience quality, growth trends, and comment authenticity for a more complete picture of influencer performance.

Engagement rate and fake followers are closely related. An influencer with a large number of fake followers will typically show an abnormally low engagement rate because those fake accounts do not interact with posts. Conversely, some influencers buy fake engagement to inflate their numbers. ViralMango's Fake Follower Checker analyzes both metrics together to identify suspicious patterns and give you a reliable authenticity score.