Engagement rate calculator
There is no single engagement rate. There are at least four, they are all called the same thing, and they can differ by a factor of three on the same post.
Put your numbers in once and see all of them, so you know which one a brand is quoting at you and which one you should be quoting back.
By followers, likes and comments
The conservative one. Quote this in a media kit.
7.56%
By followers, all interactions
Saves and shares included
9.16%
By reach, likes and comments
What agencies usually mean
4.72%
By reach, all interactions
The flattering one. Say so if you use it.
5.73%
How this works
The number a brand uses depends on what they are buying. An agency buying awareness usually means engagement by reach, because that is the share of people who actually saw it and did something. A brand comparing you against a list of creators normally means engagement by followers, because it is the only one they can calculate without asking you for a screenshot.
Engagement by reach is almost always the flattering one, and on a reel that travelled well it can be several times the by-followers figure. That is not dishonest, as long as you say which one it is. Quoting a reach-based rate as though it were a follower-based one is the thing that gets noticed in the second meeting.
What counts as an interaction also moves the number. Likes and comments is the conservative definition. Adding saves and shares is increasingly standard on Instagram, because both are stronger signals than a like, and on a reel they can double the total.
Common questions
- What is a good engagement rate in India?
- By followers, 1% to 3% is normal for an account over 50,000, and 3% to 6% is good. Smaller accounts run much higher: under 10,000 followers, 5% to 10% is common. By reach the same account will show a far bigger number, so the band only means something once you say which method you used.
- Which engagement rate should I put in my media kit?
- Put the by-followers figure, because it is the one a brand can verify, and add the by-reach figure next to it labelled as such. Showing both reads as confidence. Showing only the flattering one reads as a choice once they work out which it was.
- Should saves and shares count as engagement?
- On Instagram, yes, and say that you have included them. A save is a stronger signal of intent than a like, and the platform's own ranking treats it that way. Just be consistent: do not include them in the number you quote and exclude them in the number you compare yourself against.
- Why is my engagement rate falling as I grow?
- It almost always does. A bigger follower count includes more people who followed once and never came back, and the denominator grows faster than the interactions do. A brand that knows the category expects this, which is why reach-based numbers matter more above about 100,000 followers.