Most calculators ask for one post and give you a number that means nothing. Enter your last few posts instead and get an average you can actually quote to a brand, plus an honest comparison against accounts your size.
Fill in as many posts as you like. Leave the rest blank. Three or more gives a decent average, six is better.
Add your follower count and a few recent posts to see where you stand.
Engagement rate here is calculated as (likes + comments) divided by followers. Some brands use reach or impressions as the denominator instead, which produces a higher number. If a brand quotes a figure that looks nothing like this one, that's usually why.
Engagement rate falls as accounts grow, so a flat target is meaningless. These are the rough averages by follower bracket, and what we compare you against.
| Follower count | Typical engagement rate | What's genuinely strong |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1,000 | 6% – 8% | Above 10% |
| 1,000 – 5,000 | 4.5% – 5.5% | Above 7% |
| 5,000 – 20,000 | 3% – 4% | Above 5.5% |
| 20,000 – 100,000 | 2% – 2.8% | Above 4% |
| 100,000 – 500,000 | 1.6% – 2.2% | Above 3% |
| Over 500,000 | 1.2% – 1.8% | Above 2.5% |
Engagement rate falls when followers go quiet, and people go quiet long before they unfollow. IggyPlug Tracker emails you every week showing exactly who left, who joined, and where your count stands, so you can see whether your rate is slipping because of your content or because of your audience. From $29/mo, and it never asks for your Instagram password.
Add the likes and comments on a post, divide by your follower count, then multiply by 100. Averaging your last six to nine posts gives a far more reliable figure than using a single post, because one viral hit or one flop will skew a single-post calculation badly. That's why this calculator asks for several.
It depends heavily on account size, and smaller accounts naturally score higher because their followers are more likely to be people who actually know them. Under 1,000 followers, 6 to 8 percent is typical. From 1,000 to 5,000 expect around 5 percent, 5,000 to 20,000 around 3.5 percent, 20,000 to 100,000 around 2.5 percent, and above 100,000 around 2 percent. Beating your own bracket matters more than hitting any universal number.
Usually it's follower composition rather than content quality. People who lose interest stop engaging long before they get round to unfollowing, so they sit in your denominator contributing nothing to your numerator. Giveaway entrants, bought followers and accounts that went inactive all drag the number down in exactly the same way, which is why a growing account can have a falling rate.
You can, and some brands prefer it, but only you can see those numbers, so a rate that includes them isn't independently verifiable. Likes and comments are public, which makes them the common currency when a brand is comparing you against other creators. Quote the public figure and mention saves separately if they're strong.
Yes, often more closely than follower count. A 10,000 follower account at 6 percent will frequently out-earn a 50,000 follower account at 1 percent, because the brand is buying attention rather than a number. If your rate is strong, lead with it when you pitch.