Engagement Rate

The percentage of a creator’s followers who interact (like, comment, share, save) with a typical post.

Engagement rate is the single most-used metric for evaluating an influencer’s audience quality. The standard formula divides the total interactions on a post by the creator’s total followers, then multiplies by 100. A 5% engagement rate on a 50,000-follower account means roughly 2,500 followers interacted with that post.

Benchmarks vary by platform and follower count. As of 2026: Instagram averages 1-3% across all tiers, TikTok averages 5-15% (algorithm-driven exposure pushes the numbers higher), YouTube 2-5% (likes + comments per view, not per subscriber). Above-average engagement at a creator’s tier is a stronger buying signal than raw follower count.

Collabios shows the creator’s self-reported follower count alongside, where available, a platform-verified count — so brands evaluating engagement rate can compare against the more reliable denominator instead of taking inflated self-reports at face value.