ProovenEngagement rate calculator
Instagram and TikTok. Enter your video's numbers and see right away whether people react as much as on viral videos.
A good engagement rate for a video is above 4.8%. That is the average rate across over 1,500 viral Instagram and TikTok videos I analysed (July 2026). Above 7.6%, you beat 3 out of 4 viral videos. Above 10.6%, you are in the top 10%.
How do you calculate engagement rate?
Add up every reaction to the video, then divide by the number of views:
Engagement rate = (likes + comments + shares + saves) ÷ views × 100
Example: 50,000 views, 2,000 likes, 150 comments, 300 shares and 250 saves. 2,700 reactions ÷ 50,000 views = 5.4%. That is above the viral average.
If you can't see saves (TikTok and Instagram sometimes hide them), leave the field empty: the result is still right, just a little lower.
What is a good engagement rate?
Here is where the viral videos I analysed one by one land. This is the high bar: a regular video often scores less.
| Engagement rate | What it means |
|---|---|
| Below 2.6% | Lower than 3 out of 4 viral videos |
| 2.6% to 4.8% | Below the viral average |
| 4.8% to 7.6% | Above the viral average |
| 7.6% to 10.6% | Better than 3 out of 4 viral videos |
| Above 10.6% | Top 10% of viral videos |
What engagement rate in your niche?
It depends on the topic. Personal development videos get lots of reactions, tech videos a bit fewer.
| Niche | Average rate | Videos |
|---|---|---|
| Personal development | 7.4% | 150 |
| Health & wellness | 5.7% | 99 |
| Lifestyle & entertainment | 5.7% | 86 |
| Business & finance | 5.0% | 58 |
| Tech | 4.4% | 34 |
| Creativity & content creation | 4.3% | 54 |
| All niches | 6.1% | 481 |
This table comes from a different sample: 481 Instagram Reels with over 10,000 views, posted between 2023 and 2026. Use it to compare niches with each other.
By views or by followers: which one?
By views, for a video. On TikTok and Reels, most views come from people who don't follow you, so dividing by followers doesn't say much. Since 2024, Instagram itself puts views first as its main number.
By followers, for an account. It's Instagram's older method: (likes + comments) ÷ followers × 100, averaged over your latest posts. Brands still use it to compare accounts.
How do you increase your engagement rate?
- The first 3 seconds. A clear hook keeps the right people watching, and they are the ones who react.
- Give a reason to share. In the viral videos I analysed, 3 out of 4 work for one of two reasons: "this is useful" or "this is so me".
- End with a simple question people can answer in one word.
- Reuse a format that already worked instead of starting from scratch every time.
Want to know what your views earn? See how much TikTok, YouTube and Instagram pay.
Where do these numbers come from?
From the Prooven database: viral Instagram and TikTok videos, analysed one by one (views, likes, comments, shares, saves when visible). The calculator benchmarks cover over 1,500 videos (snapshot from July 2026). A statistic hidden by the platform is left out, never counted as zero. See the full method.
Want to know what to change?
Prooven analyses your account, gives you a score out of 100 and shows you one viral format a day, adapted to your niche. Coming soon to iPhone.