The engagement rate formula, three ways
Every engagement rate is engagements divided by an audience, times 100. What changes between tools and platforms is the audience you divide by:
- By views: (likes + comments + shares) ÷ views × 100. The fairest measure for YouTube and TikTok, where most viewers do not follow the channel. This is the main figure here.
- By subscribers or followers: the same engagements ÷ subscribers × 100. Common on Instagram and in brand deals, but it punishes channels whose videos reach far beyond their subscribers.
- By reach or impressions: engagements ÷ the people who saw the post. Only the account owner can see reach, so outsiders cannot use it.
Example: a video with 25,000 views, 1,100 likes, 140 comments and 60 shares has (1,100 + 140 + 60) ÷ 25,000 × 100 = 5.2% by views. If the channel has 80,000 subscribers, the same video is 1.6% by subscribers. Both are correct; always say which one you mean.
Comparing YouTube with Instagram, TikTok and Facebook
Engagement rates from different platforms are not directly comparable. TikTok and Shorts rates are usually worked out per view and tend to look high, because a like costs one tap during a short loop. Instagram and Facebook rates are usually per follower, and they tend to look low for large accounts. A long YouTube video asks more of the viewer, so its like rate is lower, but a comment there often means someone watched for several minutes.
When you compare creators for a campaign, compare them on the same platform, with the same formula, over a similar number of recent posts.
Why engagement drops as a channel grows
Small channels are watched mostly by people who chose them, so a large share of viewers like and comment. Once YouTube starts recommending a video to strangers, views grow faster than likes and the rate falls, even though the video is doing well. That is why a 2% rate can be excellent for a video with millions of views and weak for one with 2,000. Look at the trend for the same channel over time rather than at a single number.
Spotting bought likes and fake engagement
Some patterns suggest engagement that was bought or swapped rather than earned:
- A like rate far above the channel’s other videos on one upload, with very few comments.
- Many short, generic comments such as “Nice video” or emoji only, often from new or empty accounts.
- A big subscriber count with videos that get only a few hundred views, giving a very low rate by subscribers.
None of these proves anything on its own, but they are worth checking before paying for a sponsorship.
Ways to raise your engagement rate
Ask one specific question in the video and pin a comment that repeats it, reply to early comments in the first hour, and say why a like helps instead of just asking for one. Chapters and a clear title also help: viewers who find what they came for are more likely to react. Track the like rate and comment rate separately, because they respond to different things.