How to calculate engagement rate, with four formulas
To calculate engagement rate, add up the likes, comments, shares and saves on a post, divide by followers, reach or impressions, and multiply by 100. The denominator changes the result, so pick one and use it every time. Reach suits single posts; followers suits comparing accounts.
To calculate engagement rate, add up the interactions on a post and divide by the audience it reached, then multiply by 100. Interactions are usually likes, comments, shares and saves. The audience can be followers, reach or impressions, and each gives a different number for the same post.
That last point is where most reports go wrong. Two people can describe the same post as 2% and 4% and both be right. The fix is to choose one formula, label it, and keep it.
The four engagement rate formulas
- By followers: engagements ÷ followers × 100. Use it to compare accounts of different sizes.
- By reach: engagements ÷ reach × 100. Use it to judge how one post landed with the people who saw it.
- By impressions or views: engagements ÷ impressions × 100. Use it for posts shown many times to the same people, and for video.
- Per post, averaged: the per-post rate, averaged over a week or month. Use it to track an account over time.
Reach counts people. Impressions count times the post was shown, so one person can add several. That is why a rate by impressions is usually lower than a rate by reach. Our glossary entry on reach vs impressions explains the difference in more detail.
A worked example
Say a post gets 30 likes, 6 comments, 4 shares and 10 saves. That is 50 engagements.
- With 2,000 followers: 50 ÷ 2,000 × 100 = 2.5%
- With a reach of 1,250: 50 ÷ 1,250 × 100 = 4.0%
- With 2,500 impressions: 50 ÷ 2,500 × 100 = 2.0%
Same post, three honest answers. Put the formula next to the number whenever you report it, for example "4.0% (by reach)".
Decide what counts as engagement
Networks report different actions, and tools add them up differently. Before your first report, write down your list:
- Always count: likes or reactions, comments, shares or reposts, saves.
- Decide once: link clicks and profile visits. They show intent, but some networks only report them on business accounts.
- Leave out: views on their own. A view is reach, not engagement.
If you change the list later, recalculate the old months or start a new series. A rate that changed because you counted more actions looks like growth that never happened.
Which formula to use
- Reporting to a client or a boss: by reach, per post, then the monthly median. It answers "did the people who saw it care?"
- Comparing your account with another: by followers, because reach is private to each account.
- Video: by views or impressions, since networks report views for video rather than reach.
Whatever you pick, the most useful comparison is with yourself. Take the median rate of your last 20 posts and mark each new post as above or below it. That tells you more than a benchmark from an account in another niche.
Common mistakes
- Mixing denominators in one report, such as reach for Instagram and followers for LinkedIn.
- Counting your own replies as comments. Many tools include them; the rate looks better than it is.
- Comparing a giveaway post with normal posts. Mark campaign posts and leave them out of the median.
- Dividing by followers on a fast-growing account. The follower count at month end makes early posts look worse.
Track it every week
Engagement rate works best as a weekly habit: one number per post, one median per week, one note on what changed. If you plan your posts in one sitting, check last week's rates in the same sitting, then adjust the next week's plan. Our guide to building a social media content plan shows that weekly routine.