Your manager has forwarded a benchmark report and wants to know why your engagement rate is below the line. Here's the short answer to the question as asked. Measured the way the big benchmark reports measure it, as interactions divided by followers, two 2026 reports put the typical brand on Instagram at 0.30% and 0.45%, and on TikTok at 2.01% and 2.50%. A third report puts Instagram at 4.2%. So "good" depends almost entirely on which formula you use and who you compare yourself with. Below: what the reports actually measure, the comparisons teams use, and which one to use for which conversation.
What the benchmark reports say, and why they disagree
| Report | TikTok | YouTube | How it's calculated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rival IQ 2026 | 0.30% | 2.01% | 0.21% | Median, "total interactions by follower count", 150 companies per industry |
| Socialinsider 2026 | 0.45% | 2.50% | not covered | Likes and comments (plus shares and saves on TikTok) divided by followers, across 70M brand posts |
| Hootsuite, 2026 research | 4.2% | 1.5% | not covered | "each platform's best-performing content type, measured per post against follower count" |
The first two are close because they measure nearly the same thing: interactions on brand posts divided by followers. Hootsuite's Instagram figure is far higher, which its focus on each platform's best-performing content type probably explains. None of them is wrong. They answer different questions, and an article quoting "the average engagement rate" without the formula is quoting half a number.
Your own tool may not use the report's formula either. Hootsuite lists three common ones, dividing engagements by reach, by followers or by impressions (Hootsuite), and the same post gives a different rate under each. Check which one your dashboard uses before you compare.
Five ways to answer "is our engagement good?"
1. Quote an industry benchmark
Good for: the manager's question, in one line. If you calculate by followers and sit around a few tenths of a percent on Instagram, the two 2026 reports above say you're in the normal range for a brand. Where it breaks: it can't tell you whether any particular post worked, and it averages across accounts of every size, niche and audience. Use it as a range check, and always name the report and its formula next to the number.
2. Compare with accounts like yours
Competitor tools put your numbers next to named rivals. Sprout Social's competitor reports track "audience growth, engagement and post volume for each network" (Sprout Social), and Rival IQ sends alerts when competitors post high-performing content (Rival IQ).
Good for: a closer comparison than an industry line: the same market, similar audiences. Where it breaks: their audience still isn't yours, and boosted posts can inflate their numbers without showing it. It tells you who's ahead, not what to do about it.
3. Compare with your own usual
The platforms have started doing this for you. Instagram flags reels that beat your recent ones, with notices like "It got 20% more views than the average of your recent reels" (TechCrunch), and YouTube shows "comparisons to your typical performance" (YouTube Help). Where the platform doesn't do it for you, compare a new post with your typical posts from the last month or two on the same platform, using one formula throughout.
Good for: decisions. It removes account size, niche and audience from the comparison, so a post above the line really did better than your usual. Where it breaks: it can't tell you whether your usual is any good. A flat account can beat its own median every week and still be behind the market.
4. Measure something other than engagement rate
Engagement rate lumps a like and a share together. Instagram's head Adam Mosseri has said the top three ranking signals are watch time, likes and sends, and suggested watching "average watch time, likes per reach, and sends per reach" (Social Media Today).
Good for: knowing why a post did what it did. Watch time tells you whether the video held people; sends tell you whether they thought it was worth passing on. Where it breaks: these are harder to benchmark, because few reports publish them, so they're for your own decisions more than for a slide.
5. Let a research tool keep both comparisons
Rankfield is one: its audit sets your account against your own recent posts and the competitors you name, side by side, and turns the gap into what to film.
Good for: "vs our usual" and "vs accounts like ours" in one place, every week. Where it breaks: it isn't a benchmark report, so you'll still quote one for the manager, and it reads public numbers, so watch time and sends stay in your own insights.
Which to use when
- For your manager: one benchmark, named, with its formula, plus where you sit against two or three direct competitors. That answers "are we normal?" honestly.
- For next week's plan: the platform's "vs your usual" signals and your own typical posts, read post by post. That answers "did this work?"
- When the numbers are fine but flat: look at the competitors' posts that drew a response and ask what they film that you don't. That's covered in reading the accounts around you.
If your manager pushes for one number to hit, offer a change against your own typical posts instead of an industry figure. A goal you can move by changing what you film is more useful than one set by accounts you've never seen.
Questions
Should I calculate engagement rate by followers or by reach?
By followers if you want to compare with the big benchmark reports, which use it. By reach or views if you want to know whether the people who actually saw a post cared. Pick one, write it down, and never switch halfway through a quarter.
Should I use the average or the median of my posts?
The median. One post that travels far beyond your usual audience pulls an average up for weeks and makes every normal post look like a failure. The median tells you what a typical post from your account does.