What is a good engagement rate on Instagram?

You open your Instagram insights, see a percentage and wonder: is that good?

Here's the friendly answer. It's probably better than you think, especially if you're a smaller creator. You just need to know which way it was counted.

Why the numbers seem to disagree

Your engagement rate is your likes, comments, saves and shares, divided by something. And there are two common choices for that "something":

• By followers. Divide by your total follower count. This is the older, more common way. It tends to drop as an account grows, because people who followed years ago and never open the app still count.
• By reach. Divide by the number of people who actually saw the post. Since that's usually fewer people than your followers, this percentage comes out higher.

Neither one is wrong. They just answer slightly different questions. The only mistake is comparing one kind against the other.

So what counts as good?

Here are the two most quoted benchmarks for creators with 1,000 to 10,000 followers:

• HypeAuditor, in its 2025 State of Influencer Marketing report built from 76 million Instagram accounts, puts the average at 2.19%, counted by followers.
• eMarketer, publishing in January 2026, puts the same group at 6.23%, counted by reach.

Same platform, same size of account, nearly three times the number. Now you know why. If your rate is near or above the right one of those, you're doing well.

Good news for smaller creators

HypeAuditor's 2025 report found that creators with 1,000 to 10,000 followers have the highest average engagement of any group. They're also the majority: 76% of all Instagram influencers.

It's even more striking on TikTok, where the smallest group averages 11.9% and makes up 87% of all TikTok influencers.

So if you're small, you're not behind. You're the normal case, and your engagement rate is one of your strongest selling points.

What brands care about even more

A like takes half a second. A comment that says "Where can I buy this?" is a person telling you they want the product. That's the signal brands are really paying for.

So alongside your engagement rate, pay attention to what people say. Questions about where to buy, which shade to pick or whether it ships to their country are gold. Collect a few and show them to brands.

Real conversation is also how brands know your audience is real. Bought likes come with empty, generic comments. Real fans ask questions. Our guide on spotting fake followers covers the simple signs.

How to use your engagement rate well

• Say how you counted. "By followers" or "by reach", every time.
• Compare like with like. Same way of counting, same platform, similar account size, similar topic.
• Read the comments, not just the count. Questions about the product beat big numbers.
• Share data from your connected account. A screenshot can only show one good week. Numbers straight from the platform show the whole picture.
• Use it alongside your price, not instead of it. Our guide on what creators charge covers what moves a rate.

Where Lumienzo fits

On Lumienzo, creators connect their own accounts through the platform's official login, so brands see the platform's real numbers instead of a screenshot. Lumi also reads what your audience says, so it can match you with brands that want buyers, not just people who tap a heart.

See how it works for creators and for brands.