Strategy

What’s the average engagement rate? See 2026 benchmarks across 13 industries for Instagram, TikTok and more, plus a free calculator.

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Key takeaways

A “good” engagement rate falls between 1% and 5%, but what counts as strong varies significantly by industry and platform.
Instagram leads overall engagement at 4.2% across industries, followed by LinkedIn at 3.9%.
Construction, education, and nonprofits consistently post the highest average engagement rates across platforms.
You can calculate your engagement rate with a simple formula, or use Perch by Hootsuite to track rates and benchmark against your industry automatically.

What is engagement rate?

Engagement rate is the percentage of your audience that interacts with a piece of content, rather than just scrolling past it. It’s calculated by dividing total interactions by a measure of audience size (usually followers, reach, or impressions), then multiplying by 100.

What counts as an interaction depends on the platform, but it typically includes:

Likes: The lowest-effort signal of interest
Comments: A stronger signal, since they take real effort
Shares and reposts: Content worth passing along to someone else
Saves: Content people want to come back to
Clicks: Link clicks, profile visits, or taps on your content
DMs: Direct replies or message shares

The key thing to remember is that engagement rate measures quality of attention relative to audience size, which is why a small account can easily outperform a much larger one.

Bonus!!!

Use our free engagement rate calculator to find out your engagement rate 4 ways fast. Calculate it on a post-by-post basis or for an entire campaign — for any social network.

Why does engagement rate matter?

Engagement rate matters because it’s one of the few social media metrics that tells you whether your content actually connected with people. Follower counts and impressions measure exposure. Engagement measures response.

For marketing leaders, tracking the social media engagement rate across accounts serves four practical purposes:

Content quality signal: A dip in engagement often shows up before a dip in followers or conversions, making it an early warning system for content quality problems.
Algorithm input: Most platforms use engagement signals to decide how widely to distribute a post, so higher engagement compounds into more reach.
ROI indicator: Engagement rate normalizes for audience size, which makes it a fair way to compare performance across channels, regions, or business units.
Strategy guide: Comparing engagement by format and topic shows you what to produce more of, and what to stop making.

In short, engagement rate is the metric that tells you whether your audience cares, not just whether they saw it.

How do you calculate engagement rate?

You calculate engagement rate by dividing total engagements by an audience measure, then multiplying by 100. Which audience measure you use depends on what you’re trying to learn. There are three common methods:

Engagement rate by reach, for judging content performance among people who saw it
Engagement rate by followers, for benchmarking against industry averages
Engagement rate by impressions, for paid campaigns and repeat exposure

Here’s how each one works. For more variations, including daily and cost-per-engagement formulas, see our full guide to measuring social engagement.

Engagement rate by reach

Formula: (Total engagements / Reach) x 100

This is the most accurate measure of content quality, because it only counts people who actually saw the post. Use it when you want to know how compelling a piece of content was.

Engagement rate by followers

Formula: (Total engagements / Followers) x 100

This is the most widely reported engagement rate formula, and the one used for the industry benchmarks below. Use it when you need to compare your performance to published averages.

Engagement rate by impressions

Formula: (Total engagements / Impressions) x 100

Impressions count every view, including repeat views, so this number runs lower than engagement by reach. Use it for paid campaigns where frequency matters. You can find additional formula breakdowns if you need to go deeper.

Note: If you’re calculating your account’s total engagement, include information about all your posts (e.g., total number of posts published, total number of likes, total number of impressions, and so on).

If you’re calculating the engagement rate of a specific social media marketing campaign, only include the details of the social media posts that were part of the campaign.

What is a good engagement rate?

A good engagement rate generally falls between 1% and 5%, depending on the platform and industry. Anything above 4% is strong on Instagram and LinkedIn, while 1.5% to 3% is closer to normal on TikTok and Facebook.

Here’s how the ranges break down per platform:

Platform

Low

Average

Good

Exceptional

Instagram

Under 2.5%

4.2%

5% to 7%

Above 7%

Under 2%

3.9%

4.5% to 6%

Above 6%

Facebook

Under 1.5%

2.9%

3.5% to 5%

Above 5%

X (Twitter)

Under 1%

1.8%

2.5% to 4%

Above 4%

TikTok

Under 1%

1.5%

2.5% to 4%

Above 4%

This is also why a question like “is 12% engagement on Instagram good?” has an easy answer. Yes, 12% is exceptional. It’s nearly three times the 4.2% average, and usually a sign of either a highly engaged niche audience or a post that broke out well beyond your follower base.

Keep in mind that account size, content format, and industry all shift what’s realistic. Smaller accounts tend to post higher percentages simply because their audiences are more invested, so compare yourself to accounts of a similar size in your sector before deciding whether your number is a problem.

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Across all industries we measured, Instagram leads at 4.2%, with LinkedIn behind at 3.9%. TikTok sits at the bottom of the list at 1.5%.

Platform

Average engagement rate (best-performing content type)

Instagram

4.2%

3.9%

Facebook

2.9%

X (Twitter)

1.8%

TikTok

1.5%

The spread is wide enough to matter for planning. A 2% engagement rate would be mediocre on Instagram and strong on TikTok, which is why platform-level context should come before any judgment about performance.

What is the average engagement rate by industry?

Engagement rate by industry ranges from roughly 0.7% to 5.5% depending on the sector and platform, with construction, education, and nonprofits leading overall. All figures below reflect each platform’s best-performing content type, measured per post against follower count.

Industries are ordered below from strongest to weakest overall performance, so you can see quickly where your sector sits.

Construction, mining and manufacturing

This sector posts consistently strong numbers, leading on TikTok (2.6%) and reaching 5.2% on Instagram. Process footage, equipment, and finished builds give these teams naturally watchable content, which pays off most on video-first platforms.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 4.0%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 5.2%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.4%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 2.8%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 2.6%

Education

Education performs well on every platform, with Instagram (5.4%) and Facebook (5.2%) standing out, and Facebook is the highest rate of any industry we measured. Built-in communities of students, parents, and alumni give these accounts an audience with a genuine reason to respond.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 3.0%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 5.4%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.4%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 5.2%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 2.3%

Nonprofit

Nonprofits lead on Instagram at 5.5%, the highest rate of any sector alongside utilities and energy. Mission-driven storytelling tends to earn the kind of saves and shares that algorithms reward.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 3.4%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 5.5%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.4%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 3.0%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 1.3%

Healthcare, pharma and biotech

Healthcare organizations see solid results on Instagram (4.5%) and LinkedIn (3.4%), helped by high demand for clear, trustworthy health information. TikTok is the outlier at 1.0%, which likely reflects how carefully regulated medical content has to be handled.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 3.4%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 4.5%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.3%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 3.8%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 1.0%

See more healthcare-specific analytics insights.

Financial services

Financial services does better than most marketers expect, with Instagram at 4.1% and LinkedIn at 3.3%. Practical money content tends to earn saves, which counts toward engagement on Instagram.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 3.3%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 4.1%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.1%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 2.4%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 1.6%

Utilities and energy

Utilities and energy records the strongest Instagram rate of any sector at 5.5%, alongside 3.4% on LinkedIn. Short video explainers and outage or service updates give these accounts a clear reason to post, and audiences a clear reason to watch.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 3.4%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 5.5%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.4%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 3.2%

Real estate, legal and other professional services

Professional services perform best on Instagram (4.1%) and LinkedIn (4.0%), where listings, case studies, and expertise-led posts land well. TikTok lags at 0.95%, suggesting the format is still a tough fit for most firms.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 4.0%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 4.1%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 2.9%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 0.95%

Government

Government accounts post above-average results on Instagram (5.0%), with LinkedIn at 2.8%. Service announcements and community updates drive steady, if not spectacular, interaction.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 2.8%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 5.0%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 1.8%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 3.6%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 1.6%

Dining, hospitality, and tourism

Unusually for a consumer-facing sector, LinkedIn leads here at 4.5%, ahead of Instagram at 3.7%. Hiring posts, openings, and operator-to-operator content tend to outperform the food photography on this platform.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 4.5%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 3.7%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.0%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 2.4%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 1.3%

Consumer goods and retail

Retail brands perform most strongly on LinkedIn (4.3%), ahead of Instagram at 3.6%. Facebook is the weak spot at 1.9%, where organic reach for retail pages is heavily limited.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 4.3%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 3.6%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 1.7%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 1.9%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 1.6%

Marketing agencies

Agencies do best on LinkedIn (4.7%), the highest LinkedIn rate of any industry we measured, where peer and client audiences live. TikTok is the clear weak point at 0.7%, one of the lowest rates in the dataset.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 4.7%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 3.7%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 1.7%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 2.2%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 0.7%

Technology

Technology posts solid results on Instagram (4.2%) and LinkedIn (3.9%), reflecting how much B2B tech conversation happens there, and it leads every sector on X at 2.5%. Facebook (1.8%) and TikTok (0.7%) are both well below average.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 3.9%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 4.2%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 2.5%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 1.8%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 0.7%

Media and entertainment

Media brands post below-average results on Instagram (3.2%) and Facebook (2.6%), with LinkedIn at 3.4%. High posting volume spreads engagement thinner across a large follower base.

Average LinkedIn engagement rate: 3.4%
Average Instagram engagement rate: 3.2%
Average Instagram Reels engagement rate: 2.7%
Average X (Twitter) engagement rate: 1.7%
Average Facebook engagement rate: 2.6%
Average TikTok engagement rate: 1.8%

Instagram is the best platform for engagement, consistently recording the highest average rates across industries at 4.2% overall, according to our research.

For brands and organizations just getting started with social media marketing, Instagram’s visual appeal, interactive features, and smart algorithm give engagement a natural boost, helped by the fact that half of U.S. adults now use the platform.

That said, the best platform for your brand is the one where your audience is already active. B2B teams routinely see better results on LinkedIn than Instagram, as the technology and agency numbers above show.

Average engagement rate key insights for 2026

1. Nonprofits top Instagram engagement

Nonprofits lead the pack in terms of engagement on Instagram (5.5%), tied with utilities and energy. Turns out, content with a real mission behind it tends to strike an emotional chord, which is exactly what Instagram rewards.

It’s also a reminder that production budget isn’t the deciding factor. A phone-shot Reels clip with a clear human story routinely outperforms a polished brand video.

2. TikTok remains a challenge for many industries

Despite its popularity, TikTok had the lowest overall average engagement rate at 1.5%, with some industries, like marketing agencies and technology, recording rates below 1%.

The gap usually comes down to fit. TikTok’s recommendation engine pushes content to non-followers who are there to be entertained, so posts built around brand messaging get served to audiences with no reason to interact.

3. Consumer goods and retail excels on LinkedIn

The consumer goods and retail sector shows consistently high engagement across most major platforms, and particularly on LinkedIn at 4.3%. Informative, discussion-driven posts about products, supply chains, and hiring appear to do the heavy lifting.

4. LinkedIn rivals Instagram for overall engagement

At 3.9% overall, LinkedIn sits within half a percentage point of Instagram, with engagement up 8% year-over-year. That surprises a lot of marketers who still treat it as a secondary channel.

For B2B brands, the implication is straightforward. If your audience is professional and your content is substantive, LinkedIn can deliver Instagram-level engagement without competing against entertainment content for attention.

5. Facebook performance varies widely by industry

Facebook’s 2.9% overall average hides a wide spread: education leads at 5.2%, while technology trails at 1.8%.

Organic reach for brand pages has been squeezed for years in favor of paid distribution, which caps how many followers ever see a post. If Facebook matters to your business, treat it as a paid and community channel rather than an organic reach play, and judge it against Facebook benchmarks rather than Instagram ones.

How to improve your engagement rate

Improving your engagement rate comes down to producing fewer, better posts for a clearly defined audience, then letting the data decide what you make next. Five approaches do most of the work:

Audit your top posts first. Pull your 10 highest-engagement posts from the last quarter and look for the pattern in format, topic, and hook. Most teams find the answer is already in their own data.
Cut volume, raise quality. Posting more often spreads engagement across more content without adding interactions. If your rate is falling while output is rising, that’s usually the cause.
Ask for a response. Questions, polls, and prompts that invite a specific reply reliably lift comment volume. This is critical now that comments per post have fallen 16–24% across major platforms, and comments carry more algorithmic weight than likes.
Post when your audience is actually online. Early interaction signals influence how far platform algorithms distribute a post, so timing has an outsized effect on the final number.
Reply to comments quickly. Responses count as engagement and encourage more of it. Teams that treat comments as a channel rather than an inbox see measurably better rates.
Benchmark against your own sector. Chasing a cross-industry average can send you after the wrong goal. Compare yourself to similar accounts in your industry and set targets from there.

Done consistently, these shifts matter more than any single content trend, because they compound across every post you publish.

FAQ: Average engagement rate

What is a good engagement rate on social media?

A good engagement rate on social media generally falls between 1% and 5%, depending on your industry and platform. Anything above 4% is strong on Instagram and LinkedIn, while 1.5% to 3% is closer to the norm on TikTok and Facebook.

How is average engagement rate calculated across platforms?

Average engagement rate is calculated across platforms using a basic engagement rate formula. Add up your total number of engagements on a piece of content (likes, comments, shares, and saves), divide by your number of followers, and multiply by 100. You can also swap out followers for another social media metric, such as impressions or reach.

What factors impact average engagement rate for brands?

The factors that impact a brand’s average engagement rate include its industry, audience size, chosen platforms, content formats, and posting consistency. Smaller accounts often see higher rates than large ones, since a smaller, more invested audience interacts at a higher proportion, and visual posts tend to outperform text-only posts. Platform algorithms also play a role in how far each post travels.

How do engagement rate benchmarks vary by industry and platform?

Engagement rates vary widely by both industry and platform. Construction, education, and nonprofits see the highest engagement rates on average. Platform-wise, Instagram and LinkedIn offer a higher engagement rate (around 4.2% and 3.9% overall) than Facebook and TikTok (around 2.9% and 1.5%).

Does engagement rate or reach matter more?

Whether engagement rate or reach matters more depends on your goal. Engagement rate is one of the most important metrics for content quality, while reach matters more when your goal is awareness and getting in front of new people. Tracking both helps you spot low engagement early and improve content performance.

How can brands improve their engagement rate?

Brands improve their engagement rate by creating high-quality content their target audience actually cares about, then doubling down on what works. Review your engagement data to see which content types are performing, boost top-performing posts with paid promotion, add hashtags to make content more discoverable, and routinely adjust your content strategy based on what the numbers tell you.

What is a good engagement ratio?

A good engagement ratio (also called engagement rate) generally falls between 1% and 5%, depending on the platform and industry. On Instagram, a ratio above 5% is considered good, while on Facebook, anything above 3.5% is a strong result.

What is the 50/30/20 rule for social media?

The 50/30/20 rule for social media is a content mix guideline suggesting that 50% of your posts should engage your audience, 30% should inform or educate, and 20% should promote your products or services. It’s a starting point rather than a law, and your own engagement data should guide how you adjust the balance.

Is 12% engagement on Instagram good?

Yes, a 12% engagement rate on Instagram is exceptional, well above the 4.2% average across industries. Rates that high usually come from smaller accounts with highly invested niche audiences, or from a single post that reached far beyond the existing follower base.

How do you find your average engagement rate?

You can find your average engagement rate by dividing total engagements (likes, comments, shares, saves) by your follower count, then multiplying by 100. To get an average, run that calculation across all posts in a set period and divide by the number of posts, or use a tool like Perch by Hootsuite to track it automatically.

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By Karolina Mikolajczyk

Karolina Mikolajczyk is a Team Lead on Hootsuite's Inbound team and an associate editor of the Hootsuite blog.

After completing her Master’s degree in English, Karolina launched her marketing career in 2014. Before joining Hootsuite in 2021, she worked with digital marketing agencies, SaaS startups, and international enterprise businesses, helping brands and social media content creators grow their online presence and improve conversions through SEO and content marketing strategies.

Karolina lives in Vancouver, BC. She likes to spend her free time bike touring wine bars and hanging out with her two cats, Juju and Tuna.