I get asked this question literally every day. A client sends me a TikTok link and asks: “This girl has 4% engagement. Is that bad? Should we pass?”
Three years ago, 4% might have been “meh.” But in 2026? The platform has matured. The algorithm is harder to crack. If you are still expecting 2020-level numbers, you are going to be disappointed.
Also, context matters. A beauty guru and a funny dog account should not have the same numbers. Let’s break down what a “Good” Engagement Rate (ER) actually looks like right now.
The Short Answer: General Benchmarks
If you just want a quick reference to screenshot for your boss, here is the general rule of thumb we use at our agency for 2026:
| Status | Engagement Rate (by Views) | What it Means |
|---|---|---|
| Low / Poor | Less than 3% | Content isn’t hooking the audience, or potential shadowban. |
| Average / Good | 3% – 6% | This is the “Sweet Spot” for most healthy accounts. |
| High / Excellent | 6% – 10% | Strong community. Likely has high shares/saves. |
| Viral / Unicorn | Over 10% | Absolute gold. Hire them immediately. |
Benchmarks by Industry (Niche Matters)
You can’t compare apples to oranges. Different niches have different audience behaviors. For example, people love to watch food videos but might not comment as much as they do on a controversial opinion video.
Here are the averages we are seeing for the top niches:
💄 Beauty & Skincare
Average ER: 3.5% – 5.5%
The beauty space is saturated. Audiences are skeptical. High engagement here usually comes from “Saves” (tutorials) rather than Likes.
🧘 Lifestyle & Vlogs
Average ER: 4.0% – 6.5%
Personality-driven content. If the creator has a loyal fanbase (parasocial relationships), the comments section will be very active, driving up the ER.
🏀 Outdoor & Sports
Average ER: 5.0% – 8.0%
This niche is visual and “satisfying.” High-energy clips (like a slam dunk or a mountain bike trick) get re-watched multiple times, which boosts the algorithm.
🍔 Food & Cooking
Average ER: 4.5% – 7.0%
Food porn works. The “Share” metric is usually huge here because people send recipes to their partners saying “We need to make this.”
The “Follower Paradox” (Size vs. ER)
Here is something that confuses my clients all the time: Smaller influencers almost always have higher engagement rates.
It makes sense if you think about it. A Nano-influencer (5k followers) knows their audience personally. A Mega-star (5M followers) has a lot of “ghost” followers.
- Nano (1k – 10k): Expect 8% – 12% ER.
- Micro (10k – 100k): Expect 5% – 8% ER.
- Macro (100k+): Expect 3% – 5% ER.
Stop Guessing, Start Calculating
Looking at these numbers is helpful, but you don’t have time to sit there with a calculator for every single video.
To see where an influencer actually lands on this scale, just plug their username into engagementratecalculator.net. It compares their data against these benchmarks automatically.
Trust the data, not your gut.