Pick the denominator before you compare anything
An Instagram engagement rate is interactions divided by a denominator, then shown as a percent. The denominator is either followers or reach. Those are different rates. A post can look strong by reach and ordinary by followers, or the reverse, without anything being wrong with the arithmetic.
Followers is the count on the account. Reach is how many accounts saw that post, which a professional account shows in insights. The engagement rate calculator prints both when you enter both, and it labels which one you are looking at.
Count the interactions you actually have
Likes and comments are on the post. Saves and shares are in insights. Include a number only when you have it. Leaving saves blank is not the same as knowing the post got zero saves, and the calculator says when blank fields were left out.
Do not add reach into the numerator. Reach is a denominator. Adding it to likes produces a number that is not an engagement rate.
- One post: interactions divided by followers, or by that post's reach.
- Several posts by followers: the average of those posts, which is total interactions divided by followers times the number of posts.
- Several posts by reach: total interactions divided by total reach. A post seen by more people counts for more, which is what "weighted by reach" means.
Why the follower rate shrinks as you grow
The same interactions on a larger follower count produce a smaller follower rate. The posts can be doing the same work. The denominator changed. That is why a follower rate from last year is a weak comparison for an account that has since grown, and why the reach rate is the one to keep if insights show reach.
There is no target rate on this site. A published "good" Instagram rate would be someone else's niche and someone else's year. Compare your posts with each other, using one formula.
What to do after you have the number
Keep the posts that earned the attention and make the next one in that series. A rate does not say which caption to rewrite. The caption and hashtag generator drafts a caption from words you type and builds hashtags only from those words. A rate also does not rewrite the profile. The bio generator drafts the Instagram bio from words you type and counts the 150 characters Instagram's Help Center allows. If you also publish on YouTube, the packaging problem is the title and the thumbnail, which a like rate on Instagram will not fix.
Creator Climb does not log into Instagram. Paid plans audit a YouTube channel. Pro is $9 a month, Growth is $19, and Unlimited is $39. The free plan includes one channel audit a month. The calculator stays free either way.
Questions
Do I divide by followers or by reach?
Use reach when the post's insights show it. Use followers when that is the only count you have. Do not compare a follower rate with a reach rate.
Should saves and shares be in the rate?
Include them when you have the numbers. If you leave them blank, say so when you compare the post with one that included them.
Is there a good Instagram engagement rate?
Not one this site will invent. Compare your own posts that used the same denominator. A public average would describe a different account.