What counts as a good engagement rate, by channel size

There is no single right number for every channel. The two most-cited public reference points for 2026 are 3.85% divided by views and 2.01% divided by followers — they measure different things, so they do not contradict each other. Small channels almost always rate higher than large ones, and the gap between industries is wider than the gap between platforms.

The two reference points

Sources: Socialinsider and Quid, both accessed 21/09/2026. Before comparing your channel to either, read how to calculate engagement rate to be sure you are using the same denominator.

Socialinsider records the Q2 2026 figure as down 8% on the previous quarter, after sitting around 4.20%–4.30% since Q1 2025. A benchmark taken from last year's article is already wrong.

Why small channels always rate higher

This is a statistical effect, not a content-quality one. A small channel has a more uniform following: they arrived for one reason. A large channel accumulates every kind of person, many of whom followed after a single video and never interacted again.

The practical consequence when booking: do not reject a large channel for a low rate, and do not pay a premium for a small channel just because its rate is high. Multiply the rate by median views to get absolute interactions — that is what you are actually buying.

Building a benchmark for your own niche

A platform-wide figure is close to useless when you only care about one niche. How to do it:

1. List 8–10 channels in the same niche at a similar size, using find creators by niche keyword.
2. Run channel report on each — 5 credits per channel, 60 most recent videos.
3. Take the median, not the mean: one viral video skews an average.
4. Record the date. Re-run in three months to see whether the whole niche is rising or falling.

Ten channels is 50 credits. The number you get is usable all year and is true for your niche, unlike a global figure copied from a foreign article.

Three ways benchmarks get misread

Comparing a Vietnamese channel to a global figure. Neither dataset above breaks out Vietnam. Use them for orders of magnitude, not for conclusions about one channel.

Comparing two channels from different periods. Rates move with season and campaign.

Treating a high rate as proof the channel is clean. Bought engagement raises the rate. See seven signs a channel buys engagement.

Every figure the tools return is an estimate from public data the platform displays.

Frequently asked questions

My channel is at 1.5% by views — is that bad? Below the general reference point, but it depends on the niche. Technical and finance niches usually run lower than entertainment. Compare against 8–10 channels in your own niche first.

What rate should make me suspicious? There is no fixed threshold. More suspicious is unnatural consistency: every video landing on almost the same level, or comments that are generic and unrelated to the content.

Which denominator should I use in client reports? Views, and say so in the report. Include median views so the reader can work out absolute numbers.