Follower counts are easy to inflate. Engagement, how many people actually like and comment, is harder to fake, which is why brands and creators look at it first.
The formula
Engagement rate = average (likes + comments) per post ÷ followers × 100.
Take the last 20 or so posts, add up likes and comments on each, average them, and divide by the follower count.
A worked example
On 23 October 2026 we ran our analyzer on @nasa: 24 recent posts averaged about 361,000 likes and comments each, with 104 million followers. That's an engagement rate of 0.35%.
That looks tiny, but it's a third of a million people reacting to every post. For very large accounts the rate is naturally low, because most followers don't see every post. A small account with a few thousand followers often has a much higher rate. So compare an account with others of a similar size, not with a single “good” number.
Things that skew it
- Hidden like counts. Some owners hide likes. Leave those posts out instead of counting them as zero (our analyzer does).
- One viral post. A single huge post lifts the average. Look at the likes-per-post chart, not only the average.
- Reels views. Views aren't engagement; they're shown apart.
- Bought followers lower the rate, because they never engage. A big account with a very low rate is worth a second look.
Using it
Track your own rate over time, and look at when your best posts went up. Our profile analyzer shows the days and two-hour windows when an account's posts got the most likes and comments, in your own time zone.