Account size — the by-followers base
Use 12–30 for a stable trend; 1 for a single post
Unique accounts or video views — for the by-reach number
Total deliveries — standard base on LinkedIn and X
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engagement rate
Enter your numbers
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by followers
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by reach
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by impressions
Tip: you can type 12.4k or 1.2m instead of full numbers.
What is a good engagement rate on YouTube?
YouTube engagement is normally quoted per view. Paste the video's views into the reach field and read the by-reach number as your headline; the by-follower figure is only useful for comparing channels of similar size. Rough per-view average: 1–2%.
| Rating | Engagement rate | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Low | < 0.5% per view | Content is being served but not landing — fix intros and topic–thumbnail promise match. |
| Average | 0.5% – 1.5% per view | The normal band for established channels. |
| Good | 1.5% – 4% per view | Strong community response; YouTube will push these videos harder. |
| Excellent | > 4% per view | Elite engagement — usually niche channels with devoted audiences. |
How the calculation works
ER = (likes + comments) ÷ views × 100
| Views | 60,000 |
| Engagements (2,400 likes + 310 comments) | 2,710 |
| Formula | 2,710 ÷ 60,000 × 100 |
| Engagement rate | 4.52% per view — Excellent |
How to improve your YouTube engagement rate
- CTR and average view duration gate everything — engagement is downstream of the click and the watch. Optimise those two first.
- Pin a comment with one specific question within minutes of publishing; pinned-comment threads reliably lift comment counts.
- Use Community-tab polls between uploads to keep subscribers warm — poll votes feed the same engagement machinery.
- Ask for one action per video, not five. 'Like if this saved you an hour' outperforms generic 'like and subscribe'.
- Shorts behave like TikTok: judge them by views and engagement per view, not by subscriber count.
Frequently asked questions
Should YouTube engagement rate be per view or per subscriber?
Per view — it is the industry norm and the fairer comparison across video sizes. Per-subscriber numbers only make sense when comparing channels of similar scale.
What counts as engagement on YouTube?
Likes, comments, shares and (from viewers' side) subscription actions taken from the video page. Watches and watch time are separate, upstream signals that decide distribution.
What is a good engagement rate for YouTube Shorts?
Judge Shorts on a per-view basis like TikTok: 3%+ per view is strong. Shorts ER is typically higher than long-form because viewing friction is near zero.