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Influencer Engagement Rate Benchmarks 2026: What Good Looks Like

Instagram medians are 3.4x higher than YouTube in the micro tier, and YouTube shows the widest gap of 6.0x between its nano and mega medians.

Insights

  1. Instagram micro creators achieve a 0.97% median engagement rate

    This median is 3.4x higher than the YouTube micro median and 1.6x higher than the TikTok micro median.

  2. YouTube engagement drops consistently as creators grow

    The YouTube median engagement rate falls or holds at every step, starting from 0.64% for nano creators down to 0.11% for mega creators.

  3. TikTok engagement rates rise from mid-tier to macro creators

    The TikTok median engagement rate does not move one way. It rises from 0.50% at the mid-tier to 0.56% at the macro tier before settling at 0.54% at the mega tier.

  4. YouTube shows the widest gap between nano and mega tiers

    The median engagement rate for YouTube nano creators is 6.0x higher than that of mega creators, which is the widest gap among the measured platforms.

What we measured

Creators measured
141.7M

all active creators with a measurable engagement rate

Follower tiers
5

from nano to mega

Platforms
3

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube

Robust cells
15/15

≥ 30 creators per cell

How to read these numbers

A percentile tells you how many creators you beat. If a creator is at p75, they beat 75% of creators like them — same platform, same audience size.

Low< p25

Below typical: under p25 for comparable creators.

Typicalp25 – p50

The normal range — between p25 and the median.

Good> p50

Above the median: better than half of comparable creators.

Great> p75

Top quartile: better than three in four comparable creators.

Elite> p90

Top decile: better than nine in ten comparable creators.

Read the median, not the average: a few outliers pull the average up.

What is the median engagement rate across creator tiers?

Instagram and TikTok median engagement rates fluctuate across tiers, while YouTube rates decrease at every tier. Nano creators consistently achieve the highest medians on all three platforms. Use these benchmarks to compare your campaign performance against the median rates of active creators.

Nano creators achieve the highest median engagement rates on all platforms

All active creators · September 2026

InstagramTikTokYouTube
Nano creators achieve the highest median engagement rates on all platforms. Full data is available in View as table below.

Key findings

Mid tier · Instagram0.87%

Instagram median rises from mid-tier to macro creators

The median engagement rate on Instagram does not move in one direction. It rises from 0.87% for mid-tier creators to 0.89% for macro creators.

Nano tier · TikTok2.29%

TikTok nano creators secure high median engagement

Active nano creators on TikTok have a median engagement rate of 2.29%, with the p90 of these accounts reaching an engagement rate of 9.38%.

Micro tier · YouTube0.29%

YouTube micro creators maintain a steady benchmark

Active micro creators on YouTube have a median engagement rate of 0.29%, while the p25 is at 0.07%.

Micro tier · TikTok0.62%

TikTok micro creators achieve a higher median than YouTube

The median engagement rate of 0.62% for TikTok micro creators is 2.1x higher than the YouTube micro creator median of 0.29%.

3.4×

Instagram vs YouTube · micro tier

Median engagement rate: Instagram 0.97% vs YouTube 0.29%.

3.3×

Nano vs mega · Instagram

Median engagement rate: 2.79% for nano creators vs 0.83% for mega creators.

4.3×

Nano vs mega · TikTok

Median engagement rate: 2.29% for nano creators vs 0.54% for mega creators.

View as tableHide table
Nano creators achieve the highest median engagement rates on all platforms
PlatformTierp25Medianp75p90AverageCreators
InstagramNano (1K–10K)1.03%2.79%6.62%13.5%5.93%23,886,910
InstagramMicro (10K–100K)0.28%0.97%3.20%9.58%4.06%5,278,062
InstagramMid-tier (100K–500K)0.24%0.87%2.72%7.35%3.14%746,748
InstagramMacro (500K–1M)0.27%0.89%2.55%6.21%2.66%82,684
InstagramMega (1M+)0.28%0.83%2.24%5.27%2.24%57,418
TikTokNano (1K–10K)1.10%2.29%4.78%9.38%4.59%96,738,744
TikTokMicro (10K–100K)0.22%0.62%2.07%7.09%3.29%9,338,831
TikTokMid-tier (100K–500K)0.11%0.50%1.93%5.95%2.54%931,447
TikTokMacro (500K–1M)0.14%0.56%1.81%4.69%1.98%106,195
TikTokMega (1M+)0.16%0.54%1.55%3.67%1.57%69,623
YouTubeNano (1K–10K)0.23%0.64%1.92%5.59%2.70%2,618,851
YouTubeMicro (10K–100K)0.07%0.29%1.19%4.01%1.84%1,404,427
YouTubeMid-tier (100K–500K)0.05%0.19%0.76%2.47%1.13%312,894
YouTubeMacro (500K–1M)0.04%0.15%0.55%1.62%0.70%49,602
YouTubeMega (1M+)0.03%0.11%0.39%1.10%0.47%47,469

Methodology

Source
The IQFluence creator database of public Instagram, TikTok and YouTube profiles. All counts were taken in September 2026.
Population
Every figure is computed over the full population of matching creators, not a sample: active accounts (at least one post in the last 30 days) with 1,000 or more followers.
Metric
Engagement rate (ER) is the average number of likes and comments on a creator's recent posts divided by their follower count. Saves, shares and views are not counted. On YouTube the denominator is subscribers. Accounts with no measured engagement and accounts at 100% or more are excluded. Accounts that hide like counts stay in, which lowers Instagram values slightly.
Statistics
Percentiles come from exact creator counts above a ladder of metric thresholds, interpolated between thresholds and refined with an extra count at each estimate; averages are estimated from the same distribution. Cells with fewer than 30 creators are marked as directional and left out of rankings and comparisons.
Reproducibility
Every number can be re-checked in IQFluence Discovery with the same platform, topic, follower range, activity and metric filters.

Frequently asked questions about creator engagement rates

Find answers to the most common questions about creator engagement rates across platforms and tiers. Use these statistics to establish realistic targets for your influencer partnerships.

Instagram leads the micro tier with a median engagement rate of 0.97%, which is 3.4x higher than YouTube and 1.6x higher than TikTok. This makes Instagram a strong choice for brands seeking higher interaction rates at this tier. You can use this benchmark to set realistic engagement goals when planning your micro influencer campaigns.

YouTube median engagement rate falls or holds at every step from 0.64% for nano creators down to 0.11% for mega creators. This steady decline represents a 6.0x gap between the smallest and largest creator tiers on the platform. Knowing these tiers helps you understand what constitutes a normal interaction rate as a creator subscriber base expands.

A median engagement rate of 2.29% is the benchmark for active nano creators on TikTok, though the p90 reaches 9.38%. If you are working with nano creators, their performance should ideally sit near this median. Use the p10 of 0.54% and the p25 of 1.10% to assess underperforming accounts.

No, the median engagement rate on Instagram does not move in only one direction, rising from 0.87% for mid-tier creators to 0.89% for macro creators. However, the nano-tier median of 2.79% is still 3.3x higher than the mega-tier median of 0.83%. These fluctuations show that follower size is not the sole indicator of engagement levels.

TikTok micro creators have a median engagement rate of 0.62%, which is 2.1x higher than the YouTube micro creator median of 0.29%. However, this TikTok median is lower than the Instagram micro creator median of 0.97%. These benchmarks highlight how platform dynamics shape the baseline interaction levels you can expect from micro-level partnerships.
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