Which counts more for brand deals — followers or engagement?

Engagement rate, especially for brands paying on cost-per-engagement. A 50k account at 6% often beats a 500k account at 0.5%.

How is engagement rate calculated?

(Likes + comments + saves + shares) ÷ followers × 100. Some agencies use views as the denominator on TikTok, which produces a smaller, more conservative number.

Is engagement rate falling over time?

Yes — across every platform since 2020, mostly because feed algorithms surface content beyond a creator's follower base, diluting the per-follower engagement number.

What Is a Good Engagement Rate in 2025?

Quick answer

The engagement rate benchmarks that actually matter on TikTok, Instagram and YouTube in 2025 — by follower size and niche, with examples and brand-deal context.

Methodology · Cross-platform creator intelligence — combines live tracking for TikTok, YouTube, Twitch and Instagram with public earnings data and industry RPM benchmarks.

Engagement rate is the most-quoted and least-understood number in the creator economy. Brands pay attention to it because it's a proxy for audience health; creators obsess over it because it feels like a measure of love. Both groups regularly use the wrong benchmark.

2025 engagement benchmarks

Platform / size	Healthy engagement
TikTok (under 100k)	5–9%
TikTok (100k–1M)	3–6%
TikTok (1M+)	2–4%
Instagram (under 100k)	1.5–3.5%
Instagram (100k–1M)	1–2%
Instagram (1M+)	0.5–1.5%
YouTube (likes ÷ views)	3–6%

Social media engagement icons — Engagement matters most below 500k followers. Above that, brands shift to 'audience match' and reach.

Why bigger accounts have lower engagement

Math, not quality. As an account grows, it gathers casual followers — people who liked one video but don't engage daily. The active core stays roughly the same, so the percentage drops. A 5M-follower account with 1.2% engagement is often healthier than a 50K-follower account with 8% engagement.

Which counts more — followers or engagement?

For brand deals: engagement, especially for performance-based campaigns. For raw reach plays: followers. The smartest creators bring both numbers, plus audience demographics, to every brand call.

Engagement

The single most-used metric in 2025 brand-deal pricing models

Frequently asked questions

Which counts more for brand deals — followers or engagement?: Engagement rate, especially for brands paying on cost-per-engagement. A 50k account at 6% often beats a 500k account at 0.5%.
How is engagement rate calculated?: (Likes + comments + saves + shares) ÷ followers × 100. Some agencies use views as the denominator on TikTok, which produces a smaller, more conservative number.
Is engagement rate falling over time?: Yes — across every platform since 2020, mostly because feed algorithms surface content beyond a creator's follower base, diluting the per-follower engagement number.