2026 Social Media Engagement Benchmarks by Platform
The most comprehensive collection of engagement rate benchmarks — cross-platform comparisons, industry verticals, content type performance, and follower tier analysis with verified sources.
3.70%
Average TikTok engagement rate — up 49% year-over-year
Source: Socialinsider 2026
Last updated: 2026-02-01
Engagement Rate Benchmarks by Platform
Average engagement rates across major social media platforms, based on analysis of 70 million posts from January 2024 through December 2025.
3.70%
TikTok average engagement rate — up 49% year-over-year from 2.50%.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
3.85%
LinkedIn average engagement rate — up 44% year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2025
0.48%
Instagram average engagement rate — staying nearly flat in 2025.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
0.15%
Facebook average engagement rate — flat year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
0.12%
X (Twitter) average engagement rate — down from 0.15% in 2024.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
4.86%
TikTok engagement rate per post by impressions — highest among all platforms.
Source: Buffer 2025
Average Engagement Rate by Platform (2025)
Comparison of average engagement rates across major social media platforms based on Socialinsider analysis of 70M posts.
Engagement Rate by Impressions (Buffer Methodology)
Buffer's analysis measures engagement as total interactions divided by total impressions — a different methodology from follower-based rates.
6.50%
LinkedIn engagement per impression — highest across all platforms.
Source: Buffer 2025
5.07%
Facebook engagement per impression — second-highest behind LinkedIn.
Source: Buffer 2025
4.41%
YouTube engagement per impression — strong performance from Shorts.
Source: Buffer 2025
2.31%
X (Twitter) engagement per impression.
Source: Buffer 2025
1.16%
Instagram engagement per impression — lowest across platforms.
Source: Buffer 2025
Median Engagement Rate Trends (Jan 2024 → Jan 2025)
How median engagement rates shifted over one year across the major platforms.
Average Interactions per Post by Platform
Granular interaction data showing how engagement behavior differs across platforms — likes, comments, shares, and views.
3,492
Average likes per TikTok post — up 12% year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
248
Average shares per TikTok post — up 45% YoY, signaling a shift to passive sharing.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
50
Average comments per TikTok post — down 24% YoY from 66.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
335
Average likes per Instagram post — down 15% year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
45
Average shares per Instagram post — up 12% YoY.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
6,496
Average views per TikTok post — up 3% year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
3,403
Average views per Instagram post — up 29% YoY.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
2,979
Average views per X post — up 50% year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
45%
Year-over-year increase in TikTok shares per post — engagement is shifting from comments to shares
Average comments per post fell 24% on TikTok and 16% on Instagram, while shares surged — indicating a shift toward passive, private engagement.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
Engagement Rate by Content Type
How different content formats perform across platforms — from carousels and videos to static images and documents.
6.60%
LinkedIn carousel (multi-image) engagement rate — highest format on any platform.
Source: Socialinsider 2025
5.85%
LinkedIn native document (PDF/slide) engagement rate.
Source: Socialinsider 2025
5.60%
LinkedIn native video engagement rate — third-highest format and most shared.
Source: Socialinsider 2025
0.55%
Instagram carousel engagement rate — top-performing format on Instagram.
Source: Socialinsider 2025
0.50%
Instagram Reels engagement rate — second-best format on Instagram.
Source: Socialinsider 2025
0.45%
Instagram static image engagement rate.
Source: Socialinsider 2025
278%
More engagement from LinkedIn carousels vs video posts.
Source: PostUnreel 2026
2×
Higher click-through rate from LinkedIn carousel posts vs single images.
Source: PostUnreel 2026
Engagement Rate by Content Format on Instagram (2025)
Comparison of engagement rates across Instagram content formats.
Engagement Rate Benchmarks by Industry (Hootsuite)
Average engagement rates across industries and platforms, based on Hootsuite's analysis of 1M+ posts in Q1 2025.
| Metric | Instagram Reels | TikTok | X | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All Industries (Median) | 3.0% | 2.7% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 1.7% | 0.8% |
| Construction & Manufacturing | 4.4% | 3.4% | 4.0% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 1.7% |
| Consumer Goods & Retail | 3.0% | 2.4% | 3.9% | 1.6% | 1.7% | 1.0% |
| Dining & Hospitality | 3.1% | 2.6% | 3.9% | 1.3% | 2.0% | 1.3% |
| Finance | 3.8% | 3.1% | 3.2% | 1.6% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
| Healthcare & Pharma | 3.7% | 2.7% | 3.3% | 1.0% | 2.3% | 1.9% |
| Nonprofit & Services | 4.4% | 4.0% | 3.0% | 1.3% | 2.1% | 1.8% |
Industry Engagement Rates (RivalIQ 2025)
RivalIQ's annual benchmark report analyzes 2,100 brands across 14 industries on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and X.
0.36%
All-industry median Instagram engagement rate — down YoY.
Source: RivalIQ 2025
2.10%
Higher Education Instagram engagement rate — 5.8× the all-industry median.
Source: RivalIQ 2025
1.30%
Sports Teams Instagram engagement rate — second-highest industry.
Source: RivalIQ 2025
36%
Year-over-year decline in Facebook engagement across all industries.
Source: RivalIQ 2025
16%
Year-over-year decline in Instagram engagement across all industries.
Source: RivalIQ 2025
48%
Year-over-year decline in X (Twitter) engagement — largest drop of any platform.
Source: RivalIQ 2025
Engagement Rate by Follower Count Tier
Smaller accounts consistently achieve higher engagement rates across all platforms — a key consideration for influencer marketing strategy.
7.50%
TikTok engagement rate for accounts under 100K followers.
Source: Emplicit 2025
2.88%
TikTok engagement rate for accounts with 10M+ followers.
Source: Emplicit 2025
3.86%
Instagram micro-influencer engagement rate — 3× higher than mega-influencers.
Source: SQMagazine 2025
1.21%
Instagram mega-influencer (1M+) engagement rate.
Source: SQMagazine 2025
5%+
Instagram nano-influencer engagement rate — nearly 2× macro-influencers.
Source: SQMagazine 2025
10.3%
TikTok nano-influencer (1K–10K) engagement rate — highest tier on any platform.
Source: StackInfluence 2025
TikTok Engagement Rate by Account Size
Engagement rates decrease as follower count grows — smaller accounts see dramatically higher engagement.
Cross-Platform Engagement Comparison (2025)
Side-by-side comparison of key engagement metrics across platforms based on Socialinsider's 70M post analysis.
| Metric | TikTok | X | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avg Engagement Rate | 3.70% | 0.48% | 0.15% | 0.12% |
| Avg Likes/Post | 3,492 | 335 | 255 | 15 |
| Avg Comments/Post | 50 | 20 | 22 | 1 |
| Avg Shares/Post | 248 | 45 | 17 | 1 |
| Avg Views/Post | 6,496 | 3,403 | 913 | 2,979 |
| Avg Posts/Month | 15 | 20 | 24 | 70 |
| Engagement YoY Change | +49% | -4% | 0% | -20% |
Posting Frequency Benchmarks
How often brands post on each platform and how frequency impacts engagement.
15
Average posts per month on TikTok — stable year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
20
Average posts per month on Instagram — stable year-over-year.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
24
Average posts per month on Facebook — down 48% YoY as brands reduce frequency.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
70
Average posts per month on X — up 40% YoY as brands increase cadence.
Source: Socialinsider 2026
LinkedIn Engagement Rate by Content Format (2025)
LinkedIn carousel and document posts dramatically outperform other formats.
Share of Total Social Media Engagement by Platform
How total engagement volume distributes across the major social platforms in 2025.
Social Media Engagement Milestones
Instagram shifts from chronological to algorithmic feed — engagement rates for businesses begin declining.
3.5% avg IG engagement
TikTok launches globally. High engagement from day one disrupts benchmarks across platforms.
15%+ TikTok engagement
Pandemic drives record social media usage. Instagram Reels launches, competing for engagement.
2.2% avg IG engagement
YouTube Shorts launches. LinkedIn engagement surges as remote work drives professional networking.
1B daily Shorts views
TikTok overtakes all platforms in per-post engagement. Instagram engagement falls below 1%.
TikTok #1 in engagement
Threads launches and briefly disrupts X engagement. LinkedIn video adoption increases 30%.
0.7% avg IG engagement
X engagement drops 48% YoY. TikTok engagement hits 2.50%. LinkedIn emerges as engagement leader per impression.
6.50% LinkedIn by impression
TikTok engagement surges 49% to 3.70%. Social media engagement shifts from comments to shares.
3.70% TikTok engagement
Frequently Asked Questions
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Sources
- Socialinsider — Social Media Benchmarks 2026
- Socialinsider — Instagram Benchmarks 2025
- Socialinsider — LinkedIn Benchmarks 2025
- Buffer — Average Engagement Rate 2025
- Hootsuite — Engagement Rate Benchmarks 2026
- Hootsuite — Average Engagement Rate by Industry 2025
- RivalIQ — 2025 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report
- Emplicit — TikTok Engagement Rate Benchmarks 2025
- StackInfluence — Average Influencer Engagement Rate 2025
- SQMagazine — Instagram Followers Statistics 2025
- PostUnreel — LinkedIn Carousel Engagement 2026
- Social Media Today — 2026 Social Media Benchmarks
- Planable — Social Media Engagement Rate Benchmarks 2026
- Sprout Social — Social Media Benchmarks by Industry 2025
- ZoomSphere — State of Social Media Engagement 2025
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