Engagement rate: how to calculate it and what is normal in Luxembourg

The engagement rate is the number most brands look at after the follower count. It answers a simple question: how many people react when a creator posts? Behind that question sit several different formulas, and tools rarely say which one they use. This guide explains what the rate measures, how the common formulas differ, and which values are normal for creators in Luxembourg.

What the engagement rate measures

An engagement rate puts the reactions to a post in relation to the size of the audience. The reactions are usually likes and comments, sometimes also saves and shares. Instagram itself counts likes, comments, saves and shares as "interactions" in its Insights, the statistics that account owners see. From the outside, likes and comments are what anyone can count reliably; the full Insights are only available to the account owner.

The audience part of the formula is where the differences start.

Three common formulas

By followers. Interactions per post divided by the number of followers. This is the formula that works from the outside, because both numbers are public. Rival IQ, for example, calculates its benchmarks this way: all interactions divided by the follower count. LetzCreators uses the same approach: the average likes and comments of the last 12 posts, on TikTok also shares, divided by the number of followers.

By reach. Interactions divided by the number of accounts that saw the post. Reach is only available to the account owner, and Meta itself describes it as an estimated value. The result is usually higher, because not every follower sees every post.

By views. Interactions divided by the number of views, common for video. TikTok calculates the engagement rate in its own campaign reporting this way: likes, comments and shares divided by the total number of video views.

None of these formulas is wrong. They answer different questions. The rate by followers tells you how much of the whole audience reacts; the rate by reach or views tells you how well a post works with the people who actually saw it.

Why tools show different values

Because of these choices, two tools can show very different rates for the same account. Socialinsider, which divides likes and comments by followers, reports an average Instagram engagement rate of 0.48 % across 67.5 million posts. Buffer reports a median of 4.3 % across more than 27 million posts from 273,000 accounts. The difference between the two is not a sign that one is mistaken; they use different methods and different samples.

The practical rule follows directly: only compare rates that were calculated the same way. A rate from a creator's media kit, a rate from an analytics tool and a rate on LetzCreators are three different numbers, even for the same account on the same day.

Why smaller accounts have higher rates

Almost every study finds that the engagement rate falls as follower counts rise. Buffer's figures show it clearly: accounts with up to 1,000 followers reach 5.2 %, accounts with 100,000 to 500,000 followers 3.5 %. A study of 802 Instagram campaigns gives a reason: a larger follower count means broader reach but signals a weaker relationship with each follower, and that lowers the chance that a follower reacts.

For a brand, this means that a high rate on a small account and a lower rate on a large account can be equally good results. The comparison only makes sense within the same size class.

What is normal in Luxembourg

The LetzCreators market report measures all creators with a connection to Luxembourg the same way, so their rates can be compared with each other. As of 23 October 2026, the medians were:

The niches differ as well. On Instagram, beauty creators reached a median of 7.4 %, fitness and sports 7.3 % each, fashion 7.2 % and lifestyle 4.8 %. Food was the outlier with 1.1 %. Because niches mix size classes, part of these differences comes from how many small accounts a niche has.

Half of the creators in each group lie above the median and half below. A nano creator on Instagram at 5 % is therefore below the middle of the group; a micro creator at 5 % is far above it.

How to read an engagement rate

• Check the formula. Ask which interactions are counted and what they are divided by.
• Compare within the size class. Use the medians above as a reference point for Luxembourg.
• Look at the trend. A rate that holds over months says more than a single strong week.
• Read the comments. A rate counts reactions; it does not tell you whether the comments come from the audience you want to reach.
• Treat outliers with care. A rate far above the size class can come from one viral post. Look at several posts before you draw conclusions.

The market report shows the full figures by size class and niche, and the guide on finding creators shows where the engagement rate fits into a search. On every creator profile, LetzCreators shows the rate calculated the same way, next to the analytics that help you read it.