Calculate YouTube video engagement rate from views, likes, and comments. Compare your performance against 2026 YouTube benchmarks by channel size and category.
Enter your video metrics. Use views method for content analysis, subscribers method for channel benchmarking.
YouTube measures engagement differently from social media — the like-to-view ratio and comment rate are key signals that influence search ranking and recommendation algorithm distribution.
What is a good YouTube engagement rate?
For views-based ER: 2-5% is good, 5%+ is excellent. A healthy likes-to-views ratio is 2-6%, and a comment rate of 0.5%+ indicates strong community engagement. These benchmarks decrease as channel size grows.
Does YouTube count dislikes in engagement rate?
YouTube hid public dislike counts in 2021, but they still signal engagement to the algorithm. For public-facing ER calculation, use only visible metrics (likes, comments). Creators with YouTube Studio access should also track watch time and average view duration — these matter more than likes.
Is a 1% YouTube engagement rate good?
It depends on channel size. For channels with 100K+ subscribers, 1-2% ER by views is average. For smaller channels under 10K subscribers, you should target 3-5%+. Context matters: a highly informational tutorial may see lower ER than entertainment content.