The short answer
- All videos
- 6.2%median engagement rate
- TikTok
- 7.2%median, programs on both platforms
- 1.7%likes and comments only
- Median program, 30 days
- 4.6%73 fully scanned programs
- About 7 in 100 viewers react to a typical TikTok UGC video. Instagram looks far lower because it hides shares and saves.
- Engagement peaks with mid-size creators (7.3% for 10,000 to 100,000 followers) and falls to 5.5% over 100,000.
- Longer videos engage more: 5.6% at 15 to 30 seconds, 6.8% at 60 seconds to 2 minutes and 9.2% over 2 minutes.
- Engagement is not reach. Boosted posts got more views (1.20x the program median) with a slightly lower engagement rate (5.9%).
Engagement rate by platform, size and length
| Segment | Videos | Median engagement rate | Median vs program median (views) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All videos | 11,849 | 6.2% | 1.00x |
| TikTok (programs on both) | 7,319 | 7.2% | 0.99x |
| Instagram (programs on both) | 1,723 | 1.7% | 1.07x |
| Under 1,000 followers | 6,542 | 5.7% | 0.78x |
| 1,000 to 10,000 followers | 3,024 | 7.0% | 1.15x |
| 10,000 to 100,000 followers | 1,621 | 7.3% | 1.55x |
| 100,000 followers and over | 662 | 5.5% | 12.18x |
| Under 15 seconds | 2,798 | 6.7% | 0.95x |
| 15 to 30 seconds | 4,119 | 5.6% | 0.87x |
| 30 to 60 seconds | 3,359 | 6.7% | 1.07x |
| 60 seconds to 2 minutes | 937 | 6.8% | 1.82x |
| Over 2 minutes | 158 | 9.2% | 3.14x |
| Creator's own account | 5,165 | 5.5% | 0.99x |
| Account made for the brand | 6,684 | 6.7% | 1.01x |
The rate counts what the platform shows publicly. On Instagram that is likes and comments, so Instagram rates are floors and should not be compared with TikTok rates.
Engagement across whole programs
Pooled over a program's last 30 days (all engagement divided by all views), the median fully scanned program sits at 4.6%, with the middle half between 2.3% and 9.9%. App programs: median 4.9%; consumer brands: 3.8%. A program's pooled rate sits below the per-video median partly because its biggest videos, which carry most of the views, tend to have lower rates (accounts over 100,000 followers engage at 5.5%).
What counts as good
- On TikTok, 7.2% is typical for a brand UGC video. A program pooling above 9.9% over 30 days is in the top quarter of those we measure.
- Judge views first. A video with high engagement and few views reached few people; compare views with your program's median (see how many views a UGC video gets).
- Use engagement to vet creators. A creator whose recent posts sit far below these rates may have an inactive or bought audience. The creator fit score helps, and see the engagement rate definition.
Method
Per video: (likes + comments + shares + saves) / views, using the counts the platform shows publicly, for all 11,849 brand videos from 46 fully scanned programs, 1 August 2026 to 30 October 2026; medians per segment (UGC video benchmarks 2026). Per program: the same sum over the program's last 30 days, from 73 fully scanned programs in UGC Brands measured 1 October 2026 to 30 October 2026.
Download the numbers on this page as a CSV file. Free to reuse with a link to this page under CC BY 4.0.
Cite this answer: UGC Agent, "What is a good engagement rate for UGC?", UGC Agent answers, published 1 November 2026, https://ugcagent.app/answers/ugc-engagement-rate/
Limitations
- Instagram hides shares and saves, so Instagram rates count likes and comments only.
- Engagement is measured on the measured date; recent posts are still collecting it.
- Most programs in the sample are apps.