Instagram Engagement Rates: What’s Typical in 2025?

Instagram is still a top platform for influencers and brands, with more than 2 billion active users worldwide. For brands aiming to boost their impact through influencer partnerships, understanding the benchmarks for engagement is key.

In 2025, Instagram engagement rates vary by influencer follower size, directly influencing how well they can connect with their audience. This guide explores average engagement rates by follower range, recent growth trends, and tips for brands to gauge strong engagement levels across different influencer tiers.

What Are the Essential Instagram Marketing Metrics?

1.Engagement Rate:

Reflects audience interaction, such as likes, comments, and shares, showing how well content resonates with followers.

2. Follower Growth Rate:

Measures how quickly new followers join over time, indicating the account’s popularity and reach.

3. Engagement Growth Rate:

Tracks changes in engagement levels, like increases or decreases in likes, comments, and shares, providing insights into content effectiveness.

Each metric is calculated as a percentage, helping refine Instagram marketing strategies. Here are the formulas for calculating these key metrics:

Engagement Rate (ER):
ER (%) = (Total Engagements / Total Followers) x 100
Where Total Engagements includes likes, comments, shares, clicks, and saves.

Follower Growth Rate (FGR):
FGR (%) = (New Followers / Starting Follower Count) x 100
Measured over a specified period (e.g., weekly, monthly).

Engagement Growth Rate (EGR):
EGR (%) = ((New Engagements - Old Engagements) / Old Engagements) x 100
Tracks changes in engagement across different time periods.

Average Instagram Engagement Rate by Follower Ranges

Nano-Influencers (0 - 10k followers)

  • Average Engagement Rate: 35.19%
  • Top 10%: 11.57%
    Nano-influencers typically show strong engagement with their audience, though their growth in engagement is moderate (46.87%). Their follower growth rate is 3.18%, indicating steady attraction of new followers.

Best Strategies

Nano-influencers are effective for campaigns targeting niche markets and product launches. Their initial high engagement makes them ideal for building loyal communities, despite slower growth in engagement over time.

Micro-Influencers (10k - 50k followers)

  • Average Engagement Rate: 3.45%
  • Top 10%: 6.21%
    Micro-influencers, with follower counts between 10,000 and 50,000, generally have lower engagement than nano-influencers but exhibit a strong engagement rate growth of 61.28%, indicating that as they gain followers, they can often increase engagement through refined content strategies.

Best Strategies

Micro-influencers are well-suited for campaigns aimed at broadening brand visibility. They balance reach and engagement, making them effective for broader awareness initiatives or promotions targeting a wider audience while maintaining quality interaction.

Medium Influencers (50k - 100k followers)

  • Average Engagement Rate: 3.12%
  • Top 10%: 6.58%

With 50,000 to 100,000 followers, medium influencers experience a slight dip in engagement but sustain healthy engagement rate growth at 49.75% and a follower growth rate of 3.92%. This steady expansion suggests they remain effective in engaging audiences consistently.

Best Strategies

Medium influencers are ideal for campaigns requiring a balanced approach that combines broad reach with moderate engagement. Their stable growth rate makes them effective for large-scale launches or brand repositioning campaigns that demand visibility and engagement across a wider audience.

Macro Influencers (100k - 500k followers)

  • Average Engagement Rate: 2.37%
  • Top 10%: 5.30%

Macro influencers, with audiences between 100,000 and 500,000, experience lower engagement rates. However, they maintain solid engagement rate growth at 38.12% and a steady follower growth of 3.01%, indicating potential for substantial reach and audience expansion, especially for top-performing influencers.

Best Strategies

Brands aiming for broad visibility should consider macro influencers. While engagement may be lower on average, these influencers are effective for brand awareness campaigns where reach is prioritized over highly engaged interactions.

Mega Influencers (500k+ followers)

  • Average Engagement Rate: 1.93%
  • Top 10%: 4.60%

Mega influencers, with over 500,000 followers, tend to have the lowest average engagement rates due to the diversity of their large audiences. Their engagement rate growth is more modest at 30.28%, and their follower growth is steady at 2.58%. The top 10% of mega influencers, however, maintain higher engagement, suggesting that quality content and a strong personal brand can still foster interaction.

Best Strategies

Mega influencers are ideal for campaigns aimed at maximizing reach. They work best for brand awareness, where visibility across a vast audience is more critical than high engagement per post.

Conclusion

In 2025, Instagram engagement varies widely by influencer follower count, offering useful standards for brands:

  • Micro and Small Influencers (0-50k followers): High engagement rates and growth make them ideal for campaigns that prioritize quality interactions, community-building, and conversions.
  • Medium Influencers (50k-100k followers): Provide a balanced reach and sustained engagement, suitable for broader campaigns needing interaction and visibility.
  • Large and Mega Influencers (100k+ followers): Extensive reach with moderate engagement growth, making them ideal for brand awareness initiatives focusing on maximum visibility.