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PlaylistTime / Creator tools / Engagement rate

YouTube engagement rate calculator: likes and comments per view

Paste a channel or video link to see the engagement rate of every recent video, long-form and Shorts apart, and how it compares with channels of the same size.

More options
Or type the numbers yourself
Type likes, comments and views of any video to get its rate.

This YouTube engagement rate calculator measures how many viewers like or comment on a channel's videos. Paste a channel link and it reads the channel's latest public uploads through the official YouTube Data API, works out (likes + comments) / views for each video, and averages long-form videos and Shorts separately, because the two behave very differently. Paste a video link to check one video. Every video is listed with its views, likes, comments and rate, so you can see which ones pull the average up or down, and the result is compared with published benchmarks for channels of the same size. Hidden likes and turned-off comments are handled and flagged, not silently counted as zero.

How to calculate engagement rate on YouTube

The usual formula, and the one this calculator uses, divides interactions by views:

engagement rate = (likes + comments) / views x 100

For a channel, work it out for each recent video and take the average. That stops one huge video from swamping the rest, and it is how the benchmark studies below measure channels.

Worked example

A video has 120,000 views, 4,800 likes and 360 comments. (4,800 + 360) / 120,000 = 0.043, so the engagement rate is 4.30%. The median for long-form videos in CreatorDB's August 2026 study was 3.67%, so this video is above the median.

How to use the calculator

Step 1: Paste a channel or video

Paste a YouTube channel link or @handle to measure its latest videos, or a video link to measure one video, and press Calculate.

Step 2: Read the averages

The result shows the average engagement rate for long-form videos and for Shorts, each compared with the median for channels of the same size.

Step 3: Check each video

The table lists every video used with its views, likes, comments and rate. Hidden likes and turned-off comments are marked.

Step 4: Change the range

Under More options choose the latest 10 or 20 videos of each format or all of the latest 50 uploads, or type numbers yourself for any video.

What is a good engagement rate on YouTube?

Around 3% to 4% for long-form videos is typical. CreatorDB measured 1.47 million active channels with at least 1,000 subscribers in August 2026 and found a median of 3.67% for long-form videos (the middle half of channels between 1.90% and 6.44%) and 2.59% for Shorts. SociaVault's study of 75,000 channels, with the same formula, found a median of 3.06%. Above the median for your size is good; well below it is worth a look.

Average YouTube engagement rate by channel size

Bigger channels get a lower share of likes and comments, especially on long-form videos:

Channel sizeLong-form medianShorts median
1,000 to 10,000 subscribers3.77%2.23%
10,000 to 100,0003.84%2.59%
100,000 to 1 million3.29%2.70%
Over 1 million2.56%2.53%
All channels3.67%2.59%

Median of each channel's average over its 20 latest uploads of each format. Source: CreatorDB, 18 Aug 2026. The calculator compares a channel with its own size group.

YouTube engagement rate by category

0%1%2%3%4%5%Education4.42%Gaming4.40%People and blogs3.82%Howto and style3.81%Entertainment3.63%Comedy3.45%News and politics3.36%Science and technology3.34%Sports3.24%Music2.77%Film and animation2.68%

Median engagement rate of long-form videos by YouTube category: (likes + comments) / views over each channel’s 20 latest uploads. Data: CreatorDB, 18 Aug 2026.

Shorts vs long-form engagement

Shorts get fewer likes and comments per view than long videos: 2.59% against 3.67% at the median. Part of that is how views are counted. A Short's view counts from the first frame, so quick swipes past it count as views. Mixing the two formats in one average hides what is happening, so this calculator always shows them apart.

Why engagement rates look lower after August 2026

From 24 August 2026, YouTube counts a public view from the moment a video starts to play, on every format, including long videos and live streams. Before, a long-form view took longer to count. More views for the same likes and comments means a lower rate, so a long video published after that date can look less engaging than one from before it, and benchmarks measured on older counts read a little high against new videos. The calculator flags it when your recent videos fall after the change.

Engagement rate by views or by subscribers?

Some tools divide by subscribers instead of views. On YouTube that gives tiny, hard-to-compare numbers, because most subscribers do not watch every video and many views come from people who are not subscribed. Brands and the studies used here divide by views; so does this calculator.

Hidden likes and turned-off comments

How accurate is this engagement rate?

Sources

Why we built this engagement rate calculator

Most engagement calculators want you to type likes, comments and views for each video by hand, or give one number for a whole channel with Shorts and long videos mixed. Nitin Raja, who builds PlaylistTime, tested a lot of these pages before building this one: after testing out a lot of websites, he found what people need and what they do not, and built around that. Creators and brands need the per-video detail, the two formats apart, and a fair benchmark for the channel's size, without typing anything but a link.

What this calculator measures

Why it is different

This calculatorA typical engagement calculator
InputA channel or video linkNumbers typed by hand
Shorts and long videosMeasured apartMixed together
DetailEvery video with its own rateOne total
Hidden likes, comments offHandled and flaggedCounted as zero
BenchmarkFor the channel’s size, dated and linkedOne generic figure

Built by Nitin Raja. Last updated 26 October 2026.

Questions

What is a good engagement rate on YouTube?

About 3% to 4% for long-form videos. CreatorDB’s August 2026 study of 1.47 million channels found a median of 3.67% for long-form videos and 2.59% for Shorts, measured as (likes + comments) / views. Smaller channels tend to be higher and channels over 1 million subscribers lower, around 2.56%.

How do you calculate engagement rate on YouTube?

Add a video’s likes and comments, divide by its views and multiply by 100. For example, 4,800 likes and 360 comments on 120,000 views is 4.30%. For a channel, take the average of its recent videos.

Why is my Shorts engagement rate lower?

Shorts get fewer likes and comments per view, partly because a Short’s view counts from the first frame, so quick swipes count as views. The median is 2.59% for Shorts against 3.67% for long-form videos.

Why did my engagement rate drop in late 2026?

From 24 August 2026 YouTube counts a view from the moment a video starts playing on every format, including long videos. The same likes and comments over more counted views give a lower rate.

Should engagement rate be calculated with views or subscribers?

With views on YouTube. Dividing by subscribers gives very small numbers, because many subscribers do not watch every video and many viewers are not subscribed. Brands and benchmark studies use views.

What if a video hides its likes or has comments turned off?

With hidden likes the rate cannot be measured, so the video is left out of the average. With comments off, the video is measured with likes only and marked, because it lowers the rate.

All of them in one place: YouTube creator tools.