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Free YouTube engagement rate calculator

YouTube engagement rate is a video's likes, comments and shares divided by its views, times 100. The median video on Mydrop scores 3.85%.

1Enter the video's numbers

Divide by

2Your engagement rate

0.00%

Copy the video's numbers from YouTube Studio's analytics.

Track every YouTube video

Mydrop works out the engagement rate of every YouTube video and Short for you, then puts it in a client report.

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Link to this calculator

Writing about YouTube or teaching a class? Paste this link.

YouTube Engagement Rate Calculator by <a href="https://mydropai.com/tools/youtube-engagement-rate-calculator/">Mydrop</a>

How YouTube engagement rate works

Count likes, comments, shares

YouTube Studio lists all three per video. Dislikes are hidden from viewers and are not the reaction you want, so they never count.

Divide by views

Views measure how many times the video was watched, which is the audience that could react. Subscribers are a channel's size, not a video's reach.

Shorts and long videos differ

A Short is watched in a scrolling feed and a long video by choice, so their rates rarely match. Compare Shorts with Shorts and long videos with long videos.

Example: “A video with 2,180 likes, 164 comments and 96 shares on 58,000 views” = 4.21%, above the median YouTube video on Mydrop (3.85%)

Benchmarks from YouTube videos on accounts connected to Mydrop, 180 days to September 17, 2026, with views as YouTube reported them. Page checked on October 11, 2026.

Mydrop data

What is a good YouTube engagement rate? 3.85% is the median.

We measured YouTube videos on accounts connected to Mydrop, over 180 days to September 2026. Each rate is the video's likes, comments and shares divided by its views.

Bottom quarter: under 1.53%Middle half: 1.53% to 10.59%Top quarter: over 10.59%
  • Half of all YouTube videos on Mydrop earned between 1.53% and 10.59% of their views, the widest spread of any network we measure.
  • The median YouTube video (3.85%) did better than the median Instagram post (3.08%) and the median TikTok video (2.98%) on Mydrop.
  • Read these figures as a first guide. We update them as more channels connect.

Method and every Mydrop benchmark

Reference

Every YouTube number, and where to find it

What each number in the formula means, and where YouTube shows it for a video.

NumberWhere YouTube shows itIn the formula
ViewsYouTube Studio, the video's analyticsDivide by it
LikesUnder the video, and in YouTube StudioCounted
CommentsUnder the video, and in YouTube StudioCounted
SharesYouTube Studio, the video's analytics (Engagement)Counted
Engaged viewsYouTube Studio: the older, stricter view countUse it to compare with videos from before August 24, 2026
Watch time and average view durationYouTube Studio, the video's analyticsNot in the rate: read them next to it
SubscribersThe channelDivide by them only for a public, quick comparison

YouTube counts a Shorts view on every play or replay since March 2025, and a view from the first frame in every format since August 24, 2026. The older, stricter count is now called engaged views. Compare videos counted the same way.

Questions

YouTube engagement rate, answered

On accounts connected to Mydrop, the median YouTube video earned 3.85% of its views in likes, comments and shares, and the middle half sat between 1.53% and 10.59% (180 days to September 2026).

Add the video's likes, comments and shares, divide by its views, and multiply by 100. 2,440 interactions on 58,000 views is a 4.21% engagement rate.

By views to judge a video, since a video can reach far more or far fewer people than the channel's subscribers. By subscribers only to compare channels from the outside.

Usually lower: Shorts are watched in a scrolling feed, and every play or replay counts as a view. Compare Shorts with Shorts and long videos with long videos.

In YouTube Studio, open the video's analytics: shares are listed with the engagement figures. Likes and comments also show under the video.

Yes. No signup, no limit, and your numbers never leave your browser.

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