Comedians lead Instagram engagement with a 6.32% median rate, followed by athletes (5.47%), dancers (4.35%), and musicians (3.04%) — based on real public creator profiles in our benchmark dataset.
The top and bottom five
| Highest | Median ER | Lowest | Median ER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comedians | 6.32% | Education | 0.69% | |
| Athletes | 5.47% | Communities | 0.98% | |
| Dancers | 4.35% | Makeup artists | 1.10% | |
| Musicians | 3.04% | Beauty | 1.27% | |
| Photographers | 2.53% | Bloggers | 1.38% |
Why entertainment niches win
Comedy, sport, and dance are reaction content — they generate immediate emotional response, shares, and tags ("@friend look at this"). Educational and beauty content gets saved rather than commented on, and saves don't show up in the standard likes-plus-comments formula. Neither is "better" — they monetize differently — but the benchmark you compare yourself against must match your niche.
See the full breakdown by niche and follower tier in our benchmarks, or check your own rate against them in seconds.