What Counts as 'Good Engagement' on X? Benchmarks and Reality
What Counts as 'Good Engagement' on X? Benchmarks and Reality
You posted something you're proud of. It got 15 likes. Is that good? Terrible? Average? Without benchmarks, you're guessing,and most people guess wrong, usually in the direction of being too hard on themselves.
Here's the uncomfortable reality: engagement on X has crashed in recent years, and what counts as "good" is probably lower than you think.
The Current Benchmarks
Platform-wide average engagement rate on X is 0.029%. That's not a typo. For every 1,000 impressions, the average post generates fewer than 0.3 engagements.
Here's how to interpret your performance:
| Level | Engagement Rate |
|---|---|
| Below Average | Under 0.029% |
| Average | 0.029% |
| Good | 0.045% - 0.1% |
| Excellent | Above 0.1% |
| Viral | 3%+ |
If you're hitting 0.05% engagement consistently, you're outperforming most of the platform. If you're below 0.02%, there's room to improve, but you're not far from average.
Why Engagement Has Crashed
Engagement rates have dropped 48% year-over-year. The platform average in 2024 was already low at 0.029%; by 2025 it had fallen to 0.015% in some measurements.
Several factors drive this:
More content, same attention: Posting volume hasn't dropped as fast as engagement has. Everyone's competing for a shrinking slice of attention.
Algorithm changes: The shift toward Premium prioritization means free accounts reach fewer people, which means fewer engagement opportunities.
Platform fatigue: User behavior is shifting. More passive consumption, less active engagement. People scroll but don't click.
External link penalties: Posts with links get dramatically reduced distribution, which pulls down overall engagement averages.
Size Matters (Inversely)
Here's the encouraging news for small accounts: engagement rates correlate inversely with account size.
Nano-influencers (1-10k followers) on X see engagement rates of 7-16%. Micro-influencers (10-50k) see around 3-4%. Mega-influencers with millions of followers often see less than 2%.
This makes intuitive sense. A small account's followers are more likely to be genuine fans who actually want to see the content. Large accounts accumulate passive followers who rarely engage.
If you have 500 followers and you're getting 5% engagement, you're performing at elite levels for your size. Don't compare yourself to accounts with 100k followers getting 0.3%.
What Actually Matters
Engagement rate is useful, but it's not the whole picture. Some metrics that matter more for actual growth:
Replies, not just likes. The algorithm heavily weights replies compared to likes. A post with 10 replies and 20 likes is performing better algorithmically than a post with 100 likes and 2 replies.
Profile visits. This measures intent,people curious enough about you to click through. High profile visits relative to impressions means your content is generating interest in you specifically, not just passing entertainment. If you're seeing low profile visits, your content may not be creating enough curiosity.
Follower conversion. Profile visits that turn into follows are the actual growth metric. A healthy conversion rate is 10-15%. Make sure your profile is optimized to convert visitors.
Bookmarks. Elon Musk has called these "quiet likes",content valuable enough to save without public acknowledgment. Bookmarks signal genuine interest rather than reflexive engagement.
Link clicks. If you're trying to drive traffic somewhere, link clicks are the only metric that matters. Everything else is vanity.
The Vanity Metrics Trap
Follower count is the classic vanity metric. It looks impressive but doesn't correlate with business outcomes. You can buy 10,000 followers for pocket change, and they're worth exactly nothing.
Impressions without context are similarly misleading. A million impressions that generate zero clicks or follows or sales haven't accomplished anything. This is the core tension between virality and real growth.
The question to keep asking: does this metric connect to something I actually care about? If the answer is no, it's vanity.
Realistic Expectations
Based on current data, here's what success actually looks like:
Impressions: Healthy tweets reach 20-40% of your follower count. So an account with 1,000 followers should expect 200-400 impressions per tweet as a baseline, with strong performers reaching higher.
Engagement: Aim for above-average (0.03%+) and work toward good (0.05%+). Anything consistently above 0.1% is excellent.
Follower growth: 2-5% monthly is solid for most accounts. 10%+ is exceptional. If you're seeing 0% or negative growth over extended periods, something's wrong with your strategy.
Profile-to-follow conversion: Track this by comparing profile visits to new followers. 10-15% is the target.
The Counter-Trend Opportunity
Engagement is down across the platform, which means the bar for standing out is lower than it used to be. Content that would have been average five years ago is above-average today.
This is actually good news. The competition has gotten lazier. The accounts still putting in genuine effort have more room to shine.
The strategy that follows: don't optimize for engagement rate directly. Optimize for quality and consistency, which indirectly improves engagement. Post content worth stopping on. Reply in ways that add value. Show up regularly. The metrics follow.
You've done the learning. Now put it into action.
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