A creator who posts the same content to both platforms will, on average, run a higher engagement rate on TikTok. This is one of the most stable patterns in our dataset. It is also the most misinterpreted.
The denominator and the numerator are different on each platform. TikTok counts views aggressively and rewards them. Instagram counts followers as the denominator on Reels even though most views come from non-followers. The two ER numbers are not measuring the same thing.
What this means for sponsorship rates
Brands that pay per ER point will overpay TikTok creators relative to Instagram creators with the same actual reach. Brands that pay per follower will underpay TikTok creators with broader effective reach. Both happen all the time.
“The fix is to score the platforms separately and stop treating ER as cross-platform comparable.”
On a CreatorBenchmarks report, the cohort is always platform-aware. A creator’s Instagram percentile and TikTok percentile are computed against different cohorts. They’re comparable only inside the report’s cohort framing — which is the only framing that holds up.