How to use it
- Copy the video’s likes, comments and views. Shorthand like 9.8K works.
- If it’s your video, add shares from YouTube Studio’s analytics. They aren’t shown publicly.
- Add your subscriber count for the rate by subscribers.
- For several videos, enter the totals and the number of videos.
The formulas
- By views: (likes + comments + shares) ÷ views × 100. It compares videos fairly, because each video’s views are its own audience.
- By subscribers: interactions ÷ videos ÷ subscribers × 100. Useful for comparing channels, but a video found through search or suggestions can reach far more people than your subscribers.
What YouTube counts
| What | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Public counts | Views, likes and comments: the counts YouTube's Data API returns for a video | YouTube Data API: videos |
| Dislikes | Private since 13 December 2021: the API returns them only to the video's owner | YouTube Data API: videos |
| Shares | Times people shared the video with the Share button, in YouTube Studio analytics only | YouTube Analytics API: metrics |
| Engagement rate | Not a YouTube metric; YouTube's Analytics API has none | YouTube Analytics API: metrics |
Checked against each platform’s own help and developer pages in October 2026.
Why tools give different numbers
Without an official metric, every tool picks its own formula: likes only, likes and comments, or everything including shares; divided by views or by subscribers; averaged per video or not. Write down the formula you use and stick to it when you compare.
Engagement is one signal. If a video’s job is to send people to your site, tag the description links with the UTM builder and count the visits, and use the YouTube title generator on the next one.