A 5.87M-Sub Channel Hits 2.6% Engagement — What 1,000 Creators Reveal About Category Gaps
Key Takeaways
- · 국내 크리에이터 1,000명 분석 결과, 100만+ 채널 평균 ER 2.0%로 10만~100만 채널(1.76%)보다 높음
- · 인게이지먼트율은 채널 크기보다 콘텐츠 카테고리에 더 크게 좌우됨 — 인사이트 2.15%, 라이프스타일 1.61%
- · 뷰티 업종 협찬 영상 평균 ER 2.72%로 전체 평균(1.89%)의 1.4배, 게임은 1.46%로 가장 낮음
- · 금융·식음료 등 ER이 낮은 업종도 스토리텔링형 PPL로 업종 평균의 2배 이상 달성 가능
Do Channels With 1M+ Subscribers Really Have Higher Engagement Rates?
An analysis of 1,000 Korean YouTube creators shows that the common belief — bigger channels, lower engagement — doesn't always hold.
YouTube engagement rate (likes + comments ÷ views) is the key metric for measuring how actively an audience interacts with content. The conventional wisdom says that as channels grow, ER drops. But when Dhesy analyzed 1,000 Korean creators, channels with 1M+ subscribers averaged 2.0% ER — higher than the 100K–1M tier at 1.76%. The overall average is 1.88%, with a median of 1.6%.
Why Larger Channels Have Higher ER in Korea
Global benchmarks typically show sub-10K channels at 3%+ ER while 1M+ channels fall below 2%. The Korean data differs because of channel composition. Among the 494 channels in the 1M+ tier, entertainment dominates — and entertainment channels average 2.03% ER, pulling up the overall figure. Meanwhile, the 100K–1M tier has a higher proportion of lifestyle channels (ER 1.61%).
The takeaway: engagement rate is driven more by content category than channel size.
구독자 구간별 평균 인게이지먼트율
* Source: Dhesy
Engagement Rates by Creator Category
Even at the same subscriber count, the type of content a creator makes dramatically affects their ER.
| Category | Creators | Avg ER |
|---|---|---|
| Insight (Education) | 160 | 2.15% |
| Entertainment | 392 | 2.03% |
| Beauty & Fashion | 60 | 1.88% |
| Healthcare | 46 | 1.66% |
| Lifestyle | 342 | 1.61% |
Insight-type content (tutorials, how-tos) leads at 2.15%. Viewers naturally save with likes and leave comments asking follow-up questions. Lifestyle vlogs trail at 1.61% because "watch quietly" viewing behavior is more common.
Branded Video Engagement by Brand Category
The ER on a creator's channel and the ER on their branded content can differ significantly. Dhesy's branded video data reveals even sharper category gaps.
브랜드 업종별 협찬 영상 평균 인게이지먼트율
* Source: Dhesy
Beauty branded videos average 2.72% ER — 1.4x the overall average of 1.89%. Beauty content drives "I tried it and it was great/bad" experience-sharing comments. Meanwhile, gaming (1.46%) and automotive (1.42%) get strong viewership but relatively less interaction.
PONY Syndrome (5.87M subscribers) records 2.6% ER as a beauty creator with 9 brand collaborations. Her tutorial-driven format naturally generates product questions in the comments, driving engagement organically.
4.16% ER in Finance — An Unexpected Outlier
Finance isn't known for high engagement, yet 김선태 (Kim Seontae) (1.59M subscribers) hit 4.96M views and 4.16% ER on a branded video for Woori Bank. The finance category averages just 1.71%, making this 2.4x above baseline.
The secret was the title strategy: a blunt "Woori Bank Promotion" title created curiosity through transparency. Combined with the creator's signature humor, it turned an ad into an entertainment piece that viewers wanted to engage with.
Storytelling PPL Lifts Food & Beverage Engagement
Choo Sung-hoon (2.02M subscribers) achieved 4.7M views and 3.05% ER on a Suntory branded video — 1.8x the F&B category average of 1.68%.
The father-daughter mukbang storyline put the family narrative ahead of product placement. Viewers emotionally responded to the relationship and shared their own experiences in comments. For F&B brands seeking higher engagement, weaving products into a creator's personal narrative works better than a straight product review.
Engagement Rate Benchmarks for Marketers
Here are category-specific ER benchmarks that marketers can use immediately for budget allocation and creator selection.
| Brand Category | Dhesy Avg ER | 'Good' Threshold (Top 25%) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beauty | 2.72% | 3.5%+ | Experience-sharing comments |
| Entertainment | 2.60% | 3.0%+ | Fandom-driven |
| Health & Medical | 2.73% | 3.5%+ | Informational comments |
| Home & Living | 2.45% | 3.0%+ | Purchase inquiry comments |
| Food & Beverage | 1.68% | 2.5%+ | Rises with storytelling |
| Tech | 1.60% | 2.5%+ | Spec comparison comments |
| Gaming | 1.46% | 2.0%+ | Passive viewing dominant |
Marketers should compare creator ER against their own category average — not the overall 1.89%. Using a single benchmark means being too generous with beauty creators and unfairly strict with tech creators.
Explore real collaboration data for 2,240+ brands on Dhesy to set your own category benchmarks.
FAQ
Q. What is YouTube engagement rate?
A. Engagement rate (ER) is the ratio of likes plus comments to total views. It measures how actively viewers respond to content. Across 1,000 Korean creators analyzed by Dhesy, the overall average is 1.88%.
Q. What's a good engagement rate?
A. It depends on the category. For beauty branded videos, 2.72% is average and 3.5%+ is top-tier. For gaming, 1.46% is average so anything above 2% is strong. Cross-category, 2.5%+ is generally considered "good."
Q. Do bigger channels have lower engagement rates?
A. Generally yes, but Dhesy data shows 1M+ channels (2.0%) outperform 100K–1M channels (1.76%) in Korea. Content category matters more than channel size.
Q. How can brands improve engagement on sponsored content?
A. Storytelling is key. Choo Sung-hoon's Suntory collaboration (3.05% ER) shows that weaving the product into the creator's personal narrative — rather than making a product review — drives significantly higher engagement.
Methodology: Based on Dhesy platform data covering 3,600+ brands and 64,000 collaboration videos. Data source: Dhesy — 1,825 creators, 2,240 brands, 5,196 collaborations analyzed External sources: YTStudio Engagement Guide, Upgrowth Industry Benchmarks Last updated: 2026-04-02