Methodology
How KitVerify numbers work
What a KitVerify kit is
A KitVerify media kit is a hosted page on kitverify.com — a live link, not a screenshot, with a PDF export when a brand asks for an attachment. Creators fill defined fields; KitVerify renders the page. There is no free-form canvas: a creator chooses what to show, but the structure decides what can appear under each label — and every number carries a label saying where it came from.
The three labels
Pulled straight from the platform API over a read-only connection, shown with the platform name and a last-synced timestamp. A creator cannot type, edit, or adjust a synced number — only hide it.
Calculated by KitVerify from other numbers, with the formula disclosed beside the value. It changes only when its inputs change — a creator can't type a computed number.
Entered by the creator and labeled as such — structured fields, never free text, and never shown under a Synced or Computed label.
Where synced data comes from
Live today: Instagram and TikTok.
When a creator connects Instagram or TikTok, KitVerify receives a read-only token scoped to profile and media metrics. Read-only means KitVerify can fetch numbers — it cannot post, message, or change anything on the account. Synced values render directly from the API data; there is no edit path between the API response and this page.
Why we say "synced," not "verified"
We deliberately say "synced," not "verified." A live API pull proves where a number came from and when — it says nothing about the quality of the audience behind it. That's what benchmarks are for: an inflated follower count can't hide a below-tier engagement rate sitting next to it. Calling a number "verified" would claim more than the data supports. We'd rather under-claim and let the structure do the convincing. The 'verify' in KitVerify is the reader's job — the kit is built so you can.
How engagement rate is calculated
The denominator of engagement rate depends on the platform. Where a platform reports how many people saw a post — Instagram, TikTok, YouTube — the rate is view-based: (median likes + median comments per post) divided by median views, times 100. It is a share of the people who actually saw the post, not a share of your follower count.
We use the median, not the average, on purpose. A single viral post can run many times your typical numbers, and an average lets that one outlier inflate your whole rate. The median — the middle post — reflects what a brand can actually expect from a normal post.
The rate is measured over your most recent posts — a fixed sample window (20 by default) — so it reflects your current cadence rather than your entire history. The averages shown alongside it (average views, likes and comments) are taken from that same set of posts, so every number on the kit comes from one window.
Posts from the last 3 days are excluded, because engagement is still accruing — likes and comments keep landing for roughly 72 hours after a post goes up, so a brand-new post would understate the rate. With fewer than 3 posts we do not print a rate at all; with only 3 or 4 we compute it but flag it as a small sample.
Worked example: a creator whose recent posts have a median of 800 likes, 40 comments and 20,000 views has an engagement rate of (800 + 40) divided by 20,000, times 100 = 4.2%.
Views are the honest denominator because reach on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube routinely runs well beyond followers — the For You Page and Explore surface content to people who do not follow you, so dividing by followers would overstate that reach.
On platforms that do not report a view count — X, Threads — there is no view figure to divide by, so the rate falls back to followers: (avg likes + avg comments) divided by followers, times 100. TikTok also adds shares to its numerator. The basis in use is named on each tile so the two are never confused.
These are the same formulas behind the free engagement rate calculator — you can run your own numbers through them there.
Reach in the last 30 days
Reach in the last 30 days is the number of accounts that saw a creator's content over the trailing 30 days. We show it per platform — Instagram reach and TikTok reach are separate tiles, each with its own source label. We never add, average, or blend them into one combined figure, and reach is always a supporting number: engagement rate stays the primary measure.
Most reach values are Self-reported — the creator enters the accounts-reached figure from their own platform insights, and the tile carries the Self-reported label. Instagram reach can be Synced when a connected Instagram account genuinely returns a supported 30-day value; whether it does depends on the account type, its permissions, and what Instagram returns. TikTok does not provide this value to KitVerify today, so TikTok reach is always Self-reported. We never estimate reach from views, followers, or engagement.
Freshness
Every synced number shows when it was last pulled. If a kit hasn't re-synced in over 90 days, the kit flags its numbers as stale. Growth or drops since the last sync won't appear until the next one — check the timestamp before relying on a number.
How to cross-check
Public numbers stay checkable: compare a synced follower count against the creator's live profile on the platform itself. Every synced label carries its last-synced timestamp. If a number matters to your decision, check the timestamp first.
The creator can hide this number. They cannot edit it.