Skip rate is an Instagram reels metric: it shows what share of views ended with the viewer swiping to the next video in the first few seconds. The lower it is, the better your opening is working. In practice, it's your hook's score.
Where do you see skip rate?
In each reel's insights, from a professional account (creator or business). Open the reel, go to its insights and look for skip rate next to the retention data. It's a fairly new metric, so it may not show on older reels.
What's a good skip rate?
Instagram doesn't publish a target, and the figures you see online aren't official. It depends on your topic, your audience and whether the reel reaches followers or new people: strangers skip more.
The useful comparison is with yourself. Note the skip rate of your recent reels and find the median. A reel below that median hooked people better than your normal in the first seconds.
How do you lower your skip rate?
Skip rate is decided at the opening, so work there:
- Choose the first frame carefully: it should be clear what the video is about with the sound off.
- Say the idea in your first line, with no greeting or preamble. The seven types of hook give you ways to open.
- Put the same idea in on-screen text, short and readable.
- Deliver on the promise early: if the hook promises something that never comes, people still skip, just a bit later.
Change one thing at a time. If you change the first frame and the first line together, you won't know which one lowered the rate.
Skip rate, retention and reach
Skip rate only looks at the start. Retention looks at the whole video: you can have a low skip rate and still lose people halfway. Read them together.
And a reel people don't skip has more chance of being shown again, which usually shows up in its organic reach. For the rest of Instagram's metrics, the guide on how to grow on Instagram is a good starting point.
Frequently asked questions
Does TikTok have a skip rate?
TikTok doesn't call it that, but its retention curve shows you the same thing: how many people leave in the first seconds. Don't compare one platform's numbers with the other's.
Is skip rate the same as a website's bounce rate?
No. A website's bounce rate measures visits that leave without doing anything else; a reel's skip rate measures people who swipe past the video as it starts.
Your next step: find your three reels with the lowest skip rate and note how each one opened.