If you’re serious about growth, knowing the best time to post on Instagram is crucial. 

Sometimes it can feel like a conspiracy theory…but posting at the right time truly does make a massive impact.

The faster your reel gets views, likes, shares, and saves, the faster Instagram’s algorithm will push your reel to new viewers — which is why nailing your timing is so important. If you post when more of your audience is online, everything happens faster. 

However!

There’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all when it comes to timing on Instagram. The best time to post depends on your audience, their activity times, and their habits.

So today, I’ll show you how you can find the sweet spot for your posts. 

We’ll take a look at what deep-dive studies say about best posting times, and I’ll also show you how you can study your audience and craft your very own “best posting time.”

Let’s dive in! 

What’s the Best Day to Post on Instagram?

Tuesday. Most studies agree that Tuesday is a strong day to post. Adobe even says that it’s the single best day for views. 

However, my personal take is that it doesn’t really matter, because you should be posting EVERY day anyway. 

If you’re serious about Instagram, posting once a day is one of the fastest ways to grow. 

Not only are you putting more content out there for your target audience to see, but you can also see what works (and what doesn’t) much quicker this way. 

That’s why you should be a bit more concerned about the time that you post. 

Best Time to Post on Instagram in 2025

If you combine the results from all the major studies, they point to a sweet spot — 10 AM to 2 PM on weekdays, and 12 AM to 5 AM on weekends. 

I mostly agree. However, it’s far more important to find what works for your specific audience. 

If you’re not sure where to start, here’s what the major studies say about best posting times: 

• Buffer says that the afternoon, from 2 pm to 5 pm, is the best time. This is usually the time when people are winding down from school or work, and they start to spend more time scrolling through their feed. 

• Sprout Social recommends midday hours, from 10 am to 3 pm. They say that users check Instagram during lunch and break hours. 

• Adobe has some pretty unconventional findings. They say that the best time to post for views is Tuesday at either 3 am or Tuesday at 12 pm. They say these times target people who are browsing Instagram passively — either before work, or during their lunch break. 

• Later, however, recommends an early bird strategy, posting from 3 am to 6 am. The idea is that your reel is the first thing your audience will see when they wake up. There are also fewer overall posts at this time, so you won’t have much competition. 

So you see, there really is NO one-size-fits-all. There are only good guesses — until you find your audience’s best time to post.

If you have no idea where to start, then try posting at around midday and see how it does. 

If you want more data-backed posting times, let’s take a look at what these studies say for every day. 

Best Time to Post on Instagram By Day

Here’s a quick rundown: 

• Monday: 3pm-5pm
• Tuesday: 10am-2pm
• Wednesday: 2pm-4pm
• Thursday: 2pm-5pm
• Friday: 11am-2pm
• Saturday: 12am
• Sunday: 12am-5am or 5pm-6pm

Now, let’s take a closer look at why these are the optimal times and which studies support it. 

Side note: You’re going to see a lot of times below. What I’m saying is this: Try these and see which ones work for you. 

This is intended to give you a head start in finding your audience’s preferred times.

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Monday

The best time to post on a Monday is around 3 pm to 5 pm. Both Buffer and Sprout Social agree that this is a peak window of activity. 

Here’s the full breakdown from several studies: 

• 3 AM – 6 AM: High-risk, high-reward early bird slot. Low competition, targets global audiences. (Later)

• 10 AM – 1 PM: Midday break window. Reliable engagement, moderate competition. (Sprout Social)
• 3 PM – 5 PM: Post-work peak. High user activity, but also high content competition. (Buffer, Sprout Social)
• 11 PM: Late-night slot. Captures evening scrollers and international audiences. (Later)

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Tuesday

The best time to post on a Tuesday is around 10 am to 2 pm. Sprout Social and Adobe both support this claim. 

But it’s not the only time that works on Tuesdays. Here’s the full breakdown: 

• 3 AM: Unconventional but data-backed slot for maximizing views. Likely to benefit from global reach. (Adobe)
• 8 AM – 10 AM: Strong morning engagement window as the workday begins. (SocialPilot)
• 10 AM – 2 PM: Strong consensus block for reach and views. Most recommended time across multiple studies. (Sprout Social, Adobe)
• 12 PM (Noon): Peak time for maximizing views. (Adobe)

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Wednesday

The best time to post on Wednesday is around 2 pm – 4 pm. Buffer and Sprout Social say that there’s consistent user activity during this afternoon lull. 

Interestingly, there’s also high activity during the morning, from 9 am to 1 pm. However, Sprout Social and SocialPilot say that the engagement during this time is lower quality, while Adobe says Wednesday is the weakest day for likes. 

• 9 AM – 1 PM: High general activity during midday, but potentially lower-quality engagement. (Sprout Social)
• 2 PM – 4 PM: Consistent user activity during afternoon lull. (Buffer, Sprout Social)

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Thursday

The best time to post on Thursday is from 2 pm to 5 pm. There’s plenty of overlap from data sources showing this is a strong time. 

This is because, as the weekend approaches, people start scrolling more during their afternoon lulls. 

Here’s the full breakdown:

• 10 AM – 1 PM: Midday engagement window similar to Tuesday and Wednesday. (Sprout Social)
• 2 PM – 5 PM: Prime afternoon slot as the weekend approaches. Strong overlap across data sources. (Buffer, Sprout Social)

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Friday

The best time to post on Friday is around 11 am to 2 pm, according to Sprout Social. 

Friday is a very popular posting day, so competition can be fierce. But if you put your best foot forward, you should gain traction quickly since many people are beginning to transition to the weekend. 

Here are my full findings: 

• 11 AM – 2 PM: Popular posting window. High competition due to creator activity, but it aligns with midday breaks. (Sprout Social)
• 3 PM – 5 PM: Late afternoon slot capturing users transitioning into the weekend. (Buffer)

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Saturday

The best time to post on Saturday is 12 am, midnight, according to Adobe. They also say that Saturday gets the highest likes of any day of the week. 

Plenty of people stay up on Friday nights, so there’s usually more activity in the graveyard hours of Saturday morning than usual. 

Also, Saturday is a less structured day than weekdays. Normally, people wake up, go to work, have a lunch break, get that afternoon lull, then get out of work towards the evening. 

But on Saturdays, people’s days are much more varied — which is why the normal posting timeslots aren’t as clear cut. 

• 12 AM (Midnight): Highest average likes of the week. Key slot for a highly engaged late-night audience. (Adobe)
• 9 AM – 4 PM: Broad daytime window for general engagement. (Sprout Social)
• 6 PM: Optimal weekend evening time for reaching a relaxed audience. (Buffer)

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Sunday

The best time to post on Sundays is either early morning (12 am – 5 am) or early evening (5 pm – 6 pm). 

There’s usually low competition on Sunday mornings. So posting during this time can make you one of the main reels that show up. 

Early Sunday evening is also a great spot for reflective or inspirational content. This is because people are gearing up for another busy week at this time, so your reel might be just what they need. 

• 12 AM – 5 AM: Early-morning slots that capitalize on low competition and weekend schedules. (Later)
• 10 AM – 12 PM: Late-morning window for capturing users before Sunday activities. (Sprout Social)
• 5 PM – 6 PM: Evening wind-down period as users prepare for the week ahead. (Buffer)
• 11 PM: Late-night slot for final scrollers before bed. (Later)

How to Find the Best Day & Time for Your Audience

For the nth time:

There is no such thing as the “best” posting time for everyone. 

If you want to find what works for you, you’ll have to do some analysis yourself. 

Here’s how: 

Step #1: Use the Studies Above First

If you’re just starting out, you’re not going to have enough data to study yet. 

You’ll still have to prove to your target audience that you’re worth watching, and to Instagram’s algorithm that people enjoy your reels. 

So work hard on improving the quality of your reels first. And just use all the times posted above for starting out. 

Once your account starts to grow and more people watch your stuff, then you can start analyzing. 

Step #2: Find Out When Your Audience is Active

Go to your Instagram profile. 

Click on the menu button on the top right corner (the three horizontal lines ☰).

Select “Insights,” and then “New Followers.” 

When you scroll to the bottom, you’ll see a graph showing your audience’s most active times:

As you can see, this specific audience is most active from 6 pm – 9 pm, with very few people active past 12 am. 

You can also check activity per day, so you can see which days your audience is more active. 

Step #3: Experiment With Different Posting Times

The natural thing to do once you see your audience’s active times is to post about 30 minutes to an hour before the peak. 

This way, your content is super fresh when most of your audience opens Instagram. 

Do this for a week or two, and check if your reels are doing better with this strategy versus just following the studies above. 

However!

You’ll want to take your findings with a grain of salt, since the quality of your reel plays a MUCH bigger role than the time you post. 

But if you feel your reel quality is roughly the same, and one time slot is obviously better than another, then by all means, go for it! 

Ready to Grow on Instagram?

Once you find the optimal posting time for your target audience, you can rest assured that you’re reaching as many people as possible. 

However!

That’s just one of the many things it takes to grow on Instagram and reach your business or personal goals. 

And, to be honest? 

Some things are far more important than timing if you want to go viral. 

So check out this blog post next, where I share my simple 4-part formula for going viral!