Best time to post on social media
Best time to post on social media, platform by platform: where the published studies meet on each weekday, which days they split on, and today's windows in your own time.
Today
Your local day and time load here in a moment. Until then, the week below is in your audience's local time.
Next good slot
Counts down to the next window once your clock loads.
Counts down to the next window that at least two of the 3 studies share, skipping days they split on.
TikTok week at a glance
Hours are the audience's local time, as the studies give them.
TikTok, day by day
- Monday3–6 p.m.2/3
- Tuesday2–6 p.m.Sprout Social6 a.m., then 10 p.m. and 7 a.m.Buffer10 a.m.–1 p.m.Hootsuite
- Wednesday1–8 p.m.2/3
- Thursday6–9 a.m.2/31–5 p.m.2/3
- Friday3–7 p.m.3/3
- Saturday10 a.m.–7 p.m.2/3
- Sunday8 a.m.–2 p.m.2/3
The small number is how many of the studies have a time inside that window. Dashed chips mark a day where no two studies meet: each study's own times, with its name. Sources: Sprout Social, Buffer, Hootsuite.
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Best time to post on social media: the short answer
- TikTok
- All three studies meet Fri 3–7 p.m.
- Mon to Wed, afternoon into evening
- YouTube Shorts
- Evenings in Buffer's data; mixed in SocialPilot's
- Split: weekday mornings (Buffer, Hootsuite) or 12–8 p.m. (Sprout Social)
No single hour works across platforms, and on several days the studies for one platform don't overlap at all. The table below shows, for every platform, where at least two studies meet each weekday, in your audience's local time. Pick a platform in the tool above to see today in your own time.
Where the studies meet, platform by platform
| Day | TikTok | YouTube (long videos) | YouTube Shorts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 3–6 p.m. (2 of 3) | 2–9 p.m. (3 of 4) | Split: no two studies meet | Split: no two studies meet | Split: no two studies meet |
| Tuesday | Split: no two studies meet | 5–8 a.m. (2 of 4), 1–8 p.m. (3 of 4) | Split: no two studies meet | 5–10 p.m. (2 of 2) | 12–8 p.m. (2 of 3) |
| Wednesday | 1–8 p.m. (2 of 3) | 12–9 p.m. (3 of 4) | 3–6 p.m. (2 of 2) | Split: no two studies meet | 12–8 p.m. (2 of 3) |
| Thursday | 6–9 a.m. (2 of 3), 1–5 p.m. (2 of 3) | Split: no two studies meet | 3–7 p.m. (2 of 2) | 7–11 p.m. (2 of 2) | Split: no two studies meet |
| Friday | 3–7 p.m. (3 of 3) | 3–7 a.m. (2 of 4) | 11 a.m.–4 p.m. (2 of 2) | Split: no two studies meet | 6–9 a.m. (2 of 2) |
| Saturday | 10 a.m.–7 p.m. (2 of 3) | Split: no two studies meet | 8–11 a.m. (2 of 2) | 3–8 p.m. (2 of 2) | 6 a.m. (2 of 3) |
| Sunday | 8 a.m.–2 p.m. (2 of 3) | 8 p.m.–12 a.m. (2 of 4) | 8–11 a.m. (2 of 2) | 3–6 p.m. (2 of 2) | 8–11 a.m. (2 of 3) |
Full tables, each study's own times and what each platform says about timing: TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and Shorts, Facebook.
Why do the studies disagree?
- They measure different things: total engagements (Sprout Social), median engagement rate (Buffer), engagement per view (SocialPilot), average engagement (Later) or engagement with reach (Hootsuite).
- Their samples are their own customers' posts, mostly brands and businesses, over different periods: Sprout Social's three months end in February 2026, Later's Instagram data is from 2024, and SocialPilot's page has no date.
- Recommendation feeds keep showing a video after the first hours. YouTube's help center says publish time "is not known to impact a video's long-term performance", and Buffer and SocialPilot both say Shorts resurface for days or weeks.
So the tool counts how many studies point into each window and says when a day has no overlap. A window two or three studies share is a safer first test than one study's top slot.
Where each app shows your own audience's hours
- TikTok: TikTok Studio, Analytics, Viewers (activity times). Follower activity is in your local time; other analytics are in UTC.
- Instagram: Insights, Total followers, most active times, once you have at least 100 followers.
- YouTube: YouTube Studio, Analytics, Audience, When your viewers are on YouTube (last 28 days).
- Facebook: Meta Business Suite, Create post, Set date and time, Active times.
Sources
Every page below was read on October 14, 2026. The study windows are copied as published. All the studies come from scheduling-tool companies analysing posts made through their own products, mostly by brands and businesses.
- Sprout Social: Best times to post on social media in 2026 (TikTok page), Mar 31, 2026. Nearly 2 billion engagements on about 307,000 profiles of 30,000+ Sprout customers, Nov 27, 2025 – Feb 27, 2026.
- Buffer: The best time to post on TikTok in 2026, Sep 14, 2026. 7.1 million+ TikTok posts published through Buffer.
- Hootsuite: Best time to post on TikTok, Nov 19, 2025. 1 million+ social posts across networks, with Critical Truth.
- Sprout Social: Best times to post on social media in 2026 (Instagram page), Mar 31, 2026. Nearly 2 billion engagements on about 307,000 profiles of 30,000+ Sprout customers, Nov 27, 2025 – Feb 27, 2026.
- Buffer: The best time to post on Instagram in 2026, Sep 23, 2026. 9.6 million Instagram posts (part of a 52M-post study of 200,000+ accounts), Jan 2024 – Dec 2025.
- Hootsuite: Best time to post on Instagram [2026 data], Jul 14, 2026. 1 million+ social posts across networks, with Critical Truth.
- Later: Best time to post on Instagram in 2026, Apr 21, 2026. 6 million+ Instagram feed posts (Reels: 975,000+ analysed separately), Jan – Oct 2024.
- Buffer: The best time to post on YouTube in 2026, Jul 24, 2026. About 1.8 million YouTube videos, long-form and Shorts analysed separately.
- SocialPilot: Best time to post on YouTube in 2026: videos and Shorts, Undated. 301,000+ YouTube videos from 27,000+ channels scheduled with SocialPilot.
- Sprout Social: Best times to post on social media in 2026 (Facebook page), Mar 31, 2026. Nearly 2 billion engagements on about 307,000 profiles of 30,000+ Sprout customers, Nov 27, 2025 – Feb 27, 2026.
- Buffer: The best time to post on Facebook in 2026, Feb 26, 2026. 14 million+ Facebook posts published through Buffer.
- Hootsuite: Best time to post on Facebook, Nov 19, 2025. 1 million+ social posts across networks, with Critical Truth.
- TikTok Help Center: My posts aren't getting views, undated page.
- Instagram Help Center: About Instagram insights, undated page.
- YouTube Help: YouTube performance FAQ and troubleshooting, undated page.
- Meta Business Help: Schedule a post and manage scheduled posts for your Facebook Page, undated page.
How to use Best time to post
- 1
Choose the platform you're posting to
The chips switch the heatmap, today's windows and the countdown between TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, YouTube Shorts and Facebook. Each uses only that platform's studies.
- 2
Tell it where your viewers live
Your own time zone comes from this device. Every study gives times in the audience's local time, so pick your audience's zone if it differs, and the windows move to your clock.
- 3
Read the number on each window
"2/3" means two of the three studies for that platform name a time inside the window. Dashed chips mark days where no two studies meet.
FAQBest time to post FAQ
What is the best time to post on social media?
It differs by platform, and the studies often disagree. For TikTok all three studies meet Fri 3–7 p.m.. For Instagram three of four meet Mon 2–9 p.m., Tue 1–8 p.m., Wed 12–9 p.m.. Facebook splits between weekday mornings (Buffer, Hootsuite) and 12–8 p.m. (Sprout Social). All times are your audience's local time.
Are these times in my time zone or my followers'?
Your followers'. Every study here reports the audience's local time. If you and most of your viewers share a time zone, post at the times shown; if not, set your audience's zone in the tool and it converts the windows to your clock.
Why do the studies give different answers?
They measure different things (total engagements, median engagement rate, engagement per view), use their own customers' posts over different periods, and handle time zones their own way. That's why the tool shows how many studies share each window and says when a day has no overlap.
Does the time I post really matter?
Less than the studies suggest. YouTube's help center says publish time "is not known to impact a video's long-term performance", and Buffer and SocialPilot say Shorts resurface for days or weeks. A good slot helps early views; the video still has to hold attention.
How do I find the best time for my own account?
Check the hours your audience is online: TikTok Studio's Viewers tab, Instagram's most active times under Total followers (from 100 followers), YouTube Studio's When your viewers are on YouTube report, and Active times when scheduling in Meta Business Suite. Then compare your own posts at those hours.
Is anything I enter sent anywhere?
No. The tool reads your device's clock and time zone in the browser and does the maths there. Nothing you pick is uploaded or stored.
Still have questions?Email us
More free tools
TikTok posting timesBest time to post on TikTok: Sprout Social and Hootsuite say weekday afternoons, Buffer says evenings and Saturday, and all three meet Fri 3–7 p.m.. The tool shows today's windows in your own time.
Instagram posting timesBest time to post on Instagram: three of four studies overlap Mon 2–9 p.m., Tue 1–8 p.m., Wed 12–9 p.m., in your audience's local time. Later's older data is the outlier, favouring 3–6 a.m.
YouTube posting timesBest time to post on YouTube, from two studies (one undated): long videos on weekend mornings or midweek afternoons, Shorts in the evening. YouTube itself says publish time doesn't decide long-term views.
Facebook posting timesBest time to post on Facebook: Buffer and Hootsuite favour weekday mornings, Sprout Social favours Tuesday and Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m., and on Monday and Thursday no two of them meet.
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