Best time to post on Instagram in 2026
The best time to post on Instagram depends on your audience, and the published studies don't fully agree. Tuesday 3 to 7pm in your audience's local time is the one window three of the four big studies agree on. Midday Wednesday is close behind, and weekends are weak in three of them.
Best time to post on Instagram by day
Each study's best times, in your audience's local time. The first column is any hour that sits inside two or more studies' windows for that day.
- Monday
Where they agree: 3–4pm, 6–8pm (Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer)
Sprout Social: 2–4pm
Hootsuite: 3–9pm
Buffer: 7pm, 6pm, 8pm
Later: 5am, 11pm
- Tuesday
Where they agree: 3–7pm (Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer)
Sprout Social: 1–7pm
Hootsuite: 5–8am and 3–7pm
Buffer: 7pm, 3pm, 5pm
Later: 5am
- Wednesday
Where they agree: 12pm, 5–6pm (Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer)
Sprout Social: 12–9pm, and 11pm
Hootsuite: 5pm
Buffer: 12pm, 6pm, 8am
Later: 3am
- Thursday
Where they agree: No hour two studies share
Sprout Social: 12–2pm
Hootsuite: 4–5pm
Buffer: 9am, 8am, 7am
Later: 4–5am
- Friday
Where they agree: No hour two studies share
Sprout Social: No significant peak
Hootsuite: 4pm
Buffer: 10pm, 9pm, 6am
Later: 3–5am
- Saturday
Where they agree: No hour two studies share
Sprout Social: Lowest engagement of the week
Hootsuite: 11am and 5pm
Buffer: 9pm, 10pm, 8pm
Later: 5am
- Sunday
Where they agree: No hour two studies share
Sprout Social: One of the worst days
Hootsuite: 12–3pm
Buffer: 9pm, 10pm, 8pm
Later: 12am, 5am, 11pm
| Day | Where they agree | Sprout Social | Hootsuite | Buffer | Later |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 3–4pm, 6–8pm Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer | 2–4pm | 3–9pm | 7pm, 6pm, 8pm | 5am, 11pm |
| Tuesday | 3–7pm Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer | 1–7pm | 5–8am and 3–7pm | 7pm, 3pm, 5pm | 5am |
| Wednesday | 12pm, 5–6pm Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer | 12–9pm, and 11pm | 5pm | 12pm, 6pm, 8am | 3am |
| Thursday | No hour two studies share | 12–2pm | 4–5pm | 9am, 8am, 7am | 4–5am |
| Friday | No hour two studies share | No significant peak | 4pm | 10pm, 9pm, 6am | 3–5am |
| Saturday | No hour two studies share | Lowest engagement of the week | 11am and 5pm | 9pm, 10pm, 8pm | 5am |
| Sunday | No hour two studies share | One of the worst days | 12–3pm | 9pm, 10pm, 8pm | 12am, 5am, 11pm |
Best and worst days
Best: Sprout Social: Tuesday and Wednesday. Hootsuite: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Buffer: Wednesday. Later: Monday.
Worst: Saturday is the weakest day for Sprout Social, Buffer and Later. Buffer adds Friday.
Where they disagree: Later's 2024 data puts the best times at 3 to 5am, which no other study comes near. Thursday, Friday and the weekend have no hour two studies share.
It depends on your audience
- These are patterns across other accounts' posts. Your followers' habits can be different, and your own results are the better guide once you have a few weeks of them.
- The times are in your audience's local time. If most of your followers are in another country, use the widget above.
- A good post at an average time beats an average post at the best time. Timing moves results at the margin.
- Test it: post at two of the windows above for a few weeks each, and keep the one your own numbers favour.
How Postdom's posting times relate
Postdom doesn't schedule from these studies. Every account starts on one default: at most two posts a day, at about 9am and 7pm on your workspace's clock, and nothing between 10pm and 7am.
That default is a sensible starting point, not a finding, and you can change each account's daily limit and quiet hours.
Method and sources
We read each study's own page on 5 October 2026 and copied its times as stated. Where a study gives no time for a day, the table says what it says instead. We don't average, and we don't fill gaps.
Compiled from published studies
Postdom doesn't have enough engagement data of its own to answer this yet. When at least 10,000 posts published through Postdom have a week of results, from at least 300 workspaces, this page will switch to Postdom's own numbers and show the sample size. Until then, it shows only what these studies published.
Sprout Social: Best times to post on Instagram
Published or updated 31 March 2026. Read 5 October 2026.
Sample: About 2 billion engagements across about 307,000 social profiles, 27 Nov 2025 to 27 Feb 2026.
Times are in: Your audience's local time.
The best times to post on Instagram are Mondays 2–4 p.m., Tuesdays 1–7 p.m., Wednesdays 12–9 p.m. and Thursdays 12–2 p.m.
Hootsuite: Best time to post on Instagram
Published or updated 14 July 2026. Read 5 October 2026.
Sample: Over 1 million social posts from businesses of all sizes, with Critical Truth. The page gives no date range.
Times are in: Localized across the 118 countries the data came from.
Instagram engagement peaks during early mornings and early evenings — especially early in the week
Buffer: When is the best time to post on Instagram
Published or updated 23 September 2026. Read 5 October 2026.
Sample: 9.6 million Instagram posts sent through Buffer. We could not confirm the date range on the page.
Times are in: Your audience's local time.
Note: Buffer ranks three slots a day, best first.
Wednesday is the best day to post on Instagram
Later: Best time to post on Instagram
Published or updated 21 April 2026. Read 5 October 2026.
Sample: Over 6 million Instagram feed posts, January to October 2024.
Times are in: Your audience's local time.
Note: The page was updated in 2026; the data is from 2024.
The overall best time to post on Instagram is at 5 AM
Questions about posting times
What is the best time to post on Instagram?
Tuesday 3 to 7pm in your audience's local time is the one window three of the four big studies agree on. Midday Wednesday is close behind, and weekends are weak in three of them.
What is the best day to post on Instagram?
Sprout Social: Tuesday and Wednesday. Hootsuite: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Buffer: Wednesday. Later: Monday. Saturday is the weakest day for Sprout Social, Buffer and Later. Buffer adds Friday.
What timezone are these times in?
Your audience's local time: the studies adjusted their times to the local time of the people seeing the posts. If your audience is where you are, use them as they are; if it's somewhere else, convert them with the widget on this page.
Why do the studies disagree?
They measure different accounts, over different months, with different definitions of engagement. Later's 2024 data puts the best times at 3 to 5am, which no other study comes near. Thursday, Friday and the weekend have no hour two studies share.
Is this Postdom's own data?
No. It's compiled from Sprout Social, Hootsuite, Buffer and Later. Postdom will publish its own numbers once at least 10,000 posts published through Postdom have a week of results.