Best Day to Post on Instagram, and the Best Time Each Day
The best day to post on Instagram is Wednesday, going by Buffer's study of 9.6 million posts, with Thursday and Tuesday right behind it. The other big studies pick Tuesday, Monday or Thursday, so use the middle of the week as your base and test from there.
- Why 2027: it's November 2026, so this page is the plan for your posting week in 2027. It uses the newest 2026 studies and my reels up to November 1, and I'll redo it when the 2027 numbers are out.
- Strongest days, study by study: Sprout Social says Tuesday and Wednesday. Buffer says Wednesday, then Thursday and Tuesday. Hootsuite says Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Later says Monday.
- Weakest days: no agreement. Sprout points to the weekend, Buffer to Friday and Saturday, and RecurPost's roundup to Sunday.
- Most agreement on a time: Tuesday, 3 to 9 p.m. your audience's time, where four of the five studies land.
- My own reels: Tuesday gave me the best typical result, a median of 12,089 views. Thursday and Saturday each gave me 7 reels over 100,000 views.
Every day side by side
Here is each study's best time for every day of the week, in your audience's local time. For Buffer I list its top two times in order.
| Day | Sprout Social | Buffer | Hootsuite | RecurPost | Later |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 2 to 4 p.m. | 7 p.m., 6 p.m. | 3 to 9 p.m. | 3 to 6 p.m., 8 to 9 p.m. | 5 a.m. |
| Tuesday | 1 to 7 p.m. | 7 p.m., 3 p.m. | 5 to 8 a.m., 3 to 7 p.m. | 9 to 11 a.m., 1 to 7 p.m. | 5 a.m. |
| Wednesday | Noon to 9 p.m., 11 p.m. | Noon, 6 p.m. | 5 p.m. | 11 a.m., noon to 9 p.m. | 3 a.m. |
| Thursday | Noon to 2 p.m. | 9 a.m., 8 a.m. | 4 to 5 p.m. | 9 a.m., 4 to 9 p.m. | 4 to 5 a.m. |
| Friday | No clear peak | 10 p.m., 9 p.m. | About 4 p.m. | 7 to 10 a.m., 6 to 9 p.m. | 3 to 6 a.m. |
| Saturday | Lowest day of the week | 9 p.m., 10 p.m. | 11 a.m., about 5 p.m. | 9 to 11 a.m. | 5 a.m. |
| Sunday | One of the worst days | 9 p.m., 10 p.m. | Noon to 3 p.m. | 10 a.m. to noon, 7 to 9 p.m. | Midnight, 5 a.m., 11 p.m. |
Read across any row and you'll see the problem. On Wednesday alone the answers run from 3 a.m. to 11 p.m. The studies looked at different accounts over different years. Later used posts from 2024, and Buffer used posts from 2024 and 2025. So I trust the spots where they overlap more than any single hour.
Sources: Sprout Social's March 31, 2026 report; Buffer's September 2026 report on 9.6 million posts; Hootsuite's 2026 data from over a million posts; RecurPost's August 2026 roundup; Later's April 2026 report on over 6 million posts.
What my own reels say about each day
I wanted to know if my account follows the same pattern. So I sorted all 243 of my own reels by the day they went up. Every post time is in US Eastern time, the same clock I use in my main guide.
Two things match the studies. My best typical day was Tuesday, and my weakest was Sunday. One thing doesn't. Wednesday, the day Buffer ranks first, was one of my slowest days, even though I posted more on Wednesday than on any other day.
The big hits tell their own story. 32 of my reels passed 100,000 views, and Thursday and Saturday had 7 each, more than any other day. Saturday is a day two of the studies tell you to skip. These are my numbers on my account, and yours will be different.
Source: my 243 own public reels, with the 5 collabs left out. Timestamps and lifetime view counts were pulled on November 2, 2026 and shifted from UTC to US Eastern.
What's the best time to post on Instagram each day?
Each day below lists every study's times, then a strip that counts how many of the five studies name each 3-hour block, then what happened on my own account.
How to read the strips: each box is a 3-hour block in your audience's local time, and the number is how many of the five studies name it. Brighter means more agreement.
Monday: late afternoon into evening
Monday warms up slowly. Sprout Social picks 2 to 4 p.m., Hootsuite says 3 to 9 p.m., and Buffer's top slot is 7 p.m. with 6 p.m. next. RecurPost's roundup likes 3 to 6 p.m. and 8 to 9 p.m. Later goes its own way with 5 a.m., and it also names Monday its best day of the week.
Three studies meet between 3 and 9 p.m., so that's where I'd start. On my account Monday was average: 31 reels and a median of 4,579 views. All five of my Monday reels that passed 100,000 views went up before 3 p.m. Eastern, including one with 1,029,127 views at 11:28 a.m. I only posted 5 reels on Monday evenings, though, so I can't say the evening is worse for me.
Tuesday: the day the studies agree on
Sprout Social gives Tuesday a long window, 1 to 7 p.m. Buffer likes 7 p.m. and then 3 p.m. Hootsuite says 5 to 8 a.m. or 3 to 7 p.m., RecurPost lists 9 to 11 a.m. plus 1 to 7 p.m., and Later says 5 a.m.
Four studies overlap from 3 to 9 p.m., and no other day gets that much agreement. My Tuesdays were my best days too: 31 reels with a median of 12,089 views. My biggest reel ever, 8,383,319 views, went up on a Tuesday at 10:56 p.m. Eastern, and another one at 11:38 p.m. got 610,918. Both went up after 10 p.m., when two of the guides say engagement drops.
Wednesday: the widest window
Buffer ranks Wednesday first for the whole week, with noon on top and 6 p.m. second. Sprout Social calls it the peak of the week and gives noon to 9 p.m., plus a late bump at 11 p.m. Hootsuite narrows it to 5 p.m., RecurPost says 11 a.m. or noon to 9 p.m., and Later picks 3 a.m.
Every block from noon to 9 p.m. gets three studies, so Wednesday gives you the most room. Here's my confession, though. I posted more reels on Wednesday than on any other day, 53 of them, and it was one of my weakest days. The median was 4,617 views and only 3 passed 100,000. The best one, 284,069 views, went up at 6:16 a.m. Eastern. A day that wins in the studies didn't win for me.
Thursday: mornings win in one study
Thursday is the odd one. In Buffer's data it's the only weekday where the morning beats the evening, with 9 a.m. first and 8 a.m. second. Sprout Social goes with noon to 2 p.m., Hootsuite with 4 to 5 p.m., and RecurPost with 9 a.m. or 4 to 9 p.m. Later says 4 to 5 a.m.
Two studies meet from 9 a.m. to noon, and two more from 3 to 6 p.m. Thursday was strong for me: 37 reels, a median of 7,794 views, and 7 reels past 100,000, tied for my most. The biggest, 712,079 views, went up at 1:22 p.m. Eastern, and three of the seven went up between 12:50 and 1:22 p.m.
Picking a day is step one. My free video shows how I test reels on strangers, whatever the day.
Watch the videoFriday: no clear peak
Friday is where the studies fall apart. Buffer puts it among its two weakest days and lists 10 p.m. and 9 p.m. Sprout Social found no real peak on Fridays at all. Hootsuite says about 4 p.m., RecurPost says 7 to 10 a.m. or 6 to 9 p.m., and Later says 3 to 6 a.m. No 3-hour block gets more than one study.
I posted the fewest reels on Friday, 26, and their median was 5,064 views. Three passed 100,000, and the biggest, 262,692 views, went up at 5:41 a.m. Eastern. If Friday is your only free day, post anyway. Just keep your strongest idea for midweek.
Saturday: late morning
Most studies don't love Saturday. Sprout Social calls it the lowest day of the week. Buffer puts it next to Friday at the bottom, with 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. as its best slots. Hootsuite says 11 a.m. or about 5 p.m., RecurPost says 9 to 11 a.m., and Later says 5 a.m. Two of them meet in the late morning, 9 a.m. to noon.
Saturday was one of my best days anyway: 32 reels, a median of 6,987 views, and 7 reels over 100,000, tied with Thursday. Five of those seven went up between 10:50 a.m. and 12:54 p.m. Eastern, including reels with 2,152,282 and 1,125,481 views. That's the same late morning block two of the studies point to.
Sunday: evening, if you post at all
Sunday splits the studies hard. Buffer likes 9 p.m. and calls Sunday evening the best weekend window. Hootsuite says noon to 3 p.m. and warns against anything after 9 p.m. RecurPost calls Sunday the weakest day, with 10 a.m. to noon or 7 to 9 p.m. Later picks midnight, 5 a.m. or 11 p.m., and Sprout Social puts Sunday among its worst days.
The only overlap is 9 p.m. to midnight, from Buffer and Later. Sunday was my weakest day: 33 reels, a median of 3,903 views, and just 2 past 100,000. The bigger one, 323,684 views, went up at 1:33 p.m. Eastern. If you post on Sunday, try the evening, and save your best reel for Tuesday.
Sources: the five studies above, tallied block by block (Buffer at its top two times per day), and my own reels in US Eastern time.
What days should you avoid posting on Instagram?
The studies agree on the middle of the week. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday rate well in almost every one of them. Where they split is the weekend. Sprout Social says skip Saturday and Sunday. Buffer says the weakest days are Friday and Saturday, and that Sunday evening holds up. RecurPost's roundup says Sunday is the worst.
My account breaks the rule. Thursday and Saturday together hold 14 of my 32 reels over 100,000 views. So I don't skip weekends. My advice is to plan your week from the middle and use the weekend to test.
Times are in your audience's clock
Every time on this page is local time for the people you want to reach. My bio says LA, Vietnam and Bali, so my own clock changes with where I am. When it's 7 p.m. for me in Vietnam, it's 7 a.m. in New York in the winter. So convert first, or let my free tool for today's posting windows do the math for you.
Watch daylight saving too. US clocks went back an hour on November 1, 2026. If you schedule from another country, your posting time for a US audience just moved by an hour.
How to find your own best day
The studies are a starting point. Instagram's own advice is simpler: post when your audience is awake and most active, and use your insights to learn their habits. Once you have at least 100 followers, Insights shows the times your followers are most active. The taps are laid out in my step by step Insights walkthrough.
Then test it. For two weeks, post at the same hour on different days, and a day later note each reel's views, shares and saves. The days that keep winning stay in your plan. If most of what you post is Reels, that format plays by different rules, which I cover on the best time to post Reels on Instagram page. For hour by hour detail, go back to my pillar guide on the best time to post on Instagram.
Sources: Instagram's creator FAQ and Instagram's help page on insights, both checked November 3, 2026.
Questions people ask
Which is the best day and time to post on Instagram?
Tuesday from 3 to 9 p.m., in your audience's time zone, has the most agreement, with four of the five big studies naming it. If you want a single day, Buffer's data says Wednesday at noon.
Is Tuesday a good day for Instagram?
Yes. It's the day the studies agree on most, and it was my best day too, with a median of 12,089 views across 31 reels. Aim for 3 to 9 p.m. in your audience's time zone.
Is Saturday a good day for Instagram?
It can be. Most studies rank it low, but Saturday tied for my most reels over 100,000 views. Five of them went up between 10:50 a.m. and 12:54 p.m. Eastern.
Is there a good time to post on a Sunday?
Buffer says 9 p.m., then 10 p.m. Hootsuite says noon to 3 p.m., and RecurPost's roundup says 10 a.m. to noon or 7 to 9 p.m. Start with the evening, then check your own insights.
Is Friday a good day for posting?
It's the day with the least agreement. Buffer ranks it among its two weakest days, and Sprout Social found no clear peak. Post if you have something ready, but keep your best reel for midweek.
Sources: the 2026 studies on this page and my own reel data.
Done guessing which day works? The free video takes 10 minutes. You'll see me run tests on strangers all week and keep only the reels they share.
Want today's hours instead? Use the best time to post on Instagram today tool.