With Instagram’s latest algorithm updates now prioritizing views above all else, timing your content is absolutely essential. Post on Instagram when your audience isn’t online, and your content could vanish into the void before it even has a chance.
The good news is that fresh 2025 research is here to help you with your Instagram strategy. Social media experts have analyzed millions of posts to pinpoint the best time to post Reels, Stories, carousels, and more.
This guide breaks down the data and shows you how to find the best time to post on Instagram for your target audience—because averages are useful, but adding your own insights is where the real magic happens.
The best time to post on Instagram
The best time to post on Instagram varies day-to-day. Users scroll the app in different ways depending on whether they’re at work or relaxing at home on the weekend. All this means that the best time to post can be wildly different on a Monday than it is on, say, a Saturday.
Latest research on Instagram posting times
Wondering when the best time to post is in 2025? Turns out, timing really does matter. According to Buffer, after analyzing more than two million posts, weekday afternoons (especially around 3 p.m.) are your golden hour for reach, while 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. is the sweet spot on weekends. And Sprout Social backs it up, pointing to mid-morning through early afternoon (10 a.m. to 3 p.m.) as the best time to post on Instagram.
Best time to post on Instagram on Monday
Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Mondays see high engagement throughout the day, with a notable peak in the early afternoon. This might be because people are easing into the week and spending a little extra time scrolling during breaks.
Best time to post on Instagram on Tuesday
Between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
By Tuesday, everyone’s back in the groove but still craving quick hits of content between tasks, making mid-morning ideal for engagement.
Best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday
Between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.
It’s midweek hustle time, and folks are powering through their to-dos, often with a scroll or two in between. Engagement is consistent throughout the day as people scour for midweek motivation.
Best time to post on Instagram on Thursday
Between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
Thursdays bring a little weekend anticipation, and that vibe means more browsing during lunch breaks or while winding down the workday.
Best time to post on Instagram on Friday
Between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Fridays show a slight dip in engagement compared to earlier weekdays, but still offer good opportunities around midday. By this point in the week, people are mentally halfway out the door. Catch them before they log off for good with a well-timed post around lunch.
Best time to post on Instagram on Saturday
Between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
While weekends generally see lower engagement, Saturdays have a decent window in the late morning to early afternoon. They tend to be more relaxed, with engagement peaking in the morning while scrollers are sipping coffee or in the early evening when folks are chilling out.
Best time to post on Instagram on Sunday
Between 10 a.m. and 12 p.m.
Sundays are typically quieter on Instagram, but posting in the late morning or early evening can still reach active users.
How the Instagram algorithm in 2025 affects posting times
In mid-2024, Instagram announced that “views” would become the central metric across all content types, including Reels, Stories, photos, carousels, and live videos.
With the Instagram algorithm now prioritizing views, posting when your audience is most active increases the likelihood of your content being seen and engaged with. Early engagement signals to the algorithm that your content is valuable, boosting its reach.
The best time to post different content types on Instagram
Best time to post Reels on Instagram
Reels are Instagram’s answer to short-form video content, and timing your posts can significantly impact their reach.
Carly Lynn, head of Instagram creator partnerships at Meta, says, “The most effective way to grow on Instagram is to consistently create engaging Reels, as Reels are the best way to reach new audiences.”
According to SocialPilot, the best time to post Reels in 2025 is:
- Monday: 3 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m.
- Tuesday: 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 10 a.m.
- Wednesday: 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m.
- Thursday: 6 a.m., 11 a.m., 12 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m.
- Saturday: 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 5 p.m.
- Sunday: 5 a.m., 1 p.m., 2 p.m.
These times align with when users are most active, increasing the chances of your Reels being seen and engaged with.
Best time to post Instagram Stories
Instagram Stories are a great way to keep your audience engaged with daily updates, but because they only have a 24-hour lifespan, it’s important to post on Instagram at a time when your followers are most likely to be online. This tends to be in the morning over a cup of coffee or in the evening when people have finished work and are winding down for the day.
Best time to post Instagram carousels
Carousels allow you to share multiple images or videos in a single post, and timing can affect their performance. Later’s research indicates that the best time to post Carousels is early in the morning:
- Best Time: 5 a.m.
- Best Day: Tuesday
Posting at this time can help your content stand out as users start their day, leading to higher engagement rates.
The best time to post on Instagram for your audience
Before you schedule all your content to go out at the times listed above, you also need to consider your target audience and your content intent. Take into account people’s daily habits and schedules (like wake-up time or lunch break), what kind of content you publish, past data from your Instagram account, and your own audience’s habits.
If you run a juice brand using Instagram marketing to promote your new breakfast smoothie, for example, catching Instagram users when they wake up is a good tactic. But if you’re selling software subscriptions to enterprise companies, you might find your 6 a.m. Saturday Instagram posts fall flat when your target audience is enjoying their day off.
For global brands, however, your own engagement data will tell you more about the best times to post on Instagram. You may find that content lands in different markets at different times. Later, learn how to analyze your post data to find your sweet spot.
The best time to post on Instagram by industry
Based on data from Social Pilot’s analysis of more than seven million Instagram posts, the following posting times are the best by industry. Again, take this data as a starting point and read on to the next section to determine the best posting times for your unique brand and audience.
Best time to post on Instagram for travel and tourism brands
- Weekdays: 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Weekends: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Best time to post on Instagram for fashion brands
- Weekdays: 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Weekends: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Best time to post on Instagram for fitness and wellness brands
- Weekdays: 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
- Weekends: 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Best time to post on Instagram for food and beverage brands
- Weekdays: 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
- Weekends: 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Best time to post on Instagram for digital service-based businesses
- Weekdays: 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.
- Weekends: Limited activity, but occasional posts from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
How to find the best time to post on Instagram (for your brand and industry)
You can use the results from secondary research as a starting point for choosing when to post on Instagram, but it should be just that: a starting point.
These supposed “best times” are based on a large number of posts and Instagram accounts to generate an average that may not be the best time to post on Instagram for every type of brand.
Leverage Instagram’s views-focused analytics
Since 2024, Instagram has doubled down on surfacing content that gets eyeballs fast. That means the sooner people see and interact with your post, the more likely the Instagram algorithm is to push it further. Timing is everything, and Instagram analytics in 2025 can tell you exactly when your audience is online and ready to engage.
To get started, head to Instagram Insightsin the menu on your profile(available to Creator and Instagram Business accounts) and look at the total plays, reach, and interactions for your posts. Then check the Followers tab to see when your audience is most active by hour and day. If your Instagram Reels are consistently getting more views at 11 a.m. on Wednesdays, for example, that’s a strong hint that it’s your golden window.
Take note of your competitors’ Instagram strategy
Industries are incredibly varied. For example, the retail industry includes everything from B2B subscription companies to baby clothes, both of which have very different audiences.
Focus on competitor Instagram accounts and identify the times that they post. Pick three or four brands that are similar to yours or have a similar target audience, and notice the times they post as well as the posts that get the highest engagement levels. You can also check out popular industry hashtags to see when the majority of posts are published.
You can track these in a spreadsheet, but if you don’t want to dig into this manually, there are apps that can help. For example, NapoleonCat lets you analyze competitor posts by the number of comments and likes and by engagement rate, and shows you when these posts were published.
Experiment with posting at different times
Finding the best time to post on Instagram is often a case of trial and error. What works one week might not work the next, so it’s important to keep experimenting until you find a time that generates consistent results.
Use Instagram’s analytics tool to see which posts perform best, or manually carry out the research with a spreadsheet.
If in the first week you post at 5 p.m. on Monday, change it to 6 p.m. on the second week. When you’ve found the times that get the most Instagram engagement, run the experiment again to prove that theory and make sure the initial results weren’t just a fluke.
Consider the content of your Instagram posts
The content of your Instagram posts will likely have a bigger impact than time alone. Terrible posts will perform terribly at all times, while incredible posts will probably perform incredibly at all times. What you post will also impact engagement levels throughout the day.
For example, if your content contains or promotes something that people tend to do in the evenings, then it may land best in the late afternoon or evening. A wine company showcasing its latest bottle might have better luck posting on Instagram on a Friday or Saturday evening rather than a Monday morning, when a glass of wine likely isn’t on people’s minds.
When choosing the best times to post on Instagram, consider:
- What’s the content of each post?
- What’s the goal of your Instagram post: To inspire? To encourage a purchase? To raise brand awareness?
- When will this content be most useful for your followers?
Sharing an art print with an inspiring quote? Try posting on a Monday morning, when people might need a hearty dose of inspiration to kick off their week.
Schedule posts for prime times (and tweak as necessary)
You’re not always going to be online when your followers are. But if your post’s success depends on you being around to engage with commenters, that alone could narrow the windows in which you plan to post.
If your post isn’t reliant on you being around, you can use tools to schedule your posts to go out at those times. The more consistent you are with your posting schedule, the easier it is to see whether the times you’ve chosen are working well or whether there’s room for improvement.
Monitoring how your social media posts are doing is crucial for getting the most engagement, and it’s important that you track, measure, and tweak throughout the year. Something that performs well during summer at 8 a.m. on a Saturday may not get the same results at 8 a.m. on a Saturday in the middle of winter.
So, while you should research the best time to post on Instagram during high engagement periods, the process should be fluid. Continue to measure results and experiment with different posting times as you attract more followers and start promoting different products and different times of the year.
💡 Tip: Use Linkpop so your Instagram posts drive clicks directly to your most valuable landing pages, products, or content.
Tools to optimize your Instagram posting schedule
There are tons of helpful social media management tools that can help you with Instagram views optimization. These platforms analyze when your followers are most active, track how your content performs at different times, and even suggest the best posting slots to boost reach.
Here are a few popular picks:
- Later: Offers a handy “best time to post on Instagram” feature based on your past engagement.
- Buffer: Not only lets you plan posts ahead of time, but it also gives you analytics to help fine-tune your timing.
- Sprout Social: If you want deeper insights (think charts, trends, and detailed engagement breakdowns), this one’s a great choice.
- Hootsuite: Ideal if you’re managing other social media platforms besides Instagram. Its AutoSchedule feature chooses smart times to publish your content based on audience activity.
Measuring your timing results on Instagram
Measuring your results helps you determine if your timing strategy is actually working.
Hop over to your Instagram Insights and look at things like:
- Reach: Are more people seeing your posts now?
- Plays or views: Especially important for Instagram Reels. Are your videos gaining traction faster?
- Engagement (likes, comments, shares, saves): Are people interacting with your content when you post at new times?
-
Follower activity: This tells you exactly when your audience is online, so you can continue fine-tuning your schedule.
It’s helpful to track performance over a few weeks so you can spot patterns. Maybe you’ll find that carousels do best in the early morning, or that Stories crush it right after lunch. Don’t be afraid to experiment a bit, and remember, even small tweaks in timing can make a big difference.
💡 Tip: Use Shopify Analytics to attribute spikes in sales back to your time Instagram posts so you can see ROI.
Overall, what’s the best time to post on Instagram?
Overall, the best posting times and the best days of the week are when your audience is most likely to be online.
Generally, this will mean in the early morning, when people are just waking up and reaching for their mobile devices, when people go on lunch breaks, and during evenings when people are scrolling through their phones after work.
Posting in the early morning on most weekdays gives you a good chance of popping up in a user’s Instagram feed when they first open the app. But if you’re targeting professionals or B2B brands with business Instagram accounts, you might have better luck posting at lunchtime or during the working day to catch their attention while their mind is on the job.
Read more
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The best time to post on Instagram FAQ
What is the best time of the day to post on Instagram?
The best overall times to post on Instagram in 2025, based on consolidated results from Buffer and Sprout Social, are:
- Monday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Tuesday: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Wednesday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
- Thursday: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Friday: 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
- Saturday: 9 a.m. and 4 p.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Is it better to post on Instagram at night or in the morning?
It’s typically better to post in the morning. However, while morning posts often yield higher engagement, your brand may perform differently—testing is key.
When should you not post on Instagram?
Avoid posting on Sundays and late at night, as these are generally the least engaging times. However, this may vary depending on your audience and niche.
What time is Instagram’s audience active?
Instagram users are most active from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays. For tailored results, check your Instagram Insights to identify peak activity for your specific audience.
What is the golden hour on Instagram?
The “golden hour” refers to peak engagement times, which often fall between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. or around 3 p.m., especially Monday through Thursday.
How do I find the best time to post on Instagram?
To find your best posting time:
- Analyze competitor post performance
- Use Instagram Insights
- Test post timings and track engagement
- Reference industry research and adapt accordingly
