Best Time to Post On Instagram  

When it comes to boosting engagement and visibility on Instagram, timing your posts is just as important as the content itself. Posting at the right time helps your content reach your audience when they’re most active, which in turn leads to higher engagement and more meaningful connections.

In our 2024 Instagram study, we analyzed user activity patterns to identify the best times to post. This guide breaks down those findings, covering the best days and times to post across the week, including recommendations for Stories, Reels, and industry-specific insights. By understanding these trends and using Metricool to plan and schedule your content, you can fine-tune your strategy and post at times that maximize your impact.

When is the Universal Best Day and Time to Post on Instagram? 

If you’re looking for a universal time that works across all days, 8:00 PM (in any time zone) is the most consistent. This time captures users as they wind down in the evening and scroll through their feeds.

While 8:00 PM remains the top choice, our study also suggests a broader window between 7:00 PM and 9:00 PM is best for publishing content. As for specific days, Wednesday and Friday are now the most favorable, replacing Monday and Thursday from our previous study.

The Worst Days to Post on Instagram

On the other hand, Tuesday and Thursday consistently perform as the least effective days for engagement, making them the worst days to post content.

Best Time to Post on Instagram: By Day of the Week

Our 2024 Study analyzed activity patterns to determine the best times to post on Instagram for each day of the week. Keep in mind that while these are general recommendations, tailoring your posting schedule to your specific audience will yield the best results.

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Monday: 

Monday mornings are typically busy as people dive into the workweek, but lunchtime offers a window for scrolling through social media. Posting between 11 AM and 1 PM allows you to catch users during their midday breaks, making it an ideal time to share content. Aim for posts that are motivational, informative, or lighthearted to resonate with the “back-to-work” mindset after the weekend.

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Tuesday: 

Tuesdays present a long window of opportunity, with engagement observed nearly all day from 10 AM to 5 PM. If you’re looking to spark conversations—Tuesdays consistently generate the most comments on Instagram. For brands or creators, consider testing interactive content such as polls, questions, or engaging captions to capitalize on this engagement-heavy day.

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Wednesday: 

Similar to Mondays, Wednesdays see a spike in activity during lunchtime. Posting between 11 AM and 1 PM ensures you tap into the middle-of-the-week crowd, many of whom use this time to unwind and scroll through their feeds. Midweek posts can focus on productivity tips, updates, or engaging visuals to maintain relevance and interest.

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Thursday: 

Thursdays have a shorter optimal window, with peak activity observed from 11 AM to 12 PM. While this may seem brief, it’s an opportunity to target a highly engaged audience. This day often serves as a precursor to the weekend, so consider content that builds anticipation or excitement for upcoming events, sales, or plans.

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Friday: 

Fridays are consistently strong in terms of engagement throughout the day, with peak activity during 11 AM to 1 PM. As people wrap up their week, they’re more likely to check Instagram frequently, especially during breaks. Use this time to post light, feel-good content or promotional material that aligns with weekend plans or activities.

Best Time to Post on Instagram on Saturdays: 

Weekends tend to have a slower start, but users are active on Instagram during the morning hours from 9 AM to 11 AM. Posting early on Saturdays allows you to capture your audience before they become busy with errands, events, or leisure activities. Content that is lifestyle-focused, entertaining, or visually captivating tends to perform well on Saturdays.

Best Time to Post Instagram Reels

Instagram Reels continue to dominate as one of the most effective content formats on the platform, boasting an impressive 37.87% reach rate. Posting Reels at the right time can significantly boost your reach, engagement, and audience growth. Based on findings from our 2024 Short-Form Video Study, here’s when and why you should post your Reels to maximize their performance.

• Midnight Magic: Surprisingly, the highest average views for Instagram Reels occur at 12:00 AM, with an average of 25,159 views per Reel. This time also sees one of the lowest number of uploads, with only 34,131 Reels shared. Less competition during these hours may explain the spike in visibility.
• The Evening Surge: The most common time to upload Reels is at 6:00 PM, with a total of 119,705 Reels shared. However, the average views at this time are significantly lower, at 15,928 views per Reel. This shows that while many users post Reels in the evening, competition may dilute reach.
• The Best Day for Reels: Sunday stands out as the top-performing day, with Reels averaging 22,096 views. This suggests that users are more engaged with short-form video content on weekends.

Best Times to Post Instagram Reels by Day of the Week

Here’s a detailed look at the best times to post Reels each day of the week:

• Monday: Post between 9:00 AM and 12:00 PM to capture your audience as they ease into the workweek.
• Tuesday: A prime day for Reels, with activity peaking from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, making it the best day overall for engagement.
• Wednesday: Early risers and night owls are key here. The best times to post are 6:00 AM and 9:00 PM, catching users at the start and end of their day.
• Thursday: Aim for 6:00 AM and 4:00 PM, coinciding with morning scrolls and post-work relaxation.
• Friday: Posting at 11:00 AM and 1:00 PM aligns with lunch breaks and end-of-week browsing.
• Saturday: Weekends see later activity, with optimal times at 9:00 AM, 4:00 PM, and 5:00 PM—perfect for reaching users before their weekend plans.
• Sunday: The best times to post are 8:00 AM and 1:00 PM, tapping into morning and mid-day scrolling habits.

Best Time of Day to Post Instagram Stories

Instagram Stories remain a go-to format for brands aiming to connect with audiences consistently. The best time to post Stories is between 11:00 AM and 2:00 PM every day, aligning with mid-day breaks when many users take time to scroll through their feeds.

Why Does Posting at the Best Time on Instagram Matter?

In the ever-evolving world of Instagram, posting at the right time can significantly impact your content’s visibility, engagement, and overall success. While the platform’s algorithm is continually updated, there are certain constants that marketers and businesses can rely on to boost their reach, with timing being one of the most important factors. 

Instagram’s algorithm is designed to prioritize content that feels fresh and relevant to users. One of the key factors influencing this is recency—how recently a post was published. When you post during peak activity times, your content is more likely to show up near the top of your followers’ feeds, increasing the chances that they will see, engage with, and share it.

The algorithm also takes user interests and engagement patterns into account. If your followers are active at specific times of the day, and you post during those hours, it boosts the likelihood of your content being seen and interacted with. The more engagement your post receives in the first few hours after publishing, the higher its chances of being shown to a larger audience. This means your timing plays a crucial role not just in visibility, but in how your content spreads.

In short, posting at the best times doesn’t just improve engagement in the short term—it builds stronger, more meaningful connections with your audience over time. When you consistently post during peak activity hours, your followers will start to expect and engage with your content more regularly.

Tips For Choosing the Best Time To Post

Finding the best posting times requires a thoughtful, data-driven, approach, and here are some key strategies to help you identify what works best for your brand or business:

Analyze Demographics

Understanding who your audience is, where they’re from, and when they are most active on Instagram is critical to determining the best times for posting. Your audience’s behaviors are influenced by factors like their age, location, and interests. For example, if your target audience is primarily in a different time zone or has specific work hours, you’ll need to adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

Using tools like Metricool can simplify this process by providing insights into:

• Follower Growth: Track how many followers you’re gaining or losing over time.
• Demographics: Understand the age, gender, and location of your audience.
• Account Metrics: Monitor impressions, reach, profile visits, and website clicks to gauge your overall performance.
• Post Performance: Evaluate which types of content resonate most based on likes, comments, saves, and interactions.

Analyze Post Performance

Reviewing the performance of your previous posts helps you understand what works and what doesn’t. By tracking which posts received the most engagement (likes, comments, shares, and saves), you can spot trends and patterns that reveal the best times for posting.

With Metricool, you can easily analyze each post’s performance in depth. The platform provides metrics like average reach, impressions, and engagement rates, which give you valuable insights into the optimal posting times for your audience. By studying this data, you can fine-tune your content strategy and posting schedule to ensure that you’re reaching your followers when they’re most active.

See What Your Competitors Are Doing

Paying attention to your competitors’ posting habits can provide valuable insights into what times work best in your industry. If a competitor posts at midnight and receives low engagement, while their post at 9 a.m. gets more interaction, that information could be crucial for your strategy.Metricool also offers competitor analysis tools. This feature provides a snapshot of your competitors’ key metrics, such as growth, engagement, and post performance. By comparing your data with that of your competitors, you can identify best practices and adjust your posting schedule accordingly.

Scheduling Instagram Posts Using Metricool

One of the most effective ways to ensure you’re posting at the best times is to use a scheduling tool like Metricool. By setting up your Instagram account on Metricool, you can automatically schedule your posts for the best times based on your specific audience’s activity patterns.

Metricool’s planner highlights the hours when most of your followers are online, allowing you to schedule posts for maximum reach. The tool color-codes these hours, with darker colors indicating the times when your audience is most active. This helps you pinpoint the best windows for posting, improving both reach and engagement.

The planner also shows the percentage of active followers at different times, allowing you to optimize your content distribution and increase interaction. With this feature, you don’t have to constantly worry about timing your posts manually; Metricool takes the guesswork out of scheduling, ensuring your content gets the attention it deserves.

Best Time to Post On Instagram Based On Industry

When you are operating a business Instagram account for yourself or your client, it is important to understand which times are the best based on your industry. Let’s go over the common industries and when is the best time to post:

Consumer Goods

For businesses in the consumer goods sector, the timing of posts plays a critical role in driving product awareness and consumer interest. Studies suggest that Thursdays at 2 p.m. tend to yield higher engagement, likely because consumers are looking for weekend purchases or are already in a buying mindset. The best days to post in this sector are Tuesdays and Thursdays since these days are closer to paydays or are busy planning days when consumers are more likely to browse or shop online.

Healthcare

In the healthcare industry, people often seek information or schedule consultations around specific times, so understanding when they are most active online is key. Thursdays at 1 p.m. is the best time to post, as users are typically on their lunch breaks, possibly researching health topics. Posting on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays also proves effective, as individuals begin their week planning appointments or looking for wellness tips, and they often wind down with healthcare-related content toward the weekend.

Hospitality

For hospitality businesses, such as hotels, resorts, and event venues, the goal is to inspire customers to book travel or plan events. Tuesdays at 10 a.m. is a prime time, as users are often planning their next getaway or weekend retreat during mid-week. Engaging with posts on Tuesdays and Wednesdays is effective since customers are typically looking for short-term plans, such as weekend getaways, around these times.

Media

The media industry thrives on timely, relevant content, and engagement peaks when consumers are digesting the news or entertainment. Mondays at 11 a.m. work well for posting, as audiences are catching up with the news or entertainment highlights at the start of the week. Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are the best days to post, as people are more likely to engage with content that informs, educates, or entertains in the early part of the week.

Restaurants

For the restaurant industry, the best times are when people start thinking about their next meal, often at points throughout the day. Mondays at 2 p.m. is an optimal posting time, as it aligns with people thinking ahead about their upcoming meals or dining out after the weekend. The best days for posting are Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as diners are usually planning or craving experiences toward the end of the week or the weekend.

Travel

In the travel industry, which relies on wanderlust and vacation planning, the best time to post is Tuesdays at 10 a.m., as travelers often begin to dream or plan their vacations mid-week. With peak engagement happening on Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays, it’s best to post content that sparks interest for weekend getaways or vacations planned for the future, typically when users are relaxing or researching during their days off.

Education

For the education sector, including schools, universities, and online learning platforms, posts should be timed around when potential students or learners are most active online. Tuesdays at 11 a.m. is the prime time, as people are often researching educational opportunities after they have settled into the week. Engagement peaks on Saturdays and Sundays, as many individuals use the weekend to explore learning options, whether for professional development or personal growth.

Nonprofit

For nonprofit organizations, the key is to share meaningful content that resonates with supporters. Wednesdays at 11 a.m. is the best time to post, as people are more likely to engage with charity-related content during mid-week. The best days to post are Saturdays and Sundays, when individuals have more free time to reflect on causes they care about and are more likely to donate, volunteer, or share posts.

sophie , 06 February 2024