Timing can make or break your social media strategy. Posting at the right moment helps you reach more followers, spark engagement, and maximize visibility. But with every platform—Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, TikTok—operating differently, knowing when to post can feel overwhelming.
In this guide, backed by Buffer’s data-driven insights, we’ll explore the best time to post on social media and how to adapt posting times to your unique audience for stronger results.
Is There a Universal Best Time to Post on Social Media?
The short answer: no. There isn’t one perfect posting time that works across every platform — and for good reason. Each network attracts different audiences and serves different purposes.
Take LinkedIn, for instance. It’s built around professional networking, so activity peaks during business hours. TikTok, on the other hand, thrives on entertainment, meaning evenings and after-work hours drive the most views. Engagement patterns vary elsewhere too — X (formerly Twitter) sees more interaction on Tuesdays, while Instagram tends to perform best on Fridays.
As our data shows, these trends rarely overlap across platforms. That’s why broad, one-size-fits-all rules aren’t nearly as effective as platform-specific strategies. Of course, some general guidelines still apply: posts made on weekends or late at night usually get less visibility and engagement.
The takeaway? Instead of chasing a universal “best time,” you’ll get far better results with a tailored posting schedule as part of a thoughtful digital marketing plan and social media calendar. Let’s dive into our recommendations for each platform.
Best Time to Post on Social Media: Quick Guide
Need a shortcut to boost your reach? Here’s a handy cheat sheet with the best posting times for each platform (scroll down for deeper insights!).
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Facebook: Weekdays, 5 a.m. – 7 a.m.
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Instagram: Weekdays, 3 p.m. – 6 p.m.
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LinkedIn: Weekdays, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.
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TikTok: Weekdays, 4 p.m. – 7 p.m.
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YouTube: Weekdays, 3 p.m. – 5 p.m.
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X (Twitter): Weekdays, 8 a.m. – 10 a.m.
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Threads: Weekdays, 7 a.m. – 9 a.m.
The Best Time to Post on Facebook
If you want to catch Facebook’s early risers, aim for 5 a.m. on Monday. That pre-dawn slot consistently drives the strongest engagement. Close contenders include Tuesday at 5 a.m. and Thursday at 7 a.m.
Overall, mornings are Facebook’s sweet spot. Engagement builds steadily through the early hours, peaks around midday, and then tapers off as the day goes on.
The Best Time to Post on Instagram
The best time to post on Instagram is 3 p.m. on Friday. After analyzing over 2 million posts, we found this time slot consistently got the highest reach.
That said, there was not much difference in the reach of posts shared between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on most weekdays.
If you look at the heatmap above, you’ll notice a fairly predictable pattern: reach starts to build from around 6 a.m. on weekdays, picks up steam around 11 a.m. (hello, lunch time scroll), and hits its stride at 3 p.m. on most days.
Weekends, however, tell a different story. Reach tends to dip on Saturdays, dropping even further on Sundays. While there are a few small spikes in the early evening, they don’t quite match the performance of weekday posts.
The Best Time to Post on LinkedIn
The prime time for LinkedIn is 10 a.m. on Tuesday. In our analysis of over a million posts, this slot came out on top — though only slightly ahead of other weekday mornings.
In fact, posts shared between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. on weekdays consistently perform well. No surprise there: LinkedIn is still very much a work-focused platform, and most users scroll during business hours.
Evenings, by contrast, are quiet. Unlike entertainment-driven platforms such as TikTok or Instagram, engagement on LinkedIn tends to drop off as people clock out and log off for the day.
The Best Time to Post on TikTok
The best time to post on TikTok is Sunday at 8 p.m., with Tuesday at 4 p.m. and Wednesday at 5 p.m. coming in just behind.
Videos, carousels, and even text-based posts shared during those slots tended to pull in the most views across the week.
Generally, we found that TikTok engagement starts to pick up in the early afternoon, with most peak viewing times happening from 1 p.m. onwards.
TikTok is a bit of an outlier compared to other social platforms — making it all the more fascinating to analyze. While platforms like Instagram and LinkedIn have relatively consistent engagement patterns tied to the workday, TikTok audience behavior is different — possibly because people scroll in their downtime, not just between meetings.
The Best Time to Post on YouTube
The best time to post on YouTube is Wednesday at 4 p.m. Videos published at that time saw the highest average views of the week — with Thursday and Monday at 4 p.m. close behind.
More broadly, posting between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays is an excellent window for your posting schedule. Videos shared late afternoon consistently outperformed other time slots, likely because viewers are winding down after work or study and have time to settle in with longer-form content.
The Best Time to Post on X (formerly Twitter)
The best time to post on Twitter/X is 9 a.m. on Wednesday. That’s when content sees the highest engagement, according to our analysis of over 1 million posts.
The next-best times are Tuesday at 8 a.m., followed closely by Monday at 8 a.m.
The best time to post on Threads
The best time to post on Threads is 7 a.m. on Wednesday. Posts published then had the highest median engagement — that is likes, replies, and reposts — across all the data we analyzed.
The next-best times were 7 a.m. – 9 a.m. on weekdays, especially Tuesday through Friday. Generally speaking, most weekday mornings are great windows to aim for.
Conclusion
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the best time to post on social media—but with research, testing, and analytics, you can find what works for your audience. Use these insights as a starting point, then refine your strategy based on engagement patterns and performance data. By mastering your posting schedule, you’ll not only boost reach but also build stronger connections with your followers, one perfectly timed post at a time.