Find the best time to post
Pick your industry and see the recommended slots day by day. Free, instant, no signup, no Instagram handle.
Recommended time slots per day (All industries)
- Monday18:0019:0020:00
- Tuesday15:0017:0019:00
- Wednesday8:0012:0018:00
- Thursday7:008:009:00
- Friday21:0022:00
- Saturday20:0021:0022:00
- Sunday20:0021:0022:00
Source: Buffer, 9.6 million posts, 2026.
These studies cover accounts worldwide. They do not separate posts, Reels and Stories: the same slots are a starting point for all three formats. Cross-check with Instagram Insights.
Propulse is a French Instagram growth platform, active since 2017 and used by over 3,500 businesses, that attracts qualified followers from target accounts and turns them into customers.
How it works
Three steps, zero friction
Pick your industry
Retail, food, finance, tech and more.
Read the weekly grid
The recommended slots appear for each day.
Test on your account
Cross-check with Instagram Insights over 3 to 4 weeks.
What is the best time to post on Instagram?
Across all accounts, Wednesday is the best day, with peaks at 8am, 12pm and 6pm, and Thursday at 9am is among the top three global slots (Buffer, 9.6 million posts, 2026). The best time still depends on your industry, which the tool above shows you.
How to use the tool
Pick your industry from the list. The grid shows the best-performing time ranges for each day. A day with no slot only means the study highlights none for that industry, not that posting that day is forbidden.
"All industries" uses the Buffer study day by day. Other industries come from the Sprout Social study, based on nearly 2 billion engagements between late November 2025 and late February 2026.
Post, Reel or Story
The source studies do not split formats, so we do not show different slots per format: that would mean inventing data. Use your industry's slots as a starting point for all three and compare results on your own account.
Tips to find your schedule
Adam Mosseri recommends posting 30 to 60 minutes before your audience is usually online. Open Instagram Insights, then Total followers, and check "Most active times". It becomes reliable from around a hundred active followers.
Post for 3 to 4 weeks on your industry's slots, log each post's engagement rate, then move toward the slots that come out on top. Your own stats always beat a benchmark.
Timing or content?
Content. Watch time, shares in DMs and likes per reach matter most, all measured after publishing. Timing mostly accelerates those signals.
Frequently asked questions
Everything people ask us
Across all accounts, Wednesday comes out as the best day, with peaks at 8am, 12pm and 6pm, and Thursday at 9am is among the best slots (Buffer, 9.6 million posts, 2026). The best time varies by industry though: pick yours in the tool.
The studies used here (Buffer and Sprout Social, 2026) do not split formats, so we do not show separate slots per format. Use them as a starting point for all three, then test on your account.
They come from accounts worldwide, mostly English-speaking. They are a good starting point, to be cross-checked with the "Most active times" section of Instagram Insights, especially if your audience sits in one region.
No. Adam Mosseri ranks watch time, shares in DMs and likes per reach as the signals that matter most. Timing mostly acts as an accelerator of those first signals.
No. You only pick your industry: no signup and no handle required.