If you want to find the best time to post on Instagram, you’re probably trying to reach a specific goal. Maybe you want to maximize the number of likes you get on each post. Or you hope to improve brand awareness by getting new followers.
If you’re new to social media you might start posting as often as you can and see what happens. But what if you add some scientific thinking to the process? For example, you could try posting at different times of day and jotting down the likes per minute for each post.
That experiment could have value over time, but it’s also pretty intense and time-consuming. Is there an easier way to figure out when to post on Instagram?
In this post, you’ll find everything you need to start posting at the best times on this popular social media platform. Keep reading, or jump to the section you’re looking for with the links below:
What are the best times to post on Instagram?
- According to 2023 HubSpot research, the best time to post on Instagram is from 6PM-8:59PM.
- 8PM in particular is the best time to post for optimal engagement.
- The best day to post is on Friday, followed by Saturday and Wednesday.
- For optimal engagement, the best days are on the weekend, but we recommend paying attention to when your audience is online.
The times above are for Instagram engagement in local time — meaning that your audience is in the same time zone as you are when you post. So, if you live in Los Angeles and your primary audience is also in Los Angeles you would post at the times above. If you live in Los Angeles and your target audience is in New York, you’ll want to shift these posting times three hours forward.
Worst Time to Post on Instagram
According to HubSpot’s 2023 State of Social Media report, the worst time to post on Instagram is between the hours of 6 AM and 8:59 AM.
You can see below that, globally, the lowest Instagram engagement rates are between 6 and 9 AM.
The data remained the same across B2B and B2C verticals. Both B2B and B2C social media marketing managers reported that the worst time to post is between 6 AM and 8:59AM, and that the worst days are Mondays and Tuesdays.
So you can be relieved! There’s no need to wake up early to make that Instagram post. It won’t be much of a problem if you use social media management software to schedule your posts, anyway — but still, it’s nice.
Best Time to Post to Instagram Cheatsheet
How We Found the Best Instagram Posting Times
This data comes from two sources. First is HubSpot’s 2023 Instagram Engagement report. This extensive report reviewed 110M posts across 1M Instagram users. The report also has several sections specific to English-speaking countries. They analyzed data from close to 85M posts from North America alone.
This post also contains more original research from the HubSpot team. They surveyed 300 professionals from 16+ industries about their preferred days and times to post on Instagram. According to So, posting when your top users are online will make a difference. It will give you more time to connect with your most important followers. But for many marketers, social media posting is just one more thing to do on a busy day. It can be tempting to post whenever it’s convenient or to schedule posts for a time that feels logical, even if there isn’t any data to back it up. These are a few reasons why it’s important to post to Instagram at specific and consistent times. Some users on Instagram focus their feeds on the friends, businesses, and influencers they already follow. But many others use Instagram for inspiration and discovery. This post from a machine learning engineer outlines some of the factors in helping new users discover your posts. One of those factors is recent engagement. This post from the Instagram blog also outlines how important fresh and recent content is. So, if you post when your top users are online, your new content is more likely to be one of the first things they see. This can also boost engagement, another ranking factor. This combination increases the chances that new users will discover your account and posts on the platform. Check out this post for more tips on how to grow your reach on Instagram. Loyalty takes time and effort to build. It’s especially tough for small businesses that have to compete with big brands on social media. Posting during peak times on Instagram helps you connect with more of your followers at once. It shows your audience that you want to engage with them and keeps your brand top of mind. It also helps set expectations. Building loyalty is about more than great products and customer service. It’s about being a consistent presence in their feeds that helps you build relationships. For example, say you run your media business in the Pacific time zone, but a third of your customers are in the Australian Eastern time zone. If you post all your content from 9 a.m-5 p.m. PST, those posts will appear between 3-11 a.m for your Australian customers. Chances are your Australian audience won’t see many posts from your brand. And what if an unhappy customer in Australia posts a story about your brand? That one post could shape that entire audience’s perception of your brand. To build a loyal audience, it’s important to understand when your audience is online and to use that information to choose the best time to post. According to 2023 HubSpot research, the global average Instagram engagement rate is almost 6%. That’s more than the average engagement rate in the previous year. Instagram engagement creates a ripple effect, like throwing a rock in a still pool. The first ripple is obvious — if you get immediate likes, comments, and saves after posting, it’s more likely that your post will show up in more feeds. The next ripples come from other Instagram features like Favorites, Search, and videos. Each feature has an independent algorithm. And each feature weighs engagement differently. For example, becoming a favorite for your followers means your posts will show up at the top of their feeds every time they log in. Engagement rates factor into which posts get bumped to the top of Search pages. So, posting at the right time doesn’t just mean more comments, messages, and saves. It creates more opportunities for engagement too. Like most online tools, Instagram launches constant updates to shape the user experience. As a business, your team needs to quickly understand how each update could impact your users and strategy. Algorithms are complex. Instagram leaders say that each part of the app uses an independent algorithm. So, one day your latest videos might show up in the feed but not surface on Discover, and it may be tough to figure out why. This can have an immediate impact on your business. There are a few ways that you can manage these updates. For example, you can keep up with the latest social media news. But the best way to understand the latest algorithm changes is to run tests with your own posts. So, what do you need to run reliable and useful tests that can help you understand which content your users see after an update? Number one is a consistent posting schedule. The fewer variables your test has, the more trustworthy your results will be. Better yet, you should post at the best times for your audience on Instagram. This way, you’ll have consistent timing and a wider test group. That strategy can help you get more reliable results. Your posting schedule can also help you understand new Instagram features. Carousels, Stories, and Reels are all unique parts of Instagram. And depending on your content and industry, they’ll each have different rates of engagement. If your business is investing time and resources into Instagram, it’s important to have a strategy. Strategies usually include different types of content. Whether you want your posts to show up as suggested content or to boost your shoppable stories, you want useful eye-catching content. When Instagram releases new features, it can take time to understand: The sooner you understand a new feature, the more likely it is that you’ll make the most of that feature before your competitors. For example, this post on the Instagram blog tells users how to see more of what they want on their feeds. Like testing an algorithm update, knowing the top posting times for your niche can help you test new features for your users faster. Social testing is most useful when you know your test audience, which makes posting time important. Choosing the right times for your audience can make it much easier to schedule your posts. Many social media and marketing managers take advantage of social scheduling tools. While these tools can make the process of social media posting much easier, it can be tough to get results if you’re not posting at the right times. It’s all about creating the right content at the right time for your audience. And set posting times can also help you create a more personalized social media calendar for your ideal buyer personas. Here are a few more ways that choosing the best posting times for Instagram can help you simplify your posting schedule: While the Instagram app now longer allows users to make purchases directly on the app, it’s still an invaluable lead generation and brand awareness tool — which can ultimately lead to more clicks and purchases. That’s an incredible incentive to connect with your best customers on Instagram right away. But how can the best posting times help you find prospective shoppers? You may be new to your industry. If that’s the case, the industry-specific posting times below can help you understand when your users are online. This can help you start seeing from their perspective and you can use those insights to improve your content. For example, people in financial services are easiest to reach on Instagram on Sunday nights. This is just before the next work week begins. It may be a way to wind down the weekend and prepare for what the next week will bring. But workers in agriculture are easier to reach on Saturday mornings, and mostly skip Instagram during the week. These professionals might be in spots with limited service during the week. Safety is also a concern, so it may be difficult for them to use mobile devices while on the job. You can also block out these times on your schedule to engage with users who follow your business. Comment on posts, ask authentic questions, and watch videos from your target audience. These times are when the biggest pool of your users is active online, so it’s the best time to start a conversation. It’s easy to send a message on Instagram, but not every message gets a response. If you can be there to engage in real time, you’ll get much more value from the time you spend on the platform. You’ll also have a better chance of connecting with top customers. It’s clear that posting time matters on Instagram. But is there really a best time to post to get the results you’re looking for? To answer this question, let’s hear from some members of the HubSpot social media team. It can be tempting to churn out content to meet ambitious deadlines in the hopes that the right customers see your posts. But content quality is what creates the most value for your audience. Community Management & Growth Specialist “It sounds obvious, but making your content as engaging and optimized as possible for the platform it’s being published on is key. “ So, begin each post with the best possible content, then optimize to make sure that followers get to feel the impact of your efforts. “Start with your target audience, and what types of content and information is most useful to them. What kind of content might they save for later? What might they share with a friend? What might incentivize them to comment on your content? Start with these questions and work backwards in order to improve your reach and performance.” – Annabelle Nyst, Senior Content Manager, Social Media You can also get some inspiration from top influencers and brands on the platform. Another way to create quality content is to line up with recent trends and news. But this strategy isn’t the right fit for everyone. Here’s more useful advice from Annabelle Nyst: “When it comes to posting around tentpole moments, events, and trending conversations, you should ask yourself: Does this make sense for my brand to be a part of this conversation? Are we adding value here?” The best posting time isn’t really about when you post, it’s about when you want users to see your content. But that’s up to the algorithms that are unique to each part of Instagram. So, the care you put into posting time is only one part of a more complex system that delivers your content to people on the platform. According to Mathew Cruz: “Instagram’s algorithm and UX changes have made an impact on the effectiveness of posting at specific times. Unless your users are consuming their content in the “following” view, the time your audience will see your content can vary.” To optimize the chances that people will see and engage with your content, check out these tips: “Look at what the Instagram algorithm appears to be prioritizing at any given moment – for example, Reels. We know that Instagram has been leaning into Reels as a format in order to compete with TikTok, so how can you incorporate Reels into your strategy? The more you adhere to what Instagram wants to see, the more the algorithm will favor you. Also, always optimize for value and engagement first.” – Annabelle Nyst “With Instagram, understanding the UX and algorithm changes can be more effective in strategizing content publishing rather than simply timing. For example, with Instagram’s shift to pushing video over images, the types of content you choose to create and publish may impact the chances of it being pushed out to users. Additionally, feeding the algorithm with what your content is about helps it know where it should go. For example, adding relevant captions, hashtags, and sounds can help increase chances of it appearing on the feeds of users that enjoy specific types of content.” – Mathew Cruz Social Strategist Erin McCool says: “Quality and consistency of content is more important than timing.” Consistency is key to taking advantage of social media opportunities. Whether you’re amplifying your stories at the same time each week or posting with branded hashtags, a steady schedule is essential. If you don’t have a clear brand voice on Instagram, it won’t help you to reach more audience members. Without consistency, it’s unlikely that users will recognize and connect your content to your brand no matter how many times they see it. So, don’t just post at the best times. Use the best times to post as a guide for a consistent posting schedule. This strategy can help you reach the right audience at the right time with the right content. Your location can heavily influence the success of your You know that evenings tend to be the best time to post to Instagram for engagement. But how do you make that happen if your audience lives in multiple time zones? This is where you need to make some decisions about the best posting times on Instagram for your audience. To help you make these choices, here’s more compelling data from the 2023 Instagram Engagement report. According to HubSpot research, the best time to post on Instagram in North America is between 6 to 9 PM, as those were the hours with the highest engagement. It’s no surprise: People tend to be winding down in the evenings, and as such, they usually access their Instagram apps at around this time. As you can see, though, the engagement rate is between 7% to 8% for most hours — you really can’t go wrong with your posting time, so long as you make an effort to study your audience and learn when they’re specifically online. The hours you might want to specifically avoid are between 6 and 9 AM. In the UK and Ireland, the best time to post is from 10 PM to 2 AM to generate high engagement. Yep! That’s quite late, so even if you work during UK and Ireland hours, you’ll want to use a social media tool to schedule your posts well ahead of time — unless you’re willing to log in at 1 AM to post. You’ll want to avoid the morning hours from 9 AM to 11 AM. In Asia-Pacific, the best time to post on Instagram is between 7 and 9 PM. During our research in this region, we saw huge peaks in engagement at those hours. APAC engagement rates are more volatile. You’ll specifically want to avoid posting between 5 and 7 AM, as those were the times with the lowest engagement. Every day of the week is a good day to post on Instagram, but you’re likely to get the best engagement on weekends. The chart below shows the average engagement of each day of the week. As you can see, even though weekends are when you’ll see the most engagements, the data is pretty steady throughout the week. This means that you’ll want to do deeper research to figure out which days are best for you to post. This is where industry-specific data can help. For example, if your followers work at a desk job with regular hours, they might be taking a lunch break around noon. This would mean that they could be more likely to scroll through Instagram during that time to catch up on the latest from their friends, favorite brands, and influencers. But what if they work in an industry with a less consistent schedule? For example, real estate agents often work around their clients’ schedules, showing homes on the weekend or after work hours. This means that their scrolling time will be different from other users. You’ll want to General data about optimal post timing is a great starting point. But if you want to get more granular, HubSpot research surveyed over 300 professionals to help you engage with your top audience. Here are the best times to post on Instagram for over 16 popular industries. Best Times: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Best Day: Monday Worst Days: Wednesday through Sunday If you work in the education sector, the best time to post is from 9 PM to 12 AM, specifically on Monday. That may be because educators are preparing for the week at this time and may be more receptive to content from education brands. Best Times: 6-9 p.m. Best Day: Saturday Worst Days: Tuesday through Friday For healthcare companies, the best time to post on Instagram is in the evenings, from 6 PM to 9 PM, and specifically on Saturday. You’ll want to avoid posting on Tuesdays through Fridays. Best Times: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Best Day: Sunday Worst Days: Wednesday and Thursday Financial services companies will want to post from 9 PM and 12 AM — remember, a Best Times: 3-6 p.m. Best Day: Sunday Worst Day: Tuesday Retail companies should consider posting between 3 PM and 6 PM on weekends, especially on Sundays. Tuesdays were the worst day according to our research. Best Times: 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Best Day: Saturday Worst Days: Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday Ecommerce brands would benefit from posting between 9 PM to 12 AM, in keeping with the general pattern that evenings perform best for most brands. Saturdays were the best days to post on Instagram, while you’ll want to avoid Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Best Times: 9 a.m.-12 p.m., 6-9 p.m. Best Day: Friday Worst Days: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday Companies that offer business services would do well to post on Instagram between 9 AM and 12 PM — the starting hours of most people’s business days. Evenings between 6 and 9 PM also performed well. The best day to post, surprisingly, is on Friday. Best Times: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Best Days: Wednesday and Friday Worst Days: Monday, Tuesday, and Sunday Consumer manufacturing organizations should post on Instagram in the mornings, between 9 AM and 12 PM. The best days to post are Wednesdays and Fridays. Best Times: 12-6 p.m. Best Day: Friday and Sunday Worst Days: Monday through Thursday, Saturday Companies in the manufacturing industry should post in the afternoons between 12 PM and 6 PM, starting with most businesses’ lunch breaks. The best days are Fridays and Sundays. Best Times: 6-9 p.m. Best Days: Thursday and Sunday Worst Days: Monday and Saturday Like most verticals, construction companies would benefit from posting in the evenings between 6 and 9 PM. Thursdays and Sundays are the best days. Best Times: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Best Day: Saturday Worst Days: Weekdays The best time to post on Instagram for agricultural organizations is in the morning, between the hours of 9 AM and 12 PM. You will want to avoid weekdays and post on weekends, specifically on Saturday. Best Times: 3-6 p.m. Best Day: Thursday Worst Days: Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday Electronics organizations would benefit from posting in the afternoons, between 3 PM and 6 PM. The best day to post is on Thursday. Best Times: 6-9 p.m. Best Day: Saturday Worst Days: Sunday through Friday Energy, utilities, and waste management organizations would benefit from posting between 6 and 9 PM. The best day to post is on Saturday, while our research respondents reported that every other day is a poor option. Best Times: 6-9 p.m. Best Day: Saturday Worst Days: Monday and Thursday Like most businesses, IT companies should post in the after-work hours, between 6 and 9 PM. The best day to post is on Saturday, but remember to experiment to find out what works for your audience. Best Times: 3-6 p.m., 9 p.m.-12 a.m. Best Day: Friday Worst Days: Sunday and Monday The best times to post on Instagram for media and entertainment companies are between the hours of 3 PM and 6 PM, and 9 PM and 12 AM. The best day to post is on Friday. Best Times: 9 a.m.-12 p.m. Best Day: Saturday Worst Days: Sunday, Monday, Thursday, and Friday Transportation and logistics companies would benefit from posting in the morning, between 9 AM and 12 PM. Our respondents reported that Saturday was the best day to post. Best Times: 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Best Days: Monday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday Worst Days: Tuesday and Friday Advertising and marketing organizations have countless options for posting on Instagram. The best time to post is during the work day from 9 AM to 3 PM, and the best days include Mondays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays. You’ll want to avoid Tuesdays and Fridays. Remember that the guidelines above are just that — guidelines. It’s essential to constantly gauge your engagement rates to find the best times to post for your specific audience. We recommend using the above data as a starting point, then adjusting slightly as time goes on. What about the different types of Instagram content? What is the best time to publish them and get a good engagement rate? Let’s take a look. We recommend following the general guidelines. The best time to post That said, you can’t go wrong with posting Reels, because they’re so popular.Why post on Instagram at a certain time?
Increasing Reach
Building a Loyal Audience
Increasing Engagement
Testing New Algorithms
Understanding New Features
Streamlining Your Posting Schedule
Finding Your Best Customers
Is there really a best time to post to Instagram?
Content Quality
Instagram’s Algorithm
Content Consistency
Best Time to Post on Instagram by Time Zone
North America
UK and Ireland
Asia-Pacific
Best Time Each Day to Post on Instagram
Best Time to Post on Instagram by Industry
Education
Healthcare Companies
Financial Services
Retail
Ecommerce
Business Services
Consumer Manufacturing
Manufacturing and Materials
Construction Companies
Agricultural Organizations
Electronics Organizations
Energy, Utilities, and Waste Management
Information Technology
Media and Entertainment
Transportation and Logistics
Advertising and Marketing Organizations
Best Time to Post Different Instagram Content Types
Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram
Trusted resources offer the same tips for the best time to post Reels as they do for other types of content, such as videos and photos, on Instagram. You’ll want to post when your users are online, and that means carefully taking a look at your engagement rates.
The top tip for Reels timing: Be sure to post consistently. If the uploading days or times you post are sporadic, the algorithm won’t prioritize your account visibility.
Best Time to Post Instagram Videos
The best time to post Instagram videos is between the hours of 6 and 9 PM.
Best Time to Post Instagram Stories
The best time to post Instagram Stories is between the hours of 6 and 9 PM. If you work in the B2B sector, you could also benefit from posting an Instagram Story at lunch time (from 11 AM to 1 PM), where your business audience might be scrolling through their app. That said, global average engagement rates peak in the evenings.
Best Time to Go Live on Instagram
The best time to go live on Instagram is in the evening, when users are unwinding for the day and have the time to watch a live broadcast.
Best Time to Post Instagram Carousels
The best time to post Instagram carousels and photos is between the hours of 6 and 9 PM.
How to Find the Right Time to Post to Instagram for Reach
Data on the best posting times for Instagram is incredibly useful. That said, it’s often most effective when you’re just starting out.
As you continue to develop your presence on the platform, you might want to boost your results and do some posting time research on your own. The tips below are useful places to start.
1. Use a Social Media Tool
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