Best time to post on Instagram
What four studies say, and the Tuesday afternoon most of them share.
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The short answer
Four large studies agree most on Tuesday afternoon for Instagram: 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. are each named by three of the four, in your audience’s local time. Beyond that they differ: Sprout Social favours Monday to Thursday middays and afternoons, Buffer’s single best slot is Thursday at 9 a.m., and SocialPilot puts 7 a.m. first.
Updated
Instagram, hour by hour
Where 3 of 4 studies agree on Instagram
- Tuesday 3 p.m.–4 p.m.
- Tuesday 5 p.m.–6 p.m.
Each cell counts how many of the four studies name that hour, in the audience’s local time. Hours read from each study’s Instagram page; sources below.
Use it on your account
- 01
Start with Tuesday afternoon
The one window three of the four studies share, plus one slot from the study closest to your audience.
- 02
Open Instagram Insights
Most active times for your own followers beat any study once you have a few weeks of posts.
- 03
Hold the times for four weeks
Same times, varied content. Compare each slot’s reach after the first day.
- 04
Keep the best two, test one
Drop the weakest slot and try a new one from the grid.
What each study says
Each study’s own Instagram page, read on 1 October 2026. Percify is not affiliated with any of them.
- Best time, as published
- Thursday at 9 a.m., Wednesday at 12 p.m. and Wednesday at 6 p.m.
- Time zone
- “These times already apply to your timezone”
- Data
- 9.6 million Instagram posts
- Best time, as published
- 3–9 p.m. Mondays, 5–8 a.m. and 3–7 p.m. Tuesdays, 5 p.m. Wednesdays, 4–5 p.m. Thursdays
- Time zone
- Localized across 118 countries
- Data
- Over 1 million social posts
Read next
Your questions, answered
Short answers to what people ask next.
Where four large studies overlap most: Tuesday at 3 p.m. and 5 p.m., in your audience’s local time, each named by three of the four. No single hour is named by all four.
The studies lean to midweek. Sprout Social names Monday to Thursday, Buffer’s best slots fall on Wednesday and Thursday, and Hootsuite gives a window for every day.
Your audience’s. The studies give local times, so post at those hours where most of your followers are.
Less than the post. Instagram says the “first 30 minutes” rule is not true; timing mainly helps the first viewers see it. See what Instagram says about ranking.
Percify schedules your approved posts at the times you choose. Posting accounts come with Scale (3) and Ultra (10), or $5 a month each on any plan.