--- title: "Best Time to Post on Instagram: What 1.2 Million Posts Show" description: "We analyzed 1.2 million Instagram posts to find the best times to post on Instagram, broken down by day of the week, plus how to find your own peak times." datePublished: "2024-05-31" dateUpdated: "2026-08-04" author: "Alexandra Ceambur" authorImage: "/img/blog/authors/profile-pic-alexandra-allebusinesscoach.webp" postType: "blog" image: "/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/main.png" imageWidth: 2250 imageHeight: 1350 tags: ["instagram"] --- ![Best time to post on Instagram](/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/besttimetopostin2024.webp){width="1600" height="960"} Is there a best time to post on Instagram? Read on to find out! *Note: In our analysis, we'll be using UTC time zones unless specified otherwise. You can use a time converter to change it to your time zone.* ## What does "the best time to post on Instagram" mean? A "best time to post" is commonly used by marketers to refer to: - The peak activity time (likes, comments, engagement) for an account - The time when the majority of followers are active on Instagram - The best time to post on Instagram varies from one account to another, due to a unique audience demographic But is there a generic best time to post on Instagram, regardless of location? Here's what we found out! ## The best time to post on Instagram Our data suggests the **best time to post on Instagram is 12pm**, and the **best day is Saturday**. ![A heatmap showing the best time to post on Instagram by day and time (UTC)](/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/best-time-to-post-utc-timezone-3.webp){width="1600" height="876"} *Source: Pallyy.com analysis of 1.2 million Instagram posts* ## Best time to post on Instagram on Mondays The best time to post on Instagram on Mondays is **11am-12pm**. ## Best time to post on Instagram on Tuesdays The best time to post on Instagram on Tuesdays is **11am-12pm**. ## Best time to post on Instagram on Wednesdays The best time to post on Instagram on Wednesdays is **10am-12pm**. ## Best time to post on Instagram on Thursdays The best time to post on Instagram on Thursdays is **10am-12pm**. ## Best time to post on Instagram on Fridays The best time to post on Instagram on Fridays is **11am-12pm**. ## Best time to post on Instagram on Saturdays The best time to post on Instagram on Saturdays is **12pm-1pm**. ## Best time to post on Instagram on Sundays The best time to post on Instagram on Sundays is **11am-2pm**. ## Best time to post Reels on Instagram The best time to post reels on Instagram is **Saturdays at 2pm**. To find the best time to post [Instagram reels](/blog/schedule-instagram-reels) we simply filtered our 1.2 million post data set to only show data from reels (which was around 65,000 posts), and this is what we found. ![a heatmap showing the best time to post reels on instagram, with saturdays at 2pm the most popular](/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/best-time-to-post-reels-utc-1.webp){width="1600" height="762"} ## Best time to post on Instagram Australia The best time to post on Instagram in Australia is **10pm**. This time allows Australian users to also engage users from the United States, where it's their early morning. *This is based on the Melbourne time zone (GMT +10).* ## How to find the best time to post on Instagram? To find the best time to post on Instagram you need to know: 1. Your followers' location and timezones 2. When are your followers most active on Instagram ### Finding your best time to post using the Instagram app *Note: You need an Instagram business account to access* [*analytics*](/blog/instagram-analytics-tools) *and look into your followers’ demographics, geolocation, and activity patterns.* 1. Go to your **Instagram profile** 2. Tap on the **Professional dashboard** 3. Click on **Total followers** 4. Scroll down to the **Top locations** chart ### Top locations Instagram's **Top locations chart** shows you the geographical locations of your followers. Swipe right to navigate from top cities to countries. 1. **Top countries** = the countries where your audience is concentrated 2. **Top cities** = the cities where your audience is distributed **Tip:** If a large number of your followers live in a specific country (or city) schedule your posts at the best time for them, and their timezone. ![Top Followers location chart on Instagram app](/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/toplocationschartoninstagram.webp){width="1170" height="1424"} ### Most active times The most active times chart shows the peak activity times (days, and hours) for your account. The blue bars correspond to the days and hours when it's your best time to post on Instagram. ![Chart of the most active times for an Instagram profile ](/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/bestactivitytimesforinstagramaccount.webp){width="1170" height="866"} *Reminder: Your followers’ activity times and locations will be different than what's shown in the example above.* ## Finding the best time to post on Instagram with Pallyy 1. Go to [Pallyy.com](/) 2. Tap on the Setting button 3. This opens a drop-down menu 4. Click on "Best times to post" 5. This chart is unique for your Instagram account and shows you the best times to post for likes, comments, impressions, and [engagement](/blog/how-to-calculate-your-engagement-rate) ![Best time to post for Impressions in Pallyy](/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/besttimetopostchartfrompallyy.webp){width="1524" height="1094"} ## Tips for finding the best time to post on Instagram Want to find your best time to post on Instagram? Here are the most important things to consider: ### #1. Time zone differences Your followers’ geographical location impacts on their activity patterns 1. To reach followers in a specific location consider their timezone 2. To reach a global audience experiment with posting multiple times a day ### #2. Instagram users are more active during off-work hours 1. If your target audience is working adults, they will be more active on their Instagram in the morning (before work) and in the evenings (after work) 2. Posting content during working hours might have very little engagement 3. Some users spend more time engaging with content during the weekend ### #3. Monitor changes in demographics It’s important to monitor your followers’ activity and demographics on the app regularly to know your best times to post: 1. Your audience grows over time, and so does your best time to post 2. You may start attracting new people, from different backgrounds or locations ### #4. Use a good Instagram Analytics tool Analytics tools like [Pallyy](/) can help you dive deeper into your followers’ activity patterns, allowing you to optimize your Instagram content over time: 1. Track followers' growth patterns by location. So if you’re trying to target followers from Germany, you can add a tracker and watch the patterns change over time 2. Pallyy shows you a chart with the best times to post by day, and hour for your account 3. Go to Settings and set your best time to post as a default for all new drafts ![Default posting times on Pallyy](/img/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram/screenshot2024-05-24at4-09-31pm.webp){width="1096" height="698"} ### #5. Use a scheduling tool to post consistently Instead of trying to remember the best times to post for each day, and logging in to write each post manually, consider using a [social media scheduling tool](/blog/social-media-scheduling-tools). A good scheduling tool helps you automatically post at your best times for engagement, likes, and comments without wasting any precious time. ## Conclusion Finding the right time to post on Instagram can help you reach more people and get more engagement. Posting on Fridays? We looked at the [best time to post on Instagram on Friday](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-instagram-on-friday) specifically. And if you manage more than one network, we have guides to the best times to post on [Facebook](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-facebook), [TikTok](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-tiktok), [LinkedIn](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-linkedin) and [Twitter](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-twitter). But if you still struggle posting at the best times, you can always use Pallyy to automate your posting schedule. We want to hear from you. Have you found the best time to post on Instagram? Do you track your audience's activity times or do you use an Analytics tool? This guide is part of our series on the [best times to post on social media](/blog/best-time-to-post-on-social-media), where you will find timing guides for every platform.