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What is the Best

Time to Post on
Instagram? [2023
Guide with
Cheatsheets]
by Aarushi Singh

In a perfect world, you publish a post on

Instagram and it goes viral. You start
getting thousands of followers, sponsored
brand deals, and money for your content.

But that doesn’t happen nearly as soon as

you like. You’re not alone; many Instagram
creators struggle with constant social
media algorithm changes and have a hard
time understanding their audiences’ needs.
So what’s the secret sauce to driving
engagement and “making it” as a creator?

Posting content at the right time can make

all the difference on Instagram. And while
there are some general guidelines to help
you, it’s the specifics that truly matter. The
more you know about when to post on
Instagram, when your audience is most
active, and who engages with your content,
the more you’ll drive higher engagement.

This is the only guide you’ll need to figure

out when is the best time to post on
Instagram in 2023.

Jump to a specific section:

What is the Best Time to Post on Instagram?

(in 2023)

What is the Best Time to Post on Instagram?

(for Different Industries)

How to Find Your Best Time to Post on

Instagram

Best Practices Around Making the Most Out

of Your Best Time to Post on Instagram

Let’s dive in.

What is the Best Time to Post

on Instagram? (in 2023)
You’ll find a lot of studies on the best times
and days to post on Instagram. And
surprise surprise…they’re all different from
one another.

To help you out, we studied the findings of

our friends from Sprout Social, Hootsuite,
and Later — and surfaced some trends that
can help you point in the right direction.
Remember that all of these studies used
different data sets and were based on
different time zones. The figures below are
just our best-bet, “middle-ground”
estimates based on what they found.

Days of the Best Time to Post on

Week Instagram

Monday 12:00 PM

Tuesday 9:00 AM

Wednesday 11:00 AM

Thursday 11:00 AM

Friday 9:00 AM

Saturday 9:00 AM

Sunday 7:00 PM

To determine the best times to post on

Instagram, we first compared the findings
of Sprout Social, Hootsuite, and Later side-
by-side. And then we shortlisted the hours
that were:

The same across at least 2 studies (for

example, both Sprout Social and Hootsuite
found 12:00 PM to be the best time to post
on Mondays)

Closest to the hours or ranges in at least 2

studies for days where there were no
overlaps

Multiple factors come into play when

finding the best time to post on Instagram.
This includes your timezone, your
audience’s location and their engagement
preferences, and your industry/niche. Since
every creator has a unique audience and
business, it’s important to create a custom
marketing strategy that works specifically
best for you.

More importantly, don’t base your entire

Instagram posting schedule on just a single
research. While the studies cited above are
great starting points, they’re based on the
analysis of a diverse audience. Instead,
consider multiple studies to get a sense of
what’s working for others, start
experimenting, and then dive into your own
analytics to see what works best for you.

Below, we’ve shared the findings of the 3

studies we based our best times on, in case
you’re curious to know exactly what they
found.

1. Sprout Social

Sprout Social is a unified social media

management platform. To help identify the
best time of day to post on Instagram, the
team collected data from users from
various plan types, industries, and
locations.

Note: The findings from Sprout

Social are all in a global timezone
(i.e. the times work for almost all
locations).

Days of the Best Time to Post on

Week Instagram

Monday 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Tuesday 9:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Wednesday 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM

Thursday 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Friday 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Saturday 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM

Sunday No best times (worst day to

post)

More from Sprout Social

Best Days to Post on Instagram: Tuesdays

and Wednesdays

Worst Days to Post on Instagram: Sundays

BestTimestoPost
onInstagram
(AccordingtoSproutSocial)
Bestdaytopost
Tuesdays&Wednesdays

Worstdaytopost
Sunday

Monday 10AM-12PM

Tuesday 9AM-1PM

Wednesday 10AM-1PM

Thursday 9AM-11AM

Friday 9AM-11AM

Saturday 9AM-10AM

Sunday Nobesttimes

Note:ThefindingsfromSproutSocialareallinaglobaltimezone
(i.e.thetimesworkforalmostalllocations)

VEEDIO

2. Hootsuite

Hootsuite is another popular social media

management platform They analyzed data
from over 30,000 Instagram posts from
businesses of all sizes. They also worked
with their own social media team to gather
insights from posting to an audience of
170K Instagram followers.

Note: The findings of Hootsuite are

all in US Pacific Time.

Days of the Best Time to Post on

Week Instagram

Monday 12:00 PM

Tuesday 9:00 AM

Wednesday 11:00 AM

Thursday 11:00 AM

Friday 2:00 PM

Saturday 9:00 AM

Sunday 7:00 PM

More from Hootsuite

Best Time of the Week to Post on

Instagram: Mid-week (at mid-day)

Worst Time of the Week to Post on

Instagram: Weekends

3. Later

Later is a social media scheduling and

management platform for creators and
small businesses. To find out the best time
to post on Instagram, Later analyzed over
11M global image, video, carousel, and
Instagram Reels posts.

The team calculated engagement metrics

from their users’ accounts across a range
of industries and account sizes. Then, they
categorized the data based on the hour
and day posted to finally determine the
best time to post on Instagram.

Note: The findings of Later were

calculated in local times across
multiple time zones.

Days of Best Time to Post on

the Week Instagram

Monday 12:00 AM to 1:00 AM, and 3:00

AM to 7:00 AM

Tuesday 12:00 AM to 9:00 AM

Wednesday 12:00 AM, and 2:00 AM to 7:00

AM

Thursday 12:00 AM, 2:00 AM to 3:00 AM,

5:00 AM, 7:00 AM, and 11:00
PM

Friday 12:00 AM, and 5:00 AM to 8:00

AM

Saturday 12:00 AM to 1:00 AM, 3:00 AM,

and 11:00 PM

Sunday 12:00 AM to 2:00 AM, 5:00 AM

to 7:00 AM, and 11:00 PM

More from Later

Best Hours of the Day to Post on

Instagram: Early hours of the day (in the
AM)

Worst Days and Times to Post on

Instagram: Saturdays at 5:00 AM and
Sundays at 1:00 PM

Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram:

Mondays at 4 AM

What is the Best Time to Post

on Instagram (for Different
Industries)?
Our analysis shows that the best posting
times on Instagram typically fall between
early morning till late noon. But it’s
important to note that the optimal time of
posting also varies greatly by
industry/sector since each niche has a
unique audience with its unique traits.

To help you figure out the best day to post

on Instagram and what’s working for others
in your niche, we studied two reports from
our friends over at Sprout Social and Status
Brew. Here’s what we uncovered.

Best Time To Post On Instagram For

IT Brands

If you’re an IT brand on the fence about

Instagram, we’d recommend you take these
best posting times and start experimenting
today:

Best days to post on Instagram: Mondays

Worst days to post on Instagram:

Saturdays

Worst time to post on Instagram: 1 AM to 7

AM

Days of Best Time to Post on

the Week Instagram for IT Brands

Monday 11 AM to 12 AM, and 8 PM to 9

PM

Tuesday 11 AM to 12 AM

Thursday 12 PM to 1 PM

Friday 11 AM to 12 PM

Need the above info to go? Here's an

infograph:

Instagram isn’t just limited to B2C brands

anymore. It’s 2023 and IT brands are just as
much active on the platform, if not more, in
comparison to B2C orgs. There are three
key reasons why Instagram is the ideal
platform for IT brands: community building,
employer advocacy, and event marketing.

Accenture, for example, has 276K followers

with 880 posts on Instagram. The Fortune
500 shares behind-the-event-scenes,
podcast snippets, office tours, interviews,
and much more on its IG handle. By
creating visually compelling content, the
company not only puts a face on the
brand, but builds a thriving community of
active participants and attracts potential
employees who’d want to work with them in
the future.

Best Time To Post On Instagram For

Healthcare Brands And Influencers

If you’re a healthcare brand or influencer,

follow these best times to post on
Instagram:

Best days to post on Instagram: Mondays,

Tuesdays, and Thursdays

Worst days to post on Instagram:

Saturdays and Sundays

Worst time to post on Instagram: 2 AM to 7

AM

Days of Best Time to Post on

the Instagram for Healthcare
Week Brands

Monday 9 AM to 10 AM, 2 PM to 3 PM, 5

PM to 6 PM

Tuesday 8 AM to 9 PM

Thursday 1 PM

Share the above info with your peers:

Post-pandemic, healthcare brands and

professionals have been increasingly using
social media platforms to educate the
public on preventive measures and
healthcare information. They’re also
building communities for caregivers,
patients, and medical professionals to
facilitate more interactions.

Best Time To Post On Instagram For

Education Brands

Wondering what are the best times to post

on Instagram for education brands?

Best days to post on Instagram: Tuesdays

and Fridays

Worst days to post on Instagram: Sundays

Worst time to post on Instagram: 11 PM to 3

AM

Days of Best Time to Post on

the Week Instagram for Education
Brands

Tuesday 11 AM, and from 1 PM to 4 PM

Wednesday 12 PM and 3 PM

Thursday 10 AM to 12 PM, and 2 PM to 3

PM

Friday 4 AM to 5 AM

Here is a shareable version of the above

table:

In 2022, higher education had the highest

engagement rate out of any industry on
Instagram. This is a testament to the fact
that whether you’re an online course
creator or a university looking to expand
marketing efforts, Instagram’s visually-rich
content appeals to Gen Z and younger
generations incredibly well.

Best Times to Post on Instagram for

Hospitality Brands

Here are some of the best times to post on

Instagram for those in the hospitality
industry:

Best days to post on Instagram: Tuesdays

to Thursdays

Worst days to post on Instagram:

Saturdays and Sundays

Worst time to post on Instagram: 11 PM to 5

AM

Days of Best Time to Post on

the Week Instagram for Hospitality
Brands

Tuesday 10 AM

Wednesday 11 AM to 1 PM

Thursday 7 AM to 8 AM, and 12 PM

Friday 10 AM to 12 PM

Share the above info with your peers:

From catchy transitions in Reels to detailed

travel itineraries on carousels, Instagram
serves as a virtual travel guide for the
modern traveler. In fact, 52% of travelers
decided to visit a specific place after
seeing its photos/videos from friends,
family, or peers on social media.

It’s obvious why hospitality brands leverage

Instagram; it’s a visual-centric platform,
making it ideal for hospitality brands to
bring destinations to life and engage
users.

Best Times to Post on Instagram for

Media and Entertainment Brands

For media and entertainment brands, the

following information is key if they want to
thrive on Instagram:

Best days to post on Instagram: Mondays

to Thursdays

Worst days to post on Instagram:

Saturdays and Sundays

Worst time to post on Instagram: 10 PM to 2

AM

Days of the Best Time to Post on

Week Instagram for Media
& Entertainment Brands

Monday 11 AM

Tuesday 1 PM to 5 PM

Wednesday 11 AM to 12 PM

Thursday 8 AM to 10 AM

Download the following infograph and

share it with your peers:

60% of Instagram’s user base is aged

between 18 and 34 — the perfect target
audience for many media and
entertainment brands. Take Netflix for
example; the brand creates relatable
content, shares upcoming releases to build
hype, runs specific campaigns to drive
more eyeballs, and piggybacks on trending
content like a meme using a popular series.