The best time to post Instagram Reels is between 8am and midnight Eastern, and the best days are Sunday and Saturday. We analyzed about 54,000 Instagram Reels at Sociable AI, measuring likes and comments one hour after each was posted, and found:
- Any time from 8am to midnight gets about the same engagement.
- Posting between midnight and 8am gets roughly 10% less engagement in the first hour, and between 2am and 6am about 16% less.
- Sunday Reels get about 9% more engagement than the same creator's Reels on an average day. Saturday Reels get about 5% more. Every weekday is average or below.
Best time of day to post Reels on Instagram
The best time of day to post Reels is anywhere between 8am and midnight. The graph below shows typical first-hour likes and comments for each posting hour: around 300 at 4am, climbing to about 500 by 10am, and staying there through 11pm.
Median first-hour likes and comments by posting hour, across about 54,000 Reels. The lower chart shows how many Reels were posted each hour. All times are Eastern.
You've probably noticed that the busy hours in the lower chart are also the strong hours in the upper chart. So is this just large accounts posting at peak times and pulling the numbers up? To find out, we compared each creator's Reels against that same creator's Reels posted at other hours. Between 8am and 6pm the number of Reels being posted more than triples, and engagement within the same accounts stays the same. The overnight dip is still there.
Each posting hour compared with the same creators' average hour. Above zero means more first-hour likes and comments, below zero means fewer. All times are Eastern.
Our advice:
- Post whenever it suits you and your audience between 8am and midnight (ET).
- Avoid posting between midnight and 8am (ET).
- Save your most important Reels for Saturday or Sunday, which got 5% to 9% more engagement than an average day.
Best day of the week to post on Instagram
The best day of the week to post on Instagram is Sunday, followed by Saturday. Sunday Reels got about 9% more likes and comments in their first hour than the same creators got on an average day. The worst days were Wednesday and Thursday. Monday, Tuesday and Friday were average.
Fewer people post on the weekend, too. Monday has the most Reels, at about 18% of the week. Friday, Saturday and Sunday each have about 12% to 13%. So a Reel posted on Sunday gets more engagement and has fewer other Reels to compete with.
Each day compared with the same creators' average day. All times are Eastern.
Best time to post on Instagram by day
As we said earlier, any time between 8am and midnight works, and that holds on every day of the week. The differences inside that window are small. But if you want to pick one slot, each day had one that came out slightly ahead.
Median first-hour likes and comments for every day and 4-hour window, across about 54,000 Reels. Darker is higher. All times are Eastern.
Best time to post on Instagram on Monday
Monday's best time is 4pm to 8pm. Monday Reels got about average engagement. Monday is also the busiest posting day of the week, with 18% of all Reels, so your Reel has more competition on Monday than on any other day. The weakest time on Monday was 4am to 8am.
Best time to post on Instagram on Tuesday
On Tuesday, post between 4pm and 8pm. Tuesday Reels got about average engagement. About 16% of the week's Reels are posted on Tuesday. The weakest time on Tuesday was 4am to 8am.
Best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday
The best time to post on Wednesday is 8pm to midnight. Wednesday is the only day where the late evening beat the afternoon. It is also one of the two worst days of the week, with Reels getting about 4% less engagement than average. About 15% of the week's Reels are posted on Wednesday. Wednesday from 4am to 8am was the weakest time slot in the entire week.
Best time to post on Instagram on Thursday
Thursday's best window is 4pm to 8pm. Thursday was the worst day of the week, with Reels getting about 5% less engagement than average. About 13% of the week's Reels are posted on Thursday. The weakest time on Thursday was midnight to 4am. If you have a Reel you are excited about, save it for the weekend.
Best time to post on Instagram on Friday
On Friday, post between 4pm and 8pm, though anything from 8am to midnight was close behind. Friday Reels got about average engagement, and Friday is the quietest posting day of the week, with only 12% of all Reels, so your Reel has less competition than on any other day. Avoid posting overnight on Friday. The hours from midnight to 8am were the weakest overnight hours of any day.
Best time to post on Instagram on Saturday
The best time to post on Saturday is 12pm to 4pm, with 4pm to 8pm close behind. Saturday Reels got about 5% more engagement than average. About 13% of the week's Reels are posted on Saturday. The weakest time on Saturday was 4am to 8am.
Best time to post on Instagram on Sunday
Sunday's best time is 12pm to 4pm, the strongest slot in the entire week. Sunday was the best day of the week, with Reels getting about 9% more engagement than average. About 13% of the week's Reels are posted on Sunday. The weakest time on Sunday was 4am to 8am.
Timing matters for comments too
Timing on your own Reels is not the only timing to think about. When you comment on someone else's Reel, getting in early is what counts. In our data, comments left in a Reel's first hour earned about three times the likes of comments left a few hours later. Sociable AI users have earned nearly 1.4 million likes this way, reaching far past their own followers with nothing more than a comment.
Sociable AI monitors Reels across your niche in their first hours and flags the ones likely to go viral. We draft a comment that fits the post, you approve it, and the comment goes up while the Reel is still climbing.
Try Sociable AI and get your next comment in early.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to post Reels on weekends?
The best time to post Reels on weekends is between 12pm and 4pm. Weekend Reels got about 10% more first-hour likes and comments than weekday Reels from the same accounts. The hourly pattern on weekends matched the rest of the week, so anything from 8am to midnight works.
Is Friday a good day to post on Instagram?
Yes. Friday Reels got about average engagement, and only 12% of the week's Reels go up on Friday, so there is less competition than on any other day. Post between 8am and midnight and skip the overnight hours.
What is the worst time to post on Instagram?
The worst time to post on Instagram is between midnight and 8am. Reels posted in those hours got roughly 10% less first-hour engagement than the same accounts' other Reels, and between 2am and 6am it was about 16% less. The worst days were Wednesday and Thursday, though the gap between days is smaller than the overnight gap.
Which timezone should I use?
Use your audience's time zone. Our numbers are in Eastern Time, so shift the 8am to midnight window to match where most of your followers are. If your followers are spread across several regions, pick the window for the largest group.
