What's the best time to post on Instagram?
The morning. Comparing each creator's own Reels, the ones posted between 5 and 11am got about 10% more views than their average, and Reels posted late at night (9pm–4am) got about 13% fewer.
What we found
- Morning (5–11am): 10% more views. Afternoon (12–5pm) and evening (6–8pm) were about average.
- Late night (9pm–4am): 13% fewer views. It was the only time that clearly hurt.
- Best day: Saturday (+9%). Weakest: Friday (−6%). The day ranges are wide, so treat these as a hint.
- On TikTok, timing barely matters: every slot was within about 3% of the creator's average.
Reel views by time of day
Each creator's Reels posted at that time against their own average Reel, local time.
Reel views by day of the week
Each creator's Reels posted that day against their own average Reel.
How we know: We compared 157 Instagram creators' Reels posted at different times with their own other Reels from the same month, so differences between creators cancel out. Instagram doesn't say where a creator lives, so we used the country of their TikTok account with the same username. With fewer creators than our TikTok data, the margins are wider (the morning boost is somewhere between +2% and +19%).
Related questions
What is the best day to post on Instagram?
Saturday did best (+9% against the creator's average Reel) and Friday worst (−6%), though the margins on single days are wide. The time of day was the clearer signal.
Does posting Reels at night hurt?
Late at night, yes. Reels posted between 9pm and 4am got about 13% fewer views than the same creator's average Reel.
When do most creators post Reels?
Mostly in the afternoon: 38% of Reels went up 12–5pm and 34% in the morning.
Is the best time different on TikTok?
Yes. On TikTok the time of day made almost no difference, so post whenever you can be consistent (see "What's the best time to post on TikTok?").