Free tool
Best time to post on Instagram
A rule-of-thumb grid to start with, and the three-week test that replaces it with your own numbers.
Free, no signup
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This free tool does not know your brand. The version inside the product reads your website first.
This free tool does not know your brand. The version inside the product reads your website first.
The best time to post on Instagram, as a starting grid
The grid above opens on Instagram. Choose B2C if you sell to consumers, B2B if you sell to businesses. It is a deliberately coarse rule of thumb, the same for every platform: consumers scroll in the evening and at the weekend, business audiences on the commute and during the working day. It is not Instagram data and it does not know your followers. Use it for your first posts, then replace it with what Instagram tells you about your own audience.
How to find your best time in Instagram Insights
Your own audience data sits inside the Instagram app and costs nothing. It shows when your followers are on Instagram, which is the best single signal for when to post. Menu names shift a little between app versions, but the route is this:
- Switch to a professional account (creator or business). Insights only exist there.
- Open your profile, tap Professional dashboard, then the insights on your followers.
- Scroll to Most active times and switch between Hours and Days.
- Small accounts may not see this yet. Until they do, the grid is the starting point.
The three-week test
Pick two slots: the busiest hour from Insights and one hour from the grid. Post the same kind of content at both for three weeks, then compare reach and likes per post after the first day. Keep the winner and test it against a new slot. Three weeks is short enough to finish and long enough that one lucky post does not decide it.
What you actually get
A seven-day grid that opens on Instagram.
B2B and B2C patterns, one switch apart.
The place in the Instagram app where your followers’ active times live.
A three-week test to find your own best time.
Five things that make this work better
- Post shortly before your followers’ busiest hour rather than at its peak, so the first likes are in when the crowd arrives.
- Compare slots with the same kind of post. A Reel in the evening and a carousel at noon compare formats, not times.
- Read every hour in your audience’s timezone. If most followers live elsewhere, convert before you schedule.
- Do not chase one perfect hour. A decent time every week does more than the best hour once a month.
- Check Insights again every few months. Audiences shift with seasons, school terms and your own growth.
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Questions people actually ask
What is the best time to post on Instagram?
The best time to post on Instagram is when your own followers are most active, and Insights shows that under Most active times. Until you have that data, a fair rule of thumb is evenings and weekends for consumer audiences and the commute and working day for business audiences.
What are the best days to post on Instagram?
For consumer audiences the rule of thumb favours weekends and weekday evenings; for business audiences, Monday to Friday. Your own best days are in Insights: open Most active times and switch to Days.
What is the best time to post on Instagram for likes?
The hours when your followers are online, because that is when a post collects its first likes. No grid can measure likes for your account; Insights and a three-week test can.
Where does the grid come from?
It is a rule of thumb, not Instagram data: business audiences on the commute and in the working day, consumers in the evening and at the weekend. That is why the page tells you to replace it with your own Insights.
Does the timezone matter?
Yes. Read the grid in your audience’s local time, not yours. If your followers are spread across timezones, Insights shows where most of them live.
Can MyTrendView post at those times for me?
Yes. MyTrendView publishes to Instagram at the time you schedule, even when the app is closed. Its calendar heatmap uses your own post results once there are enough of them and says which source each suggestion comes from.
Your next post is already trending somewhere.
Enter your website and see what MyTrendView finds for your audience.
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