Best time to post on social media: free calculator
Pick a platform and your audience's time zone. The calculator shows the best hours to post today and for each day of the week. If your audience lives in another time zone, it shows each slot in your time too. You can also download the times as weekly calendar reminders.
Where the times come from
The times come from Buffer's 2026 studies, which looked at when posts earned the most engagement:
| Platform | Posts analysed | Best single slot | Best day |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9.6 million | Thursday 9 AM | Wednesday | |
| TikTok | 7.1 million | Sunday 9 AM | Saturday |
| YouTube (long videos) | 1.8 million videos | Sunday 10 AM | Sunday |
| YouTube Shorts | 1.8 million videos | Friday 4 PM | Friday |
| 4.8 million | Wednesday 4 PM | Wednesday | |
| 14 million | Thursday 9 AM | Wednesday | |
| X (Twitter) | 8.7 million | Tuesday 9 AM | Wednesday |
Each time is the account's own local time, so "7 PM" means 7 PM where your audience is, not 7 PM in New York. That's why the calculator asks for your audience's time zone rather than yours.
How to use the times
- Start with the calculator's slot for the platform you post on most.
- Post at that time for three or four weeks. One week of results is mostly noise.
- Check your own analytics. Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Facebook all show when your followers are online. Once you have a few weeks of data, it beats any study, because it's your audience and not an average of millions of accounts.
- Move one slot at a time. Shift by an hour or two, keep everything else the same, and compare.
Platform pages with more detail: Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, LinkedIn, Facebook and X.
Does posting time still matter?
It matters less than it used to. Feeds are ranked, not chronological, so a strong post keeps finding viewers for days. Timing helps most in the first hour, when the platform shows a post to a first batch of people and watches how they react. If your audience is awake then, you get those reactions sooner.
A better hook will do more for a post than a better hour. But once the content is good, timing is a free edge, and it costs nothing to post at the right time if a scheduler does it for you.
Post at the right time without being online
The best slot is often when you're asleep, commuting or recording. A scheduler fixes that. ClipFlame's scheduler posts your videos to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook at the times you pick, from one calendar, and shows everything in your own time zone. To work out how many posts to plan, read how often to post on social media.
Common questions
What is the best time to post on social media?
It differs by platform: mornings on Facebook and X, evenings on Instagram and TikTok, late afternoons on LinkedIn. Pick a platform above to see each day's best hours.
Which time zone should I use?
Your audience's. If most viewers live elsewhere, the calculator also shows each slot in your own time.
Does posting time still matter?
It helps the first hours of a post. A strong hook and consistent posting matter more, so pick a slot and keep it for a few weeks.
Can I post at these times without being online?
Yes. ClipFlame's scheduler posts video to YouTube, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook at the times you pick.