Best times to post on social media in 2025

In social media, timing is everything. Whether you want to join a trend or cultural moment or make the most of your social campaigns, when to post is just as important as what to post. Posting your content at the right time can determine the success of your social campaigns or leave you struggling to align social strategies to business goals.

As social networks evolve to further engage audiences in new ways, you need to nail your social media game and stay on top of these changes. This guide will walk you through the latest insights on the optimal posting times for major networks like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube. Once you understand how peak engagement periods affect your social strategy, you can tailor your efforts to sync with your audience’s habits.

We worked closely with Sprout’s Data Science team to uncover how users have been engaging with social media. We reviewed data from Sprout Social’s over 30,000 customers to understand when their content was most and least frequently engaged with, broken out by platform and industry.

If you’re looking to dive deeper into platform-specific optimal engagement times, including industry posting times, review our guides on the following:

• Best times to post on Facebook in 2025
• Best times to post on Instagram in 2025
• Best times to post on LinkedIn in 2025
• Best times to post on TikTok in 2025
• Best times to post on X (FKA Twitter) in 2025

We’ve also uncovered the best posting times on social media for international audiences:

• Best times to post on social media in the UK in 2025
• Best times to post on social media in Australia in 2025

Use the data from this article to help inform your publishing calendar. Still, the best way to identify your brand’s best times to post across each network is to start a free trial of Sprout Social and test our ViralPost® feature with your social profiles.

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Best times to post on social media

We analyzed nearly 2.5 billion engagements across 600,000 social profiles, including Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and YouTube. Our analysis uncovered some unique findings based on the data of our customers and their profile engagements.

When deciding which social media network to prioritize for your brand, it all starts with determining your goals, campaigns, content types and target audience. Each channel has its own benefits and use cases, and with data-driven insights you can confidently make the decision about what to post and where.

According to the 2025 Sprout Social Index™, social media is how consumers keep up with trends and cultural moments. Brands who understand their consumers and their behaviors on social media thrive and create authentic connections.

As we reviewed Optimal Send Times data for each social network, we consistently noticed the highest engagement times are between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m. Midmornings through very early afternoons proved to be successful posting times across most social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and X. YouTube and Pinterest saw higher engagement predominantly in the early afternoons.

There’s more to posting on social media than this quick stat, though. Remember, each network is unique and sees varying engagement throughout the week and at different times. And when you separate industries on each network, engagement varies even more. So even though 9 a.m. or 10 a.m. on weekdays are generally the best times to post on social, consider other variables before you schedule any posts, such as network, audience, algorithms, content quality and captions.

Best times to post on Facebook

It’s true: Facebook is still the largest social media network in the world with 3.065 billion monthly active users. And our research has uncovered that 90% of consumers maintain a profile on Facebook. The impact Facebook has on social media for consumers and marketers is still ever present. High engagement periods on Facebook are consistently in the mornings every single day of the week.

Optimal send times for Facebook are Mondays through Sundays starting either at 8 or 9 a.m., with time extending to noon on a handful of days. What does this mean for marketers? Start the morning strong and post content early. Consumers are checking their apps first thing in the morning to engage with your content, making it the best time to schedule posts for target audiences to interact with.

With a good Facebook marketing strategy, businesses connect with the right audiences, whether it's to share product announcements or announce special deals. Remember, engagement is a combination of how often you post on social media, the content you post and when you post.

Best times to post on Instagram

Our research found that most consumers maintain a Facebook profile, but not too far behind is Instagram at 82% of consumers. Like Facebook, 51% of network consumers use Instagram to keep up with cultural moments and trends. Participating in these conversations and knowing when trends are emerging is important–if your audience is there.

The best times to post on Instagram are generally Mondays through Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. We recommend scheduling Instagram posts these weekdays midmornings for optimal engagement. It’s wise to benchmark these times against your current metrics too.

Instagram has grown a long way since its photo-only days. The app, which has 2 billion monthly active users, is a platform to share images, videos, Reels and live streams, just to name a few creative content types.

To be successful on Instagram, brands need to balance posting high-quality content, consistently, and engaging and entertaining their audiences. Understanding these foundational efforts can help guide your Instagram marketing strategy.

Best times to post on LinkedIn

Unsurprising for this professional-focused social platform, LinkedIn engagement times are consistent with general business hours. High engagement hours are more concentrated to midday on weekdays. Businesses are more likely to succeed in their LinkedIn marketing during these times when users are more active on the platform.

Because LinkedIn’s content is centered around professional thought-leadership and growing your network, it makes sense that most people use the app during the week. By midday, there’s buzz on the platform, and the best times to post on LinkedIn for Company Pages are Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays starting at 10 a.m. and extending for one to three hours, respectively. Weekends see light engagement, which is why we encourage new content to be posted during the week.

While LinkedIn may have started as a job board and networking platform, it’s evolved into a global professional networking hub. It’s a space for professional storytelling and employee advocacy. Businesses on LinkedIn are finding new ways to generate leads, find co-marketing partners, highlight company culture and attract talent, so it makes sense that posting and engagement match with the business hours. Understanding how to reach a wider audience through thoughtful content planning, scheduling and advocacy differentiates your LinkedIn strategy from the next business.

Best times to post on Pinterest

Many users view Pinterest as the visual search engine where users go to research products and discover DIY projects. It also presents an opportunity to expand your reach and create brand awareness. While it might not make sense for all brands to be on the platform, those who use it know Pinterest’s benefits to business goals.

Each year we’re seeing a significant shift in engagement hours this year compared to the year before. Last year, we saw a uniquely high engagement time during the very early hours of the day. Now, we’re seeing high Pinterest engagement hit mid-day across every day of the week. Conclusively, the best times to post on Pinterest are 1 p.m. on any given day of the week. Weekdays see higher engagement times than weekends.

It may be a combination of when users are searching for inspiration and the Pinterest algorithm that affects engagement times. That shouldn’t stop you from creating a social media calendar with posts scheduled at those hours.

Best Times to Post on TikTok

Beyond viral trends, TikTok's advanced algorithms and precise targeting capabilities have made it an indispensable platform for data-driven marketers. With over 2.65 billion monthly visits globally, understanding optimal posting times on TikTok is essential for maximizing reach for any brand on the app.

The best times to post on TikTok are Wednesdays between 2 and 5 p.m., as those hours experience higher engagement than the rest of the week. Our data suggests that posting Mondays through Thursdays beginning at noon through 5 p.m. also sees above-average engagement on the app.

With TikTok trends changing quickly, it’s important to understand trend lifecycles and how they influence consumer behavior and expectations. Once you understand how trends evolve and how consumers use the network to keep up with cultural moments, you can create a proactive TikTok strategy rather than participate reactively.

Best Times to Post on X (Twitter)

X (formerly known as Twitter) has consistently been the platform for up-to-the-minute conversations and breaking news. While some businesses may have shifted their social strategies around X to better align with their brand values, that hasn’t stopped conversations or engagement on the app. Our research has found that 50% of network consumers have a profile on X.

X peak times for engagement match similarly to last year, with hours extending into the weekday afternoons and early evenings. The best times to post on X (Twitter) are Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This engagement on X could reflect an interest in developing news as the day unfolds. There were also several global events that kept users engaged on the app last year, including the recent U.S. Presidential Election. Brands also use X as part of their customer service strategy, as an alternative to traditional customer support options.

Best Times to Post on YouTube

For marketers using YouTube, consistent scheduling is key to maximizing audience reach and engagement. Understanding optimal posting times can significantly impact video performance.

Our data suggests that the best time to post on YouTube is consistently 1 p.m. on any given day of the week. Thursdays on YouTube have two high-engagement hours at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., which suggests more flexibility.

While consistency is valued throughout the week, it's worth noting that engagement tends to be strongest from Mondays through Fridays. Saturdays and Sundays tend to see lower engagement periods than the rest of the week, due to shifts in viewer behavior and weekend activities. Maintaining a regular YouTube posting schedule, particularly during high-engagement hours, can help you build a loyal audience and maximize video reach.

How to find your own best times to post on social media

Social marketers can plan content more effectively when they’re armed with data. As social media continues to evolve, brands and consumers will need to evolve with it. Staying aware of new content formats and trends might help you reach your audience in unexpected ways and build more authentic connections.

You may be ready to post content at these provided best engagement times as part of your strategy, but consider pairing this data with your own social media data analysis. You may discover that your specific target audience is active near the peak times we’ve outlined or slightly different hours. Remember industry, network and audience as major factors.

A social media management tool like Sprout Social can help you drill into your analytics and develop tailored findings for your brand accounts across all networks, holistically and individually. Gain competitive insights by comparing your performance to your competitors, to find new opportunities for engagement.

How to find your own best times to post with Sprout Social

Sprout’s patented ViralPost® technology uses the same data we used to look at all our customer accounts to find the best time to post, based on your account. ViralPost® algorithmically determines the results for our Optimal Send Times feature, a publishing option available in Professional and Advanced plans. Our proprietary machine learning feature isn't new, but we're constantly learning and improving our product to help brands surface insights faster. Our goal is to help people who use our product work more effectively.

With features like post tagging and cross-network reporting, you can separate different elements like post author or types of content, and drill down into how your posting time influenced your social success.

Step 1. Start your free Sprout Social trial: Sign up for a free trial of Sprout Social with your business email and connect to your social media profiles. This will allow the platform to gather data from your accounts and personalize the Optimal Send Times feature to your specific audience engagement patterns.

Step 2. Compose your message and select networks. Open the Compose window in Sprout to craft your social media post. Select the network or networks where you want to publish.

Step 3. Schedule with Optimal Send Times: Next to "When to post," choose "Specific Days and Times" to reveal the Optimal Send Times feature. Select one of the suggested times, calculated based on when your audience is most likely to engage. The stars suggest a time that’s likely for more engagement.

Step 4. Finalize and publish: Complete your post with a compelling message, visuals and relevant hashtags. Schedule it to publish at your chosen Optimal Send Time.

The specific times offered through Optimal Send Times are based on when your audience engages the most using your publishing history.

ViralPost® also continuously refines these suggestions, saving you time and effort from repeated analysis and allowing you more time to craft great content.

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How Sprout gathered the data

We understand that these reports can raise questions about just where the data is coming from. That’s why we want to be clear about the data we pulled and how we got here.

Sprout Social’s Data Science team gathers this information by analyzing nearly 2.5 billion engagements across 600,000 social profiles across Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok and YouTube. We synthesize this information in collaboration with our Data Science team to provide you with this article.

Unfortunately, we don’t have engagement data for Threads, yet.

Take the guesswork out of posting times with Sprout

The best times to post on social media vary by platform and industry, but generally, Mondays through Thursdays between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on weekdays see the highest engagement. Each network sees different levels of engagement throughout the week and at different times. This all depends on the target audiences or demographic using each network. When you separate industries on each network, engagement varies even more.

The data we provide is directional to put you on the right track. The best way to identify your brand’s best times to post across each network is to start a free 30-day trial of Sprout Social or request a personalized demo and try it for yourself.