Instagram marketing has become more important than ever. Almost every business wants those algorithms to do wonders so their brand reaches a broader audience.
However, with everyone struggling in a huge competition, the ones who have a solid Instagram marketing strategy from start to end are the ones who have more probably impressed the almighty algorithms.
Of a broader social media marketing strategy, “When to post to get the maximum traction?” always remains part of it.
For the upcoming year as well, you must be thinking what is the best time to post on Instagram in 2025
If that is so, we have made some efforts to help you.
Actually, to get the answer, we researched and curated some opinions (backed by data) of leading experts in the marketing industry.
This included social media management tools companies, social listening brands, and marketing automation platforms.
So, what do they have to say when you should post on Instagram? Let’s see.
Read also: How to go viral on Instagram?
The best time to post on Instagram, According to Buffer
What they say:
Buffer analysed more than 5 million posts to find out that posting in the morning, specifically between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m., remains the best time to post on Instagram.
As per their data, this brings the most out of the expected engagement.
Plus, if it is about posting on weekdays vs weekends, as per Buffer’s trend, it was seen that posting on weekdays is worth it than posting on weekends.
Weekdays’ data shows a low rate of engagement but a little surge at or after 7 pm.
image via Buffer
On weekdays, between 7 a.m. and 8 am is the best time to post on Instagram.
Thereafter, trends show the engagement going slow, which suddenly spikes in the evening at 4 pm, that too, especially on Thursdays and Fridays.
However, in between, when it is a lunch break, you can also consider posting, as most people usually tend to scroll social media in the meantime.
Why it works so?
7 to 8 am is the best time to post on Instagram because this is the exact time that people wake up and open Instagram in a fresh mood, so the engagement rates remain quite good. After that, most people commute to work, where they get busy, and engagement gets low.
In short:
As per Buffer data, the best time to post on Instagram is 7 am to 8 am on weekdays and 7 pm on weekends.
Related article: Instagram Productivity Hacks That Actually Work
The best time to post on Instagram, According to Later
What they say:
Like Buffer, Later also analysed several posts on Instagram to decode the pattern when most people are engaging with the Instagram post, be it reels, carousels or others. In this process, they found that the highest engagement levels were in the morning, specifically at 5 Am, making it the best time to post on Instagram.
Also, they found that the reels posted between 12 Am and 6 Am got much favour from algorithms. That can be due to more people being active, so they have more engagement. Even in this period, Monday was the best day for posting on Instagram, according to Later.
However, for the carousel post, the best posting time remains 5 a.m., which is too, specifically on Tuesdays.
Moreover, if we see Later’s data, it says something like this:
- The best time to post on Monday is 5 AM
- The best time to post on Tuesday is 5 AM
- The best time to post on Wednesday is 3 AM
- The best time to post on Thursday is 4 AM to 5 AM
- The best time to post on Friday is 3 AM to 6 AM
- The best time to post on Saturday is 5 AM
- The best times to post on Sunday are 12 AM, 5 AM, and 11 PM
In short:
Here, Later seems to quite agree with Buffer’s data. Their data shows that posting early in the morning is worth it, which can yield more than average engagement for you. So even if you find their data clashing data when it comes to when to exactly post, either 5 am or 7 am, the rough idea is that an early posting strategy is the best for Instagram post engagement.
Read also: The Importance of Using Instagram Remix Tool
The best time to post on Instagram, According to Hubspot
HubSpot data for when to post on Instagram seems to oppose what Buffer and Later said completely.
According to HubSpot, the best time to post is in the evening, during 12-3 PM or 6-9 PM. This is based on their various reports and surveys, including the 2024 Social Trends Report. Moreover, the time period between 6 and 8 PM was seen to yield the highest engagements, so according to them, posting during these hours is worth it.
Also, if you find the best day to post on Instagram, it is Fridays, says HubSpot analysis. Sundays and Saturdays are also good to post. However, Mondays and Tuesdays are the worst days to post.
Interestingly, the study found that posting between the hours of 6 AM and 8:59 AM is the worst time, completely clashing with the data of Buffer and Later.
Our Opinion
When different surveys have different opinions on when to post on Instagram, it is better not to rely on that completely but to take a rough idea for a broader sense. Moreover, we suggest it is better to research a bit when your audience is mostly active, so it is better that you post right at that moment. You can do that using Instagram’s built-in analytics tool or experimenting with different times.
Furthermore, your audience or niche can also affect the posting time on Instagram. For instance, if you are a fitness brand, your best time to post can be in the morning, as many fitness enthusiasts wake up early and may scroll through social media. So, we suggest you combine the online stats and opinions with the data of your audience niche and online activity to find the right time to post.
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