Instagram · Reels
The best time to post Reels on Instagram
For Reels, start with weekday evenings in your followers’ time zone: Buffer suggests 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., strongest on Wednesday and Thursday, and Sprout Social says Reels follow its usual peaks, such as Wednesday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. Later’s 2024 data picks 12 a.m. instead. Reels also travel beyond your followers, so your own results count for more than any chart.
Studies checked
Short answer
Weekday evenings are the safest start: 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., best on Wednesday and Thursday (Buffer). Sprout Social uses its usual peaks; Later picks 12 a.m. Test two slots.
What the studies found
| Window | Times | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Evening window | 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., strongest Wed and Thu | Buffer, 2026 (all formats pooled) |
| Monday and Tuesday | Mon 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.; Tue 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. | Sprout Social, 2026 (same as all posts) |
| Wednesday and Thursday | Wed 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.; Thu 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. | Sprout Social, 2026 (same as all posts) |
| Best single Reels time | 12 a.m. (midnight) | Later, 2024 data |
| Best Reels day | Monday, with high engagement from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. | Later, 2024 data |
| Worst hours for any post | 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. | Buffer, 2026 |
Times are in the audience’s local time zone unless a row says otherwise.
Where the numbers come from
Recommends evenings, 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., for Reels, with Wednesday and Thursday the strongest days. It adds that it analysed all post types together rather than by format, so these “aren’t reels-only slots.”
Sample: 9.6 million posts of every format, January 2024 to December 2025buffer.com
Says the best times for Reels mirror its overall windows: Monday 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Tuesday 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Wednesday 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Thursday 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. It reads its data as showing activity times matter more than format.
Sample: About 307,000 profiles, Nov 27, 2025 to Feb 27, 2026, counted by engagementssproutsocial.com
Found 12 a.m. the best time to post Reels and Monday the best day, with high engagement from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. Its best time for posts overall was 5 a.m. The article was updated in April 2026.
Sample: Over 6 million posts, January to October 2024later.com
Explains that Reels are designed to help people discover new things, with an emphasis on entertainment, and that, as in Explore, most of what people see there comes from accounts they don’t follow. Names the viewer’s activity, their history with the poster, the reel and the poster as its main Reels signals.
about.instagram.com
Checked against each study on . Each link opens the study itself.
Find your own best time
Studies pool many accounts at once. When your own followers are online matters more, and your insights show it.
- Open your insights in the Instagram app and look at your followers. Any public account has insights.
- Find the hours and days your followers are most active. Instagram shows them once you have at least 100 followers.
- Post a little before the busiest hour, and keep that slot for a few weeks.
- Compare each post’s views and interactions, then try an hour earlier or later.
Reels timing: three answers that don’t match
Buffer, Sprout Social and Later each say something different about Reels. Buffer points to the evening. Sprout Social says Reels follow the same windows as everything else, from Monday afternoon to Thursday lunchtime. Later’s 2024 data puts the best Reels time at midnight, with Monday the best day.
| Study | Reels advice | Caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Buffer, 2026 | 6 p.m. to 11 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday strongest | All post types analysed together, not Reels alone |
| Sprout Social, 2026 | Same windows as all posts, Monday to Thursday | Says activity times outweigh format |
| Later, 2024 data | 12 a.m.; Monday best, with high engagement from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. | The oldest data of the three |
Buffer’s caveat is the one to remember. Its Reels hours come from data on every format, so they describe when posts in general do well. Sprout Social says its data shows the algorithm puts user activity times ahead of content format.
Reels reach people who don’t follow you
Instagram’s own explanation of ranking, published in 2023, says Reels are built to help people discover new things and that, as in Explore, most of what people see in Reels comes from accounts they don’t follow. Your active-times chart only covers your followers, so it can’t tell you when the strangers who find a Reel are online.
The same explainer lists when a post went up among the details used to rank Feed. The four main Reels signals it names are the viewer’s activity, their history with the account that posted, information about the reel and information about that account. That suggests posting time may count for less with Reels, though none of the studies we read tested it directly.
Tip: Open the insights on your last few Reels and see how views split between followers and non-followers. The larger the follower share, the more your active-times chart is worth following.
Midnight Reels and Buffer’s worst hours
Later’s best Reels time, 12 a.m., and its Monday window from 12 a.m. to 6 a.m. run straight into the 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. stretch that Buffer calls the worst hours of any day. The two cover different periods, January to October 2024 for Later and 2024 to 2025 for Buffer, and different crowds of accounts, and neither crowd is your audience.
If your chart shows followers up late and you want to test a midnight Reel, set it to publish on a schedule, and compare it with an evening Reel from the same week.
How to test Reels times
- Pick two slots: a weekday evening between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m., and the busiest hour on your own chart.
- Post at least three Reels in each slot over a month, matched in length and type, so one lucky topic doesn’t decide the result.
- Record views, shares and saves at the same point for every Reel, such as seven days after posting, so older Reels don’t win just by having had longer.
- Check the follower and non-follower split too. A slot that wins on non-follower views helps discovery; one that wins with followers reaches your regulars.
- Keep the better slot, but don’t hold back a Reel tied to a trend or a news moment for it. Getting it out while people still care matters more.
Questions people ask
Is the best time to post Reels different from photos and carousels?
It depends on the study. Sprout Social says no: Reels follow its overall windows. Buffer suggests evenings for Reels but pools every format, and lists Wednesday 12 p.m., Wednesday 6 p.m. and Thursday 9 a.m. for carousels. Later’s 2024 data found 12 a.m. best for Reels and 5 a.m. for carousels.
What is the best day to post Reels on Instagram?
Wednesday and Thursday in Buffer’s advice, Monday in Later’s 2024 data, and Tuesday or Wednesday if you go by Sprout Social’s overall peaks. With no agreement, a month of your own Reels is the better guide.
Should I post a Reel at midnight?
Only as an experiment. Later’s 2024 data named 12 a.m. the best time for Reels, while Buffer’s 2024 to 2025 data puts 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. at the bottom for posts. Try it if your followers are night owls, and keep an evening slot as the control.
Why do the Reels studies disagree so much?
They measured different things at different times. Later used posts from January to October 2024, Buffer pooled every format from 2024 and 2025, and Sprout Social counted engagements from late 2025 to early 2026. Each sample is a crowd of other accounts, and Reels add non-followers on their own schedules.
Related guides
- Best time to post on InstagramWeekday afternoons and evenings in your followers’ time zone are the most common picks in 2026 data. Studies disagree on the exact hour, so check your own Most active times.
- Best time to post on Instagram StoriesLater says 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. or 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., Metricool 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., so there is no consensus. Post when Most active times shows your followers online.
- Best time to post on Instagram on Wednesday12 p.m., or 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., local time. Buffer ranks Wednesday its best day, and Sprout Social gives it the longest peak of the week: 12 p.m. to 9 p.m.
- Best time to post on Instagram on Thursday9 a.m. (Buffer) or 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. (Hootsuite), local time, with Sprout Social’s 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. in between. The studies never overlap on Thursday, so test two.
- Best time to post on Instagram on MondayBetween 2 p.m. and 9 p.m. local time: Sprout Social says 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Hootsuite 3 p.m. to 9 p.m., Buffer 7 p.m. Test one afternoon and one evening slot.
- Best time to post on Instagram in IndiaRead the studies’ local times as IST: Tue 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. and Wed 12 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Sprout Social), Thu 9 a.m. (Buffer). Then test them against your own Insights.
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