Best Time to Post Reels: What the Data Says (2026)

#What the studies say, and who ran them

Both of these are vendor studies. They are large, but the samples are each company's own customers, and they measure engagement, not views.

#Buffer, Instagram (published September 2026)

• Sample: 9.6 million Instagram posts, part of a wider study of 52 million posts from over 200,000 accounts, January 2024 to December 2025.
• Metric: median engagement rate, (likes + comments + shares + saves) divided by followers.
• Top slots: Thursday 9am, Wednesday 12pm, Wednesday 6pm. Buffer says the times are already adjusted to your time zone.
• Best days: Wednesday, then Thursday and Tuesday. Friday and Saturday were weakest.
• Reels: Buffer suggests a 6pm to 11pm evening window, but says that all post types were analysed together, so these are not Reels only results.

#Sprout Social, Instagram and Facebook (updated March 2026)

• Sample: nearly 2 billion engagements across roughly 307,000 profiles from over 30,000 Sprout customers, 27 November 2025 to 27 February 2026. That total covers six networks, so the Instagram and Facebook share is not stated.
• Instagram: Monday 2 to 4pm, Tuesday 1 to 7pm, Wednesday 12 to 9pm, Thursday 12 to 2pm, local time. Weekends lowest; Friday had no significant peak.
• Facebook: Tuesday and Wednesday 12 to 8pm, plus spikes on Monday 12 to 1pm and Thursday 12 to 2pm and 8pm. Saturday had no peak and Sunday was low.

Notice they do not agree on the hour. Buffer's top Instagram slot is 9am Thursday; Sprout's Thursday window is midday. Treat any single hour as a guess.

#Snapchat Spotlight timing

We could not find a published study of Spotlight posting times with a stated sample, including from Snapchat itself. Snapchat also reviews Spotlights before they go live, so the time you submit is not always the time it appears. Test it the same way as below.

#How to test your own best time

1. Pick two or three slots to compare, using your insights plus one of the study windows.
2. Post the same kind of Reel in each slot for two to three weeks. Keep length and topic similar.
3. Compare views after the same fixed period, for example 48 hours, not lifetime views.
4. Keep the winner and test a new challenger against it.

Do not change everything at once. If you also change how often you post, you will not know which change did it. The posting planner helps lay out a test week across platforms.

Once you have your times, see how to lock them in with scheduling Instagram Reels and scheduling Facebook Reels. If you are worried a scheduled post performs worse than a live one, read does scheduling hurt reach. For posting the same video everywhere, see the guide to cross posting short videos.

#Questions people ask

#Is there one best time to post Reels?

No. The two largest 2026 studies agree midweek is stronger than weekends but disagree on the hour, and both measure their own customers.

#Should I use UK time or my audience's time?

Your audience's. Sprout lists its times in local time, and Buffer says its times already apply to your time zone. If most viewers are elsewhere, use their clock.

#Why is my Instagram most active times chart missing?

Instagram only shows follower trends, including most active times, once you have at least 100 followers.