The best time to post Instagram Reels is Sunday between 1 and 4 PM, or Thursday between 11 AM and 2 PM, in your local time. In our data from more than 8,500 Reels scheduled with PostEverywhere, Reels in those windows did 31% and 24% better than the same account's usual Reel. Friday was the best day for Reels overall.
This guide is part of PostEverywhere's Best Time to Post Study 2026, an original data study of 8,500+ Instagram Reels scheduled with PostEverywhere, built on our own data rather than other people's studies.
Every number comes from Reels that real businesses and creators published through PostEverywhere between December 2025 and October 2026. We compared each Reel with the same account's other Reels, so a big account can't make one hour look good on its own, and a Reel is never judged against a photo. The method is explained at the end.
See all platforms: Our best time to post hub covers Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube, X (Twitter) and more.
TL;DR: Best Times for Instagram Reels
- Best windows: Sunday 1-4 PM (+31%), Thursday 11 AM-2 PM (+24%), and Tuesday 9 PM-midnight (+32%, on a smaller sample).
- Best days: Friday (+18%) and Sunday (+17%).
- Weakest day: Wednesday (+5%).
- The big lesson: days were only 13% apart, so posting Reels regularly matters more than the exact day.
- Reels vs other posts: Reels did 14% better than an account's usual post of any kind, about the same lift as carousels and well ahead of single images.
PostEverywhere finds your best time to post on Instagram for you. It learns from when your own posts do best and suggests those times as you schedule. Until your account has enough results, it shows what works on Instagram across PostEverywhere. See how best-time suggestions work.
Best Times to Post Reels (Day-by-Day)
"Lift" is how much better Reels in that window did than the same account's usual Reel. All times are the poster's local time.
| Day | Best window | Lift in that window | Day overall | Reels analysed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9 PM-midnight | +25% | +13% | about 1,400 |
| Tuesday | 9 PM-midnight | +32% | +10% | about 1,400 |
| Wednesday | 1-4 PM | +14% | +5% | about 1,300 |
| Thursday | 11 AM-2 PM | +24% | +8% | about 1,100 |
| Friday | 9 AM-noon | +15% | +18% | about 1,300 |
| Saturday | 11 AM-2 PM | +17% | +9% | about 1,200 |
| Sunday | 1-4 PM | +31% | +17% | about 1,100 |
| Day (8,500+ Reels) | 6-9 AM | 9 AM-noon | Noon-3 PM | 3-6 PM | 6-9 PM | 9 PM-midnight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | +4% | +1% | +2% | +4% | +15% | +25% |
| Tuesday | 0% | +15% | +14% | +9% | +7% | +32% |
| Wednesday | +6% | -3% | +11% | +10% | +10% | -12% |
| Thursday | +9% | +15% | +19% | 0% | +1% | -2% |
| Friday | +13% | +15% | +8% | +10% | -1% | +18% |
| Saturday | +13% | +4% | +14% | +6% | +15% | +3% |
| Sunday | +37% | +16% | +27% | +24% | +20% | +22% |
Monday
9 PM to midnight. Monday's late-evening Reels did 25% better than usual, and the evening from 6 to 9 PM was above average too. Monday mornings were flat, so hold your Reel until the end of the evening.
Tuesday
9 PM to midnight, 32% better than usual, the strongest window of the week, though it rests on about 100 Reels. If you want a daytime slot, 9 AM to noon did 15% better, from about 200 Reels.
Wednesday
1 to 4 PM, 14% better than usual. Wednesday was the weakest day for Reels in our data, and Wednesday mornings were slightly below average. It is a fine day for a routine Reel, not your best one.
Thursday
11 AM to 2 PM, 24% better than usual and backed by about 200 Reels. Thursday's late morning is the most reliable daytime slot in the whole dataset.
Friday
9 AM to noon for a daytime slot, 15% better than usual. Friday was the best day for Reels overall. It also had the biggest spike we found: Reels posted between 1 and 4 AM on Friday did more than twice as well as usual.
That result comes from a small group of accounts, and their profile time zone may not match their audience's, so treat it as a lead to test rather than a rule.
If your audience is in a time zone ahead of yours, a late-night Friday Reel may be landing in their morning.
Saturday
11 AM to 2 PM, 17% better than usual. Early Saturday mornings, from 5 to 9 AM, did even better on a smaller sample. Weekend viewers start early.
Sunday
1 to 4 PM, 31% better than usual. Sunday was the second-best day for Reels and the most consistent: every part of the day from early morning to late evening came out above average.
If you only post one Reel a week, Sunday afternoon is the safest choice.
Best time of day to post Reels
Across more than 8,500 Reels:
| Time of day | Lift vs the account's usual Reel | Reels analysed |
|---|---|---|
| Overnight, midnight-5 AM | +19% | about 1,200 |
| Early, 5-9 AM | +14% | about 850 |
| Lunchtime, noon-3 PM | +13% | about 1,600 |
| Late evening, 9 PM-midnight | +13% | about 650 |
| Evening, 6-9 PM | +9% | about 1,900 |
| Morning, 9 AM-noon | +8% | about 1,400 |
| Afternoon, 3-6 PM | +8% | about 1,400 |
The overnight number is mostly the Friday and Monday spike from a small group of accounts, so don't read it as "post at 3 AM". The useful pattern is that lunchtime and the edges of the day beat the middle of the morning and afternoon.
The evening from 6 to 9 PM, which a lot of advice recommends for Reels, was only slightly above average in our data. For the same breakdown across all Instagram posts, see our Instagram timing guide.
Trial Reels
The best time to post trial reels is the same as for regular Reels: Sunday between 1 and 4 PM, or Thursday between 11 AM and 2 PM. Trial reels go to people who don't follow you first, so it's the wider Instagram audience you are timing for, and those are the windows where Reels did best in our data.
Here is how trial reels work, as 9to5Mac reported when Instagram launched them in December 2024:
- Who sees them: people who don't follow you. Your followers won't see a trial reel in their feed or Reels tab unless you share it with everyone.
- When you get results: insights become available 24 hours after posting.
- What happens next: trial reels that perform well can be shared with your followers automatically after 72 hours, or you can share one with everyone at any time.
Because results arrive after a day, post a trial early in a strong window so it has the whole of the busiest hours to pick up views. Post two versions of an idea at the same time on the same day, and you'll know which hook won by the next afternoon.
PostEverywhere can schedule a Reel as a trial reel, so you can line up tests in your best windows ahead of time; our guide to what Instagram trial reels are and how to schedule them walks through it.
For how non-follower reach is decided, see how the Instagram algorithm works.
Best time to post trial reels on Saturday
Saturday's best Reels window in our data was 11 AM to 2 PM, 17% better than the account's usual Reel, which makes late Saturday morning a good slot for a weekend trial.
Why Timing Matters for Instagram Reels
Reels can reach far beyond your followers. Meta's explanation of how Reels are ranked describes the system predicting how likely you are to watch a Reel past a certain point, comment on it, share it or follow its author.
A Reel that picks up those reactions early has more chance of being shown to more people.
Timing helps with that early start, but it is not the main thing. In our data, the best and worst days for Reels were only 13% apart, while a strong Reel can do many times better than a weak one.
Instagram's guide to ranking is clear that what a post is and how people react to it count for more. Post good Reels regularly first, then use the windows above to give them a better start.
Schedule a week of Reels in one sitting. PostEverywhere publishes your Reels at the exact time you pick, alongside every other top platform, so a 1 PM Sunday Reel goes out while you're at lunch. Start your 7-day free trial. Plans start at $9 a month.
Time Zone Considerations
Every time on this page is the poster's local time. If your audience is in your time zone, use the table as it is. If it isn't, post for theirs.
- US-based audiences: a Sunday 1 PM Reel aimed at both coasts is 1 PM Eastern and 10 AM Pacific, and both sit inside good windows.
- International audiences: if most of your viewers are in another country, schedule for their afternoon, not yours. Our free posting-time calculator converts any window.
Pew Research found that 79% of US adults aged 18 to 29 use Instagram. Younger audiences keep later hours, which may be part of why late-evening Reels did well for some accounts.
How to Find YOUR Best Time
Our data shows what works across thousands of Reels. Your own account gives you the final answer.
Check Instagram Insights. A professional account unlocks Instagram Insights, including your followers' most active times and the results of each Reel.
Look at your top 10 Reels. Instagram's help centre explains how to view insights on your Reels. Note the day and time each went out, and their plays, likes, comments, shares and saves after a few days.
Test three slots for three weeks: Sunday at 1 PM, Thursday at noon, and the slot your best Reels share. Keep the content similar so you are testing the time, not the topic.
Keep the winners and post into them every week. A posting queue makes this easy: set the slots once and each new Reel drops into the next free one.
Let PostEverywhere suggest your best times
PostEverywhere works out your best times the same way we built this guide, from your own posts. It compares each Instagram post with your account's usual results, then ranks the days and hours that come out on top. Making Reels on a computer?
Here's how to post Reels from desktop, including trial reels.
New accounts start with what is popular on Instagram across PostEverywhere, then switch to their own times once they have about 30 posts with results from the last 90 days.
The suggestions appear as you schedule, your posting queue can use them, and AI agents can too: ask Claude or ChatGPT to schedule your Reels at your best times.
See how best-time suggestions work, or set up the Instagram scheduler.
Let your own results pick the slot. PostEverywhere suggests posting times from your Instagram results and publishes every Reel on schedule. See how best times work, or start your free trial.
How we worked this out
- The Reels: more than 8,500 Instagram Reels published through PostEverywhere between December 2025 and October 2026, from accounts with at least 15 Reels that had results.
- The measure: each Reel's engagement, collected at least three days after it went out, compared with the median of the same account's 20 nearest Reels. A Reel scoring +50% did half as well again as that account's Reels usually do.
- The times: the poster's local day and hour, from their PostEverywhere profile. Accounts still on the default time zone were left out.
- The limits: we only name an hour when it has at least 20 Reels from several accounts behind it, and we flag results that come from a small group of accounts. For the same analysis across all Instagram posts, see our Instagram timing guide.
How to cite this study: PostEverywhere, Best Time to Post Study 2026: Instagram Reels, based on 8,500+ Instagram Reels scheduled with PostEverywhere, December 2025 to October 2026. https://posteverywhere.ai/blog/best-time-to-schedule-instagram-reels
Reels vs other platforms
If you post the same vertical video elsewhere, stagger it. TikTok's best day in our data is Tuesday; see the TikTok timing guide. For YouTube Shorts, see when to post Shorts.
For Instagram's other formats, see the carousel timing guide and when to post Instagram Stories.
FAQs About Instagram Reels Timing
What is the best time to post Instagram Reels?
Sunday between 1 and 4 PM, or Thursday between 11 AM and 2 PM, in your local time. In our data from more than 8,500 Reels, those windows did 31% and 24% better than the same account's usual Reel.
What is the best day to post Instagram Reels?
Friday, where Reels did 18% better than usual, followed closely by Sunday at 17%. Wednesday was the weakest day at 5%, but the gap between days is small, so posting regularly matters more.
Should I post Reels at the same time as feed posts?
Mostly, yes. Our Reels results follow a similar pattern to Instagram as a whole, with strong Sundays and late evenings. Stagger them by a few hours so they don't compete with each other.
Does posting time affect Instagram Reels reach?
A little. Our best and worst days for Reels were only 13% apart. Instagram ranks Reels mostly on how people react to them, so timing gives a Reel a better start rather than deciding its reach.
What's the worst time to post Instagram Reels?
Wednesday morning, from 9 AM to noon, came out slightly below an account's usual Reel in our data. Wednesday overall was the weakest day, though still above average.
What is the best time to post trial reels?
The same as regular Reels: Sunday between 1 and 4 PM or Thursday between 11 AM and 2 PM. Trial reels go to non-followers first, and insights arrive after 24 hours, so post early in a strong window.
How do I find my best time to post Reels?
Open Instagram Insights, note when your top 10 Reels went out, then test three slots for three weeks. PostEverywhere can also suggest times from your own past results.
Should I post Reels at the exact same time daily?
A regular rhythm helps, but the best time changes by day. Use a different window for each day from the table above, and keep the ones that work for your account.
Sources
Every outside fact in this article comes from the pages below, mostly the platforms' own help centres. Our own figures come from posts scheduled with PostEverywhere, as explained in How we worked this out.
For every platform side by side, see the best time to post hub.
- Meta Transparency Center: Explanation of how Reels are ranked
- Instagram: Instagram ranking explained
- Pew Research Center: Americans' Use of Social Media in 2026
- Meta: Instagram Insights
- Instagram Help: View insights on your Reels
Founder & CEO of PostEverywhere. Writing about social media strategy, publishing workflows, and analytics that help brands grow faster.
