Best time to post reels (and how to find your account's)

The best time to post reels is when your followers are online, and it shows in your own account's insights. As a starting point, lunchtime and early evening tend to work in most markets. But the market average matters less than your account's data.

Why timing matters (and why it matters less than it seems)

A reel is shown to a small group first and expanded if that group watches. Posting when your followers are online helps that first wave happen fast.

But a reel keeps being distributed for days, and most views come from people who don't follow you. A good video posted at an average time beats a weak video at the perfect time. Timing is fine-tuning, not the cause of reach.

Where to see your account's best time

On a professional account:

1. Open the professional dashboard or the account's insights.
2. Go to Audience (or "Followers").
3. Look for Most active times: the chart shows, by day of the week and by hour, when your followers are on the app.

Post 30 minutes to an hour before the peak, so the video is live when the audience arrives.

Personal accounts don't show this data. Switching to Creator or Business is free and unlocks insights.

By day of the week

Everyone searches "best time to post reels on Monday", "on Saturday", "on Sunday". The honest answer is the same: the most active times chart shows each day separately. Weekends usually have a more spread-out peak; weekdays, sharper peaks at lunch and in the evening.

Test the time instead of guessing

1. Pick two times (for example, 12pm and 7pm).
2. Post similar videos at both, for two weeks.
3. Compare the median views of each time, looking only at posts older than 14 days, as explained in how to know if your account dropped.

Keep the time that wins.

With several accounts, each has its own time

A kitchen-finds account and a soccer meme account don't share an audience or a peak. And ten accounts posting in the same minute look like a bot: a few minutes apart costs nothing.

On DevX Viral, the schedule suggests each account's best times from its own numbers and spaces the posts between accounts. See multi-page posting. For how many to post, see how many reels to post a day.

Frequently asked questions

What's the best time to post reels on Instagram? When your followers are online, which shows in your account's insights. As a general average, lunchtime and early evening tend to work.

What's the best time to post reels to go viral? No time makes a video go viral. It helps the first wave happen fast; what goes viral is a video that holds viewers.

How do I check the best time to post reels? On a professional account, in insights, under Audience, in the most active times chart.