The best time to post on Facebook is a weekday morning, Tuesday to Thursday, at around 9 a.m. in your audience's local time. Buffer's study of 14 million Facebook posts, published in October 2026, puts Thursday at 9 a.m. first, and Hootsuite's names Tuesday at 9 a.m. Sprout Social is the outlier: its data favours Tuesday and Wednesday from noon to 8 p.m.
The short version: post on Facebook between 8 and 10 a.m., Tuesday to Thursday, local time, and avoid the hours between midnight and 7 a.m. Test one midday slot (noon to 2 p.m.) against the morning for two weeks, because the studies split on afternoons, and keep the slot your own posts reward.
In this guide
- What is the best time to post on Facebook?
- Why do the studies disagree?
- What is the worst time to post on Facebook?
- Does the time you post on Facebook matter?
- Best time to post on Facebook by industry
- Best time to post on Facebook by day
- How to find your own best time to post on Facebook
- What is the 5:3:2 rule for social media posts?
- Schedule Facebook posts for your hours
What is the best time to post on Facebook?
Around 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Buffer's three strongest slots of the week are Thursday at 9 a.m., Wednesday at 8 a.m. and Sunday at 10 a.m., and its best days are Wednesday, Thursday and Tuesday. Hootsuite's single best time is Tuesday at 9 a.m. Sprout Social agrees on the days, Monday to Thursday, but finds the hours later in the day.
| Study | Data | Best time on Facebook | Worst |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer, October 2026 | More than 14 million Facebook posts sent through Buffer, ranked by median engagement | Thursday 9 a.m., Wednesday 8 a.m., Sunday 10 a.m.; best days Wednesday, Thursday, Tuesday | Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. |
| Sprout Social, March 2026 | Nearly 2 billion engagements on about 307,000 profiles, November 2025 to February 2026 | Tuesday and Wednesday, noon–8 p.m.; best days Monday to Thursday | Sunday, then Saturday; 4–7 a.m. |
| Hootsuite, November 2025 | More than 1 million posts across networks, with Critical Truth, normalised across 118 countries | Tuesday 9 a.m. | Midnight to 4 a.m. |
All times are local to the audience. Figures read from each study's own page on October 22, 2026.
Why do the studies disagree?
On Facebook they disagree more than on any other network. Buffer finds the afternoon, noon to 5 p.m., the weakest part of the day; Sprout finds it the strongest. The two count different things: Buffer ranks hours by the median engagement of posts its customers scheduled, while Sprout totals engagements on the profiles its customers manage over one winter quarter. Hootsuite pools every network and normalises the hours across countries.
What they share is the week's shape: Tuesday to Thursday beats the weekend in all three, and the small hours of the night lose in all three. The hour inside the day depends on your audience, which is why a two-week test is worth more than any one study.
What is the worst time to post on Facebook?
Overnight and early morning: Hootsuite marks midnight to 4 a.m. and Sprout 4 to 7 a.m. The weakest day is Saturday in Buffer's data and Sunday in Sprout's. Buffer also finds weekday afternoons weak, so if your midday posts underperform, move them to the morning before you blame the content.
Does the time you post on Facebook matter?
Less than it once did. Facebook's Feed is ranked rather than chronological, so a post can be shown to people hours after it goes out. But the first reactions and comments come from whoever is online when it is published, and those early signals help decide how far the post travels. Posting when your audience is around, and staying to reply for the first hour, gives a good post its best start.
Best time to post on Facebook by industry
Sprout Social breaks its Facebook data down by industry. These are its windows, in local time:
| Industry | Best times (Sprout Social, March 2026) |
|---|---|
| Software and technology | Weekday mornings, about 7–11 a.m. |
| Healthcare | Monday to Wednesday 10 a.m.–1 p.m.; Thursday and Friday mornings |
| Financial services | Weekdays 9–10 a.m. and 3–6 p.m. |
| Education | Weekdays, about 10 a.m.–noon |
| Nonprofit | Tuesday to Thursday, about 10 a.m.–4 p.m. |
| Food and beverage | Tuesday and Friday, 10 a.m.–3 p.m. |
| Travel and hospitality | Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. |
| Government | Tuesday to Thursday, noon–6 p.m. |
Best time to post on Facebook by day
| Day | Start here (local time) | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Monday | Noon–1 p.m. or 7–9 p.m. | Sprout's Monday window; Buffer's top Monday hours are evenings |
| Tuesday | 8–9 a.m. | Hootsuite's best time; Buffer's top Tuesday hour |
| Wednesday | 8–9 a.m. | Buffer's second slot of the week; Wednesday is its best day |
| Thursday | 9 a.m. | Buffer's best slot of the week |
| Friday | 7–8 a.m. | Buffer's top Friday hours |
| Saturday | Skip | Buffer's weakest day; no peak in Sprout |
| Sunday | 9–10 a.m., if at all | Buffer's third slot of the week; Sprout's weakest day |
The table is built from the studies above, not measured by us. Your own test overrides it.
How to find your own best time to post on Facebook
- Find your audience's time zone. Meta Business Suite's Insights shows where your Page's audience is; plan in their time, not yours.
- Pick a morning and a midday slot. For example 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday.
- Alternate them for two weeks. Similar posts, same days, only the hour changes.
- Compare engagement per person reached. Open each post's results in Insights and compare reactions, comments and shares against reach, not raw totals.
- Keep the winner and test again next quarter.
In Skryvo the Performance page measures the best hour on each channel from your own published posts, and "Use best times" makes that hour the default for new posts. Until you have a few weeks of posts, start from the shared window above.
What is the 5:3:2 rule for social media posts?
A content-mix rule of thumb: out of every ten posts, five share useful content from others, three are your own content, and two are personal or behind-the-scenes posts. It is not a Facebook rule. Use it to stop a Page from becoming a stream of promotions.
Schedule Facebook posts for your hours
Once the hours are set, schedule rather than post by hand. Meta Business Suite schedules Facebook posts and Reels up to 29 days ahead, and the free social media calendar template keeps the month in one view. If the same post also goes to Instagram, LinkedIn or X, each has its own best hours: see Instagram, LinkedIn and X.
Let your agent write the next one in your voice
Skryvo drafts each post in your saved voice and publishes it after your go-ahead. Free to start.
