Best Time to Post on LinkedIn (2026)
Midweek is the LinkedIn consensus: Wednesday is named by 6 of the 6 studies that rank days, Tuesday by 5 and Thursday by 4, with the hours split between late morning, early afternoon and Buffer’s late-afternoon peak.
LinkedIn’s own analytics report impressions and engagement rate for each post, which is the data to compare by publish time, so use these windows to choose your first two weeks of slots, then keep the ones your own results prove.
By Tayyab, Founder
Studies last checked October 14, 2026: six publishers report LinkedIn. Every figure below links to the page it came from.
Convert the studies to your timezone
Pick where your audience is and the clock you schedule in. Every window below is something a named publisher printed; the converter only moves it between time zones and counts how many studies agree. It is not our data and it is not a prediction for your account.
Hours are shown as the studies print them, which for most is local time where the audience is. Pick a different place above to convert. SocialPilot’s LinkedIn, X and Threads pages are written in US Eastern time, so those are converted from there whatever you pick.
Most agreement: Tue 4 p.m., each named by 3 of 4 studies.
What the studies say, not our data. Hours named by at least 2 of 4 studies, in your clock.
- Monday1 p.m. (2)
- Tuesday11 a.m. (2), 2 p.m. (2), 4 p.m. (3)
- Wednesday12 p.m. (2), 2 to 4 p.m. (2)
- Thursday1 p.m. (2), 5 p.m. (2)
- Friday1 p.m. (2), 3 p.m. (2)
- Saturdaynone
- Sundaynone
See each study’s windows in your clock
Buffer September 9, 2026
Mon 5 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.; Tue 4 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Wed 3 to 6 p.m.; Thu 5 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m.; Fri 3 to 6 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m.; Sun 6 a.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.
Sprout Social March 31, 2026
Mon 1 p.m.; Tue 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wed 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thu 11 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m.; Fri 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Hootsuite November 19, 2025
Tue 4 to 6 a.m.; Wed 4 to 6 a.m.
SocialPilot no date on the page, written in US Eastern time
Mon 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.; Tue 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.; Wed 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m.; Thu 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m.; Fri 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sun 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Metricool May 15, 2026; shown as published, not converted
Mon 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Tue 11 a.m.; Wed 11 a.m.; Thu 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Fri 10 a.m.; Sat 10 a.m.; Sun 10 a.m.
The page does not say which time zone its hours are in. It is left out of the heatmap.
What each study says about LinkedIn
Hours are shown exactly as published, on the clock in the last column. Use the converter above to move them to yours.
| Study | Sample | Days | Hours, as published | Clock |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BufferThe Best Time to Post on LinkedIn in 2026: 4.8 Million Posts AnalyzedPublished September 9, 2026 | Over 4.8 million LinkedIn posts sent through Buffer. Measure: Engagement: reactions, comments and reposts. | Best: Wed, Thu, and Fri. Weakest: Mon and Tue | Mon 5 p.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.; Tue 4 to 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Wed 3 to 6 p.m.; Thu 5 p.m., 7 p.m., and 9 p.m.; Fri 3 to 6 p.m.; Sat 9 a.m., 6 p.m., and 10 p.m.; Sun 6 a.m. and 9 to 11 p.m. | Local to the audience |
| MetricoolBest Time to Post on LinkedInPublished May 15, 2026 | 673,658 posts from 63,108 accounts. | Best: Mon, Tue, and Wed. Weakest: Sat and Sun | Mon 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Tue 11 a.m.; Wed 11 a.m.; Thu 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.; Fri 10 a.m.; Sat 10 a.m.; Sun 10 a.m. | Not statedNot converted below. |
| Sprout SocialBest Times to Post on Social Media 2026 [Updated]Published March 31, 2026 | Nearly 2 billion engagements across roughly 307,000 profiles, from over 30,000 Sprout customers. Data: Nov 27, 2025 to Feb 27, 2026. Measure: Engagements: reactions, comments, shares, direct messages and link clicks. | Best: Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, and Fri. Weakest: Sat and Sun | Mon 1 p.m.; Tue 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Wed 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Thu 11 a.m. and 1 to 5 p.m.; Fri 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.Avoid: Weekends and early mornings. | Local to the audience |
| HootsuiteBest time to post on social media in 2025 (by platform)Published November 19, 2025 | Over 1 million social posts, analysed with the data science agency Critical Truth. | Best: Tue and Wed | Tue 4 to 6 a.m.; Wed 4 to 6 a.m.Avoid: After 7 p.m. and on weekends.Hootsuite’s LinkedIn page (November 19, 2025) lists 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in its key takeaways. | Local to the audience |
| CoScheduleBest Times To Post On Social Media In 2026 [Original Research]Published February 5, 2024, updated September 29, 2026 | 37,219,512 social messages from more than 30,000 organizations in 107 countries. Measure: An engagement score that weights clicks, shares and comments. | Best: Tue, Thu, and Wed | Top hours, not tied to a day: 11 a.m., 10 a.m., and 12 p.m.The network section further down CoSchedule’s page lists different top times from its summary; this uses the summary. | Local to the audience |
| SocialPilotBest Times to Post on LinkedIn in 2026 (Data Backed Insights)No date on the page | Over 683,000 posts from 47,672 LinkedIn accounts, covering five years. Data: Five years of LinkedIn posts (dates not given). | Best: Tue, Wed, and Thu. Weakest: Sat and Sun | Mon 11 a.m., 1 p.m., and 4 p.m.; Tue 11 a.m., 2 p.m., and 4 p.m.; Wed 10 a.m., 12 p.m., and 2 p.m.; Thu 10 a.m., 1 p.m., and 5 p.m.; Fri 9 a.m., 1 p.m., and 3 p.m.; Sat 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.; Sun 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.Avoid: Weekends and hours outside business hours. | US Eastern time |
Where the LinkedIn studies agree and where they split
- Days named most: Wednesday (6 of 6), Tuesday (5 of 6), and Thursday (4 of 6).
- Hours: Metricool, Hootsuite, and CoSchedule lean to mornings, Sprout Social and SocialPilot lean to afternoons, and Buffer leans to evenings.
- No study ranks a weekend day among its best.
Each study is placed by the part of the day that holds most of the hours it names across the week. For the reasons the numbers differ, and the pages we did not count, see how we read the studies.
What the studies say about LinkedIn specifically
- Sprout Social splits LinkedIn by industry. The strongest day and window for each: education Tuesday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; financial services Tuesday and Wednesday 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.; government Thursday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; healthcare Wednesday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; nonprofit Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; retail Thursday 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.; software and technology Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; travel and hospitality Wednesday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. (Sprout Social, LinkedIn)
- Buffer’s 4.8 million posts put the peak at 3 p.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, with Wednesday 4 p.m., Friday 3 p.m. and Friday 4 p.m. on top, and it says this is later in the day than its previous analysis found. (Buffer)
- SocialPilot’s hours are US Eastern time: 10 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with dips on Monday and Friday and weak weekends and evenings. (SocialPilot)
- Metricool says the working day is what matters, whichever day it is, and ranks Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday as the best days with weekends last. Hootsuite’s all-network page is the outlier at 4 a.m. to 6 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and its LinkedIn page lists 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. (Metricool, Hootsuite)
Find your own best time on LinkedIn
Your followers are the only sample that matters for your account, and the network already holds it.
- Open your Page, then Analytics, then Content.
- Look at impressions and engagement rate for your recent posts.
- Export the post list and add the publish day and hour yourself: LinkedIn shows only relative times such as 3h or 2d.
- Compare morning, midday and late-afternoon posts across a month before you move your schedule.
Source: LinkedIn Help: content analytics for your Page. Also see Sprout Social’s LinkedIn study, which describes the same steps.
What our scheduler uses for LinkedIn, and where it comes from
For LinkedIn, the table’s three slots for a general account in North America are Tuesday 10 a.m., Wednesday 11 a.m. and Thursday 9 a.m., in your account’s timezone. The table is a file in our code whose header credits Sprout Social, Hootsuite and Buffer research from 2024 and 2025; the scheduler does not read the studies above, and its scores only rank the slots against each other.
On Pro and up, the scheduler also re-ranks those slots from your own last 30 days of results once a network has at least 7 measured posts.
The full account, including what it needs before it learns anything from your posts, is on the best time to post hub. Niche-by-niche slots are on the LinkedIn scheduling page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to post on LinkedIn?
Weekday daytime is the common thread. Wednesday is named by 6 of the 6 studies that rank days. The hours split: late morning (Metricool, CoSchedule), midday to mid afternoon (Sprout Social, SocialPilot) and late afternoon (Buffer, 3 p.m. to 8 p.m.). Hootsuite’s all-network page is the outlier at 4 a.m. to 6 a.m.
What is the best day to post on LinkedIn?
Wednesday (6 of 6), Tuesday (5 of 6), and Thursday (4 of 6). Sprout Social, SocialPilot, Metricool and Hootsuite put weekends last; Buffer names Monday and Tuesday its weakest weekdays.
Is the best time to post on LinkedIn different by industry?
Sprout Social publishes industry cuts. The strongest windows it lists run from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. for financial services on Tuesday and Wednesday, to 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. for education on Tuesday and for government on Thursday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. for retail on Thursday.
Do these times use my timezone?
Sprout Social, Buffer and Hootsuite read every hour as local time where the audience is. SocialPilot’s LinkedIn hours are US Eastern time, so convert them if your audience is elsewhere. Metricool does not say, and is shown as published.
How do I find my own best time on LinkedIn?
In your Page’s Analytics, open Content and compare impressions and engagement rate for your recent posts. LinkedIn shows only relative times such as 3h or 2d on posts, so Buffer advises logging your own publish times and comparing a month of them.
How does Content Drifter pick LinkedIn posting times?
Its default LinkedIn slots for a general account in North America are Tuesday 10 a.m., Wednesday 11 a.m., and Thursday 9 a.m., in your account’s timezone, from a table in our code. It is a starting point credited to 2024 and 2025 research, separate from the studies above, and it is re-ranked from your own results on the plans that include that.
Let your own results pick your LinkedIn slots
Connect LinkedIn and Content Drifter schedules posts into suggested slots, then learns from how your own posts perform. The studies above are where to start; your results are where to finish.
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