Best Time to Post on TikTok (2026)
The five TikTok studies split three ways by hour: Hootsuite leans to mornings, Sprout Social and SocialPilot lean to afternoons, and Buffer and Metricool lean to evenings.
TikTok Studio shows when your own followers are active, which no study can see, 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: five publishers report TikTok. 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.
Most agreement: Tue 2 p.m., Tue 3 p.m., Wed 2 p.m., Wed 3 p.m., Thu 9 a.m., Thu 1 p.m. and 4 more, each named by 2 of 4 studies.
What the studies say, not our data. Hours named by at least 1 of 4 studies, in your clock.
- Monday8 a.m. (1), 11 a.m. (1), 1 p.m. (1), 3 to 7 p.m. (1), 10 p.m. (1)
- Tuesday6 to 9 a.m. (1), 2 to 6 p.m. (2), 8 p.m. (1), 10 p.m. (1)
- Wednesday6 a.m. (1), 8 a.m. (1), 1 to 11 p.m. (2)
- Thursday6 to 11 a.m. (2), 1 to 5 p.m. (2), 8 p.m. (1), 10 p.m. (1)
- Friday8 a.m. (1), 1 to 5 p.m. (1), 6 p.m. (1), 8 p.m. (1), 10 p.m. (1)
- Saturday11 a.m. (1), 3 to 6 p.m. (2), 8 p.m. (1)
- Sunday9 to 11 a.m. (2), 12 to 2 p.m. (1), 4 p.m. (1)
See each study’s windows in your clock
Buffer September 14, 2026
Mon 8 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.; Tue 6 to 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.; Wed 6 a.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.; Thu 6 a.m., 1 p.m., and 10 p.m.; Fri 6 p.m., 8 p.m., and 10 p.m.; Sat 3 to 6 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m. and 12 to 2 p.m.
Sprout Social March 31, 2026
Mon 3 to 5 p.m.; Tue 2 to 6 p.m.; Wed 1 to 8 p.m.; Thu 1 to 5 p.m.; Fri 3 to 5 p.m.
Hootsuite November 19, 2025
Thu 7 to 11 a.m.
SocialPilot no date on the page
Mon 5 to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Tue 8 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Wed 8 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Thu 9 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Fri 8 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.; Sat 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Sun 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Metricool June 11, 2026; shown as published, not converted
Mon 8 p.m.; Tue 8 p.m.; Wed 7 to 9 p.m.; Thu 8 p.m.; Fri 8 p.m.; Sat 7 p.m.; Sun 8 p.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 TikTok
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 TikTok in 2026: New Data from 7M PostsPublished September 14, 2026 | 7.1 million videos, carousels, photos and text posts sent through Buffer. Measure: Median engagement rate. | Best: Sat, Mon, and Sun | Mon 8 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.; Tue 6 to 8 a.m. and 10 p.m.; Wed 6 a.m. and 9 to 11 p.m.; Thu 6 a.m., 1 p.m., and 10 p.m.; Fri 6 p.m., 8 p.m., and 10 p.m.; Sat 3 to 6 p.m.; Sun 9 a.m. and 12 to 2 p.m. | Local to the audience |
| MetricoolWhen Is the Best Time to Post on TikTok in 2026?Published June 11, 2026 | 2,314,756 posts from more than 92,000 accounts. Measure: Views. | Best: Sun. Weakest: Sat | Mon 8 p.m.; Tue 8 p.m.; Wed 7 to 9 p.m.; Thu 8 p.m.; Fri 8 p.m.; Sat 7 p.m.; Sun 8 p.m.Avoid: 2 a.m. to 4 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 3 to 5 p.m.; Tue 2 to 6 p.m.; Wed 1 to 8 p.m.; Thu 1 to 5 p.m.; Fri 3 to 5 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: Thu | Thu 7 to 11 a.m.Avoid: Before 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and after 11 p.m. on any day. | Local to the audience |
| SocialPilotBest Time to Post on TikTok in 2026 [700K TikTok Insights]No date on the page | 700,000 TikTok posts from more than 50,000 accounts connected to SocialPilot. Data: January to December 10, 2025. | Best: Tue, Wed, and Thu. Weakest: Sun | Mon 5 to 7 p.m. and 10 p.m.; Tue 8 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Wed 8 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Thu 9 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Fri 8 a.m. and 1 to 3 p.m.; Sat 11 a.m., 3 p.m., and 8 p.m.; Sun 9 to 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.Avoid: 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. | Local to the audience |
Where the TikTok studies agree and where they split
- Days named most: Thursday (3 of 5) and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday (2 of 5 each).
- Hours: Hootsuite leans to mornings, Sprout Social and SocialPilot lean to afternoons, and Buffer and Metricool lean to evenings.
- 2 of the 5 studies that rank days name a weekend day among their 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 TikTok specifically
- Buffer’s 7.1 million posts make Saturday the best day, Monday second, and Sunday at 9 a.m. the best single slot. Evenings from 6 p.m. to 11 p.m. generally peak, weekday afternoons are weaker, and it calls Wednesday and Thursday quieter. (Buffer)
- Metricool measures views and finds the 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. block the heaviest of the week, Sunday the strongest day and Saturday the quietest. (Metricool)
- SocialPilot lands on Tuesday to Thursday, with 8 a.m., 2 to 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. recurring. It adds that the For You page weighs engagement and relevance, so posting time matters less than it did in a chronological feed, while early engagement still helps. (SocialPilot)
- Hootsuite names Thursday 7 to 11 a.m. and Sprout Social names weekday afternoons, for example Wednesday 1 to 8 p.m. (Hootsuite, Sprout Social)
Find your own best time on TikTok
Your followers are the only sample that matters for your account, and the network already holds it.
- Open your profile, then the menu, then TikTok Studio.
- Open Analytics, then the Followers tab.
- Scroll to Most active times to see the hours and days your followers are on TikTok.
- Compare the videos you published at those times with the ones you published at others.
Source: TikTok Creator Academy: analytics. Also see Buffer’s TikTok study, which uses the same path.
What our scheduler uses for TikTok, and where it comes from
For TikTok, the table’s three slots for a general account in North America are Tuesday 6 p.m., Thursday 8 p.m. and Saturday 3 p.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 TikTok scheduling page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to post on TikTok?
The five studies split three ways: Hootsuite leans to mornings, Sprout Social and SocialPilot lean to afternoons, and Buffer and Metricool lean to evenings. Buffer’s best single slot is Sunday at 9 a.m., Metricool’s is 8 p.m., Hootsuite’s is Thursday 7 to 11 a.m. With that spread, the Followers tab in your own TikTok Studio is a better guide than any one study.
What is the best day to post on TikTok?
Thursday (3 of 5) and Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Sunday (2 of 5 each) come up most, and two of the five studies that rank days name a weekend day as best (Buffer says Saturday, Metricool says Sunday). Buffer notes that not all studies agree on the best day.
Does the posting time matter on TikTok?
SocialPilot says it matters less than it did in chronological feeds, because the For You page weighs engagement and relevance, though early engagement still helps. Buffer calls timing no magic bullet and says a weak post cannot be saved by it. Both treat their times as a starting point.
Do these times use my timezone?
Buffer, Sprout Social, Hootsuite and SocialPilot read every hour as local time where the audience is. Metricool does not say which time zone it uses, so its evening figures are shown as published and left out of the converter and the heatmap.
How do I see when my TikTok followers are active?
Open your profile, then the menu, then TikTok Studio, then Analytics and the Followers tab, and scroll to Most active times. TikTok’s Creator Academy describes this breakdown by hour and day.
How does Content Drifter pick TikTok posting times?
Its default TikTok slots for a general account in North America are Tuesday 6 p.m., Thursday 8 p.m., and Saturday 3 p.m., in your account’s timezone, from the same table every network uses. Its header credits 2024 and 2025 research, and the scheduler does not read the studies above.
Let your own results pick your TikTok slots
Connect TikTok 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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