Data-backed guide
Best time to post on TikTok in 2026 (by day)
The best times to post on TikTok, by day of the week, from Buffer's study of 7.1 million posts and Sprout Social's analysis of nearly 2 billion engagements, plus how to find the hours your own followers are active.
By ClipSnitch · Reviewed
Quick answer
Buffer's study of 7.1 million posts puts the best times to post on TikTok at Sunday 9 a.m., Monday 1 p.m. and Sunday 1 p.m. Sprout Social's data points to weekday afternoons instead, Tuesday to Friday 2–6 p.m., so test both: a weekend morning and a weekday afternoon.
All times are in the local time of the audience you're posting for: 9 a.m. means 9 a.m. where your followers are.
Best time to post on TikTok by day
| Day | Best time | Also strong | Sprout Social |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1 p.m. | 11 a.m.8 a.m. | 3 p.m.–5 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 6 a.m. | 10 p.m.7 a.m. | 2 p.m.–6 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 10 p.m. | 6 a.m.9 p.m. | 1 p.m.–8 p.m. |
| Thursday | 1 p.m. | 10 p.m.6 a.m. | 1 p.m.–5 p.m. |
| Friday | 6 p.m. | 10 p.m.8 p.m. | 3 p.m.–5 p.m. |
| Saturday | 5 p.m. | 4 p.m.3 p.m. | – |
| Sunday | 9 a.m. | 1 p.m.12 p.m. | – |
Top three slots of the week (Buffer). Times are in your audience's local time.
Best and worst days
The two studies disagree about weekends. Buffer finds Saturday the best day, then Monday and Sunday, with Wednesday and Thursday quieter. Sprout Social finds Monday to Friday strongest and weekends weakest. They measure different sets of accounts, so your own analytics should decide.
What a second study found
Sprout Social's analysis of nearly 2 billion engagements (about 307,000 profiles, November 2025 to February 2026) gives these TikTok windows: Monday 3–5 p.m., Tuesday 2–6 p.m., Wednesday 1–8 p.m., Thursday 1–5 p.m. and Friday 3–5 p.m., with weekends and early mornings the weakest.
How to find your own best time
TikTok shows when your own followers are active:
- Open TikTok Studio, on the web or in the app, and go to Analytics.
- Open the Followers tab and find Follower activity, which shows the hours and days your followers are on TikTok.
- Post a little before the busiest hours for a few weeks and compare views with the slots above.
Schedule posts for those times
ClipSnitch schedules your TikTok post for the exact day and time you pick, up to 90 days ahead, and can send the same video to YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and LinkedIn at once. AI writes the caption, and you see a preview before it goes out.
Schedule TikTok postsCommon questions
What is the best time to post on TikTok?
Sunday at 9 a.m., Monday at 1 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m. are the top slots in Buffer's 7.1 million posts. Sprout Social finds Tuesday to Friday, 2–6 p.m., strongest. Both are in your audience's local time.
What is the best day to post on TikTok?
In Buffer's 7.1 million posts, Saturday, then Monday and Sunday. Sprout Social's data favors Tuesday to Friday instead. With the studies split, test a weekend day and a weekday for a few weeks each.
What is the worst time to post on TikTok?
There's no agreement: Buffer finds Wednesday and Thursday quieter overall, while Sprout Social finds weekends and early mornings weakest. The follower activity chart in TikTok Studio is the better guide.
Which time zone should I use?
Your audience's. Both studies report local time, so if most of your followers are in New York, 9 a.m. means 9 a.m. in New York. ClipSnitch's scheduler uses your browser's time zone; if your audience lives elsewhere, convert the time before you schedule.
Does posting time still matter?
Less than what you post. A good time helps a post get its first views and reactions, which platforms use to decide who else sees it, but a strong video at an average time beats a weak one at the perfect time. Posting on a steady schedule matters more than the exact minute.
Sources
- Buffer: 7.1M posts analyzed, published September 2026
- Sprout Social: nearly 2 billion engagements from about 307,000 profiles, November 2025 to February 2026
Buffer ranks hours by median engagement rate and normalizes them to local time. Sprout Social ranks windows by engagement, also in local time. Both are averages over many accounts; your own audience may differ.