PilotPost
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The best time to post on Facebook in 2026 is midweek, Monday to Thursday, with Saturday the weakest day. Sprout Social's 2026 study found Tuesday and Wednesday between 12pm and 8pm in your audience's local time strongest, while Buffer's 2026 analysis of more than 14 million posts found Thursday at 9am the single best slot and mornings strong on most days. Both agree that weekdays beat weekends. The exact hour depends on your audience, so use the data as a starting point and test it.
Key takeaways
- Sprout Social (March 2026): Tuesday and Wednesday, 12–8pm local time, were the best windows. Weekends were the weakest.
- Buffer (October 2026): Thursday at 9am was the best slot, Wednesday the best day, and Saturday the worst day.
- The studies disagree on time of day: Sprout's windows are midday to evening, while Buffer found mornings strong and 12–5pm weakest.
- All times are in your audience's local time.
- Check your own Facebook insights, test two slots for four weeks and compare engagement rate.
Where the data comes from
We only use timing data from named, published studies with a stated method.
Sprout Social. Sprout Social's best times to post on Facebook was published in March 2026. It covers nearly 2 billion engagements across about 307,000 profiles on six networks from more than 30,000 Sprout Social customers. Data runs from November 27, 2025 to February 27, 2026, and all times are local.
Buffer. Buffer's best time to post on Facebook was published in October 2026. It analyzed more than 14 million Facebook posts sent through Buffer by businesses, creators and influencers. Engagement was defined as reactions, comments, shares and likes, ranked by median engagement per hour, and times were normalized to local time. Buffer does not state the number of accounts or the date range.
Best times to post on Facebook in 2026
Sprout Social: midday to evening, midweek
According to Sprout Social's 2026 data (local time):
| Day | Best times (local) |
|---|---|
| Monday | 12–1pm |
| Tuesday | 12–8pm |
| Wednesday | 12–8pm |
| Thursday | 12–2pm and 8pm |
| Friday | Midday only |
| Saturday | No peak time |
| Sunday | Low |
Sprout names Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12pm to 8pm as the best time, and 4–7am as the worst time of day.
Buffer: mornings, with Thursday 9am on top
According to Buffer's 2026 analysis, these were the top three times each day (local time):
| Day | 1st | 2nd | 3rd |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 9pm | 10pm | 7pm |
| Tuesday | 8am | 7pm | 7am |
| Wednesday | 8am | 9am | 6pm |
| Thursday | 9am | 8am | 10am |
| Friday | 8am | 7am | 6am |
| Saturday | 10pm | 6am | 9pm |
| Sunday | 10am | 9am | 8am |
Buffer's best single slot was Thursday at 9am. Wednesday was the best day, with Thursday close behind and Tuesday third. Saturday was the worst day; Sunday did slightly better but still trailed weekdays. Buffer found afternoons from 12pm to 5pm generally the weakest.
Making sense of the gap
The studies agree on days (midweek strong, Saturday weak) but not on hours. Sprout's sample is enterprise-tool customers over a winter window; Buffer's is posts from its own users, measured by median engagement. Those are different groups of pages with different audiences.
The practical answer is to test both patterns. A Wednesday 12pm slot reflects Sprout's data; a Wednesday or Thursday 8–9am slot reflects Buffer's. Your Facebook audience will tell you which fits.
Industry windows from Sprout Social
Sprout published Facebook windows for several industries (local time). Four examples:
| Industry | Best times (local) |
|---|---|
| Retail | Mon 9am–1pm; Tue 9am–2pm and 5pm; Wed 9am–2pm; Thu 10am–12pm; Fri 10am and 12–1pm |
| Food and beverage | Mon 11am–2pm; Tue 10am–3pm; Wed 10am–12pm and 2pm; Thu 9am and 12–2pm; Fri 10am–3pm |
| Hospitals and healthcare | Mon–Tue 10am–1pm; Wed 9am–1pm and 3–4pm; Thu 8am–12pm and 4pm; Fri 10–11am and 6pm |
| Software and technology | Mon 8–10am; Tue 7–11am; Wed 8–11am; Thu–Fri 7–10am; Sat 7–9am; Sun 10am |
Interestingly, most industry windows start in the morning, closer to Buffer's overall pattern than to Sprout's own overall table. For how industries compare on engagement rate and posting frequency, see our Facebook benchmarks guide.
How to find your own best time to post on Facebook
Step 1: Review your past posts
Facebook's insights for Pages (in Meta Business Suite) show results for each post. Note the day and time of your last 20 to 30 posts with their reach and engagements, and look for patterns. Check which countries your audience is in so you plan for the right time zone.
Step 2: Pick two candidate slots
Choose slot A where your history and the studies agree, for example Wednesday at 12pm. Choose slot B as a real alternative, for example Thursday at 9am.
Step 3: Run a four-week test
- Post in slot A in weeks 1 and 3, and slot B in weeks 2 and 4.
- Keep the post type the same (for example, one image post and one Reel each week).
- Schedule in advance so posts go out at exactly the planned time.
- Record reach, engagements and engagement rate for each post.
Step 4: Judge by engagement rate
Divide engagements by reach (or views, if that is what your report shows) and compare the averages for each slot. Our engagement rate definition explains the formula options, and the engagement rate formula guide works through examples.
| Week | Slot | Reach | Engagements | Engagement rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A: Wed 12pm | 1,200 | 30 | 2.5% |
| 2 | B: Thu 9am | 1,350 | 41 | 3.0% |
| 3 | A: Wed 12pm | 1,150 | 28 | 2.4% |
| 4 | B: Thu 9am | 1,300 | 38 | 2.9% |
Example figures for illustration only.
In this example, the morning slot wins on both reach and engagement rate. Keep testing if results are close, and repeat every quarter.
Scheduling your Facebook times with PilotPost
PilotPost schedules Facebook posts alongside Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok, Threads, X, YouTube, Pinterest, Bluesky, Telegram and WhatsApp Business from one calendar. Add your chosen slots to a posting queue, use bulk scheduling to load your four-week test in one go, and compare reach and engagement for each post in Insights. You can create a PilotPost account to try it.
For every network, see the best time to post on social media.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to post on Facebook in 2026?
Sprout Social's 2026 study found Tuesday and Wednesday from 12pm to 8pm local time best. Buffer's 2026 analysis found Thursday at 9am the single best slot, with mornings strong on most days. Test a midday slot against a morning one.
What is the best day to post on Facebook?
Midweek. Buffer ranks Wednesday first, then Thursday and Tuesday. Sprout ranks Tuesday and Wednesday highest and Monday to Thursday as the best days.
What is the worst day to post on Facebook?
Saturday. Buffer calls it the worst day of the week, and Sprout found no peak time on Saturday. Sunday also trails weekdays in both studies.
What is the worst time to post on Facebook?
Sprout names 4–7am as the worst time. Buffer found 12pm to 5pm generally weakest in its data. The disagreement is a good reason to run your own test.
Should I post on Facebook in my time zone or my audience's?
Your audience's. Both studies report times in local time. If your followers are spread across regions, schedule for the region that matters most or post separately for each.
