There's no single best time to post on TikTok. Three large studies agree most on Wednesday 4–6 p.m., Friday around 4 p.m. and Saturday 3–6 p.m. Beyond that they split: Buffer's top slot is Sunday at 9 a.m., Sprout Social favours Tuesday to Thursday afternoons, and Hootsuite picks Thursday mornings. All times are in your audience's local time.
Below: each study's times for every day of the week, why they disagree, how to convert the times if your audience lives in another country, and how to find your own best time in TikTok's analytics. Updated October 2026.
To convert any of these windows to your own clock, use our free best time to post finder.
The best time to post on TikTok, by study
We use the three largest current studies we could verify on each publisher's own page. They measure different things, so we show each one separately rather than averaging them. Later has no TikTok study of its own (its 2025 times come from its own account), so it isn't included here.
| Study | Published | Sample | Measures | Time zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Sep 2026 | 7.1 million TikTok posts | Median engagement rate | Audience's local time |
| Sprout Social | Mar 2026 | Nearly 2 billion engagements, 307,000 profiles (all networks), 27 Nov 2025 – 27 Feb 2026 | Peak engagement windows | Audience's local time |
| Hootsuite | Nov 2025 | Over 1 million posts (all networks), 118 countries | Engagement | Audience's local time |
All three give times in the audience's local time. Sprout Social: "All optimal posting times are listed in Local Time." Buffer: "no need to convert." Hootsuite: "the time of day was localized across 118 countries".
Best times to post on TikTok for every day of the week
Each cell is the study's own wording, in the audience's local time.
| Day | Buffer | Sprout Social | Hootsuite |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1 p.m., 11 a.m., 8 a.m. | 3–5 p.m. | 5 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 6 a.m., 10 p.m., 7 a.m. | 2–6 p.m. | 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 10 p.m., 6 a.m., 9 p.m. | 1–8 p.m. | 4–6 p.m. |
| Thursday | 1 p.m., 10 p.m., 6 a.m. | 1–5 p.m. | 7–9 a.m. |
| Friday | 6 p.m., 10 p.m., 8 p.m. | 3–5 p.m. | 4–6 p.m. |
| Saturday | 5 p.m., 4 p.m., 3 p.m. | No time given | 10 a.m. – 7 p.m. |
| Sunday | 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 12 p.m. | No time given | 8 a.m. – 12 p.m. |
Best time to post on TikTok on Monday
Buffer counts Monday among its strongest days, with 1 p.m. its second-best slot of the week. Sprout Social and Hootsuite both point to late afternoon.
- Buffer: 1 p.m., 11 a.m., 8 a.m.
- Sprout Social: 3–5 p.m.
- Hootsuite: 5 p.m.
No hour on this day is flagged by more than one study.
Best time to post on TikTok on Tuesday
Tuesday splits three ways: Buffer says early morning (6 a.m.) or late evening, Hootsuite says late morning to lunchtime, and Sprout Social says the afternoon. Sprout Social lists Tuesday among its best days, so a 2–6 p.m. post has the most support.
- Buffer: 6 a.m., 10 p.m., 7 a.m.
- Sprout Social: 2–6 p.m.
- Hootsuite: 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
No hour on this day is flagged by more than one study.
Best time to post on TikTok on Wednesday
Wednesday has one of the clearest overlaps: Sprout Social's 1–8 p.m. window and Hootsuite's 4–6 p.m. meet in the late afternoon.
- Buffer: 10 p.m., 6 a.m., 9 p.m.
- Sprout Social: 1–8 p.m.
- Hootsuite: 4–6 p.m.
Where at least two studies overlap: 4–6 p.m.
Best time to post on TikTok on Thursday
Hootsuite names Thursday morning one of the two best times of the whole week. Sprout Social and Buffer point to the early afternoon instead.
- Buffer: 1 p.m., 10 p.m., 6 a.m.
- Sprout Social: 1–5 p.m.
- Hootsuite: 7–9 a.m.
Where at least two studies overlap: 1–2 p.m.
Best time to post on TikTok on Friday
Sprout Social and Hootsuite both flag the late afternoon, overlapping at 4–5 p.m. Buffer's best Friday times are in the evening.
- Buffer: 6 p.m., 10 p.m., 8 p.m.
- Sprout Social: 3–5 p.m.
- Hootsuite: 4–6 p.m.
Where at least two studies overlap: 4–5 p.m.
Best time to post on TikTok on Saturday
Buffer calls Saturday the best day for TikTok, and Hootsuite's Saturday window (10 a.m. to 7 p.m.) is its widest. Both cover 3–6 p.m. Sprout Social is the exception: it gives no weekend times.
- Buffer: 5 p.m., 4 p.m., 3 p.m.
- Sprout Social: no recommended time
- Hootsuite: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Where at least two studies overlap: 3–6 p.m.
Best time to post on TikTok on Sunday
Buffer's single best time of the week is Sunday at 9 a.m., and Hootsuite's Sunday window covers the same morning. Sprout Social, by contrast, calls Sunday the worst day.
- Buffer: 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 12 p.m.
- Sprout Social: no recommended time
- Hootsuite: 8 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Where at least two studies overlap: 9–10 a.m.
Why the studies disagree
- Different samples. Buffer studied 7.1 million posts sent through its scheduling tool; Sprout Social counted engagements across 307,000 customer profiles; Hootsuite analysed more than a million posts from businesses in 118 countries.
- Different measures. Buffer ranks hours by median engagement rate, and Sprout Social by peak engagement windows. A quieter hour can have a high engagement rate because fewer accounts are posting.
- Different periods. Sprout Social's data covers November 2025 to February 2026; Buffer's article was updated in September 2026; Hootsuite's in November 2025.
- Different accounts. Sprout Social's data comes from its customers' profiles and Hootsuite's from businesses. Individual creators may see different patterns.
So treat the overlaps as the safest bets and the single-study slots (Buffer's Sunday morning, Hootsuite's Thursday morning) as things to test.
Converting TikTok times for the UK, Canada, the Philippines and beyond
Much of TikTok's search demand comes from outside the US. Because every study uses the audience's local time, a UK creator with UK followers should post at these times UK time. You only need to convert when your audience is somewhere else. Here's Saturday at 5 p.m., Buffer's best Saturday slot, converted:
| Audience in ↓ / you post from → | New York | London | Mumbai | Manila | Sydney |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York | Sat 5 p.m. | Sat 10 p.m. | Sun 3:30 a.m. | Sun 6 a.m. | Sun 9 a.m. |
| Los Angeles | Sat 8 p.m. | Sun 1 a.m. | Sun 6:30 a.m. | Sun 9 a.m. | Sun 12 p.m. |
| London | Sat 12 p.m. | Sat 5 p.m. | Sat 10:30 p.m. | Sun 1 a.m. | Sun 4 a.m. |
| Mumbai | Sat 6:30 a.m. | Sat 11:30 a.m. | Sat 5 p.m. | Sat 7:30 p.m. | Sat 10:30 p.m. |
| Manila | Sat 4 a.m. | Sat 9 a.m. | Sat 2:30 p.m. | Sat 5 p.m. | Sat 8 p.m. |
| Sydney | Sat 1 a.m. | Sat 6 a.m. | Sat 11:30 a.m. | Sat 2 p.m. | Sat 5 p.m. |
Kuala Lumpur and Singapore share Manila's time, and Toronto shares New York's. These conversions are for mid-November, after the US and UK clocks change; the gaps shift by an hour for a few weeks each spring and autumn. The best time to post finder handles daylight saving and split audiences for you.
How to find your own best time on TikTok
TikTok's own advice is to schedule around your followers' activity, not a general list.
- Open your TikTok analytics and go to the Followers tab.
- Check follower activity. TikTok's Creator Academy says this graph shows "when your audience is most active on the platform down to the hour".
- Post before the peak. TikTok suggests "posting on the most active days of the week and, at most, two hours before the activity peaks on those days" (TikTok Creator Academy).
- Compare with the studies above and shortlist a few slots to test.
A simple four-week test:
- Weeks 1–2: post in the windows where the studies agree (for example, Wednesday 4–6 p.m. and Saturday 3–6 p.m.).
- Weeks 3–4: post similar videos up to two hours before your own follower peaks.
- Then compare average watch time, completion and shares per video. TikTok says watch time "is more heavily weighted" than likes, comments and shares, so a better slot should show up there first.
Timing helps a video get its first viewers, but TikTok recommends videos on how people respond to them. The content matters more than the minute you post. Our guides to filming and editing short videos and writing a UGC script can help with that part.
Best times to post on other platforms
- Best time to post on Instagram
- Best time to post on YouTube
- Best time to post on Facebook
- Best time to post on LinkedIn
- Best time to post on X (Twitter)
- Best time to post on social media: every platform in one place
Common questions
What is the best time to post on TikTok?
There isn't one time for every account. Buffer, Sprout Social and Hootsuite agree most on Wednesday 4–6 p.m., Friday around 4 p.m. and Saturday 3–6 p.m., in your audience's local time. Buffer's single best slot is Sunday at 9 a.m.
What is the best day to post on TikTok?
It depends on the study. Buffer says Saturday, Sprout Social says Tuesday to Thursday, and Hootsuite picks Thursday mornings and Saturday midday. Sprout Social calls Sunday the worst day, while Buffer has Sunday morning as its best single slot.
What is the best time to post on TikTok on a Tuesday?
Buffer says 6 a.m., then 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. Sprout Social says 2–6 p.m., and Hootsuite says 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. No hour is shared by two studies, so test the afternoon first.
What is the best time to post on TikTok on a Saturday?
Buffer and Hootsuite overlap from 3 to 6 p.m., with Buffer's best Saturday slot at 5 p.m. Sprout Social gives no Saturday time.
Do I need to convert these times to my time zone?
Only if your audience lives in a different time zone from you. The studies give times in the audience's local time, so post at their 5 p.m. If your followers are in the UK and so are you, no conversion is needed.
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Sources
Checked October 2026. We summarise each study's findings; see the publisher's page for its full charts.
- Buffer: Best time to post on TikTok in 2026, new data from 7M posts (updated September 2026)
- Sprout Social: Best times to post on TikTok in 2026 (updated March 2026)
- Hootsuite: The best time to post on TikTok (November 2025)
- TikTok Creator Academy: Use analytics to inform your strategy
