Every few years, someone declares that Facebook is dead. And then 3 billion people log in anyway.
When it comes to social media platforms, Facebook is as crowded as they come. The social network currently has 3 billion active users — so almost a third of the world’s population has a Facebook account they use regularly.
Crowded as it may be, it’s still a powerful social media marketing platform for businesses and creators — it’s why I’ve recently added Facebook into my social media crossposting strategy.
I already have some Instagram content that I think will resonate on Facebook, and I’m experimenting with crossposting it there. With all that solid content locked and loaded, one of the first things I defined in my shiny new Facebook social media strategy was when to post for maximum engagement.
When it comes to the Facebook algorithm, engagement — reactions, comments, shares, and likes — is a strong signal that your content is valuable and that more people will enjoy having it in their Facebook news feeds.
The higher your engagement, the higher your reach tends to be — and the greater your chance of achieving your social media goals, whether that means driving traffic to your website, making a sale, or simply growing your Facebook following.
So, how do you pinpoint the best time to post on Facebook for your audience, especially if you’re just starting out (or you’ve dusted off an old Facebook account, like me)?
The first place I looked was our data.
The Buffer data team has analyzed the performance of more than 14 million Facebook posts sent via Buffer by businesses, creators, and influencers to pinpoint the best time to post on Facebook, the best day to post on Facebook, and which days and times are best avoided.
Ready to jump in?
Key takeaways
- Peak posting time: The single best time to post is Thursday at 9 a.m., with Wednesday and Sunday mornings also delivering strong engagement.
- Best day: Wednesday is the top-performing day for Facebook engagement overall, with Thursday and Tuesday following close behind.
- Morning advantage: Engagement peaks during morning hours (6 a.m. – 11 a.m.) on weekdays, with afternoons (12 p.m. – 5 p.m.) consistently showing the lowest engagement across most days.
- Avoid the weekend: Saturday is the worst day to post on Facebook, with engagement dropping significantly compared to mid-week — Sunday performs slightly better but still trails weekdays.
Is there a best time to post on Facebook?
There’s no magic, universal best time to post on Facebook, during which your content is guaranteed to go viral (if only it were that easy).
The best time to post on Facebook — or any social media platform — always depends on your audience and how they engage with your content.
That said, our data analysis has picked up some definitive links between posting times and high engagement rates, which could be a great starting point if you’re new to Facebook.
My advice is to use these times as a springboard for experimentation — that’s exactly what I’ve been doing for the past few weeks. Luckily, we have plenty of high-engagement times on Facebook, so there are plenty of options for your posting schedule.
The best times to post on Facebook
According to Buffer data from analyzing 14 million posts, the best time to post on Facebook is 9 a.m. on Thursday. Our analysis showed that mid-morning on Thursday consistently delivers the highest engagement of the week.
The data reveals that morning posting times tend to perform best — we pinpointed other hotspot times on Thursday at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., which round out the top three posting times.
🌅 Overall, posting in the morning hours between 6 a.m. and 11 a.m. on weekdays gets solid engagement, as you’ll see from our analysis.
The data shows that engagement remains strong through mid-morning, with a slight peak around the 8-10 a.m. window. Performance tends to drop off during the afternoon hours (12 p.m. – 5 p.m.), making these generally the worst times to post.
It’s helpful to consider these posting times in the context of general audience behavior as part of your overall posting strategy — which is why I always tend to turn to demographics.
The largest demographic of Facebook users is aged 25-34 (closely followed by ages 35-44). This suggests that users are more likely to check their Facebook News Feeds during their morning routine or early work hours, making it an ideal time to post.
A fascinating report by the Pew Research Center found that an overwhelming majority (93%) say keeping up with friends and family is a reason why they use Facebook. By comparison, the primary use case for other social media platforms like Instagram (86%) and TikTok (95%) is entertainment.
With this in mind, it makes sense that morning hours see strong engagement on Facebook, where users check in to catch up with loved ones — a higher priority than a mindless scroll through, say, some Instagram Reels.
Weekend behavior shows lower performance overall, with Saturday and Sunday seeing notably less engagement than weekdays (more on this below).
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Wait, what timezone? To make this data easier to understand, our data team has done some mathematical magic to make the recommended time zones universally applicable. In other words, no need to convert. Whether you’re in EST (Eastern Standard Time), PST (Pacific Standard Time), or IST (Indian Standard Time), the times apply to you.
The best time to post on Facebook at a glance
- Monday: 9 p.m., 10 p.m., 7 p.m.
- Tuesday: 8 a.m., 7 p.m., 7 a.m.
- Wednesday: 8 a.m., 9 a.m., 6 p.m. 🥈
- Thursday: 9 a.m., 8 a.m., 10 a.m. 🥇
- Friday: 8 a.m., 7 a.m., 6 a.m.
- Saturday: 10 p.m., 6 a.m., 9 p.m.
- Sunday: 10 a.m., 9 a.m., 8 a.m. 🥉
The best time to post on Facebook on Monday
The best time to post on Facebook on Monday is 9 p.m., followed by 10 p.m., and then 7 p.m. Monday evening sees strong engagement, though it’s worth noting that Monday overall ranks among the lower-performing days of the week.
The best time to post on Facebook on Tuesday
The best time to post on Facebook on Tuesday is 8 a.m., followed by 7 p.m., then 7 a.m. Tuesday shows a strong morning performance, with early hours delivering solid engagement rates.
The best time to post on Facebook on Wednesday
The best time to post on Facebook on Wednesday is 8 a.m., followed by 9 a.m., then 6 p.m. Wednesday consistently shows strong performance throughout the day and ranks as the second-best day overall for Facebook engagement.
The best time to post on Facebook on Thursday
The best time to post on Facebook on Thursday is 9 a.m. — the single best posting time across the entire week. Other peak times on Thursday include 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., making Thursday morning the golden window for Facebook engagement.
The best time to post on Facebook on Friday
The best time to post on Facebook on Friday is 8 a.m., with other strong posting times at 7 a.m. and 6 a.m. Friday maintains solid morning engagement, though performance begins to taper as the weekend approaches.
The best time to post on Facebook on Saturday
The best time to post on Facebook on Saturday is 10 p.m., with other peak times at 6 a.m. and 9 p.m. However, Saturday overall shows significantly lower engagement compared to weekdays, making it one of the least optimal days to post.
The best time to post on Facebook on Sunday
The best time to post on Facebook on Sunday is 10 a.m., followed by 9 a.m. and 8 a.m. While Sunday morning shows decent engagement, overall Sunday performance is lower than weekdays, making it the third-best day of the week but still trailing significantly behind mid-week posting.
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The best day to post on Facebook
The best day of the week to post on Facebook is Wednesday — posts shared on the platform mid-week tend to see the highest engagement overall.
Thursday comes in a very close second, with Tuesday rounding out the top three. The data shows that mid-week posting (Tuesday through Thursday) consistently outperforms both the beginning and end of the week.
There is a noticeable dip in content posted on the weekend. Saturday is the worst day of the week to post on Facebook, with engagement dropping significantly compared to weekday performance. Sunday shows slightly better engagement than Saturday, but still falls well below the mid-week sweet spot.
The pattern is clear: if you’re looking to maximize engagement, focus your posting schedule on the middle of the week, particularly Wednesday and Thursday mornings.
Get the best times to post on Facebook right in Buffer
You could add these times to a spreadsheet or set reminders on your phone, whatever works for you. But if you really want to work smarter, not harder, you can create an automatic optimal posting schedule right in Buffer. It’s really easy to set up, too.
You can automatically set these recommended times for Facebook and your other social media platforms. They’ll appear as posting slots in your queue and calendar, making it super easy for you to schedule posts at the best times.
It’ll take you less than a minute to set up:
- Select Facebook on your channels list on the left.
- Click on the settings (gear) icon above the calendar.
- Scroll to Posting Schedule and under Posting Times, click the Generate New Posting Times button.
- Then Use Recommended Posting Times.
The schedule will automatically update to include the best posting times for the week, based on our latest analysis of millions of Facebook posts.
The next time you schedule a post, you can easily choose one of these high engagement slots. No more guessing!
Your checklist for high-performing Facebook posts
Figuring out the best time to post on Facebook can be helpful, but it’s not the ultimate secret to Facebook success (again, if only it were that simple!).
As we unpack in our guide to the Facebook algorithm, there are several other things you can do to give your content the best possible chance of reaching more people. Here’s a high-level overview:
- Share content that prompts conversations: Producing high-quality content should always be your priority on social media. Tap into your Facebook Insights or analytics in Buffer to stay on top of the content that resonates most with your audience. Remember: Facebook likes authentic accounts that contribute to their community and create meaningful interactions.
- Cultivate authentic relationships with your fans: Reacting and replying to comments and always responding timeously to DMs is only half the battle — be sure to be thoughtful and authentic in your replies to really connect with your audience.
- Experiment with different content types: While photos generally perform best, your target audience might respond better to something else. Text, photos, GIFs, Reels — be sure to try them all more than once.
- Tap into user-generated (UGC) content and mentions: When people tag you in posts, take notice. This is a perfect opportunity to share their content as user-generated content — with their permission, of course.
- Aim to be on users’ ‘Favorite’ lists: Facebook users can take more control of their feeds with the Favorite list feature. Encourage your fans to add you to that list so they never miss your content.
- Don’t resort to clickbait or engagement bait: Clickbait is exaggerated, over-sensationalized content that doesn’t deliver on its promise. Engagement bait uses captions or photos that contain phrases like, “Like this if you like dogs better, share this if you like cats better.” Facebook regularly updates its algorithm to downrank content like this, making it a terrible way to attempt to get maximum engagement.
- Verify all the news you share: Another thing the Facebook algorithm doesn’t like: fake news. Facebook is vigilant in identifying misinformation and takes strict action against violators, potentially leading to removal from the platform.
- Stick to Facebook’s Community Standards: Facebook takes its Community Standards seriously. The algorithm is pretty good at weeding out posts that violate these rules, but even if a post manages to skirt under the radar, Facebook users can report it and have it taken down anyway. Getting strikes against your account like this could impact future content performance.
When in doubt, always remember: Facebook’s algorithm values what users value.
“Facebook’s goal is to make sure that you see posts from the people, interests, and ideas that you find valuable,” the company says. “Whether that content comes from people you’re already connected to or from those you may not yet know.”
While our data shows that Thursday at 9 a.m. is your best bet for maximum engagement, the real magic happens when you combine optimal timing with quality content and authentic community building. Use these insights as your starting point, then fine-tune based on your unique audience’s behavior. Tools like Buffer can help you schedule posts at these peak times and track what works best for your specific community — taking some of that admin work off your plate so you can focus on creating content that truly resonates.
