Best Time to Post on Instagram and Facebook in Australia

The best time to post on Instagram, according to Sprout Social’s 2026 analysis of nearly 2 billion engagements, is midweek afternoons in your audience’s local time: Mondays 2pm to 4pm, Tuesdays 1pm to 7pm, Wednesdays 12pm to 9pm and Thursdays 12pm to 2pm. Weekends were weakest. Facebook follows a similar pattern. Treat these as a starting point, then use your own account insights to find the times that suit your followers.

Those times are in the local time of the people you’re trying to reach. For most of eastern Australia that means AEST, or AEDT in daylight saving. Remember that Broken Hill runs on South Australian time, and Queensland doesn’t change its clocks.

What is the best day to post on Instagram?

In Sprout Social’s Instagram data, the best day to post on Instagram was Tuesday or Wednesday, which showed the highest peak engagement. Saturday and Sunday had the lowest engagement across almost every industry.

That doesn’t mean you should never post on weekends. If you run a café, a market stall or a tourism business, your customers may be most active on Saturday morning. The data is an average across many industries and countries.

What is the best time to post an Instagram post, reel or story?

For the best time to post an Instagram post, start with the midweek afternoon windows above. A few practical points:

• Reels can keep picking up views for days, so timing matters a little less than for a feed post.
• Stories disappear after 24 hours, so post them when your followers are likely to be scrolling, such as lunch time or early evening.
• Consistency matters more than the exact minute. A good post at a reasonable time beats a rushed post at the “perfect” time.

If you’ve searched for the best time to post on IG and found different answers on every site, that’s normal: every study uses different data, which is why your own results matter most.

How do you find your own best time to post?

Your own account is the best source. Here’s how to find out what an Instagram good time to post looks like for your followers:

1. Switch to a professional account (business or creator) if you haven’t already.
2. Open your insights in the Instagram app’s professional dashboard, or in Meta Business Suite on a computer.
3. Look at when your followers are most active by day and hour.
4. Test for a month: post at two or three different times and compare reach and engagement.
5. Stick with what works, and recheck every few months, especially when the season or daylight saving changes.

When is the best time to post on Facebook?

Sprout Social’s Facebook data found the best time to post on Facebook was Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 12pm to 8pm in local time. Mondays to Thursdays consistently showed the highest engagement, and weekends the lowest.

So, what day and time is best to post on Facebook? Midweek, from around lunch time into the evening, is a sensible starting point. The same caveat applies: these are averages, and the best times to post on Facebook for your page depend on your followers.

What is the best time to post on Facebook in Australia?

There’s no separate Australian study in the data above, so the best time to post on Facebook in Australia is the same pattern applied to your audience’s time zone. If most of your customers are in Victoria or New South Wales, use AEST or AEDT. For a business near the South Australian border, check where your followers actually live, as some may be on SA time.

To find the best time to post on Facebook (Australia or anywhere), open the Insights for your Page in Meta Business Suite, check when your followers are online, and test a few times over a month. Then keep a simple record of what worked.

Frequently asked questions

What time of day is best to post on Facebook?

Midday into the afternoon and early evening performed best in Sprout Social’s data, specifically 12pm to 8pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays in local time. Early mornings and late nights were generally weaker. Your own Page insights may show a different peak, so test it.

Does posting time really affect reach?

It can help, because a post that gets early likes and comments tends to be shown to more people. But content quality matters far more. A useful, interesting post will outperform a bland one regardless of when it goes up.

How often should a business post on Instagram and Facebook?

As often as you can post something worthwhile and keep it up. For many small businesses, two to five posts a week plus regular stories is realistic. Our article on how often small businesses should post goes into more detail.

Should you schedule posts in advance?

Yes. Scheduling lets you post at good times without being on your phone, and it keeps you consistent. Meta Business Suite lets you schedule Facebook and Instagram posts for free. Our guide to creating a social media plan covers building a content calendar.

The short version

Midweek afternoons, in your audience’s local time, are a good starting point for Instagram and Facebook, and weekends are usually weakest. Your own insights are the real answer, so test and track. If you’d rather someone else plan and schedule it, our social media management team can take it on.