Best Time to Post on LinkedIn: 3 Studies Compared

The best time to post on LinkedIn is a weekday, most often Tuesday to Thursday, in your audience's local time. Sprout Social's 2026 study favours 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Buffer's 2026 study favours 3 to 8 p.m., with Wednesday at 4 p.m. on top. Hootsuite points to early mornings. Use their overlap as a starting point, then test.

Last checked: 29 October 2026. These studies are updated every year or so.

In this guide

• What do the studies say is the best time to post on LinkedIn?
• What is the best day to post on LinkedIn?
• Which time zone should you post in?
• Why do the studies disagree?
• How do you find your own best time to post?
• Does posting time matter more than the post?
• FAQ

What do the studies say is the best time to post on LinkedIn?

Each study gives a different answer, but two of the three meet in the mid-week afternoon.

Here is what each one found. All times are the audience's local time.

The overlap is easy to miss. Buffer's strongest slot, Wednesday at 4 p.m., sits inside Sprout Social's Wednesday window. That makes it a sensible first test.

Hootsuite is the outlier. Its page also contradicts itself: the key takeaways say 8 to 9 a.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, while the body says early morning, 4 to 6 a.m. It is also the oldest of the three.

What is the best day to post on LinkedIn?

Wednesday is the safest single day, because all three studies rate it highly.

Beyond that, they split:

• Sprout Social says Tuesday to Thursday have the longest peaks, and weekends are the worst days.
• Buffer says Wednesday is best, followed by Thursday and Friday. It found Monday and Tuesday weakest, and weekend posts did better than early-week ones.
• Hootsuite says Tuesday and Wednesday, and calls weekends typically the worst.

So the weekend question has no settled answer. Sprout Social and Hootsuite say avoid it. Buffer's 2026 data says weekends beat Monday and Tuesday.

Which time zone should you post in?

Post in your audience's time zone, not your own.

Sprout Social and Buffer both give times in the audience's local time. If most of your readers are in London, a "4 p.m." slot means 4 p.m. in London, even if you live in New York.

If your audience is split, pick the region you most want to reach. On a Company Page, LinkedIn's follower analytics show where followers are based.

When you schedule, check which time zone the tool is using. LinkedIn converts scheduled times from your device's time zone. Monograph schedules in your device's time zone too, and the picker shows the zone next to the time you choose.

Why do the studies disagree?

They measure different accounts, in different ways, over different periods.

Sprout Social counts engagements across its customers' profiles on six networks and reports windows. Buffer counts LinkedIn posts sent through Buffer and ranks single hours by reactions, comments and reposts. Hootsuite studies its own sample across 118 countries.

Each one is an average of someone else's audience. A founder posting to UK engineers and a recruiter posting to US sales teams will not share the same best hour.

Buffer also notes a change over time. In its 2025 data, engagement fell off sharply after 5 p.m. In 2026, its peak shifted later into the evening. Habits move, so last year's answer may not hold.

How do you find your own best time to post?

Test two or three slots for a few weeks and compare the results.

A simple test looks like this:

1. Pick two slots. For example, Wednesday at 4 p.m. and Tuesday at 9 a.m. in your audience's time zone.
2. Keep everything else steady. Similar post types, similar length, a cadence you can keep.
3. Run it for three or four weeks. One post tells you very little. Patterns need several.
4. Compare like with like. Look at impressions and comments per post, not totals.
5. Keep the winner and test a new challenger.

The hardest part is posting at the same time every week. Scheduling helps. In Monograph, you can schedule a post from 10 minutes to 30 days ahead, and the calendar shows your week at a glance. If you already know where to find your scheduled LinkedIn posts, you can also use LinkedIn's own scheduler.

Does posting time matter more than the post?

No. Timing helps a good post reach more people, but it can't rescue a weak one.

Buffer makes a similar point: engagement doesn't guarantee reach, and many factors go into how posts are ranked. Timing is one lever among several.

If your posts aren't landing at any hour, the post is usually the place to start. Try a clearer idea from this list of LinkedIn content ideas, and make sure your posts sound like you, not like AI.

FAQ

Is it bad to post on LinkedIn at the weekend?

The studies disagree. Sprout Social and Hootsuite rate weekends worst, but Buffer's 2026 data found weekend posts did better than Monday and Tuesday ones. Test it if your audience reads at weekends.

Is morning or afternoon better on LinkedIn?

It depends on whose data you use. Hootsuite favours mornings, while Sprout Social and Buffer favour late morning through late afternoon. Afternoon has more support in the 2026 studies.

How often should I post on LinkedIn?

None of these studies sets a single right number. Pick a cadence you can keep for months, then test timing within it.

Do these times apply to Company Pages and personal profiles?

The studies mix both. Buffer says its findings apply whether you're growing a Page or a personal profile, but your own analytics are the better guide either way.