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The best time to post on TikTok, from 1,332 posts that went viral.

Every TikTok post ID hides the second it was published. We decoded it for 1,332 slideshows that got millions of views, so you can see when hits actually went live, hour by hour and day by day, in your own time zone.

Good timing needs a good post. Type your app, get three slideshow ideas in about 20 seconds, free.

1,332 viral slideshows3.6M median views66% posted 12:00–24:00 UTC

The short answer

The best time to post on TikTok, going by when viral slideshows were published, is the afternoon in the US: two in three of the 1,332 hits in our library went out between 12:00 and 24:00 UTC (8 am to 8 pm New York time in summer), the busiest hour was 18:00 UTC (2 pm in New York), and Thursday and Sunday saw the most hits. The time your own followers are online beats any chart, including this one.

  • 18:00 UTCBusiest hour for viral posts: 94 of 1,332. That is 2 pm in New York, 11 am in Los Angeles, 7 pm in London.
  • Thu & SunThe days with the most hits, 222 and 209. Wednesday had the fewest, 166.
  • 06:00 UTCThe quietest hour, 26 hits. Late night in the Americas, early morning in Europe.

When viral slideshows went live, in your time zone.

Each square counts the viral slideshows published in that hour of that weekday. Pick a time zone and the whole map is redrawn from the exact timestamps, summer time included.

Viral slideshows by publish hour and weekday. Times in UTC.
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Read the map

Tap or focus a square to see how many viral slideshows went live in that hour. Use the arrow keys to move around the map.

Publish times are decoded from each post's ID, which stores the upload second in UTC. For 1,237 of the 1,332 posts the decoded date matches the date TikTok shows exactly; the rest differ by a day at most, because of time zones. Posts from November 2022 to October 2026, 21 niches.

What this chart can tell you, and what it can't.

This is when hits were posted. It is not proof that the hour made them hits. Three things in the data keep it honest.

  • 00:00–03:003.5M124 posts
  • 03:00–06:003.6M91 posts
  • 06:00–09:003.3M97 posts
  • 09:00–12:003.0M137 posts
  • 12:00–15:003.4M203 posts
  • 15:00–18:003.6M231 posts
  • 18:00–21:004.1M252 posts
  • 21:00–00:003.9M197 posts

Median views of the viral slideshows published in each three-hour block, UTC, out of 1,332.

3.0M to 4.1M

The publish hour moves the median less than you would think. Posts that went out 18:00 to 21:00 UTC (2 to 5 pm in New York) did best, with 4.1M. The weakest block, 09:00 to 12:00 UTC, still had 3.0M.

68% vs 66%

Of the 134 biggest hits (13.6M views or more), 68% went out after midday UTC, about the same as all hits. The very biggest posts were not more bunched into prime time.

3.6M at 4 am

The 112 hits posted 04:00 to 08:00 UTC, the dead of night in the US, have the same median views as the whole library. A post that catches on keeps getting shown for days.

Why the map still matters: more posts go up in the US afternoon, so more hits come from it. A busy square means many people posted then and some of it went viral, which tells you when the audience and the competition are both awake. It can't tell you the odds for a single post.

Why UTC: we know the exact second each post went live, but not where its creator or its viewers live. About 83% of the 1,303 posts in our research set with captions are in English, so US and UK audiences are likely the biggest share, which is why the page also gives New York and London times. Treat those as a reading, not a fact.

Why the usual best-time tables disagree with each other.

The big studies measure engagement on business accounts that use their scheduling tools. They are honest numbers about a different question, and they don't agree on the best day.

What it measuresBest time or dayWeekends
BufferMedian engagement rate of 7.1 million posts published through BufferSunday 9 am, then Monday 1 pmSaturday is the best day
Sprout SocialAbout 2 billion engagements on 307,000 customer profiles, Nov 2025 to Feb 2026Tuesday to Thursday, 2 to 6 pm local timeAvoid; Sunday is the worst day
HootsuiteAn analysis of 1 million social posts, 2025 data, localised to 118 countriesThursday 6 to 9 am, Saturday 10 am to 6 pmSaturday good, Sunday mornings
This pageWhen 1,332 slideshows that went viral were published, from the post ID18:00 UTC (2 pm ET); Thursday and SundaySunday has the strongest stretch of the week; weekend posts have a median of 3.8M views vs 3.5M on weekdays

Studies as published on each company's site, checked October 2026. Their times are local times; ours are UTC with conversions.

Best time to post on TikTok, day by day.

The real numbers for each weekday. Times are UTC, with New York and London in summer time; in winter both are an hour earlier on the clock. Small samples per day, so read the stretches, not single hours.

18:00 UTC is 2 pm in New York, 11 am in Los Angeles, 19:00 in London (summer time).

Best time to post on TikTok on Monday

Busiest stretch
16:00–19:00 UTC12 pm–3 pm New York, 17:00–20:00 London
Viral posts
19414.6% of all, 44 in that stretch
Median views
3.5Mbusiest hour 18:00 UTC
Quietest
05:00–08:00 UTC11 posts in 3 hours

Monday's hits arrive late. Two in three went out after midday UTC, building steadily from lunchtime in Europe to the US afternoon, with the busiest hour at 18:00 UTC. Mornings in Europe were thin.

The big studies for Monday, in local time: Buffer 1 pm, Sprout Social 3–5 pm, Hootsuite 5 pm.

Best time to post on TikTok on Tuesday

Busiest stretch
14:00–17:00 UTC10 am–1 pm New York, 15:00–18:00 London
Viral posts
20415.3% of all, 40 in that stretch
Median views
3.7Mbusiest hour 16:00 UTC
Quietest
04:00–07:00 UTC10 posts in 3 hours

Tuesday is the flattest weekday. The afternoon is busy but no single hour stands out, and Tuesday has more hits posted around midnight UTC (evening in the Americas) than any other day.

The big studies for Tuesday, in local time: Buffer 6 am, Sprout Social 2–6 pm, Hootsuite 10 am–1 pm.

Best time to post on TikTok on Wednesday

Busiest stretch
19:00–22:00 UTC3–6 pm New York, 20:00–23:00 London
Viral posts
16612.5% of all, 34 in that stretch
Median views
3.3Mbusiest hour 16:00 UTC
Quietest
06:00–09:00 UTC5 posts in 3 hours

Wednesday has the fewest hits of the week, and they are the most bunched into the second half of the day: seven in ten went out after midday UTC, with a second wave in the US afternoon.

The big studies for Wednesday, in local time: Buffer 10 pm, Sprout Social 1–8 pm, Hootsuite 4–6 pm.

Best time to post on TikTok on Thursday

Busiest stretch
16:00–19:00 UTC12 pm–3 pm New York, 17:00–20:00 London
Viral posts
22216.7% of all, 44 in that stretch
Median views
3.8Mbusiest hour 12:00 UTC
Quietest
01:00–04:00 UTC16 posts in 3 hours

Thursday has the most hits of any day and two bumps: one around 11:00 to 13:00 UTC, which is morning on the US East Coast and lunchtime in Europe, and a longer one from 16:00 to 19:00 UTC.

The big studies for Thursday, in local time: Buffer 1 pm, Sprout Social 1–5 pm, Hootsuite 7–9 am.

Best time to post on TikTok on Friday

Busiest stretch
18:00–21:00 UTC2–5 pm New York, 19:00–22:00 London
Viral posts
16912.7% of all, 38 in that stretch
Median views
3.3Mbusiest hour 15:00 UTC
Quietest
04:00–07:00 UTC7 posts in 3 hours

Friday starts slow and gets going from 15:00 UTC. Notice the dip at 21:00 UTC, Friday evening in Europe and late afternoon in New York, before one last bump.

The big studies for Friday, in local time: Buffer 6 pm, Sprout Social 3–5 pm, Hootsuite 4–6 pm.

Best time to post on TikTok on Saturday

Busiest stretch
20:00–23:00 UTC4–7 pm New York, 21:00–00:00 London
Viral posts
16812.6% of all, 35 in that stretch
Median views
3.9Mbusiest hour 22:00 UTC
Quietest
05:00–08:00 UTC10 posts in 3 hours

Saturday's hits are spread thin across the day, with the latest peak of the week at 22:00 UTC, which is 6 pm in New York. Saturday posts also have the highest median views of any day.

The big studies for Saturday, in local time: Buffer 5 pm, Sprout Social says to avoid it, Hootsuite 10 am–7 pm.

Best time to post on TikTok on Sunday

Busiest stretch
18:00–21:00 UTC2–5 pm New York, 19:00–22:00 London
Viral posts
20915.7% of all, 50 in that stretch
Median views
3.5Mbusiest hour 20:00 UTC
Quietest
02:00–05:00 UTC8 posts in 3 hours

Sunday has the second-most hits and the strongest stretch of the whole week, 18:00 to 21:00 UTC. Sprout's data says to avoid Sundays; the slideshows that went viral didn't.

The big studies for Sunday, in local time: Buffer 9 am, Sprout Social says to avoid it, Hootsuite 8 am–12 pm.

The worst time to post on TikTok is less bad than it looks.

04:00 to 08:00 UTC is the emptiest part of the map: only 8% of hits went out then. But the posts that did went just as far. These six were published in that window, the middle of the night in the US.

Posted between 04:00 and 08:00 UTC. Tap one to swipe through it.

A late post mostly costs you the first hour, when you would answer comments. If you post while your audience sleeps, the post waits for them. That's why the idea and the first slide matter more than the clock, and why we built our own library from what went viral, not from when. See how to go viral on TikTok for what the biggest hits had in common.

How to find your own best time to post on TikTok.

TikTok's own advice is to look at when your followers are active. Use the map above as your starting point, then let your account overrule it.

Check follower activity

In TikTok Studio, open Analytics and the Followers tab. Accounts with enough followers see when they are most active, by hour and by day, in your local time. A new account has no data yet, so start with the map.

Test two windows

Pick two stretches, say one from the map and one from your follower activity. Post similar posts in each for two weeks. Change only the time, or you won't know what made the difference.

Compare with your usual

Judge each post against the account's usual views, not against last week's best post. One lucky hit says nothing about an hour; a steady lift over ten posts does.

Once you have your times, keep them without setting alarms. TikTok's web uploader can schedule TikTok posts about 10 days ahead. Or let ClonBot's slideshow autopilot do the rest: it builds a slideshow every night for the day after tomorrow, you approve it, and it is posted to your TikTok at the times you chose. Results then compares each post with your account's usual views, which is the test in step three, done for you. For how many posts to plan around those times, see how often to post on TikTok.

Questions about posting times.

What is the best time to post on TikTok today?

Tap "Show today" on the map: it highlights today's column in your time zone and tells you the busiest three-hour stretch for that weekday. In our data the afternoon in the US is the safe bet every day, roughly 16:00 to 21:00 UTC, which is noon to 5 pm in New York in summer.

What time are you most likely to go viral on TikTok?

More viral slideshows were published at 18:00 UTC (2 pm in New York, 11 am in Los Angeles) than at any other hour: 94 of 1,332. Posts published 18:00 to 21:00 UTC also had the highest median views, 4.1M. That is when the most hits were posted, not a guarantee for any single post.

What is the peak hour for TikTok?

For viral slideshows, the peak publish hour was 18:00 UTC. Converted per post, the busiest hour was 2 pm in New York, 11 am in Los Angeles and 6 pm in London. For your own account, the peak is the hour your followers are most active in TikTok Analytics.

What is the best day to post on TikTok?

Thursday (222 hits) and Sunday (209) had the most viral slideshows in our library; Wednesday had the fewest (166). The gap between days is small next to the gap between hours, so pick your hours first. The studies disagree too: Buffer rates Saturday highest, Sprout says avoid weekends.

What time should I not post on TikTok?

The quietest stretch is 04:00 to 08:00 UTC (midnight to 4 am in New York, 5 to 9 am in London), when only 8% of hits went out. But the 112 hits posted then had the same median views as the rest, 3.6M. Avoid it mainly if you want to answer comments in the first hour.

What is the best time to post on TikTok in the UK?

Converted to UK time post by post, the most viral slideshows went out at 6 pm and 7 pm, with a busy evening until about 11 pm. Pick "London (UK)" on the map to see every hour in UK time, then check when your own followers are active.

What is the golden hour to post on TikTok?

There is no single golden hour that works for every account. If you need one starting point, 18:00 UTC was the busiest hour for viral posts, and the three hours after it had the highest median views. Then move it toward when your followers are online.

Do scheduled posts get fewer views?

TikTok hasn't said scheduled posts are treated differently, and a scheduled post goes out as a normal post. Schedule for a time when you can reply to the first comments. Our guide to scheduling TikTok posts covers the steps.

Keep reading

How to schedule TikTok postsSchedule TikTok posts in TikTok Studio on desktop or phone: steps, limits, photo posts and schedulers.TikTok slideshow automationAutopilot builds your app's TikTok slideshows every night, you approve them, and they post at your times.How often to postHow often viral TikTok accounts really posted, what studies say, and a planner for your posting schedule.Slideshow statistics32 citable TikTok slideshow statistics from 1,332 viral posts, with methodology, charts and a free CSV.How many views is viralHow many views is viral on TikTok: our 10x rule from 1,332 viral slideshows, plus a checker for your post.

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