Timing can make or break many things: heating leftover pizza in the microwave, delivering a punchline for a joke, booking Era’s Tour concert tickets — and it’s no less important when it comes to the best time to post on Twitter.
The social media platform now known as X is evolving, but the factors you should consider if you’re looking to grow your following have largely stayed the same.
Posting your tweets at the right time might not be as critical as, say, preventing soggy pizza, but it’s still an important consideration when it comes to your social media marketing strategy. You might be thinking: X no longer has a chronological feed — how can the time you post matter so much when Twitter’s algorithm is in the driver’s seat?
Posting times might not be as vital as they were in Twitter’s early days, but they still seem to affect content performance. Remember: X/Twitter’s algorithm values engagement — which is why we used engagement rate as the metric to measure the success of more than 1 million tweets sent through Buffer.
Our findings were fascinating — we uncovered definite patterns in what posting times tend to get more engagement than others, what days of the week are the best (and worst), plus which content type seems to get the most engagement.
Let’s take a closer look.
The best time to post on Twitter/X
The best time to post on Twitter or X is at 11 a.m. on Monday and 11 a.m. on Friday. Tweets posted at those times tend to have the highest engagement rates, according to Buffer’s analysis of more than 1 million tweets.
Tweeting at 11 a.m. on most weekdays yields solid engagement on most days of the week, which makes sense. According to demographic data from Statista, almost 40 percent of Twitter users are between 25 and 34 and are likely to check the app during their lunch breaks or downtime.
Engagement tends to climb from the early morning on weekdays, peaking at around midday, then peters out by about 5 p.m. as the workday ends.
Plenty of other times see great results on the app, and are worth adding to your social media content calendar.
Unlike other social media platforms, Twitter has more users who are both night owls and early birds. Posts shared at midnight on Sunday, Thursday, and Friday tend to perform well. Monday at 4 a.m. is also an excellent engagement time — if you ever needed a reason to get a social media management tool like Buffer to schedule your tweets, this is it!
Let’s take a closer look at the best times to tweet.
The best time to post on Twitter/X on Monday
The best time to post on Twitter on Monday is at 11 a.m. It’s one of the post times that sees the most engagement throughout the week. Other peak times are in the early hours at 4 a.m. and then when work winds down, at 4 p.m.
⏰ When to post on Twitter/X on Monday: 12 p.m.
The best time to post on Twitter/X on Tuesday
The best time to post on Twitter on Tuesday is 11 a.m. Other time frames that perform well are 4 p.m. and 9 a.m., respectively.
⏰ When to post on Twitter/X on Tuesday: 11 a.m.
The best time to post on Twitter/X on Wednesday
The best time to post on Twitter on Wednesday is 12 p.m., with other optimal posting times at 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
⏰ When to post on Twitter/X on Wednesday: 2 p.m.
The best time to post on Twitter/X on Thursday
The best time to post on Twitter on Thursday is midnight, at 12 p.m. If you’re not a night owl (or using a social media scheduling tool), 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. are also great posting times,
⏰ When to post on Twitter/X on Thursday: 12 p.m.
The best time to post on Twitter/X on Friday
The best time to post on Twitter on Friday is 11 a.m., one of the most ideal times to tweet overall. Other times to add to your posting schedule are 12 a.m. and 1 p.m.
⏰ When to post on Twitter/X on Friday: 11 a.m.
The best time to post on Twitter/X on Saturday
The best time to post on Twitter on Saturday is between 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., with 10 p.m. being the posting time that tends to get the best engagement. Even with these peak hours, there are better days to tweet than Saturday (more on this below).
⏰ When to post on Twitter/X on Saturday: 10 p.m.
The best time to post on Twitter/X on Sunday
The best time to post on Twitter on Sunday is 7 p.m. Tweeting at midnight is another good option, with 3 p.m. also peaking slightly (but notably behind the other time slots).
At a glance: The best times to post on Twitter/X for each day of the week
Monday: 4 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4 p.m.Tuesday: 9 a.m., 11 a.m., and 4. p.m.Wednesday: 12 p.m., 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.Thursday: 12 a.m., 10 a.m., and 11 a.m.Friday: 12 a.m., 11 a.m., and 1 p.m.Saturday: 8 p.m., 9 p.m., and 10 p.m.Sunday: 12 a.m., 3 p.m., and 7 p.m.
The best (and worst days) of the week to post on Twitter/X
The best day of the week to tweet is on Monday. Friday comes in second place in terms of engagement on the platform, and Tuesday comes third (though Wednesday and Thursday aren’t too far behind).
The worst day of the week to post on Twitter is Saturday, with Sunday only slightly better. While some posting times seem to see solid engagement on the weekend (Sunday in particular — see above), you’re probably better off sticking to tweeting on weekdays.
The best type of content to post on Twitter/X
It’s no secret that video is the most engaging content format across social media platforms — X is no different. I predict this will become even more important as X continues to evolve under its new leadership.
The X team is doubling down on video capabilities, launching live streams and video downloads (for X Premium subscribers) in 2023. They’re even developing their own video content, with new shows hosted by an ex-CNN journalist, a former politician, and a sports radio host to come — which is telling.
Interestingly, text-only tweets are still a great option for generating Twitter engagement on the old microblogging platform, coming second only to video.
After that, retweets, links, and images tend to generate the lowest engagement of all the tweets we analyzed.
The best time for you to post on Twitter/X
While tweeting at specific times may yield brilliant results right out the gate, it’s not a given that some timing tweaks will supercharge your content’s performance on X.
How come? Well, all target audiences are different. The timing that works to engage one cohort may not work for another. While the general best times to post on Twitter are a great jumping-off point, it’s important to fine-tune your social media strategy and figure out what gets the best results for you.
Here are two ways you can find out the best time to post on Twitter for your specific audience:
1. Find the best time to tweet using Buffer
Buffer’s X analytics compares the performance of all your tweets and connects the dots for you. Here, you’ll find recommendations for:
The best day of the week for you to postThe best content format to post (image, video, text, or link)How often to post per day or week
To find them:
Make sure your X profile is connected as a channel in Buffer.Head to the Analytics tab at the top left. Here, you’ll find your Analytics Overview. You’ll see how your content has performed over the period you set with the date dropdown on the top right.Click on the Posts tab to see the performance of specific tweets and hashtags.Click on the Answers tab. You’ll find all of the recommendations I mentioned above in this window.
🎉 Try out Buffer’s Analytics for free for 14 days, so you can put all the features I’ve mentioned in this article to the test. (We offer basic analytics on our free plan too!) Get started here →
2. Find the best time to tweet with Twitter Analytics
Pinpointing out your best time to post on Twitter with the native analytics tools requires a little more manual work, but it’s still possible!
To access your analytics, log in to your Twitter account, then navigate to analytics.twitter.com. You see an overview page like the one below. In the blue box at the top of the screen, click the link in “You can access your post Analytics and download reports here” for a more detailed view.Click on Top posts underneath the graph to see your best content. Then, change the date range on the top right to a period longer than 28 days — I’d recommend 90.Compare your top ten posts or more. It could be helpful to map out the content, engagement rate, and time the tweet was published in a spreadsheet to help you find patterns (you’ll have to click on the time stamp at the top of each tweet to grab the exact day and time). Note down any commonalities between your best tweets. Was there a specific day that saw higher engagement? A time period where you got more comments? Beyond looking for patterns in posting time, make a note of similarities in content while you’re at it. Does your audience tend to respond better to videos, too?
Your checklist for high-performing X/Twitter posts
Nailing down the best time to tweet can give your content a better chance of success — but even the perfect time is not a magic spell for going viral on Twitter.
There are a host of factors at play here when it comes to success on the platform. If you want to grow your following on X and reach a wider audience, tick all the boxes below.
Conduct a profile audit: A half-finished or unappealing profile won’t earn you any new followers. Make sure your Twitter profile is complete, with a high-quality profile picture and cover image, a thorough bio, and a link-in-bio URL. Comment on global events: X is where folks turn for up-to-the-minute, real-time news and commentary. If something is gaining traction in your niche, share your opinion. Post visual content: As discussed above, video tends to perform best, but it’s worth experimenting with photos and other images to see what resonates with your followers.Connect with your followers: Don’t post and ghost — remember that Twitter is a social platform. Engage with your followers by responding to their comments and DMs and connecting with other Twitter influencers/creators in your niche. Lean into strong hooks: Gain followers by getting your audience emotionally invested from the very first line. Use a strong statement, a straightforward question, an eye-popping statistic, or a teaser that hints at an unfolding story.Share real-life stories: Connect with your audience on a human level by sharing relatable content about your life. Be consistent: X is a particularly fast-paced platform — post daily (or multiple times if you have the bandwidth) if you’re committed to growing your audience. Keep an eye on your analytics: Use the methods above to learn from your metrics and take action.Consider X Premium: Buffer’s Tami Oladipo put X Premium to the test and uncovered what seemed to be an uptick in post performance.
For more details on the above, be sure to check out our guide to getting more followers on Twitter.
What have you found most helpful when determining your best time to post on X/Twitter? Let us know @buffer on all our social media accounts!
