Best time to post on Facebook
The best time to post on Facebook is when your own audience is scrolling, which changes by industry and day of the week. Pick your audience type to see a day-by-hour engagement heatmap, plus the three windows worth scheduling around.
Best window
Tue, 7 PM–9 PM
#2 window
Wed, 7 PM–9 PM
#3 window
Thu, 7 PM–9 PM
General audience: A solid default when you post across many different joined groups.
Groups and Pages don't share a clock. Group posts get most of their engagement in the first 2 to 3 hours, so hitting the start of a peak window matters more than for a Page, where reach is throttled regardless of timing.
What is the single best time to post on Facebook?
For most audiences, the strongest windows are 8 to 10 AM and 7 to 9 PM on Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday. B2B audiences lean more toward weekday mornings, while consumer and ecommerce audiences engage more in evenings and on weekends.
How to use the best time heatmap
Two choices, then read the map. Darker cells mean more activity.
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Pick your industry or audience
Choose the option closest to your customers, such as Local business (B2C), Real estate or Ecommerce / products. If none fits, start with General audience.
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Shift for your time zone
The map starts in your audience’s local time. If you live in a different time zone from most of your customers, set the shift so the same windows show on your own clock.
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Note the top windows
Look for the darkest cells and the three windows listed under the map. Those are your first candidates for scheduling.
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Test, then schedule
Try one window for two weeks and another for two weeks, then keep the one that gets more comments. Schedule your posts to start at the beginning of that window.
How to read the heatmap
Each cell is an estimate of how active that audience type tends to be at that hour on that day. It is a pattern across many accounts, not a measurement of your groups. Your own groups may be busiest at different times, for example a parents group that comes alive after school pickup, or a contractors group that is busiest before 7 AM. Use the map as your starting point, then let your own results fine-tune your timing.
Why timing matters more in groups than on Pages
Group feeds favor recent posts that get early comments. If your post goes out just as members start scrolling, it has more chances to collect those first comments and stay visible. Post in the middle of the night and it can sink under newer posts before anyone sees it. That is why scheduling, rather than posting whenever you remember, makes such a difference for group marketing.
Tips for posting at the right time
- Post at the start of a busy window, not the end
- Keep the same time each week so members come to expect you
- Check each group’s promo day rules before you schedule
- Use comments, not likes, to judge which time works
- Spread a large group list across the window with delays
- Retest every few months, habits change with the seasons
In PilotPoster
Schedule every group to hit your best window
Once you know your window, the PilotPoster Facebook group scheduler posts to every group you have joined right in that window, organically and on autopilot. Set a campaign to repeat weekly and your best time keeps working for you, week after week, while you focus on your customers. See recurring posts for every setting.
Facebook group schedulerRecurring Facebook group postsBest time to post in Facebook groups (guide)
Next step · Free playbook
Chapter 08: Measure and Double Down
A 30-minute monthly review that finds your best groups, posts, and times, then puts more of your effort exactly where the customers come from.
Read the chapter →Related free tools
- Safe Posting Delay Calculator Find a sensible delay, in minutes, between group posts and see how long a run takes.
- Facebook Engagement Calculator Calculate your engagement rate from reactions, comments, and shares against audience-size benchmarks.
- Facebook Group Post Ideas A library of copy-and-paste post ideas for every niche, organized by goal.
Or browse all free Facebook tools.
Timing questions
What is the best time to post on Facebook?
For most audiences, 8 to 10 AM and 7 to 9 PM, Tuesday through Thursday, are strong starting windows. The exact window shifts by audience: business audiences lean toward weekday mornings, while shoppers and local families tend to be more active in the evenings and on weekends.
What time is best to post in Facebook groups?
Aim for the start of a busy window rather than the middle. A group post gets most of its comments in the first few hours, so posting just as members start scrolling gives it the best chance to stay near the top of the group feed. Then test against your own groups.
How do I find the best time for my specific groups?
Use the heatmap as a starting point, then run a simple test: post at your morning window for two weeks, then your evening window for two weeks, with the same kind of content. Compare comments, not just likes, since comments are the clearer sign that a post landed.
Does the time zone matter?
Yes. The heatmap shows hours in your audience’s local time. If you live in a different time zone from most of your customers, use the shift so the windows line up with your own clock. A bakery in Ohio posting to Ohio groups needs no shift at all.
Can PilotPoster post to my groups at the right time automatically?
Yes. You pick the date and time in the schedule step, and PilotPoster starts posting to your chosen groups right on time. Set the campaign to repeat weekly and your best window keeps working for you.
4.5 on the Chrome Web Store
Now schedule every group to hit that window
PilotPoster posts to every group you have joined at your best time, automatically, so every post lands when your customers are scrolling.