Best Time to Post on LinkedIn: Days and Hours for Company Pages
Ask five social media tools for the best time to post on LinkedIn and you get five answers. One says 11 a.m. Another says 4 p.m. A third gives you two different mornings on the same page.
The studies measure different accounts, rank by different metrics and often read different clocks. This guide compares the 2025 and 2026 studies, separates company pages from personal profiles, and shows how to find your own window. For Instagram, see our guide to the best time to post on Instagram.
The short answer: weekdays, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
As a first test, the best time to post on LinkedIn is a weekday between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. in your audience's time zone, with Tuesday to Thursday first in line. Sprout Social, Metricool and SocialPilot all touch that window. Buffer points later in the day, so test before you settle.
Five studies, side by side
| Study | Data period | Sample | Time zone | Best days | Best hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sprout Social, 2026 | Nov 27, 2025 to Feb 27, 2026 | Nearly 2 billion engagements on 307,000 profiles across six networks; LinkedIn share not given | Audience's local time | Monday to Friday, longest peaks Tuesday to Thursday | Peaks start at 11 a.m. most weekdays (by day below) |
| Buffer, 2026 | Not stated (Buffer has run the analysis for about two years) | More than 4.8 million LinkedIn posts | Local time | Wednesday, then Thursday and Friday | 3 to 8 p.m. on weekdays |
| Hootsuite, 2025 | Not stated; heat maps cite Q4 2024 | More than 1 million social posts; LinkedIn share not given | Local time across 118 countries | Tuesday and Wednesday | The page says both 8 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 a.m. |
| SocialPilot, 2025 | "Five years," no dates | More than 683,000 posts from 47,672 accounts | Eastern Time (EST) | Tuesday to Thursday | Three slots per weekday between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (by day below) |
| Metricool, 2026 | Jan-Feb 2026 vs. Jan-Feb 2025 | 673,658 posts from 63,108 company pages and personal profiles | Not stated | Weekdays; its language editions disagree on the top day | 9 a.m. to noon, peak 11 a.m. |
Why the studies disagree
- Who is in the sample. Sprout does not describe whose profiles it measured. Buffer describes its users as creators, small businesses and marketers.
- What counts as success. Buffer ranks by engagement (reactions, comments and reposts) without publishing a formula, so its best hour may reward different behavior than another study's.
- Which clock. In the local-time studies, 11 a.m. means 11 a.m. where your followers are. SocialPilot's hours are EST. Metricool's hours have no stated clock, so read them as a rough shape of the day.
Best time to post on LinkedIn by day
Hours below are in each study's own clock. Buffer's column shows its top slot for each day.
| Day | Sprout Social (local) | Buffer (local) | SocialPilot (EST) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 1 to 2 p.m. | 10 p.m. | 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 4 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. | 4 p.m. | 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 4 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. | 4 p.m. | 10 a.m., noon, 2 p.m. |
| Thursday | 11 a.m., 1 to 5 p.m. | 5 p.m. | 10 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. |
| Friday | 11 a.m., 1 to 2 p.m. | 3 p.m. | 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m. |
| Saturday | Avoid | 9 a.m. | 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. |
| Sunday | Avoid | 10 p.m. | 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. |
Buffer calls Monday its weakest day and finds mornings (6 to 11 a.m.) weaker than afternoons. SocialPilot sees dips on Monday and Friday. All three agree on midweek.
Best time to post on LinkedIn by industry
Sprout Social has the most complete industry breakdown, in local time. The weekend is the weakest stretch in every industry.
| Industry | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Education and schools | 2 p.m., 4 p.m. | 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | 11 a.m.-4 p.m. | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | Noon |
| Financial services | 10 a.m., noon-1 p.m. | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | 8 a.m., 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | 8 a.m.-2 p.m. | 11 a.m. |
| Government | 1 p.m., 3 p.m. | 10 a.m.-1 p.m., 3-5 p.m. | 11 a.m.-noon, 2-5 p.m. | 10 a.m.-5 p.m. | 3 p.m. |
| Hospitals and healthcare | 1-2 p.m. | 10 a.m.-2 p.m., 4 p.m. | 11 a.m.-5 p.m. | 9 a.m.-4 p.m. | 1 p.m. |
| Nonprofits | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 10-11 a.m. |
| Retail | Noon | 10 a.m.-noon, 3 p.m. | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 8 a.m.-3 p.m. | 9 a.m.-noon, 2-3 p.m. |
| Technology and software | Noon-1 p.m. | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | 11 a.m.-1 p.m., 3 p.m. |
| Travel and hospitality | 11 a.m.-noon | 10 a.m.-2 p.m. | 10 a.m.-4 p.m. | 10 a.m.-3 p.m. | 11 a.m., 1-3 p.m. |
Two other studies add industries Sprout leaves out:
- Hootsuite (local time): real estate, legal and professional services, Thursday 8 to 10 a.m.
- SocialPilot (EST): marketing and advertising, Tuesday to Thursday, 9 a.m. to noon; HR and recruitment, Tuesday and Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon.
Company page vs. personal profile
Most studies blend company pages and personal profiles. Metricool's 2026 study separates them, and two numbers matter.
Company pages get more than half of their impressions in the first 48 hours, according to Metricool's study page. Personal profiles get more than 43% in their first 48 hours.
Personal profiles also average a 63% higher engagement rate than company pages (Metricool, 2026). If a founder reshares page posts, test both accounts: the founder's followers may keep different hours from the page's. Our guide to LinkedIn profiles and company pages covers when each one fits.
What LinkedIn says about timing
In 2017, Alexandra Rynne, then a social strategy lead at LinkedIn, wrote on the LinkedIn Marketing Blog that a universal best time does not exist ("No such thing exists.") and that "your own research is the only way to truly know." She added that LinkedIn's internal data showed activity rising before work, around lunch and in the early evening. Read that as LinkedIn's position, not a current benchmark.
In 2020 LinkedIn Engineering explained that the feed measures dwell time, starting when at least half of an update is visible. Updates that people scroll past too fast count as skips and lower the score. LinkedIn has published no weight for posting time. A good hour puts the post in front of people who are awake; whether they stop and read decides the rest.
LinkedIn Page analytics also leaves a gap: it does not show when your followers are online. Follower analytics shows location, seniority, job function, industry and company size. Visitor analytics shows traffic and visitor demographics. Neither has an hour-of-day view.
How to find your own best time
The studies give you candidates; your page decides.
- Pick the clock. Open Follower analytics and look at location. Use the time zone where most followers sit. A hypothetical Chicago agency with mostly London followers should read local-time studies in UK time.
- Pick two or three windows. For example, Tuesday at 11 a.m., Wednesday at 1 p.m. and Thursday at 4 p.m., which covers the Metricool, Sprout and Buffer readings.
- Hold everything else steady. Post comparable content in each window for three to four weeks.
- Compare at the same age. Read each post's impressions and engagement at the same point, such as 48 hours after publishing.
- Repeat each quarter. Audiences shift with hiring seasons, holidays and new followers.
Later ran this kind of check on its own account and landed on weekdays around 8 a.m. and 1 p.m. EST (Later, 2025). That is a single team's result, and it is the kind of answer you want for your own page.
Where Zynta Flow fits
Zynta Flow schedules and publishes to LinkedIn personal profiles and company pages (how to publish to a LinkedIn company page automatically). Each scheduled post keeps its own time zone, which defaults to your browser's. Carousels of two or more slides go out as a PDF document, LinkedIn's carousel format (how to make a LinkedIn carousel). Scheduling is free; publishing costs 5 credits per post per network, and a failed post costs nothing.
The Best time button covers only Instagram for now. Even so, the dashboard flags a scheduled post that lands in a 3-hour slot at least 30% weaker than your best one, LinkedIn pages included, once Zynta Flow has published at least 10 posts on that network and 5 per slot. Zynta Flow's analytics for a LinkedIn page shows impressions, clicks, likes, comments, shares, engagement and followers, and each post Zynta Flow published there shows its views, likes, comments and shares.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to post on LinkedIn?
No single hour works for every account. The studies overlap most on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in your audience's time zone, Tuesday to Thursday first. Start there and test.
What is the best day to post on LinkedIn?
Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday lead in Sprout Social and SocialPilot, and Buffer names Wednesday its top day. All the major studies rank weekdays ahead of the weekend.
Is it better to post on LinkedIn in the morning or the afternoon?
The studies split. Metricool peaks at 11 a.m., Sprout Social runs from late morning through the afternoon, and Buffer favors 3 to 8 p.m. Test one window of each.
Should I post on LinkedIn on weekends?
Usually not as a first choice. Sprout Social, SocialPilot, Hootsuite and Metricool rank the weekend lowest, and Buffer calls it quiet. If your audience works weekends, test it before you drop it.
Is the best time different for a company page and a personal profile?
No study splits best hours by account type. Metricool's 2026 study found that company pages get more than half of their impressions in 48 hours and that personal profiles average a 63% higher engagement rate. Test each account separately.
Can LinkedIn analytics show when my followers are online?
No. Page analytics shows follower location and demographics, nothing by hour of day. Use location to pick the time zone, then test to find the hour.
Put this into practice
Zynta Flow turns a topic into a finished, on-brand carousel in minutes and schedules it to Instagram and LinkedIn. Try it free for 30 days with 350 credits, no card required.
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