The Best Time to Post on TikTok in 2021

If you’re trying to grow your TikTok following, you’re probably wondering, “What is the best time to post on TikTok?”

But this is a difficult question to answer – especially as TikTok moves fast.

The platform now has a whopping 800 million active users worldwide – and growing. Teenagers using the platform have become global stars overnight. And trends on TikTok move at the speed of light.

As a result, TikTok growth tactics are continually changing and evolving. 

Still, a little strategy is better than no strategy, right? Especially when you can help boost engagement and grow your followers by sharing content when most of your audience is online.

In this article, we’ll share with you the latest research on the global best times to post on TikTok. You’ll also learn how to use TikTok analytics to discover the best time to post on TikTok for your audience.

Sound good? Let’s dive in.

What is the Best Time to Post on TikTok in 2021?

In general, the global best times to post on TikTok are 6 to 10 in the morning, and 7 to 11 in the evening, in Eastern Standard Time (EST).

Let’s take a closer look.

Influencer Marketing Hub conducted a study of more than 100,00 posts to answer the question, “What is the best time to post on TikTok?” 

They discovered the best times to post for each day of the week. Here are the results written in Eastern Standard Time (EST):

• Mon: 6 am / 10 am / 10 pm
• Tues: 2 am / 4 am / *9 am
• Wed: 7 am / 8 am / 11 am
• Thur: 9 am / *12 pm / 7 pm
• Fri: *5 am / 1 pm / 3 pm
• Sat: 11 am / 7 pm / 8 pm
• Sun: 7 am / 8 am / 4 pm

(* Times marked with an asterisk offer especially high levels of engagement.)

The study found that the highest levels of engagement happen at 9 am on Tuesday, 12 pm on Thursday, and 5 am on Friday.

Here’s a visual illustration to make it easier to understand the global best times to post on TikTok in 2021:

Remember, these times are in Eastern Standard Time (EST). So, you’ll need to use a conversion tool to work out the best time to upload a video on TikTok where your audience is based.

You can use free online tools like Savvy Time or The Time Zone Converter to do this.

But how do you know exactly where your audience is based? Keep reading to find out.

The Best Time to Post a TikTok Video is Different for Everyone

The global best times to post on TikTok are an excellent place to start. But in reality, every creator, influencer, or brand will have slightly different best times to post on TikTok.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.

Why? Every creator and following is different! Your target audience’s location, interests, age, and gender will all play a part.

So, if you want to get a leg-up on the competition and you’re serious about finding the best time to post on TikTok, there are a few ways you can do it – and this article is going to show you exactly how.

How to Discover the Best Times to Post on TikTok for Your Audience

TikTok provides a way to find tons of info about your content and followers – where is this info? In TikTok analytics.

Although not an exact science, everything you need to figure out the best time to post a TikTok video is displayed in your account’s analytics –  including detailed information on when your audience is most active.

So, how can you access TikTok analytics?

Step 1: Get a Pro Account to Access TikTok Analytics

Before you can see your analytics, you need to upgrade to a TikTok Pro account – this will only take a minute.

Let’s run through how to get a TikTok Pro account, step-by-step. First, tap the three dots indicating a menu at the top-right of your profile.

Next, tap on “Manage my account.”

From here, tap “Switch to Pro Account” to begin the process.

Select your account type and follow the directions to complete the process. 

Once you’re done, you’ll be sent back to your account menu, and you should receive a notification clarifying that you’ve upgraded to a TikTok pro account.

At this point, you’ll be able to see a new menu item: Analytics!

Step 2: Familiarize Yourself with TikTok Analytics

Before we continue, let’s take a moment to become familiar with the analytics tool. 

In the analytics section, you’ll find three tabs:

• Overview: This tab provides a bird-eye-view of your video views, followers, and profile views.
• Content: Here, you can find metrics on your posts, such as views, likes, comments, and average watch time.
• Followers: This tab allows you to discover information about your follower growth, what content they’ve engaged with, and where they’re located.

Step 3: Find Out Your Audiences’ Location

The best time to post on TikTok is mainly dependent on where your audience is located. So that’s what we’ll check out first.

Go to the Followers tab and scroll down to view the top territories. This section makes it easy to learn where your followers are based.

In the example below from TikTok expert Rachel Pederson, you can see that the vast majority of her audience is based in the U.S. – she also has a large number of followers in Iraq. 

Once you know where most of your followers are based, you can use the global best times to post on TikTok mentioned above to predict when your audience is most likely to be online.

Don’t forget to convert the global best times to your Top Territory’s timezone!

Unfortunately, TikTok only provides the name of the country where your audience is based. This presents a problem if your audience is based primarily in the U.S. because the country spans multiple time zones.

For example, if you’re based in New York, you might assume that most of your audience is on the east coast of America. However, you could have many followers based in California. In this case, if you post at 7 am, it’s likely that most of your Californian followers would still be in bed!

Still, don’t worry.

If your audience is based primarily in the U.S., there are things you can do to get around this problem – keep reading to learn more.

Step 4: Discover When Your Followers Are Most Engaged

You can gain more insight into the best time to post on TikTok by identifying when your audience is most engaged.

To do this, head to the Followers tab and scroll down to see your follower activity.

In another example from TikTok expert Rachel Pedersen, you can see that her follower activity is pretty much the same throughout the week.

Plus, in the image below showing engagement for one particular day, you can see that Pederson’s follower activity was highest between 11 am and 7 pm – spiking from 4 pm to 7 pm.

This information can help you to identify the best time to post a TikTok video to maximize engagement.

Step 5: Convert the Times Shown into Your Timezone

All information in TikTok analytics is recorded in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC).

As a result, you’ll need to convert the hours that your followers are most active into the timezones of your audience’s location.

Let’s run an example of how to do this

Say that TikTok shows that your follower activity spikes between 4 pm and 6 pm UTC. If your audience is based mostly in Italy, you could use Savvy Time to discover that the best time to post on TikTok would be 6 pm to 9 pm.

Step 6: Learn From Your High-Performing Content

Now, let’s take a look at your highest-performing content to keep honing in on the best time to post on TikTok.

To start, tap “Content” at the top of the TikTok analytics page. Here you’ll be able to see how your posts have performed over the last seven days.

Scroll down the page to see your trending videos, then tap on a post to see more details about it.

For each post, you’ll be able to see how many views, likes, comments, and shares it received. You’ll also find out the average watch time and where the post’s views came from. 

Here’s an example from BMX TikToker Lachlan Kirkwood:

So, how can you use this information to work out the best time to post on TikTok?

When looking at the metrics for your most successful posts, check the date and time that you shared the post – it’s at the top of the page underneath the video thumbnail.

Now, the aim is to try to make a connection between the time and day that you shared the post, and the results it achieved.

Is there a pattern?

For example, if all of your most successful videos were posted on Friday evenings, you know that’s one of the best times to post on TikTok!

Remember, all data in TikTok is recorded in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), so you’ll need to convert the times into your follower’s top territory.

Step 7: Track Your Content Performance Over Time

It can be challenging to spot patterns in your TikTok analytics reliably. Any decision you make is bound to be a little inaccurate and involve some guesswork.

What’s more, the app only shows the last seven days of content and deletes analytic data after just 28 days.

So, if you really want to find the best time to post on TikTok, you need to get a little scientific. 

How? Reporting.

This can be a little time-consuming, but it’s a simple process. All you need to do is create a Microsoft Excel or Google Sheet and input the data for each of your posts.

Here’s an example of what it might look like:

Over time, this information can be very valuable. You can sort this information by views or territory and use it to discover the best times to post on TikTok. 

You can also use this information to work out what type of content performs best. 

For example, you might notice that your comedy clips perform exceptionally well, and your dance clips seem to get the least amount of likes. In this case, you can ease back on the dance clips and focus on producing more comedy clips to grow your following.

Step 8: Check Out Other Platforms

Do you have an active audience on another platform such as Instagram or YouTube? Do you produce similar content for the same target audience?

If so, you could use your other social media accounts to help you figure out the best time to post on TikTok. Simply head over to your other accounts and take a look at the analytics.

To learn more, check out our analytics guides on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter.

Summary: The Best Time to Upload a Video on TikTok in 2021 

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, in general, the global best times to post on TikTok are 6 am to 10 am and 7 pm to 11 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST).

However, the best times will be slightly different for every creator.

Here’s a quick summary of the steps you can take to discover the best time to post a TikTok video to maximize audience engagement:

1. Get a TikTok Pro account to gain access to analytics about your content and followers.
2. Find out where your audience is based in the Followers tab.
3. Convert the global best times to post on TikTok (mentioned above in EST) to your audience’s timezone.
4. Discover when your followers are most engaged under the Followers tab. Then convert the time’s listed in TikTok (which are in UTC) to your audience’s time zone.
5. Look at post analytics under the Content tab – is there a pattern of videos performing well when they’re posted at certain times?
6. Track your video’s performance over time to identify trends that tell you the best time to post on TikTok.
7. If you have an engaged audience on another platform like Instagram or YouTube, check out the analytics to see if they can inform when your target audience is the most engaged on social media.

Have you found a specific time to post on TikTok that works best? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

Want to Learn More?

• 10 TikTok Statistics That You Need to Know in 2021 [Infographic]
• The Ultimate Guide to Instagram Video for Businesses
• The 20 Most Liked Instagram Photos
• 10 Best Side Hustle Ideas to Make an Extra $1,000 a Month

FAQs on The Best Time to Post on TikTok in 2021

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

According to a study, the best times to post on TikTok in the UK are:

• Monday: 11am, 3pm, and 3am
• Tuesday: 7am, 9am, and 2pm
• Wednesday: 12pm, 1pm, and 4pm
• Thursday: 2pm, 5pm, and 12am
• Friday: 10am, 6pm, and 8pm
• Saturday: 4pm, 12am, and 1am
• Sunday: 12pm, 1pm, and 9pm

Engagement levels are especially high on Tuesdays at 2pm and Fridays at 10am.

Does it matter when you post on TikTok?

Yes, the time you post on TikTok is very important because it determines how many users see your content.

You should be posting on TikTok when most people are logged into the platform and browsing through the content. By doing so, you ensure your content reaches more eyes and your TikTok posts receive maximum engagement.

Is it bad to post Tiktoks late at night?

No, posting TikToks late at night isn't bad. Whether or not you should do it depends on your target audience.

For instance, according to a study of TikTok content, the global best times to post on TikTok include 7pm, 8pm, and 10pm Eastern Standard Time (EST). If you're in the UK, these would be 12am, 1am, and 3am.