Does it really matter when you post on Reddit? The evidence says yes - it makes a huge difference! Posting at the right time increases your post's viewership and gets you more upvotes. So, when is the best time to post on Reddit for engagement and maximize your chance of going viral?
Best time to post to Reddit
Reddit is being bombarded with new content around the clock. It's difficult to get noticed without an existing following.
One of the ways you can get more attention is by posting when the subreddit traffic is high.
Best time to post on Reddit on weekdays
On weekdays, the best time to post on Reddit is the early mornings - roughly 6 to 8 AM US Central Time. Posts uploaded during this time consistently perform well.
But why target mornings in the United States, in particular? Just under half of Reddit's traffic comes from the US. To put that into perspective, Reddit's second largest traffic source is the UK at a comparatively meager 7%.
It goes without saying that you have to cater to the US audience to get the best results.
US-based Redditors typically wake up at 7:20 AM. After waking up, they check their phones for updates and browse through Reddit. That's when site-wide activity peaks.
It then slowly drops as people head off to work.
By posting to Reddit between 6 and 8 AM, your posts show on the feed when most people are scrolling.
There's another spike in activity in the evenings as people return home. However, it isn't nearly as large, so posting in the evening shouldn't be your first choice.
Best time to post on Reddit on weekends
The best posting times on weekends are pretty much the same. The only difference is that people tend to get an extra hour or two of sleep before waking up.
This allows you to post a bit later without missing out on much peak traffic.
The ideal posting time is roughly 6 to 10 AM US Central Time on weekends.
Best times to post to Reddit overall
The submission score is the upvote minus the downvote count of a post. Posts that rack up a lot of upvotes quickly get featured on the hot page.
That is where most Redditors hang out. It's where you want your posts to be to get the most visibility. And you have the best chance of getting there by utilizing the best times to post on Reddit (in order):
- Monday: 6-8 AM.
- Saturday: 6-8 AM.
- Sunday: 6-10 AM.
All times are in CST (Central Standard Time). To convert them to your local time, you can use this converter.
Posting early in the morning on weekdays is suboptimal, but only by a little. You don't have to wait for the weekend if you forgot to post on Monday.
The worst time to post is after midnight. No surprise there; everyone's asleep. Subreddit activity is low and posts end up going unnoticed for the first several hours of their life. They usually don't end up on the hot page, as engagement in the first hours is crucial.
How to schedule Reddit posts
But what if you can't post when most of Reddit is online? Perhaps you're from another part of the world and the best submission time is in the middle of the night for you.
Waking up to catch the best time to post on Reddit probably isn't something you want, although some users go that far!
It goes to show you how big of a difference posting at the right time makes!
But there's an easier way! Use Social Rise to schedule your posts in advance and have them submitted at the optimal time.
Best times to post NSFW content to Reddit
The above analysis applies to Reddit as a whole. Should you do things differently if you're an OnlyFans creator looking to self-promote?
No, not really. Your posts will reach more people if you upload them in the early morning (CST). The best time to upload to Reddit stays the same regardless of whether or not the posts are NSFW.
Should you post promotional content in the evening?
As mentioned, there's a second, smaller spike in Reddit metrics in the evening.
You may think the evening audience is more eager to engage and interact with NSFW content.
They are at home, wanting to de-stress after work, and have plenty of free time.
This may lead you to believe that posting in the evenings is better. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
Here's the thing. Evening posts consistently get fewer initial upvotes compared to morning posts.
How well a Reddit post does in the long term depends mainly on how many upvotes it amasses in its first few hours of life.
Reddit posts usually either make it big or fail to take off entirely. There are very few in between.
Posts that fail to draw sufficient attention initially usually never will.
The problem with posting in the evenings is that your post is less likely to get those first few critical upvotes that will cause it to snowball into success.
Simply put, it's not worth posting in the evening over the morning because evening posts are less likely to "blow up."
Mornings are still the best time of day to post on Reddit even if you're an OnlyFans creator. Both statistical and anecdotal evidence point that way.
Best time to post on subreddit
While 6-8 AM Saturday, Sunday, and Monday is a very robust guideline for when to post to Reddit - you can be even more precise.
As you can imagine, the best time to post varies between communities. A quick way to find out the best time to post on subreddit is to use our handy subreddit stats tool above.
It gets the days and times of the top 1,000 posts from the last year in a subreddit. The more posts that were submitted at specific times, the more likely your post will do well then too.
You should use it especially to check the best posting time for non-US subreddits. Their ideal posting window may differ widely from the 6-8 AM US Central Time.
Competing for the top spot
Needless to say, other Redditors also use subreddit analytics. New posts pour in quickly during Reddit's peak hours.
Spots on the hot page are limited, and competition is high. Some even use services to inflate their score.
So, to one-up your competitors, post before they do. If subreddit statistics say the ideal time to post is, for example, between 8 and 9 AM, post at 7:30 AM. Try to stay around the start of the posting window recommended by the tool.
FAQs about the best times to post on Reddit
When is Reddit most active?
In the mornings, from 6 to 8 AM US Central Time. Activity falls soon after as people leave for work. Reddit is also busy in the evenings. The peak time for local subreddits depends on their timezone. Find the right time for any community with Subreddit Analysis.
What is the best day to post on Reddit?
Monday is the best day to post on Reddit, followed closely by Saturday and Sunday. You're most likely to get a viral post by posting on those days.
What is the best time to post NSFW on Reddit?
The best time to post NSFW on Reddit is Monday, 6 to 8 AM US Central Time. Posting at the same time on Saturday and Sunday will serve you fine as well. The ideal posting window extends to 10 AM on the weekends, as people wake up later.
How to see when a subreddit was created?
The creation date is shown in the subreddit's sidebar, or About tab if you're on mobile. You can also see it in the Subreddit analyzer above.
Conclusion: When to post on Reddit
That's it! Now you know all about the best times to post to Reddit. Use this knowledge to optimize your promotion and get better results:
- The overall best time to post to Reddit is 6-8 AM US Central Time on Monday, followed by Saturday and Sunday. Use Social Rise to schedule your posts for that time.
- The worst time to post on Reddit is after midnight.
- Use subreddit traffic stats to get the best post times for individual subreddits.
- Try to post before you competition.