Hey there!
Wondering when are the best times to post on Reddit so your content gets seen?
As an experienced Reddit user myself, let me walk you through everything I‘ve learned about timing your Reddit posts for maximum impact in 2024.
With over 50 million daily active users, Reddit is hugely popular. But with so many active users, simply posting is not enough to get noticed.
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Timing is absolutely critical if you want your Reddit posts to take off.
You need to understand when Reddit‘s user base is most active and receptive.
Posting at the right time can be the difference between a flop and going viral.
In this guide, I‘ll break down the best times to post on Reddit in 2024 based on recent data and personal experience.
I‘ll cover:
- What factors influence Reddit posting times
- When Reddit sees peak traffic
- The best days and times to post for top visibility
- Tips to optimize timing for different subreddits
- Tools to schedule and analyze your Reddit posts
Let‘s dive in!
What Factors Impact the Best Times to Post on Reddit?
Several key factors impact when the best times to post on Reddit are:
Reddit‘s User Demographics
Over 50% of Reddit users come from the United States. Recent surveys found the platform‘s audience is:
- 47% American
- 7.9% British
- 6.3% Canadian
- 3.9% Australian
- 3.2% German
This means the most active hours tend to coincide with late morning to evening in North American time zones.
However, Reddit has a global audience, so don‘t neglect early morning and late night posting if you want to reach international users.
Work and School Schedules
Since many Redditors browse during work or school, engagement peaks during typical "down times."
Morning, lunch breaks, and the evening after work are often more active on Reddit.
Weekends see more intermittent use as people go about their free time.
Reddit‘s Algorithm
The Reddit algorithm favors recent posts over older ones.
- Posts tend to get the most traction within the first 1-2 hours of posting.
- Posting around peak hours when more people are active increases your exposure and ability to gain crucial upvotes quickly.
- The algorithm also values user engagement and communities. Comments and karma impact visibility.
Now let‘s analyze when Reddit sees the most traffic to pinpoint the ideal posting times.
When is Reddit Most Active?
While Reddit receives traffic 24/7, there are certain high-activity hours when more users are browsing and engaging with content.
Weekdays:
- 7-9 AM Eastern: People browsing Reddit before work or school. Traffic builds from East Coast morning commutes.
- 11 AM – 2 PM Eastern: Lunch break hours see a surge in Reddit use. Many East Coast users are on Reddit while West Coast users are just starting lunch.
- 3-5 PM Eastern: Reddit activity ramps up as East Coast users end their workday and West Coast users start winding down.
- 7-11 PM Eastern: Prime evening hours as most of North America is home from work and school. Traffic remains relatively high until midnight.
Here are some example data points on Reddit‘s weekday traffic patterns:
- Reddit usage on Tuesdays peaks from 1-3pm EST with over 2.9 million active users on average.
- On Thursdays, usage peaks from 10am to 2pm EST, with over 1.5 million users online during the late morning hours.
- Friday evenings from 7pm to midnight EST see strong traffic typically over 1.3 million active Reddit users.
Weekends:
- 9 AM – 12 PM Eastern: Mornings are popular, especially on the West Coast where it‘s still breakfast time when the East Coast is fully awake.
- 6-9 PM Eastern: Evenings drive weekend traffic as people relax at home. However, weekends usually see less traffic than weekday evenings.
- Here are some weekend data highlights:
- On Sundays, usage builds through the morning, peaking from 11am – 2pm EST with over 1.7 million Redditors browsing.
- Saturday evenings from 9pm to midnight EST see an average of 1.4 million users online.
In summary, you‘ll almost always find a sizeable Reddit audience between 10 AM – 5 PM Eastern on weekdays, with weekday evenings also being very active.
Best Days of the Week to Post on Reddit
Looking at Reddit traffic by each day provides further helpful insights on when your content can gain the most traction:
- Monday: High activity as users browse Reddit to start the new workweek. Great for starting discussions.
- Tuesday & Wednesday: Still strong midweek traffic as users take Reddit breaks.
- Thursday: Spikes in activity as the workweek winds down.
- Friday: Similar to Monday with above average engagement going into the weekend.
- Saturday: Steady traffic, though less than weekday peaks.
- Sunday: The most inconsistently active day. Posting on Sunday can work well but response rates vary more than other days.
In general, earlier in the workweek – especially Monday and Friday – performs better. Activity gradually declines from Thursday onward.
Here are some of the key data points on Reddit traffic by weekday:
- Mondays see over 19% of total weekly pageviews. It edges out Fridays as the top traffic day.
- Tuesdays still maintain over 13% of weekly traffic as engagement remains strong early in the workweek.
- By Thursday traffic begins to taper off, driving just under 11% of pageviews.
- Sundays only account for about 8% of Reddit‘s total weekly traffic.
This backs up the fact that earlier in the workweek is best for Reddit posting.
Here‘s a handy cheat sheet summarizing the optimal days and times to post on Reddit in 2024:
| Day | Best Times to Post |
|---|---|
| Monday | 9 AM – 1 PM, 5-8 PM Eastern |
| Tuesday | 10 AM – 2 PM, 6-9 PM Eastern |
| Wednesday | 11 AM – 3 PM, 7-10 PM Eastern |
| Thursday | 10 AM – 2 PM, 8-11 PM Eastern |
| Friday | 9 AM – 1 PM, 5-9 PM Eastern |
| Saturday | 10 AM – 2 PM Eastern |
| Sunday | Avoid early morning, 10 AM – 3 PM Eastern |
This covers the overall best Reddit posting times. But as you‘ll see, you may need to tweak recommendations for specific subreddits.
Optimizing Reddit Post Times for Individual Subreddits
The above reflects Reddit‘s overall traffic patterns. However, you should still analyze engagement for individual subreddits.
While larger subreddits likely mimic site-wide trends, smaller niche communities can have their own optimal posting times.
Here are tips to research posting times for a specific subreddit:
- Check the subreddit‘s most active hours. Browse the "new" feed to see when posts start appearing daily.
- Analyze which posts get traction. Look at top daily posts and their submission times to see when they take off.
- Read the subreddit rules. Some subs restrict posting to certain days/times.
- Consider the target audience. A subreddit aimed at Australians will peak very differently than one dominated by Americans.
Here are some other subreddit-specific factors to keep in mind:
- Location-based subs favor local morning hours. r/Seattle sees more traction for morning posts than late night.
- Programming and tech subreddits may peak later as these users often start workdays later. r/webdev spikes in the early afternoon.
- University subs are most active in afternoons/evenings when students are free. r/UIUC sees engagement from 3pm-1am EST.
- Humor subs prefer earlier posts, while serious discussions often happen later. r/memes peaks around 12pm EST.
Take the time to analyze a few of your target subreddits to spot any posting time differences from the overall Reddit trends.
Optimizing your timing for each community will help your posts take off.
Handy Tools to Schedule and Plan Your Reddit Posting
Posting at peak times requires planning ahead. Thankfully there are some great tools to schedule and analyze your Reddit posts:
- Reddit Later allows you to draft posts in advance and set a specific date/time to publish to subs or your user feed. It‘s awesome for scheduling posts during optimal hours.
- OnlyInfluencers has a Reddit Post Manager feature that lets you plan, schedule, and analyze posts across multiple Reddit accounts. It also provides data on your best posting times.
- Reditr is a slick desktop app allowing you to easily browse subreddits and schedule posts. It‘s great for regularly sharing to specific communities.
- Buffer is a popular social media scheduling app that supports queuing Reddit posts. You can analyze past posting performance to keep refining your timing.
- Hootsuite is another excellent social media tool that lets you schedule and plan Reddit posts. View post insights to keep improving when you post.
- Later for Reddit is a dedicated web, iOS, and Android app solely for scheduling Reddit posts and analyzing your best posting times.
Leverage these types of tools to effortlessly post during Reddit‘s peak hours for maximum visibility.
In Summary: Key Takeaways on the Best Times to Post on Reddit
Posting on Reddit takes strategic timing and promotion to genuinely engage the right audiences.
Here are the key tips to recap:
- Reddit engagement peaks on weekdays during typical American working hours, with evenings also busy.
- Earlier weekday mornings, especially Monday and Friday, consistently outperform weekends.
- Pay close attention to the unique traffic cycles for each of your subreddits and tailor timing accordingly.
- Use scheduling tools to easily post during active hours for better visibility.
- Continually analyze and improve your posting times using Reddit metrics.
Reddit can drive massive amounts of traffic when you post tactically.
Now you know how to share your best content when the most receptive audiences are waiting!
I hope these Reddit timing tips help you connect with more users and grow your communities. Let me know if you have any other questions!
