How to schedule Instagram posts (and Reels)

Posting to Instagram at the moment you remember is how a feed goes quiet for a fortnight. Scheduling fixes that: you write the week's posts in one sitting and they go out on time while you get on with the business. There are three ways to do it, and the right one depends on how many other platforms you post to.

1. In the Instagram app

A professional account (business or creator) can schedule a post or Reel from the app itself. Write it as normal, open the advanced settings before you share, and choose a date and time. It is free and quick, and fine for the odd post. It is fiddly for a whole week, and it only covers Instagram.

2. In Meta Business Suite

Meta Business Suite, on a computer or its own app, schedules posts and Stories to your Instagram account and your Facebook Page together, at no cost. If Instagram and Facebook are the only places you post, this is all most businesses need.

3. With a scheduler

A scheduler earns its place when Instagram is one of several networks, or when you want help writing the posts. You connect your accounts once, write a post, tick where it should go, and pick a time. Our guide to the best Instagram scheduling tools compares the main options on fit and price.

Get the post right before it is queued

• Every post needs a photo or a video. Instagram won't publish a caption on its own.
• Portrait 4:5 photos take the most room in the feed.
• Put the point in the first line of the caption: it is all most people see before "more".
• A caption holds 2,200 characters, hashtags included. Check a draft with our free character counter.
• Keep hashtags to a handful that describe the post, not a block of thirty.

To see how a batch will sit together on your profile before any of it is queued, our free Instagram grid planner lays out up to 9 pictures as your grid will show them, with no sign-up, and puts them in your Planner one a day in that order.

When to schedule them

Pick the times your own followers are around rather than a generic chart, and schedule one to two weeks ahead so a busy day never means an empty feed. Our post on how far ahead to schedule covers the balance between planning and staying current.

Scheduling Instagram with Optimate

Optimate's Instagram scheduler puts Instagram on one calendar with your other platforms, checks each post against Instagram's rules before it is queued, and shows it in a grid preview beside your recent posts. Start your 14-day free trial, no card needed.