The best times to post on Bluesky, measured

Every account Updrift measures adds its posts' first-day engagement to one heat map, each on its own clock and against its own usual. This is the evidence behind the best-time guide.

Updated 30 September 2026

The sample

Too few accounts yet

The heat map is published once at least 200 accounts are behind it, with 30 or more behind every figure shown. The totals have not been built yet. Every account connected to Updrift, the Free plan included, adds to the sample; connect yours and it counts from its first measured post.

How this is measured. Each post's likes, reposts, replies and quotes in its first day, per thousand followers its account had that day, divided by that account's own median post, so 1.0 is an ordinary post for that account and 1.5 is half again better. Each account weighs the same whatever its size, so one large account cannot set a figure. It shows what went with better posts, not what caused them. Only totals are kept, never a row per account or a post; people who asked to be left out are not counted. The sample skews towards creators and towards UK and US time zones, so read it as a starting point and measure your own account. Each cell is the mean across accounts of each account's mean score in that hour, over the last 90 days; a cell needs 5 accounts to be stored and 30 to be shown.

What to do with it

Treat the dark hours as a starting point for a new account, and post at a spread of times so your own figures can replace it. The best-time guide explains why timing on Bluesky is about your own followers' clocks, and the free stats show your own best hours once you have a few weeks of posts. The same sample gives what works by format, length and time of day.

Questions

Is this my best time to post?

No. It is the average across many accounts with different audiences. Your own best hours come from your own posts, and Updrift shows them free for one account.

Why local time rather than UTC?

Because a follower's evening is what matters, and an account's followers mostly share its time zone. Each account's posts are placed on that account's own clock before they are pooled.

How often does it change?

The totals are rebuilt every night from the last 90 days, so the map moves slowly and a single busy week never sets it. Last week's figures stay beside this week's so you can see the drift.

See your own figures, free.

Followers by the hour, the posts that landed, your best hours and how your hashtags do. One account, no card, for good.

The Planner, the Inbox and the full What works report come with a paid plan, 7 days free. See the plans.