How to read your X audience and find your best posting times in X analytics

X analytics' Audience tab shows when the people who engage with you are active, how many are non-followers, and their age, gender, country and device. How to read the Active times heatmap, what a high non-follower share means, and how to turn both into a posting schedule.

Your best times to post on X are when the people who engage with you are active, and X analytics shows exactly that. In the Audience tab, the Active times heatmap lays out the last 28 days by day and hour, from least to most engaged: post just before your darkest cells. Then check the Followers vs non-followers split: a high non-follower share means your posts are reaching new people, which is how an account grows.

Where is the Audience tab?

As of November 2026 (we checked on a Premium account): on x.com, open More → Creator Studio → Analytics (under Tools), then the Audience tab, or go straight to x.com/i/account_analytics/audience. Account analytics has been reported as an X Premium feature since June 2024. See How to use X analytics to grow.

At the top you choose which engagement to break down: for example Likes, so the tab describes the people who liked your posts. Date ranges are 7 days, 28 days or 3 months.

What does the Audience tab show?

In order:

Age: the share of engaged people in each band, from 13–17 to 65+.
Active times: a heatmap for the last 28 days, by day of the week and hour, shaded from "Least engaged" to "Most engaged".
Following: the split between followers and non-followers among the people who engaged.
Gender: male, female or not specified. X notes that "Gender data may be inferred", so treat it as an estimate.
Country: your top five countries, plus everyone else.
Device: iOS, Android, web or other.

How do you find your best posting times?

Open Active times with the range on 28 days, so one unusual day doesn't skew it.
Find the darkest cells: the days and hours when the most people engaged.
Post shortly before them, so a post is fresh when your audience shows up. X's published ranking drops posts from the For You feed after about 48 hours, and early replies help a post travel.
Use the right time zone. The heatmap reflects when your engaged audience is active. If the Country section shows most of them are elsewhere, plan for their day, not yours.
Test it for two weeks, then compare engagement rate on posts made in your best slots with the rest. See How to find your best posts on X.

Until you have enough data, general studies are a reasonable starting point: Buffer's 2026 analysis found Tuesday at 9 a.m. the best time on X, and Sprout Social's found Tuesday to Thursday, 12–6 p.m. (both local time). See How often should you post on X, and when? Your own heatmap beats any average once you have a few weeks of posts.

What does the followers vs non-followers split tell you?

Whether you're reaching new people:

A high non-follower share: your posts are being shown beyond your followers, through the For You feed, reposts and replies. That's how accounts grow. Check whether follows are rising too; if not, your profile may not be turning those visitors into followers.
A low non-follower share: you're mostly talking to people who already follow you. That's fine for loyalty, but to grow, spend more time replying in active conversations in your niche, which X's ranking weights heavily. See How does a small account get visibility on X?

Switch the metric at the top to see whether the split differs for, say, replies vs likes.

How do you use the rest of the Audience tab?

Age, gender and country tell you who you're actually reaching, which may not be who you think. Write for them, and know it's the first thing a brand will ask.
Device: if most of your audience is on phones, keep images and video readable on a small screen.

Your audience data helps with brand deals

Brands pay for reaching a specific audience: who engages with you, and where they are, is what they'll ask about. See How to turn your X analytics into brand deals. Transformer is the agentic influencer marketplace: real creators, paid on confirmed posts. Run it from the dashboard or from your agent. Check your influencer value: our estimate for one sponsored post on your account.

FAQ

How do I find my best time to post on X?

In X analytics, open the Audience tab and look at Active times: a 28-day heatmap of day and hour, from least to most engaged. Post shortly before your most engaged hours, then compare engagement rates after two weeks.

Where is the Audience tab in X analytics?

As of November 2026, on x.com: More → Creator Studio → Analytics, then the Audience tab (x.com/i/account_analytics/audience). Account analytics has been reported as an X Premium feature since 2024.

What does non-followers mean in X analytics?

The share of people who engaged with your posts but don't follow you. A high share means your posts are reaching new people.

Does X analytics show audience age and gender?

Yes: the Audience tab shows age bands, gender (which X notes may be inferred), top countries and devices, for the people who engaged in the way you select.