To schedule Instagram Reels and TikTok videos in advance, you have two routes. You can schedule inside each platform, using Instagram's and TikTok's own scheduling options, which is free. Or you can upload the video once to a scheduling tool, choose both accounts, pick a date and time, and let the tool publish to each. The first route suits one platform. The second saves the repeat work when the same video goes to both.
This guide is about scheduling ahead: filming on Sunday and having the videos go out through the week. If you only want to publish one video to both platforms right now, our guide to posting to TikTok and Instagram at the same time covers that.
A note on who is writing. WyreIt is our own product, so read our view of it with that in mind. Where another tool is the better choice, this page says so.
The two routes compared
| Inside each platform | With a scheduling tool | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free | A free plan with limits on some tools; otherwise a monthly fee |
| Uploads | Once per platform | Once |
| Where you see the week | In each app separately | One calendar |
| Editing features | Each app's own sounds, effects and stickers | None. The tool sends the finished file |
| Best for | One platform, or videos edited differently for each | The same finished video going to both |
Before you start
- An Instagram professional account. Scheduling through a tool needs a business or creator account, because personal accounts are not covered by Instagram's publishing connection for third-party tools. Switching is free and done in Instagram's settings.
- A finished vertical video. Shoot or export at 1080 by 1920. A vertical video suits TikTok, Reels and YouTube Shorts alike.
- A clean file. Export from your editor without another platform's watermark on it.
- Your caption and hashtags written down. Scheduling is quickest when the words are ready.
Length limits and accepted file types are set by each platform and change, so check inside the app on the day if you are near the edge.
Route 1: schedule inside each platform
Instagram Reels
Instagram offers scheduling to professional accounts. When you create a Reel in the app, look for the scheduling option in the settings on the final screen before you share, and choose a date and time. You can also schedule Reels for Instagram and Facebook from Meta Business Suite on a computer, which is easier when the video is on your laptop.
TikTok videos
TikTok offers scheduling when you upload from its website on a computer: upload the video, write the caption, switch on the schedule option and choose the time. Check what your own account shows, because TikTok changes where these options sit and who has them.
The limit of this route
It works well for one platform. For two, you upload twice, write the caption twice and keep two schedules in your head. Nothing in Instagram will schedule to TikTok, or the other way round, because they are owned by different companies.
Route 2: schedule both from one tool
A scheduling tool connects to your accounts with your permission. You do not hand over a password, and you can withdraw the permission later. The steps are much the same in any tool. In WyreIt they are:
- Connect your Instagram and TikTok accounts once, by approving the connection on each platform.
- Create a post and upload the video once.
- Write the caption. A shared post uses one caption across the accounts you select.
- Select both accounts.
- Choose a future date and time in place of publishing now, and check the timezone before you confirm.
- Look at the calendar. The scheduled post appears there, so you can see the whole week and spot gaps.
On Instagram the video goes out as a Reel. Each platform processes the video on its own, so the two may not appear at the same second. A scheduled time is when the tool sends the video, not a promise about when each platform finishes with it.
If you want different captions
Instagram and TikTok audiences read differently, and hashtags that work on one can look out of place on the other. To give each its own caption, schedule two separate posts with the same video, one per platform, for the same time.
Batching a week
The real saving comes from doing several at once. Film and edit three or four videos in one session, then schedule them all in one sitting, spread across the week. Our guide to turning one video into TikTok, Reels and Shorts covers getting more out of each recording.
What does not carry across, whichever route you use
- In-app sounds and music. A track chosen from a platform's own library belongs to that platform. A tool sends the file with the audio already in it.
- Effects, stickers and interactive features added inside one app.
- Features that pair your video with someone else's on that platform.
If a video depends on any of those, post it by hand in that app. For a finished video with its own audio, a scheduling tool does the job.
Tool options
| Tool | Entry paid price | Free plan or trial | What the entry plan covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| WyreIt (our product) | £19 a month (Standard), £49 (Pro), £79 (Creator) | No free plan. 14-day trial, no card | Any 3 platforms and 3 extra profiles on Standard; all 7 platforms on Pro |
| Buffer | From $5 a month per channel on yearly billing ($60 a year per channel) | Free plan: up to 3 channels, 10 scheduled posts per channel | Priced per channel, so the bill grows with each one you add |
| Later | $18.75 a month, billed yearly (Starter) | No free plan. 14-day trial | 1 social set, 1 user and 30 posts per profile a month on Starter |
| Metricool | Starter from $20 a month on annual billing ($25 monthly) | Free plan: 1 brand, 20 scheduled posts a month, no LinkedIn or X | Up to 5 brands on Starter. X is a paid add-on at $10 a month per account |
Competitor prices and plan details are as published by each company on its own pricing page, October 2026: Buffer, Later, Metricool. Dollar prices are shown as each company lists them and may exclude VAT. Prices change, so check the page before you buy. This is not a complete list of tools. WyreIt is our own product, and its prices are on our pricing page.
WyreIt (our product)
WyreIt has four plans. Standard is £19 a month for any 3 platforms, with 3 extra profiles, the inbox, analytics, and AI caption and reply drafting. Pro is £49 a month for all 7 platforms (Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, LinkedIn, YouTube and Bluesky), with 4 extra profiles, WyreIt AI, Autopilot and 1,000 AI credits a month. Creator is £79 a month with 3,000 AI credits and AI images. Agency is priced by conversation. The price is for the account, not per user or per channel. There is a 14-day free trial with no card needed. The trial does not include any AI.
Instagram and TikTok are two platforms, so both fit on Standard with one platform to spare, such as YouTube for Shorts. The calendar, the inbox for comments and analytics of what was published and what failed are on every plan. WyreIt does not edit video and does not make video for you.
Buffer
Buffer's free plan covers up to 3 channels with 10 scheduled posts per channel, so Instagram and TikTok both fit without paying. Its pricing page lists automatic publishing for Instagram business and creator accounts, with reminder notifications as the route for personal profiles, and custom video covers on paid plans.
Later
Later's Starter plan is $18.75 a month billed yearly, with 30 posts per profile a month. There is no free plan. Instagram and TikTok are both on its published platform list, along with Pinterest and YouTube.
Metricool
Metricool's free plan covers 1 brand with 20 scheduled posts a month, and Instagram and TikTok are both included on it. Twenty posts shared between two platforms is ten videos to each.
When another tool, or no tool, is the better choice
- You only post to one of the two: use that platform's own scheduling. It is free and you lose nothing.
- You need a free plan: Buffer or Metricool. WyreIt has no free plan.
- Your videos rely on in-app sounds or effects: post by hand in each app.
- You also post to Pinterest or Threads: Later and Buffer list them. WyreIt does not publish to them.
- You have a personal Instagram account and want to keep it: a tool with reminder notifications, such as Buffer, or Instagram itself.
Frequently asked questions
Can you schedule Instagram Reels in advance?
Yes. Professional accounts can schedule a Reel inside Instagram or from Meta Business Suite, and scheduling tools can publish a Reel at a set time to a business or creator account.
Can you schedule TikTok videos in advance?
Yes. TikTok offers scheduling when you upload from its website, and scheduling tools that list TikTok can publish a video at the time you choose.
Can I schedule the same video to Instagram and TikTok at once?
Yes, with a scheduling tool: upload once, select both accounts and choose a time. Inside the apps you would schedule it twice, once on each platform.
Do I need a business account to schedule Reels?
For a scheduling tool, you need an Instagram professional account, which means business or creator. It is free to switch. TikTok does not require a business account for posting through WyreIt.
Will a scheduled video keep the trending sound I picked?
Only if the sound is part of the video file. A sound chosen from inside Instagram or TikTok stays with that app, so a video that depends on it is better posted by hand.
What happens if one platform rejects the video?
In WyreIt the result is reported per platform, so you can see that one went out and the other did not. Our article on what happens when one platform publishes and another fails explains what to do next.
WyreIt's plans are on pricing. The 14-day trial needs no card.
WyreIt is a social media management tool for small business owners and sole traders. Post to Facebook, Instagram, X, TikTok, and more from one dashboard — at a fraction of the price of Hootsuite.