Is Pinterest Still Relevant in 2026?

Key takeaways

Pinterest is still growing: 640 million people used it each month in the second quarter of 2026, up 11 percent on a year before, according to Pinterest's own results.
In the UK its adverts can reach about 15.5 million people, and around seven in ten of them are women, according to DataReportal.
People use Pinterest to plan and search, so a good pin can keep bringing visitors to your website for months, long after an Instagram post has dropped out of sight.
It suits businesses that sell something visual or something people plan for: homes, weddings, food, fashion, beauty, travel and gifts. It suits a local trade business or a B2B service far less.
What works today: a business account, a claimed website, tall 2:3 pins, keywords in plain words rather than hashtags, and steady pinning rather than a burst every few weeks.

Pinterest in numbers, today

When we first wrote this guide in January 2025, the question was whether Pinterest had been left behind by Instagram, TikTok and LinkedIn. Nearly two years on, the numbers give a clear answer. In its results for the second quarter of 2026, Pinterest reported 640 million monthly active users worldwide, up 11 percent on the 578 million of a year earlier, and its chief executive called it the eleventh quarter in a row of double digit user growth. Europe alone accounted for 157 million of those users, up 8 percent.

For a UK business, the more useful figure is who you can reach here. DataReportal's Digital 2026 report for the UK puts Pinterest's advertising reach at 15.5 million people in late 2025, equal to 22.3 percent of the population. Of that audience, 71.1 percent are women and 22.8 percent men, with the rest unspecified. The same report shows how that compares: Instagram's UK advertising reach is 35.5 million and Facebook's 38.8 million, so Pinterest is smaller, but it is far from a niche corner of the internet.

The audience is also younger than many people assume. Fortune reported in 2025 that Generation Z makes up over 40 percent of Pinterest's users, its largest and fastest growing group. The picture of Pinterest as a place only for recipes and wedding boards is out of date.

A woman in a white shirt holding a brown notebook, a stock picture from Unsplash — People come to Pinterest to plan something, which is what makes it useful for brands.

We have corrected a few figures from the first version of this article. The old version said 537 million monthly users, which was right for late 2024 and is now well out of date. It also gave figures for the share of new sign-ups who are men and for Pinterest's rank as a source of website traffic that we could not trace to a current source, so we have taken them out rather than repeat them. Every figure on this page now links to where it comes from.

Why Pinterest behaves differently from other platforms

Pinterest is a social platform, but most people do not use it socially. They use it the way they use a search engine: they type what they are looking for, save what they like to boards, and come back when they are ready to act. Someone planning a kitchen, a garden, a holiday or a wedding may save dozens of ideas over weeks before they buy anything. That is the behaviour that makes Pinterest valuable to a business, and it explains why the rules for doing well there differ from Instagram or TikTok.

People arrive with a purposeOn Instagram or TikTok, most people scroll to be entertained. On Pinterest they usually search for something specific, which means your pin meets them when they are already thinking about the thing you sell.

Pins keep workingA Story disappears in a day and a feed post fades within a few days. A pin that matches what people search for can keep being found and saved for months, because search keeps surfacing it.

It sends people to your websiteEvery pin can link to an outside page, so Pinterest is one of the few platforms built to send visitors off the platform, to your shop, your blog or your booking page.

Keywords matter more than hashtagsPinterest ranks pins on the words in the title, the description and the board, much as a search engine reads a web page. Hashtags play a very small part.

That last point is one of the biggest changes since many guides were written. Tailwind, which schedules pins for many businesses, says that keywords, not hashtags, drive ranking on Pinterest, and recommends no hashtags at all or no more than three at the end of a description. Its own 2025 benchmark found only 19 percent of viral pins used hashtags. Write for the words a person would type into the search bar, and you are doing most of the work.

Who Pinterest suits, and who it does not

Pinterest is not for every business, and we would rather say so than add a platform to your list for the sake of it. A useful test is to ask whether your customers plan, browse or collect ideas before they buy from you. If they do, Pinterest is worth a serious look. If they mostly need you urgently or find you through a referral, your time is better spent elsewhere.

A strong fitHomes and interiors, weddings and events, food and drink, fashion and accessories, beauty and skincare, travel and hospitality, gifts, crafts, and any shop selling something that looks good in a picture.

A fair fitCoaches, courses and service businesses with useful guides on their website, because a well made pin can send readers to an article that then leads to an enquiry.

A weak fitEmergency trades, local services people need today, and most B2B services, where the buyer is rarely planning on Pinterest. LinkedIn or Google will usually do more for you.

Not yetAny business without a website worth sending people to. Pinterest's strength is the click to your site, so fix the site first.

If your audience leans female and is planning something visual, the UK figures above are very much in your favour. If it does not, Pinterest can still work, but it should come after the platforms where your customers spend more of their time. Our guide to social media strategies for small businesses helps you choose where to put your effort first.

Set up your profile properly

Your profile is your shop window. People who like a pin often tap through to see what else you have saved, and what they find decides whether they follow you. A tidy, clearly branded profile takes an afternoon to set up and keeps working for as long as the account exists.

Use a business accountA business account is free and gives you analytics, adverts and the trends tool. If you already have a personal account, you can convert it rather than start again.
Claim your websiteClaiming your website tells Pinterest you own it, puts your name on pins saved from it, and unlocks analytics for that traffic. It is a short piece of code or a file your web developer can add in minutes.
Write a bio that says what you doSay plainly what you sell or help with, in the words a customer would search for. Our free bio generator gives you a starting point.
Name your boards like search terms"Small kitchen ideas" will be found; "Things I love" will not. Each board should have a clear topic and a short description using the words people search for.
Turn on Rich PinsRich Pins pull details from your website into the pin automatically. Today there are three kinds: article, product and recipe. The old app pins mentioned in the first version of this guide no longer exist.

Velena Nikolova in a denim shirt and yellow sunglasses holding up her phone in a living room — A profile is your shop window on Pinterest. Set it up once, properly.

A word on Rich Pins, because they are among the most useful things a shop can set up. Pinterest's help centre explains that product Rich Pins show the latest price, availability and product information, article Rich Pins show the headline, description and author, and recipe Rich Pins show ingredients, cook time and serving size. They work from markup in the head of your web page, which most shop and blog platforms add for you, and Pinterest says the details can take up to 24 hours to appear. If your shop runs on WooCommerce and you are not sure whether the markup is there, our WooCommerce team can check.

Make pins that get clicked

A pin has a second or two to earn a click, and it is competing with dozens of others on the same screen. The good news is that the rules are simple and Pinterest publishes them. Pinterest's own specifications recommend a 2:3 shape, or 1,000 by 1,500 pixels, for image pins, with a title of up to 100 characters and a description of up to 800. For video, it recommends square or vertical shapes: 1:1, 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16.

A laptop and an iced coffee on a bed, a stock picture from Unsplash — Most pins are made once and found for months, so it pays to make them well.

Go tallUse the 2:3 shape. A wide picture shrinks to a thin strip in the feed and is easy to scroll past.

Add a short headlineA few words of text on the picture, such as "5 small kitchen ideas", tells people what they will get before they tap. Keep it large enough to read on a phone.

Show the thing itselfReal products, real rooms and real food do better than generic stock. A clear, well lit photograph of what you sell is worth more than a clever design.

Link to the right pageSend each pin to the exact page it shows, not your home page. A pin of a blue dress should land on that blue dress.

Video is now part of every pin rather than a separate format. In May 2023, Pinterest combined Idea Pins and standard pins into one format, so any pin can be a picture, a video or several pictures in a row, and every pin can now link to a website. The first version of this guide recommended Idea Pins as a separate feature; they no longer exist as such, and the advice now is simply to use short vertical video where it helps you show something better than a still. A recipe, a room before and after, or an outfit from three angles all work well as short video.

If you already make short videos for Instagram Reels or TikTok, many of them can be reused as video pins, provided they make sense without sound and the first frame shows clearly what the video is about. Our free image converter helps you get pictures into the right format and size before you upload them.

Keywords and search: the heart of it

Because people search Pinterest, the words you use decide who finds you. The method is straightforward. Start typing a topic into Pinterest's search bar and note the suggestions it offers, because those are phrases real people search for. Use the most relevant phrase in your pin title, a natural sentence or two using related words in the description, and the same topic in the board name. Write for a person, not a robot: keyword stuffing reads badly and does not help.

A phone screen with social media app icons, a stock picture from Unsplash — Pinterest search works on plain words, the way people type them.

Pinterest also gives business accounts a tool for this. Pinterest Trends shows up to two years of history for what people search for, save and buy, across regions and countries, including when interest in a topic rises and falls through the year. It is the best way to see when people start searching for Christmas, summer holidays or back to school, so you can have your pins ready before the rush rather than during it. Pinterest notes that some of its features are in testing in certain regions only, so what you see may vary.

Each December Pinterest also publishes its view of the year ahead. Pinterest Predicts 2026, published on 9 December 2025, named 21 trends, and Pinterest says 88 percent of its past predictions went on to become bigger trends. It is worth half an hour of any brand's time when planning content for the year.

Our free hashtag generator also suggests Pinterest search phrases rather than hashtags, which is a quick way to find words to build pins around.

How often to pin

The first version of this guide suggested pinning five to ten times a day. That figure was common advice at the time, but we could not find a current source to support it, and we no longer give it. What the people who study Pinterest most closely now say is that steady, regular pinning of fresh, well made pins matters more than volume. Tailwind's advice, in the same guide linked above, is simply to publish consistently, and it notes that a steady cadence adds up over time.

A realistic starting pointA few new pins each week, every week, is a sensible place to begin for a small business. Keep it up for three months before you judge the results.

Fresh beats repeatedA new picture or video of the same product or article counts as a new pin. Make several different pins for your best pages rather than saving the same one again and again.

Schedule in batchesMake a month of pins in one sitting and schedule them. Since 2023 Pinterest has offered a scheduling connection for outside tools, so most scheduling apps can post for you.

Think in seasonsPeople plan ahead on Pinterest. Start seasonal pins two to three months before the moment, and check Pinterest Trends for when searches begin to climb.

Should you save other people's pins as well as your own? It can help fill out a new board and make it more useful to visitors, and it does no harm in moderation. But your own pins, linking to your own website, are what bring you traffic, so most of your time should go into making them.

Growing your reach on Pinterest

Hands typing on a laptop open on an Instagram feed, a stock picture from Unsplash — Pinterest works best alongside the platforms you already use, not instead of them.

Growth on Pinterest is slower to start than on TikTok and steadier once it comes. These are the levers that still work in 2026.

Engage where it countsReply to comments on your pins and follow accounts in your field. Pinterest is less conversational than Instagram, so a little goes a long way.
Use shared boards with careBoards that several people pin to can put your pins in front of a wider audience, but only if the board is active, on topic and well kept. A messy shared board does more harm than good, so choose few and choose well.
Work with creators properlySince 2023 Pinterest's paid partnership tool has been open to all users, according to the TechCrunch report linked above. In the UK, any paid post must also be clearly labelled as an advert, as the ASA's influencers' guide sets out.
Try adverts once the basics workPinterest adverts can target by keyword, interest and audience. Start small, test two or three pictures against each other, and only spend more on what earns clicks. Our view is the same as on every platform: get your organic pins working first.
Measure the clicks, not the savesPinterest Analytics shows which pins and boards bring the most visits. Add tracking to your links with our free UTM link builder so you can see in your own website analytics what Pinterest visitors go on to do.

One change worth knowing about is how Pinterest now treats pictures made with AI. On 30 April 2025, Pinterest began labelling image pins it detects as made or changed by AI with an "AI modified" label, and said it would test a way for people to see fewer of them in categories such as beauty and art. Pinterest says it reads a picture's hidden details and uses its own detection to find them, and that creators can appeal a wrong label. For a brand, the lesson is simple: real photographs of real products and places are what people trust, and on Pinterest they are now more clearly set apart from the rest.

Hands setting a phone on a tripod, a stock picture from Unsplash — Real photographs and video of what you sell stand out now that AI images are labelled.

That is also where we come in for many brands. Pinterest rewards a steady supply of good, real pictures and short videos, and making them is the part most small businesses struggle to keep up with. The same content that works on Instagram Reels and TikTok can be cut for Pinterest, so one shoot can feed several platforms. Our UGC (user generated content) packages are built for exactly that.

If you would rather hand it over

Our monthly plans cover planning, content, posting, comments and a monthly report, handled by our team. If Pinterest is one of the platforms you want covered, tell us on the enquiry form and we will say plainly whether it earns a place in your plan or whether your effort is better spent elsewhere. The managed plans run month to month, with 2 months notice, and so does the Social Pack.

Small Business Social Pack£149a month12 designed posts a month on one platform, with no minimum term.

Social Media Management: Seed Plan£399a month16 posts a month on 2 platforms, with a strategy and your comments watched.

Social Media Management: Grow Plan£799a month16 posts a month on 3 platforms, 8 of them Reels.

UGC Monthly Plan£430a monthThree UGC videos every month, with advert rights on all three.

Not sure Pinterest is right for you?Our free audit looks at your profiles and tells you where your effort will pay.

Get the free audit

If the main gap is content rather than posting, the UGC Monthly Plan gives you three new videos every month to cut for Pinterest, Instagram and TikTok. If you want the whole job done, Social Media Management: Seed Plan covers two platforms with a strategy, and Social Media Management: Grow Plan adds a third platform and Reels. All the plans are compared side by side on our social media management page.

See the kind of content that works on Pinterest

Real people, real homes and real products, filmed by our team. Tap a video to play it. There is more on our work pages.

The verdict: is Pinterest right for you?

For the right business, yes, and perhaps more than ever. Pinterest has grown its users by double digits for eleven quarters in a row, it reaches millions of people in the UK, and its users arrive in a planning, searching frame of mind that most platforms cannot offer. A pin made well today can still be sending people to your website next year.

A Follow Me sign on an airport vehicle, a stock picture from Unsplash — Pinterest rewards brands that people want to follow back to their website.

Make Pinterest a priority ifyou sell something visual or something people plan for, you have a website worth visiting, and your customers lean towards women or younger adults. For you, Pinterest can become a steady source of visitors that does not stop the moment you stop posting.

Make it a second or third platform ifyou have good guides or products on your website but your customers spend more time elsewhere. A few pins a week, linked to your best pages, can add useful traffic without much extra work.

Leave it for now ifyour customers need you urgently, find you by referral, or buy as businesses. Put that time into the platforms where they already are.

Whatever you decide, Pinterest is not a set it and forget it platform. It rewards patience and consistency more than any burst of activity, and the businesses that do best there treat it as a slow, steady investment rather than a quick win. If you would like a second opinion on where Pinterest fits among your other platforms, our team is happy to give you one, with no obligation. Our HoneyBee & Co. case study shows how we plan content across several platforms for a product brand.

Pinterest questions

Is Pinterest still growing in 2026?

Yes. Pinterest reported 640 million monthly active users in the second quarter of 2026, up 11 percent on a year earlier, and its eleventh quarter in a row of double digit user growth.

How many people use Pinterest in the UK?

DataReportal puts Pinterest's UK advertising reach at about 15.5 million people in late 2025, around 22 percent of the population. About 71 percent of that audience are women.

What size should a Pinterest pin be?

Pinterest recommends a 2:3 shape, or 1,000 by 1,500 pixels, for image pins. For video it recommends square or vertical shapes: 1:1, 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16.

Do hashtags still work on Pinterest?

Barely. Pinterest ranks pins mainly on the words in the title, description and board. Use plain search phrases, and if you add hashtags at all, keep them to two or three at the end of the description.

What happened to Idea Pins?

In May 2023 Pinterest combined Idea Pins and standard pins into one format. Any pin can now be a picture, a video or several pictures, and every pin can link to a website.

How often should a business pin?

Steadily rather than in bursts. A few fresh, well made pins every week is a sensible starting point for a small business. Keep it up for three months before judging the results.

Is Pinterest good for B2B or service businesses?

Usually less so. It works best for products and plans people browse for. A service business with useful guides on its website can get some traffic from it, but LinkedIn or Google will usually do more.

Does Pinterest label AI images?

Yes. Since April 2025 Pinterest has added an "AI modified" label to image pins it detects as made or changed with AI, and it has tested ways for people to see fewer of them.

References

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Velena NikolovaCo-Founder and Creative DirectorVelena co-founded Velena Lifestyle and leads its creative work. A lifestyle creator featured in Women's Health, she writes about Pinterest, Instagram and content that brands can use. Velena and Dragos both guest lecture at the University of Greenwich on social media and content strategy, and are invited back several times a year.