Video ads by channel / Pinterest
Video ads for Pinterest.
A first frame that works as a still, a silent story, and a frame chosen for the grid, the two-column video or the full screen.
The medium
A Pinterest video sits in a grid of pictures and starts only when half of it is visible, without sound. Pinterest's own help pages say both standard and max width video play in the feed without audio, and a viewer taps or presses the volume button to hear them. Pinterest reported 640 million monthly users in the second quarter of 2026 and says finding new products and brands is the main reason people use it.
The units differ by shape. Standard width video is the size of an ordinary Pin, any ratio between 1:2 and 1.91:1, with 2:3 and 9:16 recommended and six to fifteen seconds suggested. Max width video spans two columns on a phone but can be no taller than square. Idea ads are full-screen 9:16 pages with a lopsided safe zone, and Premiere Spotlight is reserved by the day through Pinterest's team.
The guidelines are strict on look and on subject: no text-packed frames, no low-quality selfies or screenshots, no political ads, and no weight-loss language or imagery outside a narrow, pre-approved exception.
The specs
Quoted from the platforms' own pages. The source and the date each was read are under the table.
| Placement | Ratio | Resolution and file | Length | Sound and captions | Safe zone and rules |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard width video | Between 1:2 and 1.91:1; 1:1, 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 recommended | MP4, MOV or M4V; H.264 or H.265; up to 2 GB | 4 seconds to 15 minutes; 6 to 15 recommended | Plays in the feed without audio; tap for sound | Title up to 100 characters, the first 40 may show in feeds; description up to 800 characters |
| Max width video (paid, mobile only) | No taller than 1:1 | MP4, MOV or M4V; H.264 or H.265; up to 2 GB | 4 seconds to 15 minutes; 6 to 15 recommended | Plays without audio; volume button for sound | Spans two columns on iPhone and Android; brand awareness and video completion objectives only |
| Idea ads | 9:16 | 1080 x 1920 recommended; up to 2 GB in the app, 100 MB on the web | Up to 5 minutes | Not specified | Safe zone 270 px top, 440 px bottom, 65 px left, 195 px right; on-page text up to 250 characters |
| Collections ads | Hero video square or vertical (2:3 or 9:16) | Hero video up to 2 GB; 3 to 24 secondary images in one ratio, 1:1 recommended | Hero video 4 seconds to 15 minutes | Not specified | Hero autoplays at 50 percent visibility (search snippet of official page) |
| Showcase ads (paid only) | 2:3 title Pin and cards | 1000 x 1500 recommended; video up to 32 MB | 3 to 60 seconds | Not specified | Safe zone 342 x 430 px; text overlay no more than 10 words; up to four cards |
| Premiere Spotlight (reserved) | Max width video | As max width video | As max width video | As max width video | Reservation required, priced per day; first ad slot in the home feed, search or a category; home frequency cap of 4 |
- Pinterest Business Help, product specs, read October 27, 2026
- Pinterest Business Help, promoted video with autoplay, read October 27, 2026
- Pinterest Business Help, Premiere Spotlight, read October 27, 2026
- Pinterest Business Help, ad review, read October 27, 2026
- Pinterest, advertising guidelines, read October 27, 2026
- Pinterest, Q2 2026 results (SEC filing), read October 27, 2026
Pinterest updates its advertising guidelines on November 12, 2026; the policy points here were read before that date and will be checked again after it. The Collections autoplay rule comes from a search snippet of Pinterest's own article. No minimum daily budget is published outside Performance+ campaigns.
How we build an ad for it
Directed by people, made with AI, finished by hand. You approve the script and the sound before any footage is made.
The first frame is a Pin
The video waits in a grid of still images and starts only when half of it is in view. Its first frame is composed as a picture that would earn a save on its own: the product, the light and the color, with no title card and no black.
A story told in pictures
Every Pinterest video plays in the feed without sound, so the idea reads from images alone. Text is sparse, because Pinterest refuses frames packed with overlay and caps Showcase overlays at ten words; the soundtrack is finished for the viewer who taps.
A frame per unit
Standard video takes 2:3 or 9:16 in a single column; max width spans two columns but can be no taller than square; Idea ads are full-screen 9:16. Each is composed for its own shape from the same shoot, never letterboxed from one master.
The Idea ad's lopsided margins
Idea ads keep text 270 pixels from the top, 440 from the bottom, 65 from the left and 195 from the right, where Pinterest's buttons sit. Pages are laid out against that exact zone, and a longer how-to of up to five minutes is planned as pages rather than one take.
Finished, not lo-fi
Pinterest's guidelines turn away low-quality selfies and screenshots, the opposite of the native look other feeds reward. The picture here is aspirational and graded, and a Collections hero is shot alongside a matched set of square product stills so the row reads as one family.
Careful with bodies and claims
No before-and-after, no BMI, no body-shaming angle in anything touching health or fitness, since weight-loss language and imagery are banned outside a narrow, pre-approved exception. AI-assisted shots may carry Pinterest's label, which sits behind the menu on ads, and we say so up front.
Films that fit
Finished Filmito films, labeled with what each one is. Hover or tap to play.
What to order
Pinterest rewards fresh Pins: a steady flow of new first frames and short silent cuts across standard, max width and Idea formats suits Growth more than one long film.
15 seconds. One idea, one hook, one clear ask. First cut in 3 days, 2 revision rounds, 16:9 and 9:16 included.
Launch on the pricing page4 unique ads every month. Different angles, not shorter cuts.
Growth on the pricing pageQuestions about Pinterest ads
Do Pinterest video ads play with sound?
No. Pinterest says standard and max width video play in the feed without audio, and a viewer taps or uses the volume button to hear them. We tell the story in pictures and sparse text, and finish the soundtrack for the people who tap.
What is the difference between standard and max width video on Pinterest?
Standard width is the size of a regular Pin in one column. Max width spans two columns on a phone, can be no taller than square, runs only on iPhone and Android, and only for the brand awareness and video completion objectives.
Can Pinterest run weight loss ads?
Pinterest allows no weight-loss language or imagery in ads. The one exception is approved US and Canadian healthcare advertisers promoting prescription GLP-1 medication with Pinterest's prior permission, which the advertiser must obtain. Before-and-after images, BMI and body shaming are out for everyone.
What is Pinterest Premiere Spotlight?
A reserved max width video in the first ad slot of the home feed, search or a category, priced per day rather than by auction, booked one day at a time in the US through Pinterest's account team. We make the film; the reservation is yours or your agency's.
How long can a Pinterest video ad be?
Four seconds to fifteen minutes for standard and max width video, with six to fifteen recommended; Showcase card videos run three to sixty seconds and Idea ads up to five minutes. We write the short cut first and keep longer how-to content for Idea ads.
Will Pinterest label AI-made footage?
It can. Pinterest reads metadata and runs classifiers to label content made or modified with AI, and on ads the label sits behind the menu icon rather than on the Pin. We tell you which shots are AI-assisted before delivery.
Keep planning
Other screens, the craft behind the films, and the public prices.
Other channels
Craft and proof
Plan your ad
Filmito
Tell us the screen. We build the film.
Six short questions about your brand and where the ad will run. A person replies within one business day with the idea, the price and the date.
Since 2017 · 9,700+ films · 4.8 from 970+ reviews, every one readable