Pinterest Marketing Benchmarks 2026: Saves, Clicks & Conversion

Pinterest Marketing Benchmarks 2026

Pinterest is the most under-benchmarked major social platform — partly because it sits in an awkward space between social network and search engine, and partly because most marketing reports lump Pinterest in with "other social." This guide compiles the engagement, reach, click-through, and conversion benchmarks specifically for Pinterest in 2026, sourced from Pinterest Business, Social Insider, and Tailwind's creator analytics.

Pinterest matters in 2026 because of a single statistic from Pinterest's own purchase-intent research: over 80% of weekly Pinners have made purchases based on Pinterest content. That is the highest commercial-intent rate of any major social platform, and the reason Pinterest punches well above its perceived weight for visual and e-commerce categories.

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Engagement Rate by Account Size

From Social Insider's 2026 Pinterest benchmark report:

Follower Tier	Avg. ER	Good	Excellent
1K–10K	1.20%	2.00%	3.50%+
10K–50K	0.80%	1.50%	2.50%+
50K–500K	0.50%	1.00%	2.00%+
500K+	0.30%	0.70%	1.50%+

These numbers look low next to Instagram or TikTok, but Pinterest is search-driven — users discover pins primarily through search and recommendations, not by following accounts. Follower count is less load-bearing than on most platforms.

Use the Pinterest Engagement Rate Calculator to find your rate and benchmark.

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Save Rate: The Pinterest-Specific Metric

Save rate is the metric Pinterest's algorithm uses most heavily for ranking. Per Pinterest Business 2026 analytics:

• Average save rate: 0.4%–0.6%
• Good save rate: 1%+
• Excellent save rate: 2%+

A save indicates the user intends to return — which is why Pinterest's algorithm weights saves so heavily compared to likes or comments. A pin with 50 saves and 5 likes will outperform a pin with 50 likes and 5 saves in distribution and longevity.

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Click-Through Rate to External Sites

Pinterest's commercial value is in outbound clicks — users clicking from pin to your website. Per Pinterest Business 2026 data:

• Average click-through rate: 0.4%
• Good CTR: 0.8%–1.2%
• Excellent CTR: 1.5%+

CTR varies meaningfully by category. Home & garden, fashion, and food consistently exceed the cross-category average. B2B and finance pins typically lag.

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Conversion Rate from Pinterest Traffic

Pinterest traffic to websites converts at notable rates because of the high commercial intent. From WordStream's 2026 cross-platform conversion benchmarks:

• Average conversion rate from Pinterest: 2.8%
• Top quartile: 5%+
• Compared to Instagram referral traffic: Pinterest converts 25–40% better in most e-commerce verticals

This is the metric that justifies Pinterest investment for e-commerce brands — even with lower engagement rates than Instagram, Pinterest visitors are more likely to buy.

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Performance by Vertical

Per Pinterest's 2026 industry insights, engagement rates by vertical:

• Home & garden: 1.4% avg ER, 0.7% avg save rate — Pinterest's strongest commercial vertical
• Food & drink: 1.3% avg ER, 0.65% save rate — recipes drive consistently high save behaviour
• Wedding: 1.6% avg ER, 0.9% save rate — long planning cycles drive disproportionate saves
• Fashion & beauty: 1.1% avg ER — high visual quality, moderate save intent
• Travel: 1.2% avg ER, 0.6% save rate — strong save intent during planning phases
• Health & fitness: 0.9% avg ER
• DIY & crafts: 1.5% avg ER, 0.8% save rate
• B2B / SaaS: 0.4% avg ER — Pinterest poorly suited to most B2B content

If you're in a Pinterest-native vertical, your bar for "good" is meaningfully higher than the cross-platform average.

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Pinterest Ads Benchmarks

For paid Pinterest activity, per WordStream 2026 ad cost data:

Metric	Pinterest Avg	Compared to Industry Avg
CPM	$5.50	Lower than Meta or LinkedIn
CPC	$0.80	Lower than Meta, similar to TikTok
CTR	0.20%–0.35%	Lower than Meta but with higher commercial conversion
Conversion rate	2.8%	Strong for e-commerce verticals
CPL (where applicable)	Limited data	Pinterest is rarely the primary lead-gen channel

Pinterest ads remain underpriced relative to commercial outcomes in visual and e-commerce categories — particularly for home, wedding, fashion, and food. The platform's audience commercial intent is its single biggest advantage.

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Seasonal Patterns That Affect Benchmarks

Pinterest is unusual among social platforms because user activity has predictable seasonal peaks:

• Wedding searches: Peak December–March (for spring–summer weddings)
• Home renovation: Peak January–April (post-holiday planning)
• Spring fashion: Peak February–March
• Halloween + autumn decor: Peak August–September
• Christmas + holiday: Peak September–November
• Wellness + fitness: Peak December–January

According to Pinterest Trends, users start searching 45–90 days before the actual peak season — making Pinterest fundamentally different from real-time platforms where content has a hours-long shelf life.

Benchmarking your Pinterest performance against the calendar matters more than on any other platform.

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How These Numbers Should Inform Your Strategy

If you're in a Pinterest-native vertical with these numbers as your bar:

1. Build a Pinterest-specific content plan — don't repurpose Instagram posts. Vertical pins (2:3 ratio, 1000×1500px), titled overlays, save-worthy formats.

2. Publish 5–15 fresh pins per day — Pinterest's algorithm rewards consistency and freshness more than any other platform.

3. Measure save rate, not just engagement rate — saves drive Pinterest distribution; likes are nearly irrelevant.

4. Pin 45–90 days before seasonal peaks — early publishing gives pins time to gain saves and rank in Pinterest search.

5. Use Rich Pins for product and recipe content — Rich Pins receive 2x higher CTR than standard pins.

Use the Pinterest Engagement Rate Calculator and Conversion Rate Calculator to track Pinterest performance against these benchmarks.