Strike Overview
- Getting your Pinterest ad specs right is the first step to reaching Pinterest’s highly purchase-driven audience.
- Learn the exact dimensions, file limits, and best practices for every Pinterest ad type, from static and carousel Pins to immersive video and showcase formats.
- Discover how the right formatting impacts visibility, engagement, and conversions across Pinterest’s visual discovery engine, helping your campaigns look native and inspire action.
Jump to Section
This post was updated in October 2025 to provide you with the latest information.
The Complete Guide to Pinterest Ad Specs (2025 Update)
Getting your Pinterest ad specs right is the foundation of reaching an audience that’s already looking to buy. We’re talking about over 500 million global users who turn to Pinterest specifically to plan purchases and discover products.
In Pinterest advertising, your creative needs to fit seamlessly into this visual discovery environment. When specs are off, you get cropped images, rejected videos, and ads that don’t reach your target audience.
This guide covers every Pinterest ad format, including specs for Pinterest image ads, video ads, carousel, static, and showcase ads. Use it as your go-to reference for building creative assets that meet Pinterest Ads Manager requirements and drive stronger results across your campaigns.
A Breakdown of Pinterest Ad Specs by Format
Here’s your complete reference to Pinterest ad specs across all major ad formats. Each format below includes the key dimensions, file limits, and best practices to help you build ads that perform across feeds.
Standard & Static Image Ad Specs
Static image ads, also known as Standard Pins, are the foundation of most Pinterest advertising campaigns. They’re simple, versatile, and deliver consistent engagement when properly formatted.
Here are the core Pinterest image ad specs:
- File Type: PNG or JPEG
- Max File Size: 20 MB (Pinterest max image file size for ads)
- Aspect Ratio: The recommended aspect ratio for Pinterest ads is 2:3 (1000 x 1500 px). Anything taller risks cropping in feeds. Square (1:1) is supported, but vertical performs best.
- Title: Up to 100 characters
- Description: Up to 500 characters (first ~40 characters typically display in feed)
Best Practice for Pinterest Static Image Ad Specs:
- Always use a vertical aspect ratio. It takes up the most screen space on mobile devices, making your ad more prominent and noticeable.
- Add your logo to the creative, but avoid placing it in the bottom-right corner, as it may be obscured by Pinterest’s visual search icon.
- Use bold, easy-to-read text directly on your image to convey the main value proposition. This immediately grabs attention and provides context for users scrolling quickly.
Video Ad Specs (Standard & Max. Width)
Video ads are ideal for storytelling, product demos, and capturing motion in-feed. Pinterest supports two widths, Standard and Max Width, with the latter spanning the two-column grid for a more immersive feel.
Pinterest Video Ad Specs:
- File Type: MP4, MOV, or M4V
- Encoding: H.264 or H.265
- Max File Size: Up to 2 GB
- Video Length: Minimum 4 seconds; maximum 15 minutes (6–15 seconds performs best)
- Aspect Ratio:
- Standard Video: 1:2 to 1.91:1. Square (1:1) and vertical formats (2:3, 4:5, 9:16) are most common.
- Max. Width Video: 1:1 (square) or 16:9 (widescreen)
- Title: Up to 100 characters
- Description: Up to 500 characters
Best Practices for Pinterest Video Ads:
- Design for sound-off viewing. Use strong visuals, text overlays, and captions to communicate your message effectively.
- Use motion and compelling imagery within the first 2-3 seconds to stop users from scrolling past your ad.
Carousel Ad Specs
Carousels allow you to showcase multiple products or walk users through a story, one card at a time. Each card gets its own image, title, description, and link.
Pinterest Carousel Ad Specs:
- Number of Cards: 2 to 5 cards per carousel
- File Type: PNG or JPEG
- Max File Size: 32 MB per card
- Aspect Ratio: 1:1 (square) or 2:3 (vertical). All cards in one carousel must use the same aspect ratio.
- Title: Up to 100 characters
- Description: Up to 500 characters. Applies to each card individually.
Best Practices for Pinterest Carousel Ad Specs:
- Use the cards to guide the user through a narrative, a step-by-step process, or different features of a single product.
- Display a range of products from a collection or different styles of the same item. This is highly effective for fashion and home decor brands.
- Use a consistent color palette, font, and photography style across all cards to create a polished and professional look. The Pinterest carousel ad specs offer flexibility, but consistency across cards is what makes them visually effective.
Collections Ad Specs
These formats turn your Pins into shoppable experiences. Collections are particularly powerful, pairing a hero creative with dynamic product images pulled from your catalog.
Pinterest Collections Ad Specs:
- Requirement: You need a product catalog synced to your Pinterest Business account.
- File Type: PNG or JPEG
- Max File Size: 10 MB
- Hero Image: Follow the Pinterest static ad specs as provided above.
- Product Images: These pull automatically from your catalog feed. Use high-resolution images with clean backgrounds. The recommended aspect ratio for Pinterest ads in this category is typically 1:1 or 2:3.
Best Practices for Pinterest Collections:
- Your main image or video should be a compelling lifestyle shot that shows your products in context, creating an emotional connection.
- Regularly audit your product feed to ensure pricing is accurate, links are not broken, and out-of-stock items are removed.
- Increase organic visibility by tagging products from your catalog in your standard, non-ad Pins. This expands your “Shop” tab and creates additional shoppable surfaces.
Showcase Ad Specs
This format encourages deep exploration by allowing users to tap through interactive cards within a single Pin.
Pinterest Showcase Ad Specs:
- Structure: A primary “hero” Pin with 3-4 secondary “feature” cards linked within it.
- Creative: All images and videos must adhere to the standard Pinterest static image and video ad specs.
- Linking: Each feature card can have its own outbound link, title, and description.
- Character Limit: Up to 50 characters
Best Practices for Pinterest Showcase Ad Specs:
- Use the interactive cards to highlight unique selling points, ingredients, or benefits that may not be immediately apparent.
- Group related products or ideas under a single theme (e.g., “Your Complete Morning Coffee Setup”) to encourage exploration.
- Ensure the link on each card directs to the specific product or feature page, not a generic homepage, for a seamless user journey.
Pinterest Quiz Ad Specs
Quiz Ads engage users with a series of questions, leading them to a personalized result Pin and product recommendation.
- File Type:
- Image: .PNG, .JPEG, .WEBP, .TIFF, or .BMP
- Video: .MP4, .MOV, or .M4V (mobile app only)
- Max File Size: 32 MB
- Aspect Ratio: 2:3 for both the Title Pin and Result Pins.
- Resolution: 1000 x 1500 pixels is highly recommended.
- Video Length: 3 to 60 seconds.
- Text & Character Limits:
- Quiz Title: Up to 100 characters.
- Pin Title: Up to 100 characters (first 40 visible).
- Pin Description: Up to 500 characters.
- Questions: Up to 96 characters.
- Answers: Up to 48 characters.
- Text Overlay: ≤10 words
Best Practices:
- Frame your quiz around user discovery (e.g., “Find your perfect travel destination”) to provide personalized recommendations and solutions tailored to each user.
- Aim for 2-4 questions to maintain user interest and prevent them from dropping off before they get their results.
Idea Ad Specs
Idea Ads are where storytelling really comes alive. This immersive, multi-page format blends video and images to create rich narratives. Idea Ads may be developed and promoted by a business, or created by a creator and promoted by a business through a paid partnership.
Pinterest Idea Ad Specs:
- File Type:
- Image: .PNG, .JPEG, .WEBP, .TIFF, .BMP
- Video: .MP4, .M4V, .MOV (mobile app only)
- File Size: 1 GB is recommended. The maximum file size varies by upload source: 2 GB (via iOS/Android) or 100 MB (via the web).
- Video Encoding: H.264 or H.265.
- Aspect Ratio and Resolution: A 9:16 ratio (1080 x 1920 pixels) is recommended for the overall Pin to ensure a full-screen, vertical experience.
- Pin Title: Up to 100 characters.
- Pin Description: Up to 500 characters.
Best Practices:
- Use the multi-page format to create tutorials or DIY guides.
- Keep users engaged by using a combination of short video clips and high-quality static images throughout the Pin.
- Use an early page to list “what you’ll need” (e.g. ingredients, tools, etc.) to encourage users to save the Pin for later.
Premiere Spotlight Ad Specs
This is a high-impact, premium video placement designed for maximum awareness, often appearing at the top of the search and home feeds.
Pinterest Premiere Spotlight Specs:
- Format: Video only.
- File Type: MP4, MOV, or M4V.
- Aspect Ratio and Resolution: 16:9 (1920 x 1080 pixels) or 1:1 (1080 x 1080 pixels).
- Placement: Home and search feeds via reservation
- Pricing: Daily rate (not auction-based)
Best Practices:
- This placement has massive visibility, so use your best, most polished video creative to represent your brand.
- Maximize impact by running Premiere Spotlight campaigns during key product launches, seasonal promotions, or major brand moments.
Get the Pinterest Ad Specs Guide
Your complete Pinterest ad specs resource is ready for campaign planning and creative briefings.
Why Ad Specs Matter for Pinterest Advertising
Now that you have the technical details, let’s talk about why they actually matter. When it comes to Pinterest ads, specs aren’t just boxes to check. Every pixel and ratio impacts how your ads appear, engage, and convert.
Performance Impact
Pinterest Ads Manager rewards creatives that enhance user experience. Ads built to the recommended aspect ratio for Pinterest ads occupy more screen real estate on mobile devices, instantly capturing attention. More screen space translates to stronger engagement and improved return on ad spend.
In fact, mobile-optimized vertical video has been shown to deliver completion rates up to 80% higher than horizontal video across visual discovery platforms. For Pinterest advertising, that means every inch of screen space matters in achieving cost-efficient reach.
A Visual Discovery Engine
Pinterest is built around discovery, not conversation. Users aren’t connecting with people; they’re connecting with ideas, inspirations, and products they intend to buy.
When you format ads for Pinterest discover and search feeds using the correct specs, your creatives blend naturally into the user experience. They appear to be part of the inspiration journey rather than an interruption. This integration is key for optimizing Pinterest Pins for paid campaigns, making your ads feel native, authentic, and actionable.
Further Reading
How much do Pinterest ads cost?
Pinterest offers multiple tools that help users discover products while allowing advertisers to reach these audiences in inventive ways. Know the cost benchmarks across different objectives to structure your campaign budget effectively.
Pinterest Ad Specs and Formats FAQs
For image ads, use a 2:3 aspect ratio (recommended size: 1000 x 1500 pixels) in PNG or JPEG format, with a maximum file size of 20 MB.
For video ads, choose vertical formats such as 2:3 or 9:16, upload in MP4 or MOV format, and keep the file size under 2 GB. The best-performing Pinterest video ads typically run between 6 and 15 seconds to achieve optimal completion rates and engagement.
Stick to a 2:3 aspect ratio to avoid cropping in user feeds. A safe pixel dimension is 1000 x 1500 pixels. Taller Pins are possible, but they risk getting truncated, which may cut off critical visuals like logos or calls to action.
Use high-resolution product images (at least 800 x 800 pixels) where the item is clearly visible against a white or neutral background. Maintain a consistent 1:1 or 2:3 aspect ratio across all images in your product feed for a polished, uniform layout.
Make sure your Pinterest Business catalog is regularly synced and error-free to avoid issues with broken links or missing product data in your Collection Ads.
The maximum image file size for Pinterest ads is 20 MB for static image ads and 32 MB per card for carousel ads. For video creatives, Pinterest allows up to 2 GB per file, depending on the source of the upload.
Monitor performance directly in Pinterest Ads Manager, focusing on key metrics like Impressions, Pin Clicks, Outbound Clicks, and Conversions.
To improve results, test different Pinterest ad formats (image, video, carousel) and creative variations. Reallocate your budget toward the best-performing Pins that align with your campaign goal, whether that’s driving traffic, increasing awareness, or generating conversions.
From Technical Specs to Business Results
Understanding the fundamental ad specs helps in building a strategic foundation for effective Pinterest marketing. When your creative is built correctly from the start, it integrates naturally into the user experience, captures attention, and drives the action that grows your business.
These ad format guidelines serve as your foundation for campaigns that not only fit the Pinterest interface but also perform strategically across every placement. By combining accurate formatting with compelling creative storytelling, you create an experience that inspires users to click, save, and shop.
Ready to turn technical specs into measurable results? Contact Strike Social to launch a high-performing Pinterest ads campaign built for business impact.
Article by
Lee Baler, Strike Social’s VP of Sales & Strategy
Lee leads global strategy, helping clients and agencies maximize YouTube and paid social performance. Constantly tracking industry trends, he translates insights into strategies that help brands stay competitive and achieve sustained profitability.
