What are the different types of pins on Pinterest, and what is the difference between the big four: idea pins, static pins, carousel pins, and video pins? In this post, I will show you exactly what those pins look like and walk you through each pin type, what they do, the sizing recommendations, and general best practices for each.

Over the years, Pinterest has simplified the way we create and use pins. Within the different types, we can really just focus on the two basics: image pins and video pins. Whether you’re a content creator, eCommerce seller, or service provider, understanding how and when to use each pin format can make a big difference in your Pinterest marketing results.

What is a static pin on Pinterest?

Static pins (or standard pins) are the most commonly used pins on Pinterest and are just static images. Image pins are the bread and butter of Pinterest. You can use them to promote blog posts, products, services, and more.

The goal of a static pin is to drive traffic to your domain, wherever that is on the internet. You can also In most cases, the majority of the pins that you create in your business are going to be static pins. A static pin looks similar to this.

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Sizes of static pins

Depending on your content type, or brand style, you can have pins as a mix of sizes, but also predominantly one type as well.

• 1000 x 1000 (1:1 square)
• 1000 x 1500 (2:3 vertical/Canva standard)
• 1080 x 1920 (9:16 vertical/Instagram Reel size)

There is no limit to how tall or vertical you can make your pins, especially if you make lots of infographics that you pin. But the larger or the longer you go with your pin type, the more at risk you are actually of getting cut off in the mobile feed. I’ve never really found that to be the case over on Pinterest within the home feed on desktop though.

Creative types within static pins

These pins can look a lot of different ways. You can have images alone, images with text overlay, or just a design with text. They work well for different types of content.

• Text Overlay Pins: Add a clear call-to-action or headline.
• Infographic Pins: Step-by-step visuals or educational graphics.
• Text-Free Lifestyle Pins: Great for photographers, fashion brands, and creatives who rely on visuals.

Infographics are highly savable and people will save them for later reference. They may not click on them to click through to your content, but they will save them. Pins with text overlay are obviously traffic drivers because it’s the prelude to your solution you have for them with your blog post or products you’re highlighting with your pins.

The last format of lifestyle pins is more for creative businesses like photographers, videographers, or very chic product brands, like clothing and jewelry where your image really sells what you’re talking about.

RELATED: How To Make Pinterest Pins For Physical Products

What are Pinterest video pins called?

Pinterest videos are just called video pins. You use video pins when you’re trying to build engagement, inspire your audience, and get them to follow you on Pinterest. They’re especially powerful for tutorials, product showcases, and storytelling.

Video pins can be easily repurposed from other short form videos you make on TikTok or Instagram for example as long as the content contained in the video makes sense for Pinterest. For example, this is one of my video pins, very simple. It is just a screenshot of it, but they will automatically play in the feed.

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Video pin specs

Video pins can be between 4 seconds and 5 minutes. But they should be between 6 and 15 seconds long, not 5 minutes. The average watch time on video pins on Pinterest is about 6 seconds, especially with Pinterest ads. So you want to front-load the beginning part of your video pin with any text and call to action that you want to include.

• Duration: 4 seconds to 5 minutes
• Formats: MP4, M4V, MOOV
• Sizes: Same as image pins (1000×1500, 1080×1920)

Best practices for video pins

You gotta make sure you do these things or else your pins can look messed up when they’re posted, or the quality is downgraded a lot.

• Choose a Cover Image to avoid a black screen.
• Avoid Third-Party Uploaders, use Pinterest’s native scheduler.

You have to select a video cover or your pin might risk a black screen when it publishes. Almost all of the pins that I’ve mistakenly uploaded without doing this have a black screen to start because I haven’t chosen a video cover. The engagement levels are incredibly low on them, so watch that.

Now I do not suggest using any third-party apps or schedulers to create your video pins. You can, but I always recommend uploading them natively through the Pinterest scheduler. That way you get the highest quality format.

RELATED: Schedule Your Pins for FREE using the Native Pinterest Scheduler

What happened to Idea pins?

Pinterest officially phased out Idea Pins over a year ago. And when I say got rid of them, I don’t mean like fully. You can probably even find them still if you have legacy accounts. But they’re not an upload option anymore.

When they collapsed idea pins into just pins, they left us with the two specific pin formats of static and video. If you still see the Idea Pin option somewhere, it’s likely a leftover from an older account version.

What is a carousel pin?

Carousel pins are multifaceted and a feature that are returning heavily and more popular as of late. They are making a quiet comeback. They allow you to upload multiple images in one pin, like slides, each potentially linking to different URLs.

The only instance in which I would actually suggest using carousel pins would be for ads. I don’t use them often. In most cases, the best-performing carousel pins I have seen were used in ads and for product shots.

Now one thing to note, you cannot always upload carousel pins with multi-destination links via a third-party scheduling app. So if you want to use a carousel, I would highly recommend just using the native Pinterest scheduler and uploading them.

How do I create carousel pins?

Go to the native Pinterest scheduler inside of your account, and have all of your pin images ready to just drag and drop.

1. Select all your images and drag them in together.
2. Click ‘Create Carousel’ and add your next image with the + plus sign at the bottom if you have more.
3. Uncheck the box at the bottom if you want to have separate URLs for each image.
4. Optimize fully and publish

RELATED: How to Use Keywords to Optimize Your Pins on Pinterest

What kind of pins do well on Pinterest? 

Each pin type has a different purpose, so there isn’t a straight answer across the board. I would suggest creating each pin type for each piece of content you create. If you have a very specific type of content where one style does better than any other, go with what your analytics and results show is best, ultimately. As you develop your own Pinterest traffic strategy you will decide which options are going to fit your business needs and goals.

Final thoughts

I hope you mix up your Pinterest marketing strategy regarding the different types of pins on Pinterest. Pinterest’s simplification of pin formats into just image and video pins helps creators focus more on content strategy and less on format confusion.

Now that you know exactly what pin formats to expect when creating pins for your Pinterest marketing strategy, head right on over to our full Pinterest Marketing playlist to learn more about using them in your Pinterest marketing strategy and getting results that you desire.

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