Pinterest Ads Cost Guide: CPC, CPM & CPA by Industry
Pinterest ads cost less than you might expect. Get current CPC, CPM, and conversion benchmarks. See how costs differ by industry, and compare Pinterest advertising with Facebook.
If you’re a B2C e-commerce brand, there’s never been a more perfect time to advertise on Pinterest.
The platform is big on shoppable Pins, there’s an audience that’s ready to buy, and Pinterest ads are more affordable than most platforms you probably use.
Another main appeal of Pinterest is that you’re not interrupting someone using an app for entertainment.
On Pinterest, people are looking for solutions. They’re in discovery mode and are actively looking for products to meet their needs, whether that's a decor item, a beauty product, a DIY hack, or a recipe.
But just how much does Pinterest advertising cost?
You can expect to pay $0.21–$2.00 per click, $1.51–$7.00 per 1,000 impressions, and $4.01–$16.00 per conversion. Read on to find out how much Pinterest ads cost and what these numbers mean for your e-commerce brand.
Key takeaways
- Pinterest is ideal for cheap traffic acquisition, with nearly half of advertisers paying under 20 cents a click.
- Pinterest CPMs are relatively low. 66.66% of marketers report paying $2 or less per 1,000 impressions.
- Your industry can change your Pinterest ad costs significantly. Food and Beauty have some of the lowest CPCs, while Finance sits at the higher end.
- Pinterest can be a lower-cost alternative to Meta for ecommerce. Its middle-range CPC, CPM, and conversion costs all come in below the Facebook benchmarks in this comparison.
What are the current Pinterest advertising costs?
These benchmarks are from an industry survey conducted by WebFX, analyzing advertising costs reported by active Pinterest marketers.
Because raw advertising costs vary dramatically based on industry, targeting, and creative quality, looking at a single average cost is misleading. We have segmented the survey results into three tiers to give you a realistic picture of where your campaign might fall.
| Metric | Lower-cost range | Middle range | Higher-cost range |
|---|---|---|---|
| CPC | $0.00–$0.20 | $0.21–$2.00 | More than $3.00 |
| CPM | $0.00–$1.50 | $1.51–$7.00 | More than $7.00 |
| Cost per conversion | $0.00–$4.00 | $4.01–$16.00 | More than $16.00 |
Pinterest ads cost per click
Pinterest is a mostly affordable advertising platform. If we go with data from the WebFX survey, a click on Pinterest can cost an advertiser 20 cents or less.
However, CPCs can be considerably higher depending on factors such as industry, competition, targeting, bidding strategy, and campaign objective. Current benchmark data puts Pinterest CPC around $0.50–$1.50.
Some advertisers pay more than $3 per click.
A CPC above $1 shouldn't automatically be treated as a problem. Compare it with your conversion rate, CPA, and return on ad spend to determine whether the campaign is efficient.
Pinterest ads cost per 1,000 impressions
Pinterest advertising can also be relatively affordable when measured by cost per 1,000 impressions (CPM). Data from WebFX shows that 66.66% of marketers reported paying $2 or less per 1,000 impressions on Pinterest.
The most reported ranges were $0.00–$0.50 and $1.01–$1.50.
Again, costs vary considerably depending on factors such as the industry, audience, competition, campaign objective, and the Pinterest ad format. Some marketers reported CPMs above $5, while 1.45% reported paying more than $9.
As a general benchmark, a Pinterest CPM of $2 or less can be a good benchmark. That said, a higher CPM does not automatically mean your campaign is underperforming. You should evaluate your CPM alongside your CTR, CPC, conversions, CPA, and ROAS.
Pinterest ad cost per conversion
About 41.94% of marketers reported paying $4 or less per conversion, while 66.13% reported paying $10 or less.
At the higher end, 12.90% reported costs of more than $16 per conversion.
This suggests that $4–$10 is a reasonable range to use as a general reference point for your Pinterest conversion costs.
Pinterest ads cost by industry
AdBacklog's global benchmarks show that Food and Beauty tend to have lower CPCs. Finance has some of the highest costs across CPC, CPM, and CPA.
| Industry | Avg. CPC | Avg. CPA | Avg. CPM | Avg. CTR | Avg. CVR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail | $0.50–$0.70 | ~$7–$8 | ~$3.00 | 0.8%–1.0% | ~2.0% |
| Beauty | $0.40–$0.60 | ~$7–$10 | ~$2.50 | 0.7%–0.9% | ~1.5%–2.0% |
| Home Décor | $0.50–$0.80 | ~$10+ | ~$3.00–$4.00 | 0.6%–0.8% | ~1.0%–1.5% |
| Food & CPG | $0.30–$0.60 | ~$5–$8 | ~$2.00–$3.00 | 0.5%–0.7% | ~2.5%–3.0% |
| Finance | $0.80–$1.50 | ~$12–$15 | ~$5.00+ | 0.3%–0.5% | ~0.5%–1.0% |
These averages show what we know to be true for Pinterest advertising. It can be an excellent and affordable source of customers for consumer goods brands.
Learn more about the Pinterest advertising guidelines to keep in mind before launching your first campaign.
How much should you spend on Pinterest advertising?
If you’re starting out, $100–$500 per month gives you enough room to test different audiences, creatives, and campaigns without committing a large budget.
WebFX’s survey of 270 marketers found that 59% spend $0–$500 per month on Pinterest ads. Among startups and small businesses, $1–$100 per month was the most common spend, while larger businesses tended to spend more.
Your budget should ultimately depend on your campaign goal, audience size, competition, and the return you get from your ads.
Facebook vs. Pinterest ads cost
| Metric | ||
|---|---|---|
| CPC | ~$0.58 | $0.21–$2.00 |
| CPM | ~$8.96 | $1.51–$7.00 |
| Cost per conversion | $8–$55 | $4.01–$16.00 |
Based on these benchmarks, Pinterest advertising is generally cheaper than Facebook ad costs across all three metrics. Its middle-range CPC starts below Facebook's $0.58 average. Its CPM range is also substantially lower than Facebook's $8.96 average.
The biggest difference is in cost per conversion.
Pinterest's middle range of $4.01–$16.00 is considerably lower than Facebook's $8–$55 range.
Wrapping up on Pinterest advertising costs
Pinterest's advertising costs are especially competitive for ecommerce. Retail, Beauty, and Food benchmarks show CPCs below $0.80 and CPAs below $10, while Pinterest's CPM of $1.51–$7.00 is also below Facebook's ~$8.96 benchmark.
Given these competitive rates, if you've been discounting Pinterest, particularly as an ecommerce brand, it's time to give the platform a try. You may find that Pinterest can get you clicks, impressions, and conversions at a lower cost than what you're currently paying on Meta.
We recommend getting started with Pinterest Dynamic Ads if you want to give Pinterest a shot.
FAQs
Are ads on Pinterest worth it?
Pinterest users use it to discover, plan, and shop, making ads a natural fit for products people are looking for.
Are Pinterest ads cheaper than Facebook ads?
Based on the benchmarks in this guide, yes. Pinterest's reported ranges are $0.21–$2.00 per click, $1.51–$7.00 per 1,000 impressions, and $4.01–$16.00 per conversion, compared with Facebook's ~$0.58 CPC, ~$8.96 CPM, and $8–$55 CPA.
Do people still use Pinterest?
Pinterest has 631 million monthly active users, and people use it to save, plan, and shop.
Does Pinterest have a minimum ad budget?
Pinterest does not require a minimum budget. You can choose how much to spend using daily, lifetime, or fixed-daily budgeting options.
Do Pinterest ads charge per click?
Not always. Pinterest lets you choose bidding based on your campaign goal. Consideration campaigns can use CPC bidding, while awareness campaigns can optimize for impressions, and conversion campaigns can optimize for actions such as sales or sign-ups.
Sources
- WebFX. How Much Does Pinterest Advertising Cost?
- AdBacklog. Pinterest Ads Benchmarks Per Industry
- Cropink. Pinterest Advertising Guidelines
- Cropink. How Much Do Facebook Ads Cost?
Damaris is a Digital Marketing Specialist who writes about digital marketing and performance marketing. At Cropink, she creates data-driven content to help businesses run better ad campaigns for better performance and ROI.
Leszek is the Digital Growth Manager at Feedink & Cropink, specializing in organic growth for eCommerce and SaaS companies. His background includes roles at Poland's largest accommodation portal and FT1000 companies, with his work featured in Forbes, Inc., Business Insider, Fast Company, Entrepreneur, BBC, and TechRepublic.
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