Pinterest Ads Formats – Pinterest is a place where people come looking for ideas and solutions, not just scrolling randomly.
The platform now has 600 million active users every month, many of whom are planning, researching, or ready to buy.
This makes Pinterest ads very useful for marketers who want to show up when people are actively searching for ideas or products.
Here’s a simple explanation of each ad type and when it makes sense to use them.
Ad Formats Made Simple
Pinterest Ads has several different ad types, some of which you won’t find on other social platforms.
Here’s a look at the main formats and when you might want to use them.
Carousel Ads
Carousel ads let you show 2–5 images or cards that people can swipe through. Users can tap a card to see it bigger or click it to go to your website.
This is great if you want to show more than one product or message and get people to interact with your ad.
Collection Ads
Collection ads are similar to carousel ads but focus on showing multiple products in one ad.
The top part of the ad (called the “hero”) can be an image, video, or slideshow
Below it, there are three smaller images
When someone clicks the ad, they can see up to 24 more images or products
This format is perfect if you want to display lots of items at once and make it easy for people to explore them.
Idea Ads
Idea ads use one full-screen image or video and can show up on the Pinterest homepage, in search results, or next to related pins.
This type of ad is perfect if you want it to look natural, like regular Pinterest content, but still let people shop your products or visit your website.
Standard Ads
Standard ads are the simplest type of Pinterest ad. They use just one image.
These ads are good if you want something easy to create, visually attractive, and that takes people straight to your website.
Video Ads
Pinterest has two types of video ads: standard and max-width.
Standard video ads are the same size as a normal pin and use one video.
Max-width video ads are twice as wide and span across two columns in the Pinterest app.
Because videos play automatically, these ads are great for catching attention and for brands that can tell a story with video.
Shopping Ads
Shopping ads show one product image, just like standard ads, but they also display important details like the price.
This makes it easy for people to see what’s for sale and shop directly from the ad.
This type of ad is perfect for online stores. It shows a product that people can shop directly, especially if you have a good product feed.
Quiz Ads
Quiz ads let you create a small quiz with 2–3 questions. Based on the answers, users see 2–3 results. Each result has a picture, headline, and short description, and users can click to go to your website.
This is a fun, interactive way to give users a more personal experience.
Example: A beauty brand could use a quiz to help users find the right skincare product. This makes the experience more personal than just sending users to the homepage.
Local Inventory Ads
Local inventory ads help you show products that are in stock along with their real-time prices.
To use this feature, you need to set up store locations and add local product information using a store feed.
This ad type is ideal if you want to encourage people to visit your store and showcase what’s available nearby to local shoppers.
Conclusion
Pinterest offers a variety of ad formats, each designed to achieve different goals — from showcasing multiple products with carousel and collection ads, to engaging users with idea or quiz ads, or driving direct purchases with shopping and local inventory ads. Choosing the right format depends on your campaign objectives, whether it’s brand awareness, engagement, or driving sales.
If you want to make the most of Pinterest Ads in 2026 and get expert guidance on selecting the right formats for your business, A99 Solutions can help. Our team specializes in creating results-driven Pinterest campaigns that reach the right audience, at the right time, with the right ad format.