Buy side · what advertisers pay
Pinterest CPM
By Oliver Wakefield-Smith · updated July 2026
Benchmarks reviewed July 2026 · next review October 2026
The short answer
Pinterest publishes its buying model, not its prices: objective-based campaigns bought in a self-serve auction. No Pinterest-published average CPM exists, and no dated tracker we consider citable covers it, so this page carries a no-published-rate entry and explains what the channel's impressions are, which is unusual.
Which objectives bill by impression
Pinterest's ad products span awareness objectives (billed per thousand impressions) and consideration or conversion objectives (billed per click or optimized action). As on Meta and Google, the objective decides the billing event, and awareness buying is where a CPM number would appear on your invoice. The mechanics of that split are the same everywhere: CPM vs CPC.
The planning-intent argument
Pinterest's pitch is that its users arrive planning purchases (weddings, renovations, wardrobes) months ahead. For a CPM buyer that changes the denominator's quality: an impression against someone assembling a mood-board for a kitchen is closer to bottom-of-funnel display than to idle social scrolling. Whether that premium-in-kind offsets whatever price your auction clears at is a cost-per-result question, and only your own test answers it. Arithmetic here: the calculator; verdict framing: is my CPM good?
Neighbouring channels: Instagram (closest published benchmark at $8.96 per Gupta Media) and Snapchat (same quote-only state). Full table: /rates.