What the Pinterest Video Length Limit Is for Video Pins and Ads

What is the Pinterest video length limit?

The Pinterest video length limit for a standard video Pin is a minimum of 4 seconds and a maximum of 15 minutes. Pinterest publishes the range in its product specs article on the Pinterest Business Help Centre, in the row labelled Video length: "Minimum 4 seconds, maximum 15 minutes."

That row sits under standard width video ads, which Pinterest defines as "videos that are the same size as a regular Pin." The same table says the format "Can be used in paid ad campaigns or to generate organic impressions," so the 4-second to 15-minute range covers the video Pins you post to boards as well as the ones you promote. Pinterest's article on creating a Pin sends anyone "looking for more technical details" to this same specs page, and it is the only place Pinterest states an organic video length.

A 3-second clip is too short to become a standard video Pin. A 16-minute recording is too long. Cut anything outside the range before you upload it.

Does the Pinterest video length limit change by format?

The Pinterest video length limit changes by format, and three formats use a shorter ceiling than the standard video Pin. Pinterest's product specs list each one:

Format	Video length	Maximum file size	Organic or paid
Standard width video	4 seconds to 15 minutes	2 GB	Both
Max. width video ad	4 seconds to 15 minutes	2 GB	Paid only
Collections ad video hero	4 seconds to 15 minutes	2 GB	Both
Idea ad	5 minutes maximum	2 GB on Android and iOS, 100 MB on web	Both
Showcase ad	3 to 60 seconds	32 MB	Paid only
Quiz ad	3 to 60 seconds	32 MB	Paid only

The Idea ad row matters most for organic creators. Pinterest lets you promote an organic Pin as an Idea ad, and Pinterest caps their video at "The maximum duration is 5 minutes." The file limit also splits by device, with 2 GB on the Android and iOS apps and 100 MB on the web. A 10-minute video is valid as a standard video Pin and too long for an Idea ad.

Showcase and quiz ads sit at the other end. Pinterest says their videos "should be between 3-60 seconds," and both formats are paid only.

Video length ceiling by format

Showcase or quiz ad60 sec

Idea ad5 min

Standard video Pin15 min

What other specs does a Pinterest video Pin need?

A Pinterest video Pin needs an accepted file type, an accepted codec, a file of 2 GB or less and an aspect ratio inside Pinterest's range, on top of the length rule. The standard width video table gives four more rows:

Spec	Standard video Pin requirement
File type	.MP4, .MOV or .M4V
Encoding	H.264 or H.265
Max file size	2 GB
Aspect ratio	Shorter than 1:2 (width:height), taller than 1.91:1

Pinterest recommends "square (1:1) or vertical (2:3, 4:5, or 9:16)" for standard video. The 1:2 bound means a video can be at most twice as tall as it is wide, so a 9:16 phone video at 1080 by 1920 sits inside it. For how those ratios compare across networks, see vertical video dimensions for every platform.

The 2 GB cap and the 15-minute cap interact. A 15-minute video is 900 seconds, and 2 GB is 16,000 megabits, so a full-length upload stays inside the file limit at an average bitrate of 17.7 Mbps or less. Export long videos at a moderate bitrate, or the size rule stops them before the length rule does.

Does the Pinterest API enforce the same video length?

The Pinterest API documents no video length rule of its own, and its guide to creating Pins links to the product specs page for "recommended Pin specs." The API reference for Pin creation and media upload gives no minimum or maximum duration. The one duration check in Pinterest's published API spec belongs to catalogs: a feed ingestion warning, VIDEO_DOWNLOAD_VIDEO_TOO_SHORT, reads "Please ensure that the main video is at least 4 seconds long," matching the 4-second floor in the product specs.

Creating a video Pin through the API takes four steps, as Pinterest's "Create boards and Pins" guide describes them:

1. Register the upload with POST /v5/media and {"media_type": "video"}. The response returns a media_id, an upload_url and a set of upload_parameters.
2. Upload the file, an .mp4, .mov or .m4v, as multipart/form-data to the upload_url with every upload parameter as a form field. This call needs no bearer token and returns 204 No Content.
3. Check the upload with GET /v5/media/{media_id}. The status field takes one of four values, registered, processing, succeeded or failed, and Pinterest says to continue only once it reads succeeded.
4. Create the Pin with POST /v5/pins, setting media_source.source_type to video_id and passing the media_id and a cover image. The guide warns that "A valid image url must be provided to avoid a 400 Bad Request," and a successful call returns 201 Created.

Pinterest does not document which of these steps rejects a video outside the 4-second to 15-minute range, or what error message it returns. Treat the product specs as the rule and check length before step 1, since Pinterest's API spec puts both POST /v5/media and POST /v5/pins in the org_write category covered in the Pinterest API rate limit.

How do you read a video Pin's length after publishing?

A published video Pin reports its length in the duration field of its media object, in milliseconds. Pinterest's API spec describes the field as "Duration (in miliseconds). Field maybe null after creation due to video processing time," and gives height and width the same caveat. A 90-second video comes back as 90000 once processing finishes.

The creative_type field lags in the same way. The Pin guide says a video Pin can show "REGULAR while processing, and then VIDEO after processing is complete." If your code reads a new Pin straight after creation, a null duration and a REGULAR type mean the video is still processing, not that the upload failed.

One more field uses seconds rather than milliseconds. The cover_image_key_frame_time parameter picks the cover frame by timestamp, and "If entered time exceeds video duration, the last frame is used." A cover set at 30 seconds on a 20-second video shows the final frame.

What length does Pinterest recommend for a video?

Pinterest recommends 6 to 15 seconds for video ads and publishes no recommended length for organic video Pins. The recommendation appears in the standard width and max. width video rows as "Recommended length for video ads: 6 to 15 seconds." For organic Pins the specs give only the 4-second floor and the 15-minute ceiling, so any length in that range is valid.

The practical split follows the format you plan to use. A video you plan to promote as an Idea ad has to stay at 5 minutes or under. A video meant for a showcase or quiz ad has to fit 60 seconds. Everything else has the full 15 minutes. If a video Pin fails to appear after upload, length is one of the causes worth ruling out, along with the others in why your Pin is not publishing on Pinterest.

Can you schedule a Pinterest video Pin in advance?

Pinterest lets business accounts schedule a video Pin up to 30 days ahead from its own Pin builder, using the "Publish at a later date" option. The length rule is the same whether the Pin goes out now or later. AdaptlyPost publishes image, video and carousel posts to Pinterest alongside Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, Facebook, LinkedIn, Threads, Bluesky and Mastodon, and schedules posts weeks or months in advance from a visual calendar. The Pinterest post scheduler works inside Pinterest's specs like any other publisher, so trim the video to 4 seconds to 15 minutes before it enters the queue. For timing, see how to schedule Pinterest posts.

Frequently asked questions

How long can a Pinterest video be?

A standard Pinterest video Pin can be 15 minutes long. Pinterest's product specs set the range at "Minimum 4 seconds, maximum 15 minutes," and the format covers organic and paid Pins. Idea ads cap video at 5 minutes.

What is the minimum Pinterest video length?

The minimum Pinterest video length is 4 seconds for standard video Pins, max. width video ads and collections ad videos. Showcase and quiz ads accept videos from 3 seconds. Pinterest's catalog feeds also warn when a main video is shorter than 4 seconds.

What is the maximum video file size on Pinterest?

A standard video Pin accepts files of 2 GB or less. Idea ads allow 2 GB on the Android and iOS apps and 100 MB on the web, and showcase and quiz ads allow 32 MB. A full 15-minute video stays under 2 GB at an average bitrate of 17.7 Mbps or less.

Does the Pinterest API have a different video length limit?

The Pinterest API documents no video length limit of its own. Its Pin creation guide links to the product specs page, which sets the 4-second to 15-minute range. Pinterest does not document the error the API returns for a video outside that range.

What video formats does Pinterest accept?

Pinterest accepts .MP4, .MOV and .M4V files encoded in H.264 or H.265 for video Pins. The API upload step names the same three extensions. Pinterest recommends square 1:1 or vertical 2:3, 4:5 or 9:16 video.

What is the best length for a Pinterest video ad?

Pinterest recommends 6 to 15 seconds for video ads. The recommendation appears in the standard width and max. width video rows of its product specs. Pinterest publishes no recommended length for organic video Pins.

Why does a Pinterest video Pin fail to upload if it's too short?

Pinterest sets 4 seconds as the floor for a standard video Pin, so a shorter clip falls outside the spec. Pinterest does not document the error a Pin upload returns for it. The one published duration check belongs to catalog feeds, where the warning VIDEO_DOWNLOAD_VIDEO_TOO_SHORT reads "Please ensure that the main video is at least 4 seconds long." Extend a 3-second clip to 4 seconds or more before you upload it.

What aspect ratio does a Pinterest video need?

Pinterest's product specs cap the aspect ratio at shorter than 1:2 and taller than 1.91:1 for a standard video Pin. Pinterest recommends square 1:1 video or vertical 2:3, 4:5, or 9:16. A 9:16 phone recording at 1080 by 1920 pixels sits inside that range.

How do you check if a Pinterest video Pin has finished processing?

A Pinterest video Pin returns a null duration and a creative_type of REGULAR while it's still processing. Once processing finishes, duration fills in with the length in milliseconds and creative_type switches to VIDEO. Reading a Pin right after creation and finding a null duration with a REGULAR creative_type means the video is still processing, not failing.

How far in advance can you schedule a Pinterest video Pin?

Pinterest's own Pin builder schedules a video Pin up to 30 days ahead through the "Publish at a later date" option. The video still needs to fall inside the 4-second to 15-minute range before it goes in the queue. AdaptlyPost's Pinterest post scheduler schedules posts weeks or months in advance from a visual calendar.