Pinterest Business Account: How to Set One Up

A Pinterest business account is a free account type for anyone who uses Pinterest for commercial purposes: it adds Pinterest Analytics, the ability to run ads and the Business Hub on top of everything a personal account does. Pinterest's Terms of Service say that if you use Pinterest commercially, you must create a business account and agree to the Business Terms of Service. You can open a new one on desktop or convert a personal account in a few clicks, keeping your Pins and followers.

What is a Pinterest business account?

It is a Pinterest profile set up for a brand, creator, shop, blog or service rather than personal saving. It looks almost the same as a personal profile to visitors, but behind it you get analytics on your Pins, access to Pinterest Ads and the Business Hub, and your account is covered by the Business Terms of Service instead of only the standard terms.

Is a Pinterest business account free?

Yes. Pinterest describes it as a free business account, and there is no subscription fee to create, convert or keep one. You only pay Pinterest if you choose to run ads. Posting Pins organically, using analytics and claiming your website cost nothing.

Pinterest business account vs personal account

The main differences are what you are allowed to use the account for and which tools you get. Business accounts are always public; personal accounts can be made private.

Claiming a website does not strictly require a business account, but Pinterest recommends one to get the most from a claimed site. Rich Pins depend on the meta tags on your pages, not on your account type.

How to create a Pinterest business account

At the time of writing, Pinterest only lets you create a new business account from a desktop browser. The email you use cannot already belong to another Pinterest account.

On desktop

1. Go to pinterest.com and click Sign up. If you are logged into a personal account, log out first.
2. Choose the option to create a business account.
3. Enter your email, a password and your age.
4. Fill in your profile details, then describe your business.
5. Choose whether you want to run ads.
6. Pick where to start, or close the prompt to go to your new account.

On the Pinterest app

You cannot create a brand-new business account in the app right now. You can either sign up on desktop and then log in on your phone, or convert an existing personal account in the app using the steps below. If you work for a company or agency, Pinterest asks you to sign up with your professional email and your own name, so the account owner can see who has access.

How to convert a personal account to a business account

Converting keeps your Pins, boards and followers. Before you start, make your profile public if it is private, and unlink your personal account from any other account it is linked to.

On desktop

1. Log into your personal account.
2. Click the more options icon at the bottom left and select Settings.
3. Select Account management.
4. Find Convert to a business account, click Convert account and confirm.
5. Complete your profile, describe your business and choose whether to run ads.

In the app (Android and iPhone)

1. Tap your profile picture at the bottom right, then your profile photo at the top left.
2. Tap Account management, then Convert to a business account, then Convert account.
3. Enter your profile name and tap Next.
4. Enter your website URL and tap Next, or tap Skip this step.
5. Choose a business category, choose whether to run ads, then tap Done.

Can you switch a business account back to personal?

Yes, at any time, as long as you have paid any outstanding ad bills. On desktop, open your menu, go to Settings, then Account management, and click Convert account under Account changes. In the app, tap your profile picture, the nut icon, Account management, then Convert to personal account. Pinterest frames this as the option for people who no longer use the account for business or no longer need analytics and ads. Keep in mind that a personal account should not be used for commercial purposes.

Linked accounts and multiple business accounts

Pinterest no longer supports linked business accounts, the older setup where a business account sat under a personal login. If a linked business account was not converted, Pinterest has permanently deactivated it and it cannot be reactivated. You also can no longer link a personal account to a business account.

You can still run more than one account by creating each with a different email and then connecting them, so you can switch from the account menu on desktop (Add Pinterest account, then Connect account) or from Settings in the app. Switching only works within the same browser session. Companies managing several brands can use Business Manager to build a parent and child account hierarchy, inviting up to 20 businesses at a time.

One caution for creators: Pinterest's Commercial and Branded Content Guidelines say that, in general, you should operate only one Pinterest account as your authentic presence. A second account makes sense for a genuinely separate brand, not for pinning the same links twice.

What you get with a business account

• Pinterest Analytics: impressions, engagements, saves, Pin clicks and outbound clicks, with date ranges going back a year and a half and optional real-time estimates for the last 48 hours. Our guide to the Pinterest metrics that matter explains which to watch.
• Ads: the ability to promote Pins, including video, carousel, collections and catalog ads.
• Business Hub: access to Pinterest's Business Hub alongside Analytics.
• Claimed website: once you verify your site with an HTML tag, an HTML file or a DNS TXT record, your profile picture shows on Pins saved from your site and you see how often your content is shared. DNS changes can take up to 72 hours.
• Rich Pins: article, recipe and product Pins that sync details from your page once the right meta tags are in place, which can take up to 24 hours. See our rich Pins guide.

Pinterest business account name ideas and rules

Your business name is the display name people see, and your username is your profile URL. Pinterest's rules for usernames: 3 to 30 characters, letters, numbers and underscores only, no spaces or punctuation, and not only numbers. Your About section can be up to 500 characters.

• Use the name people already know you by, such as your blog or shop name.
• If space allows, add a short descriptor of your topic, for example "Name | Easy Weeknight Recipes", so searchers understand what you pin.
• Keep the username close to your brand name so people can find you on other platforms.
• Write the bio for the person landing on your profile: what you share and who it is for.

Stuck for ideas? Try the free Pinterest username generator.

Business accounts for bloggers and affiliates without a company

You do not need a registered company or even a website to have a business account. In the app conversion flow, the website step can be skipped, and Pinterest's rule is about commercial use, not company status. If you earn money from your Pins, through a blog with ads, affiliate links or your own products, a business account is the account type the Terms of Service call for.

Affiliate marketers should also follow Pinterest's affiliate guidelines: keep content original, be transparent about the commercial nature of your content and how your links behave, use affiliate links in moderation, and never use fake accounts or ask others to save your affiliate Pins. A website you own gives you more to work with, because marketplace storefronts such as Etsy, eBay and Amazon cannot be claimed. Read more in our guides for affiliate marketers and bloggers.

Next step after setting up your business account

Once your business account is set up and your site is claimed, the work is publishing useful Pins consistently. PinBoostr helps with that part: its Growth Brain scans your site, picks pages worth pinning and prepares branded Pins with keyword-led titles and descriptions. Nothing posts until you approve it, and approved Pins publish through the official Pinterest API, spaced across the week. If you are new to the platform, start with how to use Pinterest, or see pricing and the 14-day free trial.

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