Why Vertical Pins Outperform Square and Horizontal Images

If you are posting square Instagram images directly to Pinterest, you are leaving traffic on the table. Vertical pins consistently outperform other formats — and the reason is simple physics of the feed.

Screen real estate matters

Pinterest displays pins in a masonry grid on mobile. A vertical pin at a 2:3 ratio occupies roughly 2–3x more vertical pixels than a square pin at the same column width. More pixels means more time in the user's viewport, which translates to more impressions and clicks.

The numbers

While Pinterest does not publish official CTR benchmarks by format, creators and agencies consistently report that vertical pins earn 30–50% higher click-through rates compared to square equivalents for the same content.

Converting landscape photos

Most photos come in landscape or square formats. To make them work on Pinterest:

1. Crop vertically — center the subject and cut the sides
2. Extend the background — use AI or manual editing to add space above and below
3. Add a text band — place a headline bar at the top or bottom to fill vertical space
4. Create a collage — stack two related images vertically with a title

When square pins make sense

Square formats can work for product photography or brand logos, but they should not be your default. If you must use square, pair it with a bold text overlay that extends the visual upward.

Make vertical your default

Set your pin templates to 1000 × 1500 px from the start. Every tool in your workflow should default to vertical output so you never have to retrofit a horizontal image at the last minute.

Convert any photo to vertical format with the Pixlory Pinterest pin generator.