Pinterest reaches 400 million monthly active users – with Gen Z, men and millennials driving growth

It's official: More than 400 million people around the world now come to Pinterest every month to find inspiration. If our positive corner of the Internet were a country, it would surpass the United States as the third largest in the world.

But what inspires me most isn’t how much we’ve grown – it’s the audiences that are growing with us.

Pinterest has always been for everyone. Women, who were the first to embrace us, still make up more than 60%¹ of our platform globally – and we’re proud of it. As we cross this 400 million MAU milestone, Gen Z and millennials are driving much of our growth, with the number of men on Pinterest jumping nearly 50% year on year too. What are Gen Z, millennials and men searching for on Pinterest? The answers might surprise you:

Generation Z is using Pinterest for future growth and social good

In Q2, the number of Pinners under the age of 25 grew twice as fast as Pinners aged 25 and over.⁴ Our fastest growing segment includes Gen Zers like Jakerya from Baltimore, a recent college grad who’s using Pinterest to search for fashion inspiration, home décor ideas and study tips. Jakerya and fellow Zoomers are engaging with Pinterest in a different way from other platforms: to plan for the future, rather than to post about the past.

‘Cottagecore' is getting some love on Pinterest these days.

'I think that Pinterest literally is my life planner,' Jakerya says. 'I go back and refer to it for everything.'

Gen Z Pinners aren’t just thinking about their own futures – they’re looking for Pins about social issues and inspiring movements. Among Gen Z, searches for ‘gender equality’ were up 5x, ‘mental health check in’ was up 5x and ‘body positive ideas’ were up 9x. They’re also looking for planning tools like ‘manifestation journals’ (up 19x) and ‘life skills’ (up 5x). And they’re on the hunt for up-and-coming Internet aesthetic trends like ‘cottagecore fashion’ (up 80x) and décor inspiration such as ‘indie room’ (up 96x).⁵

Meet the post-COVID man

The number of men on Pinterest has jumped nearly 50% year on year.⁶ They’re coming to Pinterest for at-home ideas – everything from backsplashes to baking bread. Whether they’re upgrading their kitchen (‘modular kitchen’ is up 12x and ‘kitchen storage solutions’ up 7x among men) or upgrading their look (‘men’s fashion streetwear’ is up nearly 6x and healthy skincare up 9x among men).⁷ Men are also searching for “creative makeup looks” nearly 7x more than the same time last year. And they’re getting creative in the kitchen: ‘one pan dinners’ are up 2x and ‘artisan bread recipes’ are up 5.5x among men.⁸

From backsplashes to bread, men are Pinning more than ever on Pinterest.

Mukeh, a Pinner in London.

Mukeh, a management consultant in London, uses Pinterest as a creative outlet to collect fashion and design ideas. He values having a place online where he can focus on himself, without judgment from anyone else. 'I've always found that Pinterest is not something that makes me feel like I need to compare myself with other people,' he says.

Millennials are using Pinterest to make the most of their time at home

We’re also seeing growth in millennials' use of our platform – 36% since this time last year.⁹ In quarantine, they’re using Pinterest to help them to juggle a lot of new part-time jobs, on top of their full-time one.

Millennials are using Pinterest to make their homes more family-friendly, searching for ‘family house plans’ (up 10x) and shopping for unique bargains in spaces like ‘back-garden seating area’ (up 34x). With school remaining at home for many, they’re also looking for homeschooling inspiration such as ‘nursery school maths worksheets’ (up 28x) and ‘children's office’ (up 10x). And even in lockdown, they’re getting creative with fashion and make-up ideas, searching for ‘gold jewellery fashion’ (up 111x) and ‘hair colour streaks’ (up 58x).¹⁰

On Pinterest, people board when they’re bored.

They’re also using the platform to make the most of their living space. Laura, a millennial who works at a digital agency in Berlin, recently picked up the keys to a new apartment. Now she’s leaning on Pinterest to make her new space into her dream home. ‘I wouldn't know of any other place than Pinterest to plan something like this,’ she says.

Pinterest moves everyone from inspiration to action – and action starts with creators. That’s why we also rolled out the Today tab in Q2, a source of daily inspiration with curated topics and trending Pins including fresh ideas from creators. We’re also bringing influencer and publisher-driven fashion picks front and centre with Shopping spotlights. Both the Today tab and Shopping spotlights represent a move towards editorialised recommendations, to make sure that Pinners experience more timely, curated and inspiring content. At Pinterest, we believe you have to consciously include the good in your design, as much as you consciously exclude the bad.

Thank you to Jakerya, Mukeh, Laura and all the other Pinners who’ve helped to make us a community of over 400 million planners, dreamers, creators and doers worldwide. You inspire us. And as Pinterest continues to grow, we’re committed to inspiring you right back.

Methodology

1 Pinterest global internal data, June 2020

2 Pinterest global internal data, YoY comparison between monthly active users in June 2019 vs. June 2020 amongst the indicated audience; Gen Z is ages 18-24, Millennials is ages 25-44

3 Trends are calculated by comparing global normalized searches amongst the indicated audience during the four week period of 6/22/20-7/19/20 to the same timeframe the prior year; Gen Z is ages 18-24, Millennials is ages 25-44

4 Pinterest global internal data, YoY comparison between monthly active users in June 2019 vs. June 2020 amongst the indicated audience

5 Trends are calculated by comparing global normalized searches amongst Gen Z (age 18-24) during the four week period of 6/22/20-7/19/20 compared to the same timeframe the prior year.

6 Pinterest internal data, YoY comparison between active male users in 3/2/20-5/24/20 vs 3/4/19-5/26/19, Global

7 Trends are calculated by comparing normalized searches amongst men during the four week period of 6/22/20-7/19/20 compared to the same timeframe the prior year.

8 Trends are calculated by comparing normalized searches amongst men during the four week period of 6/22/20-7/19/20 compared to the same timeframe the prior year.

9 Pinterest internal data, YoY comparison between active Millennial (age 25-44) users in 3/2/20-5/24/20 vs 3/4/19-5/26/19, Global

10 Trends are calculated by comparing normalized searches amongst Millennials (age 25-44) during the four week period of 6/22/20-7/19/20 compared to the same timeframe the prior year.