Exploding Topics vs Pinterest Trends (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Pinterest Trends grades higher than Exploding Topics: 3.0 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
Exploding Topics grades higher on platforms. Pinterest Trends grades higher on value for money, the free plan and ease of use. They get the same grade on features.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Exploding Topics
Database of rising topics, products and startups, by search growth
Pinterest Trends
Free view of what people search and save on Pinterest, by region
Which one is for you
Pick Exploding Topics if
- Fits if you pick content topics and want ones whose searches are still climbing
- Works for sellers and investors looking for products, markets and startups that are starting to rise
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you want forecasts, trending startups or CSV export, which start at $99 a month
- Skip it if you need keyword volumes and difficulty for pages you're writing now
- Not for you if you'd rather not have a Semrush account, as Pro runs through one
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say how prices are billed, and a vendor blog says $39 is the yearly rate
- Watch out: TikTok Insights is a separate add-on with no price shown
Pick Pinterest Trends if
- Fits if you plan Pins around the seasons and want to see when interest starts rising
- Works for a shop or advertiser checking which product categories are growing on Pinterest
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your customers aren't on Pinterest, as that's all it covers
- Not for you if you need search counts, since it shows a 0 to 100 index
- Tight if you want long history, as it goes back about two years
- Watch out: audience trends need a large enough following, and a new business account must be made on a desktop
- Watch out: some features are in testing in certain regions only, and it doesn't open in the Pinterest app
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAExploding TopicsFair | 3.0GPAPinterest TrendsVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CEntrepreneur is $39 a month for 100 tracked trends, at the dearer end of this category, and the page doesn't say how it's billed. Forecasts, trending startups and CSV export need Investor at $99. Treendly's Pro is $99 a year. | AFree with a Pinterest business account, which costs nothing to set up. Keyword charts, comparisons, shopping trends and Moments are all included. |
| Free plan and trial | CYou can browse trending topics, startups and websites on the public site with part of each trend's data, no account needed. Every Pro plan has a 7-day trial, and the listing doesn't say whether a card is needed. | ANothing to pay and no cap on record. You need a free business account, and the trends for your own followers only appear once your following is large enough. |
| Features | CA database it puts at 1.1 million+ topics with growth over up to 15 years, tracking with alerts, deep-dive analyses and Meta Trends. It does trend spotting fully, but that's a smaller job than keyword research, and forecasting starts at $99. | CKeyword charts, up to four keywords side by side, shopping trends, seasonal Moments and predictions. It does Pinterest trends fully, but it's Pinterest only, with about two years of history and some features still in testing in certain regions. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record. Pro runs as an app inside Semrush, so signing in and starting a trial go through a Semrush account before you see the full data. | BNo rating on record. If you already have a Pinterest business account, it's right there under Analyze performance. A new business account has to be set up on a desktop computer. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb only, with no desktop or phone app. There's an API, a Zapier integration with six actions, and routes through n8n and Make. | CWeb only, in a desktop or mobile browser, as there's no view in the Pinterest app. It ties in with Pinterest Ads and nothing else. |
| Best for | spotting rising topics before they get crowded | timing Pinterest content to what's rising |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Exploding Topics and Pinterest Trends. How we grade
Price against what you get
Exploding Topics starts at $39 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pinterest Trends has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
They score the same, and Pinterest Trends starts $39 a month lower. Of the other keyword research tools on the chart, 10 score higher than Exploding Topics for less, and none scores higher than Pinterest Trends for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Pinterest Trends also covers research.
At a glance
| Exploding Topics | Pinterest Trends | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $39 per month for 100 tracked trends (billing basis not shown) | Free |
| Free plan | Trending topics, startups and websites can be browsed on the site without an account, with part of each trend's data; the full data needs Pro. | Free with a Pinterest business account, which costs nothing to set up; Trends opens from the account's Analyze performance menu. |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of every Pro plan | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Semrush Inc. | |
| Price read from | explodingtopics.com | help.pinterest.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Exploding Topics
- The pricing page shows monthly figures without saying how they are billed; a vendor blog post says $39 is the annual-billing rate.
- Trend forecasting, trending startups and CSV export start at the $99 Investor plan.
- Pro runs as an app inside Semrush: signing in and starting a trial go through a Semrush account.
- TikTok Insights is a separate add-on, and its price is not shown on the pricing page.
Pinterest Trends
- Covers Pinterest activity only, and charts show relative interest from 0 to 100 rather than search counts.
- History goes back about two years, and some features are in testing and available only in certain regions.
- Audience trends need a business account with a large enough audience, and new business accounts are created on a desktop computer.
- There is no in-app view: Pinterest says to open Trends in a desktop or mobile browser.
Key features
Exploding Topics
- Trends database
- Pro opens a database the vendor puts at 1.1 million+ markets, products and topics, each with search volume and growth over windows of 3 months to 15 years.
- Trend tracking and analyses
- Track 100, 500 or 2,000 trends by plan and get alerts, and run 10 to 500 deep-dive analyses with search metrics and channel-level data.
- Meta Trends
- Groups related topics into larger shifts in areas such as tech, DTC, marketing, SaaS, healthcare, fitness and fashion.
- Trend forecasting
- Investor and Business plans show a machine-learning forecast of where a trend's interest is likely to go over the next year.
- Trending products and startups
- Lists consumer products on the rise on every Pro plan, and fast-growing startups from Investor up. A TikTok Insights add-on tracks products gaining views on TikTok.
- API and automations
- An Exploding Topics API feeds trend data into other tools, with a Zapier integration offering six actions and an n8n workflow route.
Pinterest Trends
- Keyword trend charts
- Search a keyword to chart its Pinterest search interest over a chosen date range, indexed from 0 to 100, with weekly, monthly and yearly change.
- Compare up to four keywords
- Put up to four keywords on one graph, add related trends to the comparison, and see the age and gender mix and top Pins for each.
- Shopping trends
- Browse growing product categories filtered by vertical, age and gender, with performance history, predictions where available and related searches.
- Moments
- Seasonal and cultural events such as holidays, shown in phases as interest builds, peaks and cools, with guidance on campaign timing.
- Trends your audience loves
- Business accounts with a large enough following see the top trends among their engaged users and followers over the past 90 days, updated daily.
- Predictions and editors' picks
- A crystal-ball icon marks trends with predictions, and Pinterest's editors and analysts pick trends to highlight.
Plans
Exploding Topics
Free$0
Browse trending topics, startups and top websites on the public site, plus a set of free SEO tools.
Entrepreneur$39
per month for 100 tracked trends, billing basis not shown
10 trend analyses, the trends database, trending products, Meta Trends and channel breakdowns.
Investor$99
per month for 500 tracked trends, billing basis not shown
100 trend analyses, plus trending startups, trend forecasting and CSV export.
Business$249
per month for 2,000 tracked trends, billing basis not shown
500 trend analyses, everything in Investor, and trend reports.
Pinterest Trends
Free$0
Search, save and shopping trends by region, keyword charts, comparisons and demographics, through a free business account.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Exploding Topics or Pinterest Trends?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Pinterest Trends is cheaper to start with: it is free, against $39 a month for Exploding Topics. Exploding Topics starts at $39 per month for 100 tracked trends (billing basis not shown), and Pinterest Trends is free.
Which has a free plan, Exploding Topics or Pinterest Trends?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Exploding Topics and Pinterest Trends have a free plan.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.