Google Trends vs Pinterest Trends (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 23, 2026, Google Trends and Pinterest Trends share a 3.0 GPA, both are free, so the choice depends on which features you need.
Checked Oct 23, 2026 · graded Oct 23, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on all five counts.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Google Trends
Free charts of relative Google search interest by time and place
Free
Pinterest Trends
Free view of what people search and save on Pinterest, by region
Free
Which one is for you
Pick Google Trends if
- Fits if you want to know whether a topic is growing before you write about it
- Works for timing seasonal content, like gift guides or summer gear
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you need search volumes, since it only shows a 0 to 100 score
- Not for you if you need an API, as it's an alpha for accepted developers
- Too light for tiny niches, where low-volume terms show as 0 and small ones can spike from added noise
- Watch out: reused data must be credited to Google Trends, and Google asks you not to cite it alongside Ads data
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
| 3.0GPAGoogle TrendsVery good | 3.0GPAPinterest TrendsVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | AFree, from Google, with no paid tier: charts, comparisons, regions, related searches, Trending now and CSV export all cost nothing. | 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 | AEverything is open to anyone in a browser, with no account and no cap a normal person would reach. Only the API is closed, to an alpha group of applicants. | 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 | CCompare up to 8 groups of terms, see interest by region down to cities, related searches and Trending now in 100+ countries. It does trends fully, but gives no volumes, low-volume terms show as 0, and small terms can spike from added noise. | 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 | BNo rating on record, but there's nothing to sign up for. Type a term and a chart appears. The 0 to 100 scale takes a minute to get used to. | 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 | CWeb only. Charts export to CSV and embed on a web page, and trending searches go out by RSS, but the API is an alpha open only to accepted developers. | 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 and seasonal searches | 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: Google Trends and Pinterest Trends. How we grade
Price against what you get
Google Trends has no paid plan and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Pinterest Trends has no paid plan and scores 2.3.
On this chart the two sit in the same place: the same score for the same starting price. Of the other keyword research tools on the chart, none scores higher than Google Trends 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
In commonFree planWebResearchKeyword research
At a glance
| Google Trends | Pinterest Trends | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free | Free |
| Starts at | Free | Free |
| Free plan | Explore, Trending now and Year in Search are open to anyone in a browser at no charge, and charts can be downloaded as CSV files. | Free with a Pinterest business account, which costs nothing to set up; Trends opens from the account's Analyze performance menu. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | ||
| Price read from | trends.google.com | help.pinterest.com |
| Checked | Oct 23, 2026 | Oct 23, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Google Trends
- Shows relative interest on a 0 to 100 scale, not search volumes; Google points to Google Ads for monthly volume figures.
- Low-volume terms show as 0, and small terms can show random spikes because Google adds statistical noise for privacy.
- The API is an alpha that only accepted applicants can use; everyone else works through the website.
- Reused data must be credited to Google Trends, and Google asks that it not be cited together with Google Ads data.
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
Google Trends
- Explore and compare terms
- Chart search interest for a term over a chosen period and compare up to 8 groups of terms, each holding up to 50 terms, across languages and places.
- Interest by region
- See where a term is searched most, from country level down to subregions and cities, and compare two locations or two time periods.
- Related searches and categories
- Find searches related to a term, and narrow results to a category of topics to cut out unrelated meanings.
- Trending now
- Searches rising in 100+ countries and regions over the past 4 hours to 7 days, refreshed about every ten minutes, with a volume bucket and growth figure.
- Export, embed and RSS
- Download charts as CSV, embed many charts on a web page, and export trending searches by clipboard, CSV or RSS feed.
- Trends API alpha
- An alpha API with 5 years of consistently scaled data is open to a limited set of developers who apply to test it.
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
Google Trends
Free$0
Search interest charts, comparisons, interest by region, related searches, trending searches and CSV export.
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, Google Trends or Pinterest Trends?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Google Trends and Pinterest Trends are free to use.
Which has a free plan, Google Trends or Pinterest Trends?
As of Oct 23, 2026, both Google Trends 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.