Difference Between Pinterest and Instagram

In this world of social media, hardly a few people might not have an account on Facebook or Instagram, or any such social media platform. Be it for sharing pictures and videos with our friends and family or for growing our businesses, social media can be of great help. We can connect to any person around the world through it.

Pinterest and Instagram, both are social media platforms used to share pictures and videos. On Instagram as well as Pinterest, you can follow and unfollow whomever you want. Both can be used to advertise and grow our businesses. Still, there are a lot of remarkable differences between the two.

Pinterest vs Instagram

The main difference between Pinterest and Instagram is that Pinterest is used to share pictures and links called pins while Instagram is used to share pictures and videos but links can’t be attached to posts on Instagram.

Instagram offers a lot of features like a boomerang, Instagram reels, stories, filters, and a lot more but these features aren’t available on Pinterest.

Comparison Table Between Pinterest and Instagram

Parameters of Comparison PinterestInstagram
DefinitionPinterest is a social search engine where you can share or pin your ideas and browse other people’s pins as per your interest.Instagram is more of a picture and videos sharing social media app where you can connect with your friends and family and see what they are uploading. You can even chat with your friends and follow your favorite celebrities.
Launched inJanuary, 2010October, 2010
ViewersPinterest has fewer viewers in comparison with Instagram with a large number being women.Instagram is more engaging and thus has a larger audience than Pinterest.
PurposePinterest is used basically for online content sharing and also for business purposes. It is a visual search engine.Instagram can be used for business purposes but it is mainly a platform to share your pictures and videos.
Photo editingPinterest doesn’t allow photo editing. You have to directly upload your content on the Pinterest site.Instagram provides a variety of filters as well as features that you can use to edit your pictures.
Video sharingOn Pinterest, you can only share links to videos and you just can’t upload the video.On Instagram, you can upload videos directly as a post or on stories. You can even go live or create a boomerang but you can not add links to your posts.

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest was founded by Ben Silvermann, Evan Sharp, and Paul Sciarra in December 2009 and was launched in January 2010. It is a social search engine where you can pin or repin content. Pinning content means uploading your content in the form of images, videos or gifs, or links. Repinning means pinning some other people’s pins.

A collection of pins of similar kinds is called a board. You can also follow or unfollow any user or board as per your interest. Pinterest can help you promote your business through ads. The advertisements are displayed in the form of promoted pins which are based on your interests and the boards that you follow.

What is Instagram?

Instagram was launched by the co-founders, Mike Krieger and Kevin Systrom on October 6th, 2010. However, on April 9th, 2012 facebook owned it for 1 billion dollars. So many of us must be having an account on Instagram and we are well aware of its features. It is often abbreviated as IG.

Instagram has the following features:

  • Sharing posts

You can share pictures and videos and use a lot of filters to make your posts appealing.

  • Instagram stories

You can add stories to your profile anytime you want.

  • Instagram direct

You can directly chat with your friends and family members. You can also send message requests to people you want to talk to.

  • Reels

This feature was recently launched by Instagram after the ban on TikTok in India. You can share and view short videos on Instagram reels.

  • IGTV

You can upload videos with a length of about 10 minutes on IGTV. Some popular users are allowed to upload videos of a length of about an hour.

  • Boomerang

It’s a video-creating app from Instagram on which you can collect some pictures and it will be created into a short video that will play backward and forward.

  • Hashtags

Hashtags make your posts easier to be found on Instagram and it can be a great help in promoting your content or in growing your audience.

Main Differences Between Pinterest and Instagram

  • Pinterest works well on a desktop as well as a cell phone while some of the features of Instagram cannot be used when you use Instagram on a desktop.
  • Hashtags play an important role to promote your content on Instagram while hashtags have nothing to do with Pinterest.
  • Pinterest is better with sharing and saving links while Instagram doesn’t allow link adding features to your posts or stories.
  • Instagram has a lot more features than Pinterest like IGTV, Instagram direct, Instagram stories, reels, filters, etc. On Pinterest, you cannot even edit the pictures.
  • Instagram has a lot more users compared to Pinterest.
  • You can edit your pictures and use different types of filters on Instagram but you can’t do the same on Pinterest.
  • Conclusion

    Pinterest and Instagram both have their advantages and disadvantages. While Instagram is created to upload and share images and videos with friends and relatives, Pinterest is created to pin up your content and browse other people’s pins. 

    Pinterest works well on desktop as well as on mobile phones. You can share links and save them. Instagram is made solely for use on phones and has post-editing features. You cannot share links on Instagram.

    References

  • https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563217300237
  • https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/2470654.2481336
  • https://www.sohamvc.org/_site/data/files/documents/student%20experience/internet%20safety/5526ABCD3B8FD67A0CB6F44207757F9E.pdf
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