What are Tailwind credits?
Tailwind Credits are a currency that you use with Tailwind's features. For example, credits are used when you schedule a Pin, when Tailwind Ghostwriter writes Pin copy for you, when you generate new Pin images with SmartPin, or when you boost your Pins in Turbo.
Why does Tailwind use credits?
In the past, Tailwind subscriptions, like many other software tools, defined plan levels based on limits. You could connect this many accounts, publish this many Pins, design this many images and so on each month, based on which plan level you chose. If you wanted more, you had to upgrade to the next plan level - often a significant step up in price.
As our capabilities grew, we saw our customers getting frustrated with this model:
Emily wanted to publish a few more Pins each month but didn't use her Create limit
Johann loved SmartPin but didn't use Turbo yet
Charisse loved Turbo and wanted to boost as many Pins as possible there
The one size fits all model just didn't fit anymore.
Credits solve this by allowing each Tailwind customer to use the exact combination of features - in the exact amount - they want.
Don't want to use a given feature?
No worries - use those credits on a different feature instead!
How do I get Tailwind Credits?
Tailwind Credits are included in every paid subscription plan.
Credits are included per Pinterest account each month: 300 with Pin Scheduling & Creation, 50 with Pinterest SEO, 50 with Pinterest Engagement, and 400 with the Bundle. Each Pinterest account has its own separate monthly credits. See Tailwind plans and pricing for what each action costs.
On Pro, Advanced, Max, Plus or the legacy Free plan? Credits work differently on legacy plans. See Legacy plans.
New accounts get a one-time set of free trial actions, so you can try the most powerful features before deciding to buy. See Free plan limits & Tailwind credits.
If you run out of credits and need more, you can refill in small batches of "rollover credits" - sort of like refilling the balance on your Starbucks or Dunkin' app. A refill pack is 100 credits for $10. These extra credits can be used in the current month or rolled over to future months as you need them.
To buy a pack, go to Settings → Tailwind credits and click Purchase credits. You need an active subscription to buy credits; if you don't have one yet, subscribe to a tool first.
Credit purchases don't get a statement of their own; they're listed on your next renewal statement. For a statement covering a credit purchase, see Why don't I see a separate statement for a credit purchase?
Automatic credit refills
Automatic credit refills are controlled by the Auto-refill credits toggle in Settings → Subscription & billing.
Auto-refill is off until you turn it on. You can also opt in using the checkbox in the credit pack purchase window, which is unchecked by default. If you subscribed before August 20, 2026, auto-refill stays on unless you switch it off.
Only the account owner can see or change this setting.
When auto-refill is on and a credit-consuming action (like a SmartPin generation) would take your balance below zero, Tailwind charges your payment method on file for a refill pack to cover it and emails you a receipt.
Automatic refills are capped at 3 refill charges per Pinterest account in a rolling 30-day window. The cap counts every successful automatic refill together, whichever feature triggered it. Once an account reaches the cap, credit-consuming actions normally stop with the ordinary insufficient-credits message rather than charging you again. If several credit-consuming actions run at the same moment, an extra refill can occasionally go through. You can still buy credits manually whenever you want.
When auto-refill is off, Tailwind never charges you automatically. The action stops with an insufficient-credits message instead, and you can buy credits manually whenever you're ready.
If your plan is billed through Shopify, an automatic refill is added to your Shopify bill instead of being charged to a card or PayPal account.
On the Unlimited Publishing plan, automatic refills only begin after you have bought a credit pack yourself, unless that Pinterest account also has another paid plan.
When an automatic refill succeeds, Tailwind sends you a receipt/confirmation email showing the charge, the exact amount captured, and the payment method that was charged. Because the receipt shows the amount actually charged, it can be higher than the pack's list price where sales tax applies. Refill receipts are transactional payment notices, so they are sent even if you have unsubscribed from Tailwind marketing email.
If you were charged for a refill you didn't expect, reach out to us at [email protected] and we can review it with you.
Credits are tied to the tool(s) you subscribe to. Credits can only be spent on actions within the tools in your plan. For example, credits from Pinterest SEO can't be used to schedule Pins, even if your balance shows available credits. If an action says you're out of credits but your balance looks fine, check that the feature is included in your plan under Settings → Subscription & billing.
How will I know when I'm running low on credits?
Some features — like SmartPin — keep working in the background and use credits on their own schedule, so your balance can go down even when you're not logged in. Tailwind lets you know before you're caught off guard:
When your credit balance runs low (or runs out), a warning banner appears at the top of your SmartPin dashboard with an option to buy more credits. You can dismiss the banner, and it will return later if your balance is still low.
If an automatic SmartPin generation is skipped because you don't have enough credits, Tailwind sends you an email letting you know. Skipped generations never use credits.
How do I use Tailwind Credits?
Using Tailwind credits is easy - and should happen naturally as you use more features within Tailwind.
You'll see a visual indicator whenever you are taking an action that will use credits, so you can budget and plan your use as you wish.
For example, when adding a Pin in Turbo, you can see the exact number of credits used based on how long you want to boost that Pin.
Where can I see where my credits went?
Want to see where your credits went? Go to Settings → Tailwind credits to view your usage. You'll see a breakdown of credits used by each feature (SmartPin, Turbo, Ghostwriter, and more) for the current billing period, along with an itemized log showing exactly what each credit was spent on and when. Use the arrows to look back at previous billing periods too.