18 Must-Have Apps for Creating Instagram Stories
It’s almost 2020. If you are not utilizing your Instagram stories by now, it’s time to hop on the story train. The story feature was added to Instagram in 2016 after the massive success of the disappearing posts on SnapChat. Since then, Instagram Stories popularity has skyrocketed with over 500 million people using Instagram Stories every day. (Source: Hootsuite)
If the exposure to half a billion users wasn’t enough to convince you that you need to start using Instagram stories, here are some more compelling statistics. In 2018, stories represented nearly 25% of all content on Instagram (Source: Iconosquare). Instagram has provided many statistics on Instagram Stories, such as 62% of people say that they have become interested in a brand or product after seeing it on Instagram Stories. Instagram also says that 96% of US marketers surveyed plan to use or continue using Stories ads in the next 6 months, 50% of businesses on Instagram worldwide created at least one story during a typical month, and ⅓ of the most viewed Instagram Stories are from businesses (Source: Instagram).
Another reason that Instagram Stories are so popular is because users can post content without clogging up their followers feeds. And did you know that Instagram’s algorithm loves story engagement? If your followers engage with your stories frequently, your posts will start showing up higher in their feeds.
Instagram Stories are a great way to interact with your audience and to show them the other side of your brand or blog. It’s a great way to repurpose your content, especially by adding swipe up links to your stories to drive your audience to your blog or shop (this feature is available for users with over 10k followers). Plus, stories are discoverable! By adding tags or locations to your stories, you can reach beyond your existing audience.
So now that you’re ready to use Instagram stories, check out these 18 awesome apps for creating Instagram Stories!
Created by Planoly (aka my #1 choice for Instagram planner apps), StoriesEdit is a design tool for Instagram Stories. It’s easy to customize your stories with StoriesEdit’s selection of templates and editing tools.
What I love is the desktop editor - I use the web version of Planoly when I plan and schedule posts, then I just use the mobile app when I actually post. The StoriesEdit feature is available on the web version, so I can create and schedule IG stories with StoriesEdit right inside of Planoly!
This app has some of the cutest story templates (they partnered with Create & Cultivate to create a collection of templates that are to die for) and add more templates every month.
StoriesEdit is available on iOS, Android, and web. It is free to use (you don’t even need Planoly to use it), but premium Planoly users have access to more templates than free users
A Design Kit was created by the girls at A Beautiful Mess. First, sisters Elsie Larson and Emma Chapman launched the A Color Story app for editing your photos with hundreds of fun filters and effects. Then they launched A Design Kit, one of my favorite apps for easily designing beautiful graphics.
A Design Kit is a tool for adding colorful and fun graphics to your photos (or to a background) to create Instagram Stories that stand out from the crowd. You get access to tons of tools including realistic brushes, fonts, designs, stickers, collage scans, backgrounds, and more.
A Design Kit is available on iOS with a monthly or yearly membership. The membership is extremely reasonable - just $23.99 USD per year or $3.99 USD per month and you get unlimited access to everything in A Design Kit!
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Personally, I am such a huge fan of the Canva web app. I have the Canva app on my phone but I couldn’t tell you the last time that I opened it. The web app is just so powerful and has all of my graphics, logos, fonts, colors, photos, etc. saved to my account and right now you cannot access those folders from the Canva app.
Canva Stories, however, is a completely different story (lol). Stories are the one graphic that I don’t mind creating on my phone, mainly because stories are roughly the same dimensions as a phone screen, so it’s not too small. Plus, it’s easy to just share right to Instagram after the stories are created.
The Canva Stories app is really cool because it connects to your Canva account, but only displays your Instagram Story sized posts. I’m always impressed by Canva’s ever-growing template collection - if graphic design is not your forte, Canva’s templates are very easy to edit and with the hundreds of template styles, I’m sure you’ll find something you love!
The Canva Stories app is available on iOS and is completely free with no ads.
Over is my go-to app for all things graphic design. If I’m not designing something on my computer, I’m using the Over app. So of course I recommend it for creating Instagram stories!
One thing that I absolutely love about Over is the ability to upload your own fonts. While I love the templates and designs of the other apps in this list, I love being able to edit with my own fonts in Over so I can keep my branding consistent. And because Over is a design app for anything, not just Instagram stories, it’s easy to create all of your brand graphics (Instagram posts, Pinterest pins, Facebook headers, etc.) in Over and keep all of the branding cohesive.
Another feature of Over that makes it so great is the ability to save your graphics and share with your team. You don’t have to edit just one design at a time and then lose the ability to edit it once you’re done; you have the ability to go back and access any of your designs as long as you have the app.
Over can be used on iOS for free with limited tools and graphics, or you can upgrade to Over Pro, for $14.99 USD per month or $99.99 USD per year. Over’s ever-growing library of designs, fonts, and templates is worth well over $14.99, so I always recommend upgrading. Out of all graphic design apps for smartphones, I find Over to be one of the most powerful.
If you are looking for high-quality, aesthetically pleasing Instagram story templates, Nichi is for you. The collage-style designs in Nichi are stunning and unique. The majority of Nichi’s story templates are collages with realistic graphics and textures. Your audience will think you hired a very expensive professional if you start using Nichi for your Instagram stories!
Nichi was created by a Chinese based company so I was unable to find much information about them. The app store description says, “‘NICHI’ comes from the pronunciation of Japanese word "日", which carries the expectation of helping you to record the daily life. Also means cherishing the detail and emotion, feeling the miracle of time.”
This is the perfect app for anyone who is looking to create collage-style Instagram stories. Nichi offers realistic stickers and textures that allow you to create high-quality designs. There are also several templates that make creating beautiful collages easier than ever. The area that this app falls short compared to the other apps is the limited amount of templates. However, the app was released in 2019 and adds new templates regularly, so I assume that the template library will continue to grow with this new app.
Nichi is available on iOS and Nichi Pro allows users to access everything that is offered in the app. The memberships are $1.49 USD per month or $9.49 USD per year.
Mojo stands out in the sea of Instagram story apps as it is a powerful app for creating video stories! Choose from a wide variety of animated templates, then easily customize the story with different fonts, videos, photos, and more. Mojo makes it very easy to create professional grade video stories. It took just a few minutes to create the Instagram story (to the right) about the new fall preset collection!
Upgrading to Mojo Pro (that’s fun to say lol) unlocks all features, such as all templates and text styles, the ability to change the video dimensions or duplicate stories, and you know I’m all about the ability to add your own fonts and logo! Mojo Pro is just $9.99 USD per month or $39.99 USD per year. Available for iOS and Android.
Storyluxe is an Instagram story design app with a wide variety of stunning templates. There are various categories of beautiful templates, including film, paper, collage, neon, and more. Storyluxe is perfect for creating a unique aesthetic for your Instagram stories, especially with their photo filters and vintage film looks.
The downside would be the limited options for fonts, but the amount of templates and backdrop options make up for it. Be sure to check out the collection of templates on Storyluxe that were created by Later!
Storyluxe is free to use with limited options. You can upgrade your membership to access everything that Storyluxe has to offer for just $2.99 USD a month
StoryArt is one of the most powerful apps for designing beautiful Instagram stories. There are over 2,000 templates that make it so easy to customize your stories to fit your brand’s aesthetic. The templates are organized into 70 different categories that make it easy to find your perfect template without scrolling through thousands until you find the right one for you.
One of the standout features of StoryArt is the 500+ highlight cover templates to choose from to design custom Instagram story highlight icons! Another great feature is that StoryArt includes BOTH animated and static story templates, not just one or the other. Plus, there are tons of video effects that you can apply to your videos, such as glitter and sparkle and vintage film filters.
StoryArt is available for iOS and Android. It can be used for free with limited options or you can upgrade and access all of the features for just $2.99 USD per month or $9.99 USD per year. Considering the amount of templates and features available in StoryArt, I think the annual $9.99 investment is more than worthwhile.
Telling your story is almost too easy with Mojito. Choose from a selection of hundreds of animated or static Instagram story templates as well as filters, text, and more.
The templates are all high-quality and professional, I highly recommend Mojito for small business owners and entrepreneurs. The collections of templates make it easy to keep all of your story designs consistent but unique. There are lots of beautiful templates for announcing sales or new items on your story that are sure to impress your audience!
The downside of Mojito compared to the other apps is that it cannot be used for free. The membership is $19.99 USD per year, but you do have a 3-day free trial that will give you time to use the app and explore the templates and features before committing to the membership. Mojito is available for iOS and Android phones. While the app is more expensive than most story design apps, I truly believe that it’s worth downloading, especially for business owners.
Clipomatic is a must-have app for Instagrammers that love to share videos! With Clipomatic, all you have to do is hit record and your words will appear right on the screen of your video! Just select a text style, choose a filter if you’d like, and start recording - Clipomatic will transcribe your video as you speak. If they make any mistakes, it’s easy to go back and edit the text afterward.
This app is great because it is helpful for the hearing impared and it also catches the attention of anyone who does not have their audio on. Clipomatic can transcribe 40 different languages. You can record in either story format or square format, making it perfect for posting as a story or a regular Instagram post.
The biggest downside is that you cannot upload an existing video, you have to record your video straight in the Clipomatic app. But the fact that the app writes out the captions for you as you speak makes up for it!
Clipomatic is available on iOS for $4.99 USD. It is a one-time payment in the app store that gives you full-access to the app forever.
Adobe Spark is the perfect app for anyone who is new to design. It’s easy to use and offers professionally designed templates, filters, fonts, and more. Simply upload your photos or videos and remix them with text and other design elements (including free stock photos!).
With Adobe Spark, it could not be easier to create professional-looking graphics. One thing I love about Adobe Spark is that you can sign in with your adobe account which will sync with your Adobe account. Additionally, you can edit with Adobe Spark on the web, so you can work with the same graphic on your phone and on the web.
If you’re looking for a free app, look no further than Adobe Spark. Many of the apps allow you to use it for free but only give free users very limited features as a way to encourage users to upgrade. But with Adobe Spark, there are premium templates and features available for users that upgrade their account, but there is still a massive amount of content that you can use for free.
Adobe Spark is available for iOS, Android, and web. Upgrading to a premium account is $9.99 USD per month or $99.99 USD per month. Premium accounts are able to use premium templates, access more images and icons, invite others to work on projects, personalize with branding, create branded templates, and more. The investment is worth it for anyone who creates graphics on a fairly regular basis, especially because it upgrades your whole account - both on your phone and on the web.
Jumprope: How-to Videos
Do you ever use your Instagram stories to teach your audience or to show your followers how to do something? You’re going to love this app. With Jumprope, you can easily create how-to’s for your Instagram stories, or on any other social platform that you love.
Jumprope will optimize your content for any platform. You can share to your stories or IGTV with a video that is Insta-story sized, or export the video in square or landscape format. Or, you can export your how to’s as individual images for a slideshow or an album.
Use Jumprope’s step-by-step template or create your own content. Easily edit the content with tools such as time-lapse, filters, voiceover, colors, background music, and more. You can even link to the products used in the how-to video for viewers to shop straight from your video!
Best of all? Jumprope is 100% free! It is available on iOS and if you’re not a creator, you can still download Jumprope and watch other user’s how-to videos!
It’s simple to design your own branded videos and images with Ripl. Ripl helps you create professional videos and images for your business. Choose from hundreds of templates and customize the posts with your own colors, fonts, music, and more.
You can access your Ripl account from your smartphone (iOS or Android) as well as from the web. After you create a design, you can schedule the post straight from Ripl! And if you post from Ripl, the app will track the analytics from that post so you can see how your Ripl posts are performing. There is even a feature that will suggest high traffic hashtags based on the text in your post!
Branded video templates convey the importance and professionalism of your business. With Ripl Pro, you can set your branding on your Ripl account to easily design branded graphics every time. You can also choose from over 250 music tracks, over 150 fonts, over 200 templates, and more. Ripl Pro also gives you access to the weekly post recommendations.
Ripl is free to use or you can upgrade to Ripl Pro for $14.99 USD per month or $119.99 USD per year. It is available on iOS, Android, and web.
StoryChic is an Instagram story editing app that is loaded with beautiful templates, both animated and static, as well as all of the filters and text effects you need to create the perfect stories. There are over 500 beautifully designed templates that allow you to easily insert photos and text to make it your own.
StoryChic has a membership fee of $6.49 USD per month or $19.99 USD per year, but they do offer a 3-day free trial so you can be sure that you love the app before committing to the membership.
Tezza
Tezza is a design app developed by lifestyle blogger/influencer and photographer Tessa Barton of ByTezza. With a massive Instagram following and a unique aesthetic, Tezza began selling Lightroom presets to members of her audience who wanted to edit their photos like she does. Then she designed an app that allows users to create their dream Instagram aesthetic.
The Tezza app features tools for editing photos and videos as well as for creating collages that can then be used for Instagram stories. If you’re a fan of Tezza’s style and aesthetic, you’re going to love the app!
As of now, Tezza is only available on iOS, but they are hoping to develop the app for Androids as well. The subscription for the photo editing feature is $1.99 USD per month or $19.99 USD per year. For both photo and video editing, the subscription costs $3.99 USD per month or $39.99 per year.
This app was made for telling your stories. With Made, you can easily tell your whole story with the minimal and trendy templates and editing tools. Made allows you to tell your whole story by adding multiple pages with the storyboard feature and exporting them all together to seamlessly share to your Instagram story. Made integrated Unsplash’s free stock photos to the app so users can easily insert beautiful stock photos into the templates.
The part of Made that stands out to me is the travel templates. I threw some together so you could see how cute they are - if you’re a travel blogger or in the travel biz, Made is perfect! The rest of the templates are also very high quality and well-designed, but there’s something about the travel templates that I just love.
Made is available for iOS and is free to use for 7 days, then it costs $4.99 USD per month or $19.99 USD per year. The templates, filters, and fonts are updated monthly.
StoryBoost is a story design app that is stocked with incredible graphic resources and elements that you can easily insert into the wonderfully designed templates. Make your stories stand out with the GIFs, stickers, fonts, filters, stock photos, animations, and more. StoryBoost was created by Lightricks Ltd., the same developer that created all of the Enlight apps, as well as the FaceTune apps, so you know it’s high-quality.
The stand out feature available on StoryBoost is the page transitions! Premium members are able to insert unique animations between story pages that create beautiful transitions between your stories. Plus, like Made, StoryBoost creates a whole storyboard so you can seamlessly tell your story through multiple story posts, while keeping the designs cohesive.
StoryBoost is available for iOS and can be used for free or you can upgrade for unlimited access to all of StoryBoost’s features. The membership options include $7.99 USD per month, $35.99 USD per year, or a one-time purchase of $69.99.
Also see VideoBoost and PosterBoost for editing videos and graphics of different sizes!
Last but definitely not least, Unfold is a simple but powerful app for designing Instagram stories. Unfold is an Editors’ Choice on the App Store and was one of the first great story design app. Fully loaded with hundreds of templates, text tools, filtes, effects, stickers, and more.
Unfold gives users the option to either upgrade to the pro membership for $2.99 USD per month and get unlimited access to or purchase individual bundles of templates and features. Unfold is available for both iOS and Android phones.
So, have you found an Instagram story design app that you like? What other apps do you love for creating stories? Let us know in the comments!
Xx,
Katie
