Everyone has their Stories to tell – and what better place to share them than on Instagram? Whether you use ’em to take your followers behind-the-scenes or to #humblebrag about your latest work, Stories are an increasingly popular tool for upping your engagement and enhancing your IG game. Great for keepin’ it real and getting brilliantly creative with your day-to-day life, the popular platform has also inspired a tonne of great Instagram Stories apps.
Giving you an array of genius ways to take your Stories to the next level – from playful animations, edits, cool layouts and planning your content– there’s now plenty of Stories apps that can personalise your content and keep your followers coming back for more.
So without further ado, let’s take a look at the best apps for Instagram Stories. You ready?
The best apps for Instagram Stories
#1 Adobe Spark Post
One of the most popular apps for Instagram Stories, Adobe Spark Post is a huge tool in the Insta community – and it’s not hard to see why. For starters, the app is super easy to use. Just tap on the green ‘+’ sign at the bottom of the screen and choose your background image (it can be a solid colour, patterns or a photo). Next, select the the Instagram Story size. Then you have the freedom to add whatever you like: text, GIFs, icons.. genius!
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You have the option to change the layout so your creativity can be tweaked for any platform, which is very handy when you’re sharing content everywhere from Snapchat to Facebook. We love the animated effects for an extra dose of individuality. Or, if you want a quick template to work with, just choose from one of the many in-built layouts and be guided by the suggested colour palettes.
If it’s a video Story you want, great! This app is brill for adding video clips, combining pictures or adding sounds, including your own voice. Then, once you’re ready to share, you can post it directly to Instagram with just one tap. Or save to your camera roll for uploading later. It’s a real game-changer.
#2 InShot
Want to be more creative with video Stories? This is one of the best apps for Instagram Stories that does just that! With InShot, you can adapt your video to fit perfectly within the 9:16 ratio. Just be sure to select “Canvas” to adjust the size and away you go!
With the right dimensions, you can slow down or speed up your footage, add cool backgrounds, include music or sounds and use clever effects like glitch and pixels.
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It’s nifty for static imagery, too. Try making a photo collage using the pre-made templates and customise the text or add on stickers, GIFs and emojis for even more creative flair.
While this is a free app, you can pay to upgrade to a Premium account, which allows you to remove the watermark on your stories, as well as advertisements within the app, and opens up a load more design options too.
#3 Unfold
Okay, this may be one of our favourite apps for Instagram Stories yet. What’s so smart about this one is you can preview your story with ‘Story mode’, giving you the chance to see how numerous pages will look together. You can then share the complete story (or just part of it) directly to Instagram or save to your camera roll.
As for the designs, they are oh-so gorgeous. The library of free templates are clean and minimalist so you can create cool collages, add frames (Polaroid is mega popular) and make elegant videos, even if (like us) your design experience is zilch.
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What’s also handy is you can easily add stock imagery by clicking the Unsplash tab where you’ll find huuundreds of dreamy professional shots. This is an app that makes for compelling storytelling and considering consistency is key on Insta, choosing templates within a theme means every post stays beautifully on-brand.
Pay to upgrade and you’ll have access to premium features, including over 70 high-quality templates. There’s no way your followers will be swiping right over those beauties.
#4 Canva
Next up is possibly the fastest option for crafting a wide variety of stories designs. There’s a massive amount of ready-made templates to choose from – over 60,000 to be exact. Phewf. All you need to do is select the layout you like, pick one of the templates and get personalising.
There’s plenty of tools to help you along the way, from blurring to rotating, and little extras like stickers, frames and text animations. You’ll find a heap of stock imagery to use as a background and there’s no less than 130 different fonts. That’s a lotta fonts.
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A major plus of Canva is you can use it on your desktop as well as your mobile to make it even easier to plan your stories in advance. One thing to note: it can take some time to go through the many, many templates to find the style you want, but once you get into your groove, it’s well worth it.
#5 Over
Calling all quote lovers. Over is an excellent app for adding text that ensures you stand out from the crowd. It’s all you need if sharing inspirational quotes is your jam thanks to a gazillion font options, whether you overlay them onto one of the many template or start from scratch.
But it’s not all about the text! Over has had a serious upgrade, becoming a brilliant option for adding a unique twist to your Stories. There’s now plenty of tools at your fingertips, with the option to edit photos within the app, add fancy graphics and incorporate video. Yep, you can bring a little movement to your ‘gramming thanks to Over’s brimming library of stock videos. Or simply choose a video of your own.
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Although you can’t share directly to your Stories, you can schedule your post if you upgrade to the PRO plan. Considering this also gives you the ability to upload your own logo and brand font as well as access to an abundance of layouts, fonts and graphics, it may be worth the extra pennies.
Looking for some inspo? Be sure to check out the #bestofover community to get those creative juices flowing.
#6 Placeit
Last but not least is Placeit, which is the proud owner of the largest collection of mockups on the Internet. No biggie! It’s also incredibly easy to use – all you need to do is choose a mockup to edit, add in your own spin then download. What we really like about this one is the many categories that each template falls under so you can quickly find your style, whether you’re into pets or painting. Plus, you can get creative on your desktop as well as on your phone.
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You can either purchase single designs that will remove the watermark or why not try the monthly membership for access to ALL the templates, including great logos and animated videos.
A Quick Recap on apps for Instagram Stories
- A little creativity goes a long way. While Instagram itself offers lots of fun options to create Stories (hello polls, music, quizzes!), a specialised app gives you the chance to get experimental in your own way. So try some new tools, have a play and bring a twist no-one was expecting.
- There’s an app for that. These are just a few of our favourite Stories-enhancing apps and there’s plenty more out there. With so many choices on offer, you’re sure to find an app that suits your style and will give your Stories that extra oomph in the way that you want.
- The results will be thumb-stopping. Getting creative with your Stories can increase your account’s reach and generate a high engagement rate. Unique designs are sure to grab your followers’ attention, show off your branding skills and help you stand out in the crowd. What are you waiting for?
