Best app promo video makers in 2026: for the App Store, Google Play, ads and launch posts

Where will your app promo play?

An app promo video shows what your app does in a few seconds of screen time. Where it plays decides what it may show, so start there. The App Store and Google Play set rules about the footage; ads, social posts and launch pages do not.

	App Store preview	Google Play preview video	Ads, social, your website, Product Hunt
What it may show	“Only video screen captures of the app itself”; narration and text overlays allowed	The real in-app experience within the first 10 seconds; at least 80% representative of the app	Anything true about the app
Length	15 to 30 seconds	Keep it short: only the first 30 seconds autoplay	Each platform’s own limits
File	.mov, .m4v or .mp4, up to 500 MB, no more than 30 fps; up to 3 per device size and language	The URL of one public or unlisted YouTube video, ads off, embeddable	MP4 in 9:16, 1:1, 4:5 or 16:9 (Product Hunt also takes a YouTube link)
Tools that fit	A screen recorder such as Screen Studio	A screen recording, edited in any tool	Rotato, Previewed, Placeit, Canva, CapCut, Jitter, Voom

Apple’s rule is the one that catches people out. Its App Review Guidelines (section 2.3.4) say previews “may only use video screen captures of the app itself”, and its app previews page adds that you should not film people using a device, “such as an over-the-shoulder angle or fingers tapping the screen”. A 3D phone mockup, a designed motion graphics promo or an AI-generated scene therefore belongs in your ads, your social posts and your launch, not in the preview slot.

The eight app promo tools compared

Voom publishes this guide, and Voom is one of the eight tools. Prices come from each tool’s own page, read on 3 November 2026, in US dollars before tax.

Tool	What it makes	Entry price	Free way to start	Fits the App Store slot?	Best for
Screen Studio	Polished recording of your Mac, iPhone or iPad screen	$29 a month, or $9 a month billed yearly	None shown	Yes, with real captures	Store previews and demos of the real app
Rotato	3D device mockup animations of your screens	One-time: Basic $79, Standard $89, Premium $199	Free trial; web beta at $0	No	Apple-style device shots for ads and your site
Previewed	Device mockup promos and store screenshots in the browser	Plus: $9.99 one time; Pro: $29 a month, $19 billed yearly	Lite: 720p, 2D, personal use, attribution	No	A quick mockup clip for an indie app
Placeit	Device mockup video templates from a screenshot	One unlimited subscription; the price shown changes by country	Some free templates	No	A mockup clip with no editing at all
Canva	Template video editor with short AI clips	Pro: $18 a month, or $144 a year	Free plan, 1080p export	No	Teams already designing in Canva
CapCut	Video editor with templates, effects and an AI video generator	Pro: $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year, per CapCut’s own article; varies by region and device	Free Standard version	Only for real captures you edit	Hands-on edits of vertical promos with templates
Jitter	Interface animation built from Figma or templates	Pro: $19 per editor a month, $15 billed yearly	Free: 3 files, 720p, watermark	No	Designers animating app screens by hand
Voom	A designed, voiced, scored promo film from a prompt and your screenshots	Pro: $29 a month for 560 credits	One film up to 30 seconds, faint watermark	No	Vertical ads and launch promos without editing

Bottom line: record the store preview, whatever else you buy. For everything else, pick Rotato or Previewed if you want your screens in a device, Canva, CapCut or Jitter if you will edit it yourself, and Voom if you want a finished promo with a voice-over and music from a prompt.

What does an app promo cost on each tool?

The tools price in three ways. Rotato and Previewed’s Plus plan sell once, Screen Studio, Canva, CapCut, Jitter, Placeit and Previewed’s Pro plan charge a subscription for as many videos as you make, and Voom charges per film.

• One-time: Rotato Basic costs $79 and covers phone mockups only, with no templates and 6 months of updates; Standard ($89) adds 30+ devices, 18 video templates and 4K export; Premium ($199) adds 100 templates and 8K. Previewed Plus is $9.99 for 10 HD exports, which never expire.
• Subscription: the cost of one promo is the hours you spend on it. Screen Studio at $9 a month billed yearly is the cheapest way to a store-ready recording on a Mac.
• Per film: on Voom, a 15-second promo uses 11 credits (about $0.57 on Pro) and a 30-second one 13 credits (about $0.67), at Pro’s $29 for 560 credits (Voom pricing).

Estimate: Rotato Standard’s one-time $89 costs about as much as 132 thirty-second Voom promos on Pro ($89 ÷ $0.67 ≈ 132.8). The two make different things: Rotato renders your real screens in a 3D device that you animate, and Voom designs, voices and scores the whole film.

The eight tools, one by one

Screen Studio

Screen Studio records your Mac’s screen, or an iPhone or iPad plugged into it, and makes the capture look produced, with automatic zoom on the moments you click and a smooth cursor. Because the footage is the real app, it is the right raw material for an App Store preview, which you then cut to 15 to 30 seconds at 30 fps. It costs $29 a month, or $9 a month billed yearly.

Falls short: macOS only, and no AI voice-over or script. It records what your app does today, so a pre-launch teaser for screens you have not built needs another tool.

Rotato

Rotato is a Mac app that turns your screenshots and screen recordings into 3D device mockup animations, the look of an Apple ad, with a timeline, camera control and presets. It is a one-time purchase: $79, $89 or $199 depending on devices, templates and export size, with a free trial and a free web beta.

Falls short: the full app needs a Mac, and the web version is a beta. Its pages show no voice-over or music library, so the sound is yours to add. A device mockup cannot go in the App Store preview slot.

Previewed

Previewed makes device mockup promos and store screenshots in the browser: drop in your screens, move the phone, add animated text, taps and store badges. Plus is a one-time $9.99 for 10 exports at 1080p or above, with commercial use; Pro is $29 a month, or $19 billed yearly, for unlimited exports at 60 fps.

Falls short: the free Lite plan is 720p, 2D only, for personal use with attribution, and lists no video export. There is no voice-over on its pages. Its footer still reads 2021, so check that the templates fit current devices.

Placeit

Placeit’s app demo templates drop a screenshot into a staged device scene and render an MP4, with no editing. One unlimited subscription covers its video templates, music and photo assets with commercial use, with a one-month minimum once you download a template.

Falls short: the price on its pages changes with where you visit from (we saw several different figures on 3 November 2026), so check it before you plan on it. Some device scenes use older phones, and the example we read took a still image, not a recording.

Canva

Canva’s video editor gives you templates, stock footage and music, and a timeline to assemble a promo yourself. Its AI makes short clips, 8 seconds with audio or 6 without, from an English prompt. Pro costs $18 a month or $144 a year and exports up to 4K without watermarks.

Falls short: you place and time every scene. Canva AI does not yet work inside video designs in the editor, according to its help centre, and the voice-overs on its video editor page are ones you record yourself.

CapCut

CapCut is a video editor for phones, desktop and the web, with templates, effects, captions and an AI video generator that makes clips from a script or a prompt with its Seedance model. Its own comparison article puts Pro at $19.99 a month or $179.99 a year, and says prices vary by region, platform and promotion.

Falls short: its pricing page showed no plans when we visited, so check the price where you are. Auto captions and premium templates are Pro features, according to the same article. The editing, timing and story are yours to do.

Jitter

Jitter is a browser motion design tool: import your app screens from Figma, then animate transitions, taps and type by hand, or ask its AI for a first pass. Pro costs $19 per editor a month, or $15 billed yearly, with 1080p export; 4K needs Max at $49 ($35 billed yearly).

Falls short: no voice-over or music generation, and a scene tops out at 120 seconds. It is a designer’s tool, and the result is only as good as the time you put in.

Voom

Voom makes the promo as a designed motion graphics film: describe the app, add up to 20 screenshots or your product link, and Voom writes the script, records a voice-over in one of 20 voices and 23 languages, animates your screens with type, writes an original score and renders an MP4 in 9:16, 4:5, 1:1 or 16:9. A 30-second promo uses 13 credits, about $0.67 on Pro, and the first film, up to 30 seconds, is free.

Falls short: a Voom film is not a screen capture, so it cannot be your App Store preview. It does not record your app or put screens into a 3D device. To change a finished film you make a variation from a new brief, and the app tells you a film usually takes 25 to 30 minutes.

How to make an App Store preview that passes review

An App Store preview is a short screen capture of your app with optional narration and text, cut to Apple’s specifications. These steps follow Apple’s app preview specifications and review guidelines.

1. Record the real app on the device. Capture the screen itself, not a person holding the phone. Screen Studio can record an iPhone plugged into a Mac.
2. Cut to 15 to 30 seconds. Show the core task first; viewers decide fast.
3. Export at Apple’s accepted resolution. For current iPhones with Face ID or the Dynamic Island that is 886 by 1920 in portrait, not the phone’s native resolution, at no more than 30 fps.
4. Add text overlays and, if you like, narration. Previews play muted by default, so the words on screen must carry the message.
5. Pick the poster frame. It defaults to the frame at 5 seconds, so make sure that frame shows the app at its best.
6. Upload and wait. Apple says processing can take up to 24 hours, and you can add up to three previews per device size and language.

For Google Play, upload the same recording to YouTube as a public or unlisted video with ads off, and paste its URL into your store listing.

Common mistakes with app promo videos

• Putting a mockup video in the App Store preview slot. It breaks guideline 2.3.4. Keep mockups for ads and your site.
• Exporting at the phone’s native resolution. App Store Connect expects its own accepted sizes, such as 886 by 1920.
• Relying on sound. App Store previews start muted, and so do most social feeds. Put the promise on screen.
• Leaving ads on the YouTube video. Google Play asks you to disable ads for the video to show on your listing.
• One cut for every channel. A 16:9 film cropped to 9:16 loses its text. Make the vertical version as its own film.

How we chose and checked these tools

We grouped the tools that app makers use by what they make: screen recordings, device mockups, editors and generators. Every price, limit and rule comes from the tool’s or platform’s own page, read on 3 November 2026 and listed under Sources. Rotato’s US prices come from its pricing page’s own data, because the visible prices change to the visitor’s currency. Placeit’s price changes by location and we could not confirm the US figure, so we left it out.

We did not make a promo on every tool, so this guide describes what each product is built to do and what its plans include. Voom is our product; it fits one slot here, ads and launch promos, and cannot fill the App Store preview. If a price or rule has changed, tell us through the contact page and we will correct it.

Making an app promo with Voom

The film below is a 30-second vertical promo for Mossy, a plant-care app that does not exist: a hypothetical brief made with Voom from a description alone, with no screenshots. For a real app, upload your own screens, and Voom animates them instead of designing new ones.

1. Describe the app, who it is for and the one thing it does best.
2. Add three to five screenshots in the order the film should show them.
3. Choose 9:16 for Reels, TikTok and Shorts, a length of 15 to 30 seconds, a voice, and captions on.
4. Make a 4:5 or 16:9 version as a second film for feeds, YouTube and your site.

See the app promo video page for this film’s exact prompt. For a product with a website, the product demo video and launch teaser video pages cover the next films you may need, and the AI motion graphics generator shows other styles. Comparing Voom with one tool? Read Voom against Pexo, Fliki, HeyGen, Synthesia, Vyond, Powtoon or Motion.