Instagram Stories are one of my favorite ways to connect with my audience and show them a more authentic, “behind the scenes” version of my life and the photos I share on Instagram. As Instagram stories continue to be a monumental tool for promoting your brand or business, it’s important to create stories that stand out. Creating beautiful Instagram stories goes a lot further than just sharing quality content. If you’re looking to up your Instagram story game, but aren’t sure how, I’ve put together a list of my top 7 favorite apps I use to create stunning Instagram stories.
1. Unfold
One of the most common questions I’m asked is “What app I use to get the white border around my stories?” The answer is Unfold.
This is one of my favorite apps I use to edit my Instagram Stories and the one I use by far the most. Unfold is a free app that allows you to place photos and/or videos of your choice in easy-to-use templates to create beautiful, minimalist layouts. You can also add text to set the mood and share more context of the story you’re sharing. While the free version alone offers plenty of great templates, I’ve purchased a few other template packs for $0.99 each and the film pack (my personal favorite) for $1.99.
Download for Iphone | Download for Android
2. Over
While Over has always been known for it’s ability to add text over a photo, it also has a powerful feature that allows you to overlay images on top of each other. This makes it great for making collages or creating a story from your photos. While there are millions of different creative templates you can choose from, you can also create your own templates from scratch when you want more flexibility. The app is packed with lots of other “Photoshop-like” tools that make it easy to create images that stand out for your stories. The app is free with the ability to upgrade to a pro version that is $15 a month or $100 a year.
Download for Iphone | Download for Android
3. Hype Type
Hype Type is a great app for adding animated text over photos and videos. It’s an easy way to give your stories that extra touch to make them more engaging. For me, I like using this app to announce new posts on my blog. I can easily give my story an animated title by selecting from a variety of fonts and animation styles. And if you’d like, you can even add music over a video or crop a clip to your desired dimensions. While this app is free initially, you must pay for the features in the premium version and to remove the watermark.
Download for Iphone | Download for Android
4. Storeo
If you’ve ever tried to make an Instagram story while talking that’s longer than 15 seconds, then you know what a pain it is when you get cut off mid-sentence. Storeo solves that problem and makes it easy to create seamless videos. Just import a video of any length you’d like into Storeo and the app will slice the video into 15 second slices for you to upload to Instagram Stories. Now you can stop worrying about the 15 second countdown timer and, instead, focus on what you have to say. The app is free, but you have to pay a small fee if you want to remove the watermark when you export the videos you create.
5. VSCO
VSCO has been around since almost the birth of Instagram, but the ability to edit videos with their filters is quite a new feature. I love using this app to make my photos and videos more vibrant and polished for my stories. For example, if a video is too dark, I can simply increase the exposure or even fix the white balance if the colors look off. You can also create your own preset formulas, which I love to use to bulk edit my stories if I’m in a rush and want them to look consistent. The app is a $19.99 yearly subscription fee, which is worth it considering all the tools you get access to.
Download for Iphone | Download for Android
6. 8mm
Ever wondered how I get my Instagram stories to look like they were recorded on a vintage camcorder? 8mm is the app you’re looking for! While the app does cost $1.99, it’s highly worth it in my opinion to give your videos a unique, retro look. Simply point the viewfinder at what you want to capture and bring the beauty and magic of old school vintage movies into your very own videos. There are also several filter settings you can choose from depending on the vintage feel you’re going for.
7. InShot
InShot is a great app for editing photos and videos on your phone and creating cool layouts. I like using this app to add unique backgrounds to my photos or add another photo behind an image. You can also create collages by adding your desired photos to pre-made templates that are offered within the app. InShot is also really helpful for editing videos. You can add effects like filters, change the speed, and make other edits before uploading your videos to Instagram stories. One thing to note when using this app is to make sure to set the canvas ratio size to 9:16 (Instagram story ratio).
Download for Iphone | Download for Android
What other tools or apps do you like using to edit your Instagram Stories? Let me know below in the comments.
A xx
Just wanted to say i love your work ^_^
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that.
A xx
Thank you so much for sharing your trade tricks! Your brilliant work reflects in all your stories and feed! Never stop creating!
Thanks for reading and glad you enjoy it!
A xx
Love your stories allie! Was wondering what you used to create your story highlight covers, obsessed with the designs!
Thank you so much Alex! I created them myself in Figma design – it’s a program that is quite similar to Adobe Illustrator. It is also free to try!
– A
Such a good post, Allie. Surprisingly, some of these apps we’d not used, so we’ve just downloaded :)!
So glad you liked it! Yay, looking forward to seeing what you create.
A xx
Love all these apps!! They’re so great, especially UnFold and VSCO’s a bit of an OG when it comes to editing for instagram! x
Thanks for reading! And yes definitely, they are my favorite.
A xx
Please make presets!! I would so buy them😍