Not too many days go by without a DM on Instagram asking how I create my Stories. Which makes me really really happy, because I love creating beautiful content that inspires. And I also love sharing everything I have learnt and know about when it comes to Instagram. So of course I knew I had to put together this list of the best apps for beautiful Instagram Stories. Whether you create for fun or for work this list of apps is perfect for helping you up your Stories game.

Now I don’t use just any old apps – I test them out for a while and only keep the best of the best. You know those apps that are beautiful, easy to use, don’t crash and don’t have incredibly annoying advertising flashing across the screen every five seconds? The apps I use on a daily (or at least weekly) basis are the only ones that are making it into this little beauty of a list!

For a more detailed explanation of each app you can watch my tutorial here:

How to Create Beautiful Instagram Stories

But before I jump right in to my list I also wanted to share a couple of tips to ensure your Stories are always looking their best:

• Don’t post your Stories live… I always wait until the end of the day (or sometimes even the next day) to pick out and collate all the photos and videos I want to include in my Stories. Then I do a batch edit to create my slides. This way your Stories will be more thought out and consistent. It also means you get more time to enjoy what you are doing, knowing that you will create your Stories later.
• Post your Stories at the same time… This might just be a personal preference but I like to post my slides from the day all together, so anyone watching will see the whole story rather than just the bits and pieces they happen to catch.
• Create your photos and videos with your phone camera… You might be tempted to take photos or record video with the Stories camera – however I usually avoid doing this because the resolution won’t be as high, and when you aren’t posting live you have to remember to save and exit otherwise you lose your photo/video. I also use the slo-mo and time lapse functions on my iPhone to create more interesting videos. The slo-mo is great for fast movement (like twirling or running) and the time lapse can look really good for capturing slow movement (like sunsets or long drives).

The Best Apps for Beautiful Instagram Stories

VSCO

The first thing I do with all of my chosen photos and videos is apply a filter to them. This enhances colours and gives my Stories a cohesive look, which aligns with the rest of my branding. VSCO is my favourite app to use because you have control over individual colours in photos and in videos. You can also save your custom made filters. At the moment video editing is only available on the VSCO X subscription. If you would prefer a free version for video editing then see my next recommendation – InShot.

InShot

InShot is a free (and powerful) video editing app. Among it’s features it allows you to trim, merge, apply filters and add music to your videos. I don’t always use it for my Stories but it has some features that come in handy sometimes. This is also the app I use to create stop motion videos in under two minutes – you can see my stop motion tutorial here.

Unfold

This is without a doubt the app I get asked about the most. It’s the app I use to collate all of my edited photos and videos into beautiful layouts/slides. I also add text to my slides with Unfold too. There are a number of different layout packs you can use some are free and others cost $1-2.

Hype Type

If you are looking to add animated text to your Stories slides then HypeType is the best app to do the job. With lots of font and colour options you simply type in your text and choose the animation you like the best.

WordSwag

This is actually the app I use to create my Stories Highlights covers. With lots of beautiful typography options it’s an easy way to make your type look professionally designed in the click of a button.

CutStory

Finally, if I have any video slides that are longer than 15 seconds I will open them up in the CutStory app and save them out in 15 second clips. If you’ve ever watched a story that has seamless Stories slides this is how it was done.

If there are any apps I haven’t mentioned here that you LOVE using to create your Stories, please share them in the comments below!

Big Love,

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