An app promo video costs anywhere from $0 to $5,000 or more. Doing it yourself with free tools costs nothing but your time. Paid tools add $10 to $200. Freelancers on Fiverr or Upwork usually charge $50 to $600 for a short app video. Agencies publish ranges of $600 to $5,000 per finished minute. A launch-kit studio like ours starts at $99.
Below: what each route really costs in money and time, what you get, and when each one is the right call.
The short answer
- Do it yourself: $0 to about $30 a month for a recorder and an editor. Budget a full day for your first video.
- Mockup and animation tools: $10 to $200, often one-time. You still direct and edit.
- Templates: free to about $20 a month. Fast, but other apps use the same ones.
- Freelancers: roughly $50 to $600 per video on gig sites, more for senior editors.
- Agencies: $600 to $5,000 per finished minute, by their own published ranges, often over weeks.
- Launch-kit studio (Appsenik): $99 for one 30-second video plus posts, $149 for a full kit, delivered in 1 to 5 days.
| Option | Typical cost | Your time | Turnaround | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY: recorder + editor | $0–$30/month | A day or more per video | As fast as you work | Simple apps, tight budgets, frequent updates |
| Mockup and animation tools | $10–$199, often one-time | Half a day to a day | As fast as you work | Polished device shots without hiring |
| Templates (Canva, Envato) | Free to ~$20/month | A few hours | Same day | Social clips and quick posts |
| Freelancer (Fiverr, Upwork) | ~$50–$600 per video | Brief, review, chase | Days to weeks | One video, if you find the right person |
| Video agency | $600–$5,000+ per minute | Calls, script reviews | Usually weeks | Funded launches, ads, live action |
| Launch-kit studio (Appsenik) | $99–$149, or $199/month | One brief, two review rounds | 1–5 days | A video plus posts and store assets in one style |
DIY: screen recording and a free editor
Cost: $0 if you use iMovie (free on Mac and iPhone) or CapCut's free tier. Screen Studio, a Mac recorder that adds smooth zooms and cursor motion, is $29 a month or $9 a month billed yearly. CapCut Pro is around $20 a month in the US, though the price varies by region.
What you get: a real recording of your real app, edited by the person who knows it best.
Trade-offs: the software is cheap, but the time isn't. Planning the story, cleaning demo data, recording clean takes, cutting to music and exporting each format adds up. Most first attempts also look like a screen recording, because they are one.
When it's the right call: your app is simple, your budget is close to zero, or you'll update the video often. Our guide to making an app promo video walks through the steps.
Mockup and animation tools
Cost: Rotato's Mac app is a one-time $79 (Basic), $89 (Standard) or $199 (Premium), and its web beta is free. Previewed has a free plan with 720p exports, a $9.99 one-time Plus tier with video export, and Pro at $19 a month billed yearly.
What you get: your screens inside 3D or 2D device frames, with camera moves and templates. It looks more finished than a raw recording.
Trade-offs: the tool animates, but you still write the story, pick the shots and edit the whole thing together. Screenshot tools like AppScreens ($99 a year for Pro) and AppLaunchpad are great for store images, but they don't make videos.
When it's the right call: you have a designer's eye and some editing time, and you want a reusable setup for future updates.
Templates: Canva, Envato and Motion Array
Cost: Canva has a free plan, and Pro runs about $15 to $18 a month in the US. Envato's subscription starts at $16.50 a month and includes video templates and stock music.
What you get: a ready-made structure. Drop in your screens, change the colors, export.
Trade-offs: templates are built for any product, so they rarely fit your app's flow. Popular ones show up across many launches. After Effects templates on Envato or Motion Array also need the software and the skills to edit them.
When it's the right call: quick social posts, a teaser for a waitlist, or a first video while you test the idea.
Freelancers: Fiverr, Upwork and Dribbble
Cost: app preview gigs on Fiverr commonly run from about $50 for a basic package to $600 for Fiverr Pro sellers. Upwork's own cost guide puts typical video editor rates at $6 to $25 an hour, with experienced editors charging much more. Designers you find on Dribbble usually quote per project.
What you get: a person who does this for a living. The good ones bring taste, pacing and motion skills you won't build in a weekend.
Trade-offs: quality varies widely, and finding the right person takes time. You'll write the brief, send assets, review drafts and chase revisions. Check what's included: formats, revision rounds, music licensing and who owns the files.
When it's the right call: you need one video, you have time to vet portfolios, and you've found someone whose past work matches your style.
Video agencies
Cost: agencies that publish prices quote roughly $600 to $5,000 per minute of finished video, depending on style, with higher-end work going far beyond that. A 30-second video rarely costs half, because the script, storyboard and setup cost the same either way. Some smaller studios list fixed packages from about $250 for 15 seconds to about $1,000 for 60. These ranges come from the agencies themselves, so treat them as a guide, not a market average.
What you get: scripting, voiceover, custom animation, sometimes live action, and a team to manage it.
Trade-offs: price and time. Kickoff calls and script approvals are worth it for a big campaign, slow for a launch next week.
When it's the right call: you're funded, the video will run as a paid ad, or you need people on camera.
A launch-kit studio
This is what we do, so read it with that in mind.
Cost: our Starter is $99: one 30-second 9:16 promo video, 3 social posts, 3 App Store screenshots and 3 Google Play screenshots in phone and tablet sizes, plus share copy, in 1 to 2 days. The Launch Kit is $149: three videos (first run, core tour, features), 6 posts, a full phone-and-tablet store screenshot set, covers and platform captions, in 3 to 5 days. Monthly is $199 for a new video, 6 posts and store screenshot updates when your app changes. Add-ons include an App Store Preview cut ($49) and extra formats ($29 each).
What you get: a person plans and reviews every kit, built from your screens and in your brand. Every plan includes 2 revision rounds and full ownership after payment, and you see a free 10-second teaser before you pay anything.
Trade-offs: we work from your screens and fictional demo data, so we don't shoot live action or hire actors. If you need a 60-second explainer with voiceover and characters, an agency is the better fit.
When it's the right call: you're launching soon and want the video, the posts and the store assets to match, without managing a freelancer or an agency.
What drives the price
Whoever makes it, the same things move the quote:
| Driver | Why it costs more |
|---|---|
| Length | More scenes to design, animate and caption |
| Style | Screen recordings are cheapest. Custom 2D, 3D and live action cost the most |
| Script and voiceover | A writer and a voice actor are two more people to pay and schedule |
| Music | A properly licensed track can cost more than a stock template |
| Revisions | Rounds beyond the included ones are billed |
| Formats and cutdowns | Each extra shape (1:1, 4:5, 16:9) or length (15 s, 6 s) is more editing |
| Localization | New captions and sometimes new screens for each language |
Hidden costs to ask about
Before you pay, ask:
- Revisions: how many rounds are included, and what does the next one cost? Studios say extra rounds commonly add around 8 to 12% each.
- Rush delivery: studios commonly quote 15 to 50% more for a tight deadline.
- Source files: some charge a buyout, often quoted at 30 to 50% of the project, to hand over the editable files.
- Music: is the track licensed for ads, and who holds the license?
- Extra formats and store cuts: is the 9:16 the only file you get? An App Store preview is a separate edit with its own rules, not a resize.
For the record, ours: 2 rounds included and $39 for another, rush is +50%, extra formats are $29 each, 4K masters are $29, and the App Store Preview cut is $49. You own what we deliver once it's paid for.
A kit vs a single video
A single video is one file in one shape. A launch kit is the video plus what you'll need around it: cutdowns, posts, covers and captions in the same style. If you'll end up buying those pieces anyway, price the whole set, not the video alone.
How to choose
Ask three questions:
- How much time do you have before launch? Under a week rules out most agencies. Under a day means DIY or a template.
- What's your time worth? If a day spent editing is a day not spent shipping or selling, paying $150 to $400 is often cheaper than it looks.
- Do you need more than one video? A launch usually needs a vertical video for social, a store preview cut and posts. Pricing one video at a time hides that cost.
If money is the hard limit, go DIY and keep it short. If time is the hard limit, pay someone. Either way, plan the rest of launch week with our app launch checklist.
Common questions
How much does a 30-second app promo video cost? From $0 if you make it yourself to a few thousand dollars from an agency. Gig-site freelancers usually land between $50 and $600. Our Starter plan is $99 for a 30-second 9:16 video plus three posts.
Is it cheaper to make it yourself? In money, yes. In time, budget a full day for a first video, more for several formats.
How much does an App Store preview video cost? About the same as a short promo video if made from scratch, because it needs its own edit: real app footage only, 15 to 30 seconds, exact sizes. If you already have a promo video made from screen recordings, the preview is a re-cut. Ours is a $49 add-on.
Get a promo video made for your app
Send us your screens and we'll make a 10-second teaser for free, so you can judge the style before you spend anything. Compare the plans on our pricing page, watch finished videos in samples, or ask for your free teaser.