The Short Answer
In 2026, an App Store preview built from screen recordings typically costs $1,000 to $5,000, and a designed 30 to 60 second launch video with motion graphics costs $3,000 to $15,000. Videos with 3D phone renders or live action cost more. The best productions are planned once and cut for the App Store, the website, ads and social.
Launch Video vs App Store Preview
An App Store preview is a store asset with rules: it has to show the app itself, it runs 15 to 30 seconds, and it plays in the listing. A launch or promo video is free-form: it can show people, context and brand, and it lives on your website, in ads and on social. Most launches need both.
The preview sits next to your screenshots, which we cover in designing App Store screenshots and previews. Check Apple's current specifications before exporting, because resolutions and rules change.
What Drives the Cost
The main cost drivers are how the app is shown (screen recordings, redrawn UI, or 3D phone renders), the amount of motion design around it, voice-over and music, and the number of cut-downs and aspect ratios.
| Approach | Best for | Typical price |
|---|---|---|
| Screen recordings plus captions | App Store preview, quick ads | $1,000 to $5,000 |
| Motion-designed promo | Launch video, website hero | $3,000 to $15,000 |
| 3D phone renders and motion | Premium launch, press, ads | $8,000 to $30,000+ |
These are 2026 market ranges, not quotes.
The Shots a Good App Video Includes
A strong app video shows the problem in a line, the app solving it within the first five seconds, two or three key flows at readable size, and a clear call to download. Everything else is optional.
- The hook: the outcome, not the logo. Our guide on the first three seconds explains why.
- Real flows: actual screens, simplified if needed, never mock features the app does not have.
- Readable UI: zoom and crop so text works on a phone held upright.
- The ask: App Store badge, a link, or a short line telling people what to do next.
Make One Production Work Everywhere
Plan the shots once and export several versions: a 15 to 30 second App Store preview, a 30 to 60 second website video, and 6 to 15 second vertical ads. Designing the scenes as modular pieces also makes it cheaper to update the video when the app changes.
If your app is getting a visual refresh for the latest iOS design language, do the video after it. See what Liquid Glass means for your app.
Where We Fit
Kalex designs and builds iPhone apps and makes the launch films around them, with UI animation in After Effects and 3D phone renders in Blender. See our motion graphics and iOS app services, or tell us about your launch.