When Instagram Stories were first introduced, almost all users (including brands and businesses) would simply create stories directly on the app. But times have changed, and creating aesthetically pleasing, on-brand stories is a must for brands and businesses on the platform.

Instagram stories are more important than ever for a successful Instagram strategy, and creating high quality stories can feel really overwhelming. Luckily, there are a ton of apps that make creating beautiful, professional looking IG stories a breeze. 

Here are 5 of my favourites- all of them are FREE and have paid upgrades if you’re looking for more.

1. Canva

A must have! Canva is the app I use most for creating IG stories. It has so many options for customizing your graphics, has tons of free templates, and images, and is available on desktop or app (I love this because I find it way easier to make my stories/graphics on my desktop). 

Canva goes far beyond IG stories and can be used for any kind of design. 

2. Stories Edit

Probably my second most used app. Stories Edit (made from Planoly) is easy to use and has lots of cool and trendy Instagram and Pinterest templates.

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3. Unfold  

Unfold was the first Instagram stories app I used, and it’s probably the app I see most recommended. I love their beautiful and minimal templates, and the recently launched Unfold for Brands, which allows you to upload your brand fonts, colours, etc.

4. Mojo

Mojo’s templates look similar to Unfold’s, but they are animated and so take things to the next level! The only reason I don’t use them more is that unless you upgrade to their paid version, all of the templates have a watermark on them, which isn’t ideal for client work. I may upgrade soon though because I love their templates.

5. Over

Over is to Canva in that it has templates for everything you’d ever need- IG stories, Pinterest graphics, video templates, and logos are just the beginning.

6. Instagram

Instagram itself is still a great app for creating stories, and it continues to add more features to help you design cool visuals. They recently released new font options, and the “effects” feature, which lets you use tons of cool filters and visual effects to your stories. And even if you’re making your stories in other apps, there are still lots of great additions that Instagram can offer, such as linking your story to a swipe up, adding gifs, making polls, etc.

There are tons of apps available, but these six are my go-to’s. Their free versions offer amazing quality and they’re so easy (and fun!) to use.