Previewed alternatives

Previewed alternatives — what indies actually pick

Previewed is a browser-based 3d mockup tool that covers app store shots, social media mockups, and promo videos in one app. The closest competitor on pricing — but their $9.99 Plus tier caps at 10 exports and still hands you a mockup editor, not a generator. You're choosing templates, posing devices, and writing the copy yourself. If you're looking for an alternative for the once-or-twice-a-year App Store launch, here's an honest take on what fits.

In short

What is Previewed?

Previewed is a browser-based 3D mockup tool covering App Store screenshots, social mockups and promo videos. Lite is free at 720p with a Creative Commons attribution requirement, Plus is $9.99 one-time capped at 10 lifetime exports, and Pro runs $19/mo.

Pricing model
Free + $9.99 one-time + $19/mo
What it costs
Lite free (720p, CC attribution) · Plus $9.99 one-time (10 exports, 3D + video) · Pro $228/yr.
Who still picks it
If you want 3D animation or a promo video alongside your static screenshots, Previewed covers more surface area than ShotStudio in one tool. Plus also wins if you specifically want a one-time tier and can live within the 10-export limit.

Why people leave Previewed

Where Previewed falls short for indie launches

  • Plus tier caps at 10 lifetime exports — restrictive if you A/B-test screenshot variants.
  • Free tier requires Creative Commons attribution — your published screenshots credit them, not you.
  • Template editor, not a screenshot generator — manual layout per shot.
  • No AI-written headline from your one-line pitch.
  • Theme and palette don't sample from your uploaded screens.
  • Cloud-stored templates and exports — privacy posture is the opposite of ours.

ShotStudio

What does ShotStudio do differently from Previewed?

ShotStudio is a one-time-pay App Store screenshot generator built for the indie iOS developer doing this once or twice a year. Three raw uploads in, three polished 1290×2796 shots back, in under a minute, from $7. AI picks the preset from your category and writes the headline from your pitch — you bring the screenshots and the app name.

  • $7 one-time entry — credits never expire, no subscription anywhere on the site.
  • Auto-refund on failed generations — credits return automatically when retries can't produce a valid shot.
  • Zero image persistence — uploads pass through memory to the model and are dropped. No images table, no S3.
  • Category-aware preset auto-selection — no scrolling a 200-template gallery to start.
  • AI-written headline from your one-line pitch — you don't bring the copywriting.
  • Click-to-edit text on the preview — adjust before you export.

Side by side

ShotStudio vs Previewed

 ShotStudioPreviewed
Pricing modelOne-time credit packsFree + $9.99 one-time + $19/mo
Entry price$7 (2 sets)Lite free (720p, CC attribution) · Plus $9.99 one-time (10 exports, 3D + video) · Pro $228/yr.
Output spec1290×2796, sRGB, no watermarkVaries by template
AI-written headlinesYes — from your pitchNo
Image persistenceNone — never written to diskStored on their servers
Refund on failureAuto-refund of creditsManual support ticket

When Previewed wins

When Previewed is still the right pick

If you want 3D animation or a promo video alongside your static screenshots, Previewed covers more surface area than ShotStudio in one tool. Plus also wins if you specifically want a one-time tier and can live within the 10-export limit.

What Previewed does well
  • $9.99 one-time Plus is the closest one-time-pay option in the category — already validated the no-subscription model for static screenshots.
  • 3D snapshots and promo-video output cover use cases ShotStudio doesn't touch.
  • Exports stay in your account forever — even after a subscription lapses.

Switching

Moving from Previewed to ShotStudio

There is no import, no project migration and no account to reconnect — the whole switch is the three screens you already have. Start from the category page for your app to see what the carousel has to prove before you generate.

  1. Step 01

    Skip the template gallery — ShotStudio picks the personality preset from your app category instead.

  2. Step 02

    Upload the same three screens; theme and palette are sampled from them, so you don't rebuild your brand in an editor.

  3. Step 03

    Regenerate any single shot as many times as you like inside one credit — no 10-export ceiling.

What converts in your category

For finance appsfinance app screenshotsFinance app screenshots have an uphill fight: the actual product is a screen full of numbers, and a screen full of numbers reads as noise in the App Store carousel. The trick is to show one number, large, with one piece of context — and let the rest of the screenshot whisper. Premium finance apps lean dark for a reason: it makes a single accent color (your brand green for gains, your charcoal for the rest) feel deliberate instead of cluttered.For photo editing appsphoto editing app screenshotsPhoto-editing screenshots are the easiest category to prove and the easiest to fake badly. The whole pitch is before and after — show a flat phone snap transformed into something striking, and the buyer instantly gets the value. The failure mode is showing the toolbar instead of the result: nobody downloads an editor for its slider panel, they download it for what their photos could look like.For productivity appsproductivity app screenshotsProductivity is the most crowded category on the App Store. Anything generic disappears. The winning shots are obsessively specific — one feature, one workflow, one obvious win — rendered with so much whitespace that the user understands the app is calm. The instinct to show "everything the app can do" is the single biggest reason indie productivity apps fail in the carousel.For travel appstravel app screenshotsTravel-app screenshots sell a destination before they sell a feature. The buyer is daydreaming about being somewhere else, and the hero shot has to feed that daydream — a place, a map, an itinerary that looks like a trip worth taking — while one secondary shot proves the app actually handles the logistics. Lead with wanderlust, prove with utility.

FAQ

Previewed alternatives — questions indies ask

Is Previewed worth it for indie iOS developers?

The $9.99 Plus tier is the closest one-time-pay option in the category — a fair fit if you want 3D snapshots or promo video output alongside static screenshots. The 10-export cap on Plus matters if you A/B-test multiple sets. If you only need polished static shots, a $7 ShotStudio credit gets you unlimited regenerations per set.

Is Previewed free?

The Lite tier is free but exports at 720p with a Creative Commons attribution requirement — meaning your published screenshots credit Previewed, not your app. For commercial indie use you'll need Plus at $9.99 one-time (10 exports) or Pro at $19/mo ($228/yr unlimited).

What's a good alternative to Previewed?

For a true one-time-pay indie tool with no export cap, ShotStudio is $7 with unlimited regenerations per credit and zero image persistence. For 3D animation specifically, Rotato is the strongest in the category. AppMockUp Studio is the free option if you don't need animation or AI assistance.

Does Previewed export at App Store Connect's required spec?

Yes — Previewed supports iPhone 6.7" portrait output at 1080p+ on Plus and Pro tiers. The free Lite tier caps at 720p, which falls below Apple's required resolution for App Store carousel screenshots and won't pass review.