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Freemium

Instories

Instories turns long-form video and photos into templated Reels, Stories, and social posts with AI captions and animation.

3.9 Social Media
3.9 Good 3.9

Bottom line: Instories turns long-form video and photos into templated Reels, Stories, and social posts with AI captions and animation. Free plan available.

Six years of continuous operation (since 2018) in a fast-turnover app category Mobile-only design (iOS/Android) with no confirmed desktop or web editor
Reviewed by Challenging Voice Editorial · Updated Jul 2026 How we rate
PricingFrom $10/mo
Free planYes
CompanyYlee Studio LTD
PlatformsAndroid, iOS
Best forSocial Media
Founded2018
Visits3
Last reviewedJul 2026
UpdatedJul 2026
Ask AI about Instories ChatGPT Claude Perplexity

Overview

Instories is a mobile app for creating social media stories, Reels, and short-form video content from photos and longer video, developed by Ylee Studio LTD since 2018. The app targets Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, and YouTube Shorts creators who want to output finished content without a full video-editing background.

The app includes more than 500 customizable templates across standard (16:9), square (1:1), post (4:5), and Reels formats, along with AI-generated subtitles, background removal, text-to-audio conversion, and tools that cut long-form video down into short, shareable clips. Instories is available on both iOS and Android and has been maintained continuously since its 2018 launch, per its own copyright notice.

Instories targets individual creators, influencers, and small brand social teams rather than enterprise marketing departments. The freemium model gives free access to core tools; Instories Pro runs $14.99/month billed monthly, or the equivalent of $10/month when billed annually, and both plans include a 3-day free trial before billing starts.

Key features

  • 500+ customizable templates across major social video and story formats
  • AI-generated subtitles and captions
  • Long-form-to-short-clip conversion for Reels and Shorts
  • AI background removal for photos and video
  • Text-to-audio conversion for voiceover-style content
  • iOS and Android apps with a 3-day free trial on paid plans

Screenshots & demo

Demo video

Screenshots

Instories screenshot 1

Pricing

Instories has a free plan, and paid plans start at $10/mo.

  • Pricing modelFreemium
  • Starting priceFrom $10/mo
  • Free planYes
Visit Instories

Pricing is provided as a guide. Check the official site for the latest plans.

Is Instories expensive?

Instories starts at $10, which is 60% below the Social Media median of $25 a month across the 69 priced tools we list in that category.

The cheapest paid option in Social Media starts at $5 and the most expensive at $299.

45% of Social Media tools in the directory offer a free tier, and this is one of them.

Compared against every priced listing in Social Media, recalculated as the catalogue changes. Method and the full market breakdown are in our AI tool pricing study.

Pros & cons

Pros

  • Six years of continuous operation (since 2018) in a fast-turnover app category
  • Template breadth covers every major short-form format (Stories, Reels, Shorts) in one app
  • Annual billing brings Pro down to $10/month, competitive against single-purpose editing apps
  • Freemium access lets casual users try the app before subscribing

Cons

  • Mobile-only design (iOS/Android) with no confirmed desktop or web editor
  • Free tier's exact feature limits aren't detailed on the pricing page
  • Faces intense competition from Canva, CapCut, and other multi-purpose editors bundling similar templates
  • No confirmed enterprise or team-seat plan for brand social teams managing multiple accounts

How it compares

ToolRatingFreeFromBest known for
Instories (this tool)3.9Yes$10/mo500+ customizable templates across major social video and story formats
Repurpose.io4.3No$35/moAutomatic conversion of long-form video into short-form clips
Storybeat3.1YesFreeAuto Design – full content creation in under 30 seconds
VideoGen3.9Yes$12/moVideo generated from text, blogs or articles

Alternatives to Instories

4 tools matched to Instories on what they do, their category and their price.

Storybeat

3.1

Auto Design builds a finished story or reel in under 30 seconds – AI captions, AI avatars, beat-synced music, and professional templates, used by a 10M community of creators.

Freemium Social Media
View details Visit

TagsGPT

3.0

Generates hashtag sets for Instagram, TikTok and YouTube Shorts posts, aimed at reach rather than at writing the caption.

Freemium Social Media
View details Visit

Frequently asked questions

What is Instories?
Instories is a mobile app for creating social media stories, Reels, and short-form video content from photos and longer video, developed by Ylee Studio LTD since 2018.
Is Instories free?
Yes, Instories offers a free plan. Paid plans unlock more features and higher usage limits, starting at $10/month.
How much does Instories cost?
Instories starts at $10 per month. See the pricing plans above for full details.
What are the best Instories alternatives?
The closest matches in the directory are Repurpose.io, Storybeat, and VideoGen, compared side by side above.

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