Why I Built Launch Shots

A few weeks ago, I was getting my Android and iOS app ready for launch.

The development of the initial version was done. Everything worked. The only thing left was app store screenshots.

So I did what most of us do. I Googled for a quick solution and landed on a popular, template-based app store listing tool.

The moment that triggered everything

I picked a template I liked and spent around 30 minutes working on it.

• Swapped screenshots.
• Edited the copy.
• Applied my app's colors.
• Polished everything until it looked just right.

Finally, I clicked Download.

And that's when I hit a $29/month(or $180/year) subscription paywall.

I went back to their website to double-check. They did have a free tier, which is why I felt comfortable spending time inside the editor. What I didn't realize was that the template I chose had premium elements baked into it, so downloading wasn't allowed unless I subscribed.

I get it. Tools like this need to make money. No complaints there.

But I wasn't willing to start a recurring subscription just to download one set of screenshots.

I'm not a frequent user of app store listing tools. The next time I'd need it might be two or three months later. Paying $29 every month didn't make sense for my use case.

What would have made sense?

A simple one-time payment.
Something like $5 to export what I had already spent half an hour creating.

I checked alternatives. Same story.

I looked at a few other popular tools.

Every single one of them was subscription-only.

• No one-time payments.
• No credits.
• No “pay only when you need it” option.

That's when the idea clicked.

So I built it myself

I decided to build my own version of this tool.

That's how Launch Shots started.

It's been a few weeks of building, iterating, and fixing things, and now the app is finally in a shape where I feel comfortable releasing it.

Is it perfect? No.
Will there be bugs and missing features? Absolutely.

But I'm happy with where it is today, and I'm working on it every single day to improve things bit by bit.

How Launch Shots works

You can find everything at launchshots.com.

Every feature is free to use.
There are no hidden premium tools inside the editor.

There's just one limit.

You can export (download) up to 3 times per month for free.

This is not per screenshot.
It's per page.
Each export downloads everything on that page.

For most indie developers or solo builders who update their store listing once or twice a month, this should be more than enough.

What if you need more?

If you run out of your 3 exports, I won't force you into a subscription.

Instead, you can buy credits.
One-time payments starting from $1.

If you're a power user — launching multiple apps, running experiments, or localizing your listings into many languages — there is a subscription option with unlimited exports.

You choose what works for you. Nothing is forced.

I've also tried to price Launch Shots as affordably as possible compared to existing alternatives, while still offering a solid feature set. Honestly, I'm still not sure how much it'll cost to run long-term. We'll find out.

Templates and community

One area where Launch Shots is currently behind existing players is the number of templates.

We'll be publishing new templates every week, sometimes even more often.

But templates shouldn't only come from us.

That's why I'm letting you publish templates.

You can publish your own app's template to Launch Shots, and it'll appear in the community section. Along with the template, you can also share your app details, and we'll list it on our apps page.

It's small right now, but over time, this could become another place to showcase your app.

That's it

If you've read this far, thank you. Seriously.

If you find Launch Shots useful, feel free to share it with people who might benefit from it. And if you run into issues or have feedback, you can reach out to me directly.

All Launch Shots-related queries go to support@launchshots.com, and I personally read and reply to every email.

Thanks for reading — and for supporting me.