8 Best Stop Motion Apps for iOS and Android in 2023
Is there an app for stop motion animation?
Yes! Stop motion animation may still seem incredibly complicated in 2023, but did you know you can make your own stop motion video using just an app on your iPhone or Android device?
The quality of the camera on your smartphone is the highest it’s ever been - and it’s always steadily improving year after year. So pair that with an app made to help string together photos and you’ve got your very own video!
There are plenty of stop motion apps out there that go beyond just putting the photos together. From filters, to music, to speed and more, we’ve rounded up a list of the eight best apps for you to make a stop motion movie with in the palm of your hands.
What app do I use to make a stop motion video?
Read through our list to find FREE stop motion apps for both iPhone and Android. Find out which features are important when making a stop motion video. Most apps also have in-app purchases or paid versions with extra features for making professional quality videos and a few of them run ads in the app which can be removed if you pay.
Here are the top 8, we’ll go into detail further below:
WINNER: Life Lapse Stop Motion
Stop Motion Studio
iMotion
Stop Motion Factory
PicPac Stop Motion & TimeLapse
I Can Animate
Onion Cam2
Stop Motion Maker
The Best FREE Apps for Stop Motion on iOS and Android
There are many questions we cover in this list, from how to do stop motion with iPhone or how to make your own stop motion with Android devices all the way to where top find the best free stop motion apps. We give answers to all of the above and more! Read below for full descriptions of our top 8 stop motion apps. Let’s start with our FAVORITE:
1. Life Lapse Stop Motion
Available on: iOS and Android
Life Lapse Stop Motion is our pick because it is currently the highest rated stop motion app in the Apple App Store, with a 4.8 from 8,000+ ratings! This app is probably the best way to make a stop motion video for free, as it’s packed with a lot of great features like the timeline editor and the ability to import photos from your phone. Other free features include changing speed, adding filters, adding music, and a lot MORE in just this one app.
The free in-app camera feature is great because it also lets you film directly inside the app. Every time you take a picture, it shows your previous photo lightly overlaid on top so you can see how much to move or change your props when animating them.
One of the best things about Life Lapse is that it also offers a TON of free stop motion tutorials in the app and on the website, creative examples, and DIY hacks so even beginners can learn how to create stop motion movies that are fun and high quality animations.
If you want to use this for your business or more professional animations there is an affordable paid version to unlock advanced features that make the app even more powerful, like connecting a Bluetooth remote and automated timer to make taking each photo even easier!
Get the app here 👇
2. Stop Motion Studio
Available on: iOS and Android
This app has been around for a long time and while it’s not the highest rating, they are still great and boast over 41,000 ratings in the App Store, and 116,531 ratings in the Google Play Store.
It is geared towards home movies with toys and clay figures and the app is actually used horizontally which is different than other stop motion apps. You can add voiceovers and audio, make frames brighter and darker as needed, and use guidelines to help with the placement of your props. They also have a handful of tutorials to help learn to make movies.
There is a free version as well as a paid version that is a separate app completely if you are looking for more advanced features or more professional movie-making!
3. iMotion
Available on: iOS only
iMotion has a nice, simple, and clean interface that helps make things easy. They include a fun gallery of animations that other people have made as examples or for inspiration.
Like the other apps, you can choose your video quality all the way up to 4K shooting, add guidelines, and there is also a pro version if you want to pay to unlock more features.
The one thing about them is they don’t make it super easy in the free version to see what frame you are looking at and editing, but other than the lack of a timeline editor, the simple format makes it easy for making fun, basic stop motion animations!
4. Stop Motion Factory
Available on: iOS only
This app doesn’t have as many ratings, but the ratings are high giving it a 4.5 overall globally in the App Store. It’s comparable to iMotion in that it has a nice, simple, and clean interface, but it also has a more advanced editor where you can see the frames of your animation and even has a green screen filter!
A few things that bring this app down is that not all buttons have clear labelling or tooltips so the ease of use is a bit lower at first. Also they have ads which probably helps them keep some of their better features free.
5. PicPac Stop Motion & Timelapse
Available on: Android only
This app is free to download also has 48,000 votes in the Google Play store landing it at a 3.8, which is still pretty good!
It also specializes in home movies with toys like clay figures and Lego, and you can even draw in different colors on your photos. Because the interval shooter is free, you can also easily use this for real-time timelapses pretty easily.
Based on their website, over 300 MILLION photos have been used in over 5 million videos using their app!
6. I Can Animate
Available on: iOS and Android
The interesting thing about this app is that it is free with in-app purchases on Android, but is a paid app only on iOS, so be aware depending on which device you have! They do have a free version on iOS called I Can Animate Lite as well.
This shares a lot of features with the other apps, but the free version limits you to a speed of 12fps and 240 frames. Nonetheless, the experience is very user friendly and easy to get started and this app is also used horizontally which makes certain animations much easier and more movie-like.
7. Onion Cam2
Available on: iOS only
This updated version of the original Onion Cam is another free app with ads, but a nice and simple one for making quick and basic stop motion animations. You can, of course, pay to remove the ads as well to make the experience more seamless and less cluttered.
The interface is very minimal and it does include some features like adding filters, changing the speed/frame rate of your video and rotating the photos in case you took them horizontally!
8. Stop Motion Maker
Available on: iOS Only
This app hasn’t seen an update in around 2 years, BUT it is by FAR the simplest and smallest in file size out of the list. If you don’t need ANY bells or whistles and just want to string together some photos this will certainly do the trick.
You simply hit “Create” to start, and then start snapping away. You can still edit the speed of your video which is nice, and it has a handy counter for how many frames you have in your animation so you can keep track if you have a goal in mind.
The app is free to download, but it is another one that has ads built in with an option to pay to remove them from the experience.
Download the #1 Pick: Life Lapse Stop Motion app now:
FAQs for Stop Motion Apps
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Traditionally, stop motion is for making animated movies, like claymation. However, these days stop motion is used for many things from commercials, to product advertisements.
Some of the biggest brands have used stop motion to show off their products because it allows you to do fun things like making objects spin or jump without the need of very special equipment. Even small businesses can use stop motion to create fun ads without much trouble!
Many other use it just for fun making homemade stop motion movies or to post unique videos onto their Instagram or TikTok profiles.
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For most people, stop motion is a new skill to learn so any guides and tutorials are super helpful. As far as features are concerned, you’re definitely going to want to be able to have access to the following for the best results:
1. Edit speed and frames per second
This is important because it greatly impacts how smooth your animation is. With a slower speed/FPS you’ll notice jumpy and choppy movements for your props. With a faster speed it will look smoother, but your animation will finish a lot quicker! It’s good to have this option so you can play around and find the speed that’s best for your animation.
2. See a timeline view of your video and preview the animation within the app
This is important because it allows you to run through all of the frames in your animation. That way you can edit or delete some in case you made a mistake like having your finger over the camera lens when you took the picture. It also gives you a good idea of how many photos you have and will need to complete your animation.
3. Rotate images
Depending on the set for your animation, you may need to have a taller or wider canvas. Look for an app that lets you choose different move frames and sizes so you can pick the one best suited to your subject(s).
4. Freeze frames
This one is pretty helpful because sometimes you’ll want a specific photo or frame to stay on screen for a longer period of time before the animation continues to move. For example, a title screen or ending screen. With the ability to freeze frames you can choose to keep a specific frame on screen for as many seconds as you need without having to manually take the same photo 10’s or 100’s of times!
5. Guidelines and Ghost overlay of the previous frame to help with precision*
Arguably the most important feature to look for, these help ensure you can see how much you are moving your props between each photo. Without this you may find you’re accidentally moving them way too much between shots and wind up with a super choppy animation. Another benefit to this is if by chance your phone is knocked over or moved out of place, or if you need to leave and come back to filming later, you can use the overlay to reset and recenter your camera and even recreate your set!
Bonus Hint: Life Lapse is one of the apps that includes all of these features, plus 100’s of tutorials in their FREE version. So it’s highly recommended for both beginners and pros alike! Download it for iOS or download it for Android.
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There are a couple of factors that will improve how smooth your animation is.
The first it animation speed. By increasing the speed or FPS of your video it will get less choppy.
The second is the number of photos used in your video. You’ll want to make sure you’re not making giant movements between photos or your animation will again appear choppy. For reference, professionally made stop motion animations use anywhere from 600-900 photos for just 1 minute of stop motion animation! For simpler videos you won’t need anywhere near this much, but the more the better!
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Here are two key tips to help make your stop motion more professional.
1. Reduce Flicker:
When shooting stop motion it’s best not to use natural light or sunlight. This is because your lighting can change over the course of hours, minutes, or even seconds based on the weather and/or the time of day. This will result in flickering colors in your animation. It’s also important to **Lock Focus, Lock Exposure, and Lock White Balace** when filming to ensure your phone camera doesn’t accidentally change these settings in between photos. You can lock all three of these using the in-app camera built into the Life Lapse App (available on iOS and Android)!
2. Use a Tripod:
Filming and shooting a stop motion freehand is tricky because it will be extremely hard to keep the camera still and focused on the exact same spot. It will also be hard to make changes to your set while trying to keep your phone in the same place. We highly recommend using a tripod to film OR find a stationary object like a mug to stand your phone against and keep it in place.
