How to Write App Store Screenshot Captions (With 36 Examples)

Quick answer: Good App Store screenshot captions are benefit-first headlines of about 3–6 words, usually opening with a verb or an outcome, with one highlighted word and an optional short subtitle. Each caption sells one idea that the screen beneath it proves, stays readable at search-result size, and is translated for every market where you sell.

Most effective captions have up to four parts. Only the headline is essential.

The headline does nearly all the selling. In search results, screenshots are small enough that the subtitle may be hard to read, so never put the main point there. The eyebrow is optional and works best in longer sets, where it helps people orient as they swipe.

1. Name the outcome. Ask what the user gets from this screen, not what the screen is. "Calendar view" is the screen; "See your whole week" is the outcome.
2. Lead with a verb or the result. Verbs like track, plan, find, learn and save turn a label into a promise. Results like "Clear inbox, clear mind" work too.
3. Cut to 3–6 words. Delete adjectives such as "powerful," "seamless" and "advanced." They take space and prove nothing.
4. Highlight one word. Color or bold the word that carries the benefit. Highlighting more than one dilutes the effect.
5. Match the screen. Read the caption, then look at the UI. If the screen doesn't visibly prove the caption, change the screen or the caption.

Write the first draft for all screenshots in one sitting, in a single document. Reading the headlines top to bottom should tell your app's story without the images. Your first App Store screenshot deserves extra drafts, because it often decides whether people tap at all.

These examples show the formula in different categories. The bold word is the one you would highlight in your accent color. Treat them as patterns to adapt, and make sure any number you use is true for your app.

Notice the shared traits: concrete nouns, everyday words, no superlatives and almost no punctuation. Several are incomplete sentences, which is fine. Captions are closer to billboard copy than to prose.

Captions are only one layer of the set. For where they fit in the full workflow, see how to make App Store screenshots, and for the rules on order and readability, our App Store screenshot best practices.

• Naming features instead of benefits. "Smart Folders" means nothing to someone who has never opened your app.
• Writing full sentences. Two lines of body text at thumbnail size is unreadable. Keep the headline to one or two short lines.
• Unverifiable claims. "#1," "best" and "most loved" invite skepticism, and Apple's Guideline 2.3.7 warns against unverifiable claims in subtitles. Apply the same discipline to captions.
• Prices in captions. Guideline 2.3.7 also says screenshots shouldn't include prices. Describe the value instead.
• Inconsistent style. Mixing Title Case and sentence case, or ending some headlines with periods, looks careless across a set.
• Text over busy UI. A headline placed on top of a photo or a dense screen loses contrast. Give it a clean background.
• Tiny type. If your headline isn't readable when the screenshot is the width of a thumb, it's too small. Our guide to fonts for App Store screenshots covers sizes and weights.

For the content rules behind these points, see our explainer on App Store screenshot guidelines.

Captions are the part of your screenshots that changes per market, so write them with translation in mind from day one:

• Leave room for expansion. German and French often run noticeably longer than English. A headline that barely fits in English will overflow.
• Avoid idioms and puns. "Crush your goals" or a clever wordplay rarely survives translation. Plain benefits do.
• Keep a string sheet. One row per caption, one column per language, so updates happen in one place.
• Plan for right-to-left. Arabic and Hebrew captions need right-aligned or mirrored layouts.
• Check CJK lines. Chinese, Japanese and Korean headlines are often shorter but need a font that supports those characters and sensible line breaks.
• Have a native speaker review. Machine translation is a fast first draft, but marketing copy benefits from a human check.

ScreenShipper's language help page explains how its 50 App Store languages, missing-translation warnings and overflow checks work if you design there.