How Long Should Your App Store Preview Video Be?

Apple allows App Store previews between 15 and 30 seconds, which leaves a lot of room to get it wrong. Go too short and you cannot tell a story; go too long and you lose the viewer before the payoff. Here is how to choose.

The honest answer: aim for 15–20 seconds

For the vast majority of apps, the sweet spot is the lower end of the allowed range. Attention drops sharply after the first few seconds, and a tight 15–20 second cut forces you to show only what matters. A 30-second preview is rarely twice as persuasive as a 20-second one. It is usually just slower.

When longer makes sense

• Complex workflows: a tool with a genuine multi-step process may need 25–30 seconds to show the flow end to end.
• Games: gameplay often benefits from a little more runtime to convey variety and feel.
• Apps with a strong “after” state: if the payoff lands late, you need room to reach it.

When shorter wins

• Single-purpose utilities: show the one job, fast.
• Apps with an obvious value prop: do not pad a clear message to fill time.
• High-competition categories: viewers are scanning quickly; respect that.

Length is a budget, not a target. Spend only what the story needs and not a second more.

– Gregory Lister

How to find your length

Cut your preview as tight as you can while still landing the hook, the proof, and the payoff. Time it. If it is under 15 seconds, find one more moment worth showing rather than slowing down what you have. Then test it: App Store Connect reports conversion, and a shorter variant frequently wins.

In prevy you can trim and re-time scenes non-destructively, so producing a 15- and a 20-second cut from the same recording to A/B test takes minutes, not a re-edit.