An honest comparison
A free, open source AppMockUp alternative
AppMockUp Studio is a genuinely good free tool, built by a two person indie team, and this page will not pretend otherwise. But it stops at iPhone and Android phone frames, has no video support, keeps projects in local files a refresh can lose, and has looked quiet for a while. Open Screenshot Generator is just as free, adds the missing devices and preview videos, and every line of it is open source
Facts checked against app-mockup.com on August 16, 2026
Side by side
The two tools, honestly
| Open Screenshot Generator | AppMockUp Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, no paid tier exists | Free, no paid tier exists either, credit where due |
| Account | None | None |
| Open source | Yes, full source on GitHub | No, closed source |
| Device frames | iPhone, Android phones, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and tablets | iPhone and Android phone frames only |
| Frame styles | Realistic frames plus full 3D poses you can tilt and rotate | Realistic, clay and flat, three clean styles |
| Backgrounds | Gradients, images and a full design toolkit with layers | Mesh gradient and pattern generators, genuinely excellent, plus panoramic backgrounds that run across the whole set |
| App preview videos | Yes, MP4 exported locally in Chrome, Edge or the desktop app | Not offered |
| Localization | Per language boards in one project | Unicode text rendering, but no per language workflow |
| Saving | Projects save automatically in your browser storage, plus a desktop app | Local .mockup files, a browser refresh clears unsaved work |
| Store listing preview | Not offered, you preview artboards in the editor | Yes, your full set shown as the store presents it, genuinely useful |
| Maintenance | Actively developed, in the open | Quiet, the last blog post is from January 2025 and the sitemap has not changed since April 2025 |
Credit where due
When AppMockUp is the better pick
- You want beautiful backgrounds fast. Their mesh gradient and pattern generators are the best in this niche, and the panoramic mode that runs one background across the whole set is a lovely touch
- You want to see the set as the store will show it. Their store listing preview renders your screenshots inside an accurate mock of the real listing, which catches layout mistakes before reviewers do
- You trust the crowd. They claim over 7 million screenshots generated, and the tutorials, reviews and mindshare that come with that scale are real
The other side
When Open Screenshot Generator wins
- Your app is not only a phone app. iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and tablet frames all live here. AppMockUp stops at iPhone and Android phones
- You need an app preview video. Drop a screen recording into a frame and export an MP4 in Chrome, Edge or the desktop app. AppMockUp has no video support at all
- You ship in more than one language. Per language boards keep every localization of your set in one project. AppMockUp renders Unicode text but has no localization workflow around it
- You do not want to lose work to a refresh. Projects here save automatically to your browser storage as you design, and the desktop app keeps them on disk. AppMockUp keeps unsaved work in memory until you export a .mockup file
- You want a head start. 96 free templates, 3D device poses, and an optional AI agent that lays out a first draft from your raw screens and one sentence
- You want a tool that cannot quietly disappear. AppMockUp looks dormant from the outside and its source is closed. This project is open source, so the code outlives any maintainer
Questions
Fair questions, straight answers
Is AppMockUp Studio really free as well?
Yes, completely. No paid tier and no account, and credit to the Deaconu brothers for keeping it that way. The differences are elsewhere, in device coverage, video, localization, saving and the source being closed
Is AppMockUp still maintained?
Only its makers can say. From the outside, the last blog post is from January 2025, the sitemap has not changed since April 2025, most URLs in that sitemap return 404, and the Tools and Resources links in the top navigation are dead. The editor itself still works
Can I import my .mockup files?
There is no importer. You bring your raw screenshots and captions and rebuild in one of the 96 free templates, which for most sets takes well under an hour. The optional AI agent can do the first layout pass for you
Does it have mesh gradients like AppMockUp?
Not the generator, no. You get gradient backgrounds, image backgrounds and a full design toolkit, but AppMockUp's mesh gradient and pattern generators are better at that one specific job. Nothing stops you making a background there and designing the set here
Can it do iPad and Apple Watch sets?
Yes. iPad, Apple Watch, Mac and tablet frames are all free, with templates for each, and exports come out at the exact sizes App Store Connect and the Play Console expect
Keep reading
Related pages
Two free tools, so try both
Neither one will cost you anything. If your app ships beyond phones, needs a preview video or speaks more than one language, you already know which tab to open first