Snapchat Ads for Apps: Examples, Specs and an Install Ad

A Snapchat ad for an app is a full screen vertical video with an install card at the bottom. It runs under Snap's App Promotion objective, which "is designed to encourage Snapchatters to install your app and engage in additional in-app actions".¹²

In short

• Format: Single Image or Video, Story, Collection or AR ads, with an App Install or Deep Link attachment.³
• Specs: 9:16 at 1080 x 1920, up to 1 GB, with the top 150 and bottom 330 pixels kept clear.⁴⁵
• The first seconds: a "Hero" message in the opening frame, and the brand before the 2 second mark.⁵
• Counting: without a measurement partner or Snap's Conversions API, Snap cannot optimize for installs.²

Which Snapchat ad formats work for apps?

Snap lists six formats: Sponsored Snaps, Single Image or Video, Story, Collection, Commercials, and AR Lenses and Filters.⁶ For the App Promotion objective, Snap's own table allows four of them: "Single Image or Video Ads Story Ads Collection Ads AR Ads", each with an App Install or Deep Link attachment.³

The App Install attachment "displays an Install Card at the bottom of Single Image or Video ads, Story Ads, and a small CTA for Lenses".² On iOS, the card is "based on Apple's SKOverlay which allows users to download the app in fewer steps".²

A Deep Link attachment serves people who already have your app: they go "to the location in your app defined by your deep link". Anyone else is "directed to the app store to install".⁷

What are the specs for a Snapchat video ad?

From Snap's Business Help Center, read on 23 October 2026:⁴⁵⁸

• Shape: 9:16, 1080 x 1920, full screen and vertical.
• Length: "3 seconds to 30 minutes (if file size does not exceed 1 GB)". Its Single Image or Video page puts the limit at 3 minutes.
• Files: .mp4 or .mov, H.264.
• Words: a brand name and a headline are required; the headline is up to 34 characters.
• Sound: two balanced channels, at a target level of -16 LUFS.
• Safe zones: "Keep the top 150px and the bottom 330px of your canvas clear graphics or logos to prevent overlap with the Snapchat ad UI elements".
• Buttons for app installs: Book Now, Download, Get Now, Install Now, Order Now, Play, Shop Now, Sign Up and Use App.⁹

Snap's pages give the brand name two limits: 32 characters in the Help Center, 25 on its ad formats page.⁴⁶ Keep it to 25 and both are met.

How long should a Snapchat ad for an app be?

Very short. Snap's Single Image or Video page says ads "can be up to 3 minutes long, but if you're using a video, we recommend keeping it at 3-5 seconds".⁸ Its best practices page also suggests "around 5-6 seconds".⁵

Make the shortest version of your idea for Snapchat. 10xvid's films start at 5 seconds, so a 5 second cut is the one to run there.¹⁰

What should the first seconds of a Snapchat ad show?

The message, at once. Snap's best practices ask for a "Hero" message in the opening frame: "This is the first message your audience will see." On branding: "Establish brand moments before the :02 mark to maximize ad awareness but avoid opening on a solid frame with a logo or product shot only."⁵

Sound matters more on Snapchat than in most feeds. Snap's app advertisers page says "Two-thirds of Snaps are played with sound on", so a voice or music helps.¹¹ Keep the words on screen as well, for the third that is not.

What does a Snapchat ad for an app look like?

Here is one in Snapchat's shape. It is an ad 10xvid made for Perla, a wellbeing app, from the app's own screens.

Its parts map to Snap's advice. The doubt is in the opening frame, then the app's real screen, a voice for the sound-on viewer, the offer and one button. For a five second Snapchat cut, keep the opening line, one screen and the ask.

What does it cost to run Snapchat ads for an app?

Little to start. "You can spend as little as $5 a day, but we recommend at least $20-50 per day to help your ad complete the Exploration Phase."¹² Most ads pass Snap's review within 8 hours.¹³

What an install then costs depends on your app and your audience. Snap gives no average of its own.

What rules do Snapchat app ads follow?

Three of Snap's ad policies shape an app ad:¹⁴

• Age: "Snapchat is a 13+ app", and Snap rejects ads aimed at children under 13.
• Honesty: no claims about functionality that are false or misleading, "whether through generative AI or through deceptive editing".
• The brand: "Brand name must match the paying advertiser whose products or services are being advertised."⁴

Show the app as it is. An ad built from your real screens meets the second rule by design.

How do you make a Snapchat ad for your app?

1. Set up counting: connect a measurement partner such as Adjust, AppsFlyer, Branch, Kochava, Singular or Tenjin, or Snap's Conversions API.²
2. Write the opening frame: one line about the viewer, readable in a second.
3. Show one real screen where the result appears.
4. Add a voice or music, and keep the words on screen.
5. End on one button, such as Install Now, with the top 150 and bottom 330 pixels clear.

With 10xvid, paste your App Store link or website into the chat. It reads the page, writes a blueprint, and draws the film from your real screens in 9:16, 1:1 and 16:9, from 5 to 30 seconds.¹⁰ Each film has a voice and music, mixed to -14 LUFS.¹⁰ That is 2 dB above Snap's target, so turn it down 2 dB before you upload.

Where 10xvid fits

10xvid, motion graphics ads for apps, makes the vertical video a Snapchat campaign runs, from your app's own link. Every film is read frame by frame and judged at 8 of 10 before you see it.¹⁰ Check its end against Snap's safe zones before you launch, as with any ad.

The first ad is free, with no card: make your first ad. For TikTok's rules, see TikTok ad specs and sizes.

Questions about Snapchat ads for apps

What is the best Snapchat ad format for app installs?

Single Image or Video with an App Install attachment is the simplest; Story, Collection and AR ads also take one.³⁶

What size is a Snapchat video ad?

9:16 at 1080 x 1920, up to 1 GB, as .mp4 or .mov in H.264.⁴

How long should a Snapchat ad be?

Snap recommends 3 to 5 seconds for a video ad, and around 5 to 6 on its best practices page.⁸⁵

Do I need an MMP for Snapchat app install ads?

Yes, or Snap's Conversions API. Without one, Snap cannot optimize for installs or report them.²

1. Snapchat Business Help Center, "About the App Promotion Objective" (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/app-promotion-objective), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
2. Snapchat Business Help Center, App Install attachment specs (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/specs-app-install), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
3. Snapchat Business Help Center, "Available Ad Types by Objective" (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/objective-ad), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
4. Snapchat Business Help Center, Single Image or Video ad specs (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/top-snap-specs), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
5. Snapchat Business Help Center, best practices for Single Image or Video ads (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/snap-ads-practices), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
6. Snapchat for Business, ad formats (forbusiness.snapchat.com/advertising/ad-formats), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
7. Snapchat Business Help Center, Deep Link attachment specs (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/deeplink-specs), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
8. Snapchat Business Help Center, Single Image or Video ads (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/image-video-ads), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
9. Snapchat Business Help Center, attachment call to action options (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/attachment-ctas), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
10. 10xvid.com/engine, read on 23 October 2026. ↩
11. Snapchat for Business, advertising for apps (forbusiness.snapchat.com/advertising/industry/app), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
12. Snapchat for Business, pricing (forbusiness.snapchat.com/advertising/pricing), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
13. Snapchat Business Help Center, ad review (businesshelp.snapchat.com/s/article/ad-review), read on 23 October 2026. ↩
14. Snap, Advertising Policies (snap.com/ad-policies), read on 23 October 2026. ↩