App Store screenshots that make a comparison
Better than, unlike, instead of. A comparison borrows what the reader already knows: the old way, the usual price, the other kind of app.
From the top free apps in 23 categories of the US App Store, last read on October 9, 2026. Screenshots are the developers’ own, shown from Apple’s servers with a link to each app.
The numbers
Apps that do it
8% 173 of 2295
Screenshots that do it
1% 182 of 12745
The top tens
19 of 230 against 154 of the other 2065
182 of the 12745 screenshots read (1%) do this, across 173 of the 2295 top apps in 23 App Store categories (8%). 19 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (8%), against 154 of the other 2065 (7%): the top ten do it about as often as the rest. It is most common in Finance (17% of apps) and least common in Travel (2%).
By category, most to least.
The share of each category’s top apps with App Store screenshots that make a comparison. Each category opens its own page, with every example and headline.
| Category | Apps that do it | Screenshots | Top ten |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finance | 17% 17 of 100 | 3% 18 of 581 | 1 of 10 |
| Education | 16% 16 of 100 | 3% 18 of 555 | 4 of 10 |
| Sports | 14% 14 of 100 | 3% 15 of 558 | 1 of 10 |
| Weather | 11% 11 of 100 | 2% 11 of 555 | 3 of 10 |
| News | 9% 9 of 98 | 2% 9 of 517 | 0 of 10 |
| Productivity | 9% 9 of 99 | 2% 11 of 551 | 2 of 10 |
| Food & Drink | 9% 9 of 100 | 2% 9 of 540 | 2 of 10 |
| Reference | 9% 9 of 100 | 2% 11 of 566 | 1 of 10 |
| Social Networking | 9% 9 of 100 | 2% 9 of 554 | 0 of 10 |
| Music | 8% 8 of 100 | 1% 8 of 550 | 1 of 10 |
| Health & Fitness | 7% 7 of 100 | 1% 7 of 574 | 1 of 10 |
| Lifestyle | 7% 7 of 100 | 1% 7 of 556 | 1 of 10 |
| Graphics & Design | 6% 6 of 99 | 1% 6 of 564 | 0 of 10 |
| Business | 6% 6 of 100 | 1% 6 of 554 | 1 of 10 |
| Navigation | 5% 5 of 99 | 1% 5 of 566 | 0 of 10 |
| Medical | 5% 5 of 100 | 1% 6 of 548 | 0 of 10 |
| Photo & Video | 5% 5 of 100 | 1% 5 of 566 | 1 of 10 |
| Utilities | 5% 5 of 100 | 1% 5 of 549 | 0 of 10 |
| Entertainment | 4% 4 of 100 | 1% 4 of 544 | 0 of 10 |
| Shopping | 4% 4 of 100 | 1% 4 of 562 | 0 of 10 |
| Developer Tools | 3% 3 of 100 | 1% 3 of 507 | 0 of 10 |
| Games | 3% 3 of 100 | 1% 3 of 567 | 0 of 10 |
| Travel | 2% 2 of 100 | under 1% 2 of 561 | 0 of 10 |
Examples from each category.
Up to 6 from each category, from the apps highest on its chart.
Finance 18 examples · 17% of apps
“America's #1 Choice for Banking™”
“America's #1 Rated Brokerage for DIY Investor Satisfaction.”
“Trade crypto at the lowest cost on average”
“#1 in Customer Satisfaction with U.S. Mobile Credit Card Apps”
“Over 4x higher approval”
“BEST IN CLASS ACCOUNT PROTECTIONS”
Education 18 examples · 16% of apps
“your personal AI English tutor”
“Replace Scrolling With Microlearning”
“Save time with students' #1 favourite learning brand”
“We're connecting teachers and families like that.”
“TikTok for smart people”
“Your Personal AI Language Tutor”
Sports 15 examples · 14% of apps
“#1 SPORTSBOOK FOR LIVE BETTING”
“THE ONLY SPORTSBOOK TO REWARD EVERY BET”
“NOW THE SAFEST LEAD IN SPORTS”
“The #1 place for live baseball”
“ELEVATE YOUR TEAM CULTURE”
“LIVE REFS ENSURE LEGIT GAMES”
Weather 11 examples · 11% of apps
“Patent Pending Technology Delivering You the Most Hyper-Local Forecast on the Planet”
“Most Trusted Weather App with Proven Superior Accuracy™”
“Global Weather Forecasts”
“ONE STOP SHOP”
“The Ultimate Weather Watch Face”
“HIGH LEVEL OF DETAIL THAT NO OTHER APP CAN MATCH”
News 9 examples · 9% of apps
“Find calm in the chaos”
“The #1 most downloaded podcast app”
“Replace doom scrolling with meaningful reading.”
“America's #1 most trusted news source”
“A much better core viewing experience.”
“THE #1 FREE STREAMING NEWS CHANNEL”
Productivity 11 examples · 9% of apps
“A better way to verify with Verified ID”
“Finished files, not just suggestions”
“#1 downloaded VPN app globally”
“Collaborate and share securely”
“Search like never before”
“App Blocking”
Food & Drink 9 examples · 9% of apps
“Mid-week grocery run. Without the run.”
“EXCLUSIVE DEALS”
“Your Way, Way Better”
“...OR OURS”
“This is it, the only delivery app you need”
“inKind is the smartest way to dine”
Reference 11 examples · 9% of apps
“Best Bible app I've ever used.” “I love this app but more importantly, I need this app.” “Because of this Bible App, I've replaced most of the apps on my phone with spending time in His Word!”
“The #1 Prayer App”
“Study with the #1 Bible Reader App”
“Just like 'Waze' Stock Reports”
“Spot It. Report It. Alert Collectors Nearby”
“#1 Modern Bible App”
Social Networking 9 examples · 9% of apps
“Letterboxd is the best social film tracking, discovery and watchlist tool for iOS”
“Cover”
“Stop swiping. Go for a drink.”
“THE #1 BLACK DATING APP”
“#1 Dating App for Curvy”
“The #1 Dating App made for Latinos”
Music 8 examples · 8% of apps
“MUSIC YOU CAN'T FIND ELSEWHERE”
“The world's #1 tuner app”
“The World #1 DJ App”
“Trusted by millions of DJs”
“Find your frequency.”
“AI Music Maker”
Health & Fitness 7 examples · 7% of apps
“The #1 Food & Nutrition Tracking App”
“The #1 App For Eating Out Healthy”
“The #1 Weight Loss Tracker”
“A Better Way to Support Your Home Exercise Program”
“Meet the Buying Club: a better way to buy supplements”
“The Best Meditation App”
Lifestyle 7 examples · 7% of apps
“Skip the store. Shop the app.”
“Start your engine from wherever you are”
“start with something to say.”
“India's #1 Astrology App”
“Sees what you can’t and cleans what other robots* don’t.”
“One match at a time”
Graphics & Design 6 examples · 6% of apps
“#1 AI Video App”
“DRIVEWAY IN. CINEMA OUT.”
“App Icon Changer”
“#1 App for AI Home Design & Renovation”
“#1 App for acrylic painting”
“#1 Social App for AI Creativity”
Business 6 examples · 6% of apps
“Get hired 30% faster with the app*”
“Get hired with the #1 rated job search app.*”
“Use your vehicle to make money without delivering food or passengers.”
“A better gig experience. Drive with Veho.”
“The #1 Digital Business Card App”
“No.1”
Navigation 5 examples · 5% of apps
“Join the #1 App for Truck Drivers”
“The #1 Trucking App for Big Diesel Discounts”
“The #1 Mapping App For Trout Fishing”
“NAVIGATION NEVER SOUNDED LIKE THIS”
“MAP LAYERS”
Medical 6 examples · 5% of apps
“America's #1 medical knowledge platform.”
“Contraction Timer”
“The #1 pregnancy & baby app”
“Access Your Test Results”
“World's #1 Snoring App”
“Contraction”
Photo & Video 5 examples · 5% of apps
“Get up to 15 GB of storage* 3x more than many other cloud storage services”
“AI Video GENERATOR #1”
“The best app for generating images and videos.”
“#1 Most downloaded face editor app in the US”
“No one does photo books better.”
Utilities 5 examples · 5% of apps
“Browse privately”
“Find offenders on the map.”
“World's leading way to pay.”
“THE #1 VPN FREE APP”
“MORE SOCIAL LESS MEDIA”
Entertainment 4 examples · 4% of apps
“Iconic Entertainment Like No Other”
“Sign in with a QR code instead of a password”
“Every event. No hidden fees. Ever.”
“World’s largest dedicated anime library”
Shopping 4 examples · 4% of apps
“Backed by the most trusted marketplace anywhere.”
“HOME OF THE POLAR POP! Deals you won't find anywhere else!”
“Find the Right Car. Not Just Any Car.”
“New + Now”
Developer Tools 3 examples · 3% of apps
“This app is the best IDE I've met so far.”
“Talk to the agent, not the laptop.”
“Loved By Many”
Games 3 examples · 3% of apps
“AMERICA'S TOP-RATED SOCIAL CASINO”
“TAKE ON THE CHALLENGE”
“#1 SOCIAL CASINO”
Travel 2 examples · 2% of apps
“Flexible alternative to buying or leasing a car.”
“No.1 Taxi App”
Related tactics.
Often on the same screenshot
- Ranking claim60% of these screenshots, against 3% of every screenshot read
- Uses a number41% of these screenshots, against 8% of every screenshot read
- Star rating shown24% of these screenshots, against 4% of every screenshot read
- Headline readable at thumbnail size50% of these screenshots, against 31% of every screenshot read
- Laurel or award20% of these screenshots, against 3% of every screenshot read
- Has a subline42% of these screenshots, against 25% of every screenshot read
More in meaning
- Plain tone90%
- Leads with a feature87%
- States a benefit79%
- Subline explains the headline36%
- Playful tone20%
- Leads with an outcome19%
- Names its audience17%
- Subline adds a second benefit17%
- Asks for an action16%
- Premium tone10%
- Urgent tone9%
- Leads with trust9%
- Leads with price6%
- Technical tone5%
- Leads with what is new4%
- Leads with who it is for4%
- Leads with a problem2%
Questions, answered from the chart.
How common are App Store screenshots that make a comparison?
173 of the 2295 top apps read across 23 App Store categories (8%) have at least one, and 182 of their 12745 screenshots (1%) do it. Counted from the US App Store’s top free charts, last read on October 9, 2026.
Which App Store categories have the most App Store screenshots that make a comparison?
Most common in Finance (17 of 100 apps, 17%), Education (16 of 100 apps, 16%) and Sports (14 of 100 apps, 14%). Least common in Travel (2 of 100 apps, 2%).
Should my app have App Store screenshots that make a comparison?
The charts show who does it, not whether it would work for your app. Across the categories read, 19 of the 230 apps in a top ten do it (8%), against 154 of the other 2065 (7%), so the top ten do it about as often as the rest. The numbers differ by category, so look at your own.
See your own app against this.
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