ButterKit is a Mac-native editor for crafting polished App Store screenshots — the kind that stop a potential customer mid-scroll and make a download feel inevitable.
What is ButterKit?
ButterKit is a dedicated Mac application for designing and exporting App Store screenshots. Rather than wrestling a generic design tool into producing device mockups at every required resolution, ButterKit gives you a purpose-built canvas where device frames, background gradients, and marketing text come together in minutes instead of hours.
I started using it the week I had to ship screenshots for a new iOS utility, and the thing that struck me immediately was how much cognitive overhead it removes. There is no blank canvas panic. The app already knows the exact pixel dimensions Apple expects, it ships with device frames baked in, and it lets you swap between iPhone, iPad, and Mac previews without rebuilding anything from scratch.
What does ButterKit do best?
ButterKit's sharpest edge is its opinionated, App-Store-first workflow — every decision in the interface exists to serve that one specific deliverable.
- Device frame library: current-generation iPhone and iPad silhouettes ship with the app, so you are never hunting for a PNG mockup or fighting Figma's community files to get an accurate bezel.
- Multi-size export: one design exports to every required size simultaneously. The drudgery of duplicating artboards and scaling assets manually is gone.
- Background tools: gradient fills, solid colors, and layered compositions that would take multiple steps in Sketch or Affinity Designer are accessible from a single panel.
- Typography controls: add marketing callouts directly in the editor; no round-tripping to another app to stamp text onto a flattened image.
If your screenshot game has been "drop a simulator screenshot into Figma, hand-position some text, export five times," ButterKit collapses that into a single session on a tool built for the job.
How much does ButterKit cost?
ButterKit is available as a one-time purchase from its official site. There is no subscription, which for a focused utility like this is the right call — you are not going to resent an annual renewal for a tool you reach for a few times a year per app launch.
Check the official site at butterkit.app for current pricing, as it has been updated since early releases. The value proposition is clear: even a single round of screenshot production that would otherwise consume a designer's half-day pays for the app many times over.
Who should use ButterKit?
ButterKit is squarely aimed at independent Mac and iOS developers who produce their own marketing assets, and at small studios where the developer is also the person submitting to App Store Connect. If you have a dedicated motion-graphics team producing screenshots in After Effects, ButterKit is probably not your tool. But if you are the person who built the app and also has to make it look great on the product page, this is exactly the kind of focused utility that pays its weight in saved afternoons.
Freelance designers who handle App Store presence for clients will also appreciate how quickly they can spin up a fresh set of screenshots when a client changes their mind about the headline copy — again.
What are the best ButterKit alternatives?
The honest alternatives depend on how much flexibility you need versus how much setup you can tolerate.
- Figma with community mockup files is the most popular alternative, but it puts the organizational burden on you: sourcing accurate device frames, managing artboard sizes, and exporting correctly all require manual discipline.
- Sketch has similar dynamics — powerful and flexible, but screenshot production is not a first-class use case; you are bolting it on.
- Rottenwood / AppShots and similar web-based generators are quick for simple compositions but lose to ButterKit the moment you need fine-grained control over typography or layering.
- AppLaunchpad (web) is a closer rival in terms of purpose-built focus, though it lives in a browser tab rather than natively on your Mac.
ButterKit's advantage over all of these is that it is a native Mac app tuned specifically for the App Store workflow, which means it feels fast, stays out of your way, and does not require a browser, a sign-in, or an active internet connection to function.
Does ButterKit support Mac App Store screenshots too?
Yes — ButterKit handles Mac-sized canvas dimensions alongside iPhone and iPad, which matters if you are shipping a universal app or a Mac-only utility. Many screenshot tools treat Mac as an afterthought; ButterKit does not.
