Five story ad makers compared on what they make, price and follow-up analysis, plus the Stories specs Meta lists and a pre-launch checklist.
The best Facebook story ad maker is the one that fits the job you have: Madgicx's AI Ad Generator for fast image story ads that you can then judge with Creative Insights, or a video-first tool if your story ads are mostly video. The five tools below cover both jobs, and they differ a lot in what they make, how they price and whether they help after the ad is built.
A Stories ad is a full-screen vertical ad, so the maker has to give you the right shape and a message that reads fast. Prices and features below come from each vendor's own pages and were checked in November 2026.
Create image ads from a prompt or a Meta Ad Library ad, then see which win.
Madgicx: image story ads from a prompt, plus Creative Insights
Madgicx's AI Ad Generator creates new image ads from a prompt, from an image you upload or from any ad you find in the Meta Ad Library, and the result is ready to edit and use. If you already know what a winning story from another brand looks like, you can start from that ad and make your own version.
Once ads are running, Creative Insights breaks down every creative, including video, to show what makes your winners win, and flags creative fatigue so you know when a story needs a refresh. That is the part most makers skip: they build the ad and stop.
Madgicx makes image ads. It does not generate video ads, so if your stories are video, pair it with a video tool from the list below or shoot the video yourself, and still use Creative Insights to read the results.
Price: plans are priced by monthly ad spend and start at $45 a month, with a 7-day free trial. See Madgicx plans and prices.
Best for: ecommerce brands and agencies that run image story ads and want to see which creatives work.
What a Facebook story ad needs
Meta (Facebook) publishes its Stories design requirements on the Instagram side. The numbers below come from Meta's design requirements for Instagram Stories ads, the best published guide to the vertical Stories format. That page does not cover Facebook Stories separately, so check your Facebook Stories preview in Ads Manager before you launch.
| Spec | What Meta lists for Stories ads |
|---|---|
| Aspect ratio | 9:16, a tall vertical rectangle, to fill the screen |
| Resolution | Recommended 1080 x 1920; minimum 600 x 1067 |
| Photo file | .jpg or .png, up to 30MB |
| Video file | .mp4 or .mov, up to 4GB, up to 60 minutes |
| Image display time | 5 seconds by default |
| Video and audio formats | H.264 or VP8 video; AAC or Vorbis audio |
| Other ratios | All feed ratios from 1.91:1 to 4:5 are supported; Advantage+ catalog ads use 1.91:1 |
Two things follow from this. First, an image story ad has 5 seconds by default, so the message has to read at a glance: one offer, one picture, one clear call to action. Second, a maker that exports a 4:5 image still works, but a 9:16 export uses the whole screen.
For more on vertical sizes across Meta placements, see our guide to Instagram Story size and specs.
How we picked the makers
We judged each tool on four things that matter for a Stories ad:
- What it makes: image ads, video ads or both.
- Where the idea comes from: a prompt, a product link, a brief or a competitor ad.
- What happens after: whether it scores, analyzes or helps you launch the ad.
- What it costs: the public entry price and how the bill grows.
Where a vendor's own pages disagree with each other, we say so.
The makers compared
| Tool | What it makes | Entry price (Nov 2026) | Trial |
|---|---|---|---|
| Madgicx | Image ads from a prompt, an image or a Meta Ad Library ad | From $45 a month, priced by ad spend | 7-day free trial |
| AdStellar | Image, video and creator-style ads from a chat | $100 a month plus AI credits at $2 per 1,000 | 7-day trial with $100 in credits |
| Atria | Static image ads from its AI teammate, Raya | $129 a month billed annually | Start for free button; length not stated |
| Pencil | Images and ads from briefs; its video pages disagree | $14 a month ($11 billed annually) | No trial of the full platform; six ads at sign-up |
| Creatify | Avatar and UGC-style video, plus static ads from product images | $10 a month (Standard) | Free plan with 10 credits a month |
AdStellar
AdStellar is an AI media buyer for Meta. You chat with an assistant that analyzes your account, creates image, video and UGC-style ads and launches them to Meta, working from rules you write in plain English. Its Bulk Ad Launch pushes many ads at once, and launches go to Meta only.
Price: one plan at $100 a month, plus AI credits at $2 per 1,000. It offers a 7-day free trial with $100 in free credits.
Best for: performance teams that run only Meta ads and want a chat-led build and launch flow.
Atria
Atria combines a library of competitor ads, analysis of your own ads and an AI teammate named Raya that suggests and makes new ads. Its help center describes image ad generation, and we could not confirm video generation as live. Its home page says Raya grades each ad and tells you what to fix.
Price: Core is $129 a month billed annually (5 seats, 4,000 AI credits, 5 ad accounts), Plus is $343 and Business is $959, with extra seats at $20 a month. G2 lists 5.0 from 22 reviews, under the name Atria AI.
Best for: creative teams that want ad research and analysis next to ad creation.
Pencil
Pencil's AI assistants read a brief and make ads, using third-party image models, and a model trained on your own ad account's history scores new creatives. Its pages disagree about video: the blog and home page present it as live, while its pricing table marks AI video as coming soon on every plan. Ask Pencil which plan includes video before you buy.
Price: Core is $14 a month ($11 billed annually) for 50 generations, and Growth is $55 ($44 billed annually) for 250. Pro is custom. There is no trial of the full platform, but a guided sign-up creates six ads at no cost.
Best for: small teams that want a low entry price and ad scoring trained on their own account.
Creatify
Creatify turns a product link, photos or a script into video and image ads, including avatar and UGC-style video with 300 to 1,500 AI actors depending on the plan. A chat tool called the Ad Agent can draft the concept and script first. It syncs connected ad accounts and ranks creatives by CTR, ROAS and CPA.
Price: a free plan gives 10 credits a month with watermarked exports. Paid plans run Standard $10, Pro $38, Max $66 and Business $136 a month, each shown beside a higher list price. Credits expire after 2 months on paid plans.
Best for: teams that make avatar and UGC-style video stories in volume.
Image vs video story ads: which tool for which
| Your story ads are... | Start with | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Mostly images from a prompt or reference ad | Madgicx | Builds from a prompt, an image or a Meta Ad Library ad, then reads the results in Creative Insights |
| Image and video from one chat, launched to Meta | AdStellar | Creates image, video and creator-style ads and launches them from the same chat |
| UGC-style video at volume | Creatify | Avatar and UGC-style video from a product link |
| Research first, then image ads | Atria | Competitor ad library and analysis next to ad creation |
| Tight budget, small batches | Pencil | Core plan from $14 a month for 50 generations |
Many teams use two tools: one to make the ad and one to judge it. If your stories are video, make them in a video tool and bring the results into Creative Insights, which breaks down video creatives as well as images.
A pre-launch checklist for story ads
Whichever maker you use, run the finished ad through this list before it goes live:
- Shape: the file is 9:16, ideally 1080 x 1920, and never smaller than 600 x 1067.
- File: a .jpg or .png under 30MB for a photo, or an .mp4 or .mov under 4GB for a video.
- Message: one offer and one call to action, readable within the 5 seconds an image shows by default.
- Preview: open the Stories placement preview in Ads Manager and look at the ad on a phone-shaped screen.
- Variants: make at least two versions with a different hook, so you learn something from the first week.
Quick pick by team size
- Solo advertiser or small shop: try Madgicx's AI Ad Generator free for 7 days to make image stories, and compare it with Pencil's low entry price if you want a second option.
- Ecommerce brand scaling on Meta: Madgicx for image ads and creative analysis; add Creatify if you need UGC-style video.
- Agency with many accounts: Madgicx for creative analysis, with AdStellar or Atria if the team wants a chat-led or research-led workflow.
For a wider look at tools that make Meta creatives, see our guide to the best AI tools for Meta ad creatives, or custom design makers for agencies if you work at larger scale.
Make and test story ads with Madgicx
Start with the ad you would run anyway. Open the AI Ad Generator, write a prompt or pick an ad from the Meta Ad Library, and edit the result. Check that the final image fits the 9:16 shape and keeps the message short enough to read in 5 seconds. Then run it and open Creative Insights to see which creatives are winning and which are tiring.
FAQ
What is the best Facebook story ad maker?
For image story ads, Madgicx's AI Ad Generator is a strong first pick because it builds from a prompt, an image or a Meta Ad Library ad and pairs with Creative Insights. For UGC-style video, a video tool such as Creatify fits better.
What size is a Facebook story ad?
Meta recommends a 9:16 aspect ratio at 1080 x 1920, with a minimum of 600 x 1067. That comes from Meta's Instagram Stories ad requirements, so preview your Facebook Stories placement in Ads Manager before launching.
How long does an image story ad show?
Images show for 5 seconds by default in Stories ads, so keep one clear message and one call to action.
Can Madgicx make video story ads?
No. Madgicx's AI Ad Generator makes image ads. Creative Insights does break down video creatives, so you can still read the results of video stories made elsewhere.
Are there free story ad makers?
Creatify has a free plan with 10 credits a month and watermarked exports, and Pencil creates six ads at no cost during sign-up. Madgicx is free to try for 7 days.
