Which Languages Should You Localize Your App Into First? (2026 Market Guide)
App Store Connect supports 50 localizations, and you can't do them all on day one. Here is a data-backed order of attack, depending on whether you want revenue or reach.
In March 2026 Apple added 11 new languages to App Store Connect, bringing the total to 50 localizations for your app name, description, keywords and screenshots. Google Play supports dozens of languages too. Nobody localizes all of them on day one, so the real question is: which ones first?
The answer depends on one thing: are you optimizing for revenue or for reach? The markets that spend the most are not the markets that download the most.
The short version
For subscription and paid apps, start with Japanese, German, French, Korean, Spanish and Portuguese (Brazil), then Simplified or Traditional Chinese and Italian. For ad-supported and reach-driven apps, prioritize Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), Indonesian, Hindi and the new Indian languages.
Revenue markets vs download markets
Consumers spent about $167 billion on in-app purchases in 2025, according to Sensor Tower, and the United States alone accounted for nearly $60 billion. But outside the US, the ranking looks very different depending on what you measure.
Top markets by revenue (2025)
- App Store: United States, China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, United Kingdom, Canada, France, Australia, Brazil.
- Google Play: United States, Japan, South Korea, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Canada, Australia, Taiwan.
Top markets by downloads (2025)
- App Store: United States, China, Brazil, Indonesia.
- Google Play: India (by a wide margin), Brazil, United States, Indonesia.
Notice how Japan, Korea, Germany and France keep showing up in the revenue lists, and India, Brazil and Indonesia dominate the download lists. That split is your localization strategy in a nutshell.
Tier 1: high spending, low tolerance for English
These markets pay well and strongly prefer their own language. An English-only page there leaves money on the table.
Japanese
Japan is a top-3 revenue market on both stores, and Japanese users are famously loyal to apps that feel local. Japanese screenshots also need different typography and line breaking, so plan for it. See our Japanese screenshot guide and the Japanese localization page.
Korean
South Korea ranks in the top 4 for revenue on both stores, with very high smartphone adoption and spending per user. Start with our Korean screenshot guide.
German
Germany and the UK are the two biggest app markets in Europe by revenue, and the German localization also covers Austria and Switzerland. German captions run long, so design with room to grow. Read the German screenshot guide.
French
France is a top-10 revenue market on both stores, and App Store Connect has a separate French (Canada) localization for Quebec. One translation pass, two markets. More in our French screenshot guide.
Chinese
China is the number two App Store market by revenue, but distribution in China mainland comes with extra requirements, including an ICP filing. If that is not on your roadmap, Traditional Chinese for Taiwan and Hong Kong is often the faster win, and Taiwan appears in the Google Play top revenue list. See Chinese screenshots.
Tier 2: big audiences, growing spending
Spanish (Mexico) and Spanish (Spain)
App Store Connect treats these as two separate localizations, and each country uses its own as the default. Spanish (Mexico) reaches most of Latin America, Spanish (Spain) reaches Spain. Start with whichever fits your audience, then add the other with light edits. Our Spanish guide covers the differences.
Portuguese (Brazil)
Brazil is the rare market that shows up in both lists: top 10 by App Store revenue and top 3 by downloads on both stores. For most apps it is the best ROI localization after the Tier 1 group. See Portuguese screenshots.
Italian
Italy is a solid mid-size European market, and Italian is usually quick to add once you have French and Spanish. See the Italian localization page.
Indonesian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Thai
Huge download volumes with lower average spend. Great for ad-supported apps, freemium games and anything where reach matters more than revenue per user.
The new wildcard: India
On March 31, 2026, Apple added 11 languages to App Store Connect: Bangla, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and Slovenian. Ten of them are widely spoken in India, which is already the number one market by Google Play downloads.
Because these languages are brand new to App Store Connect, few apps have localized into them yet. If your app monetizes through ads or targets mass-market users, a Hindi plus regional-language listing can be a real edge, especially in categories like education, utilities and casual games.
Arabic and Hebrew: high value, extra work
Arabic opens up markets like Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt, where a native Arabic listing stands out against English-only competitors. The catch: Arabic and Hebrew read right to left, so your screenshot layout has to mirror, not just your text. Our Arabic screenshot guide explains what changes.
Don't forget English variants
App Store Connect has separate English (U.S.), English (U.K.), English (Canada) and English (Australia) localizations. In many storefronts, including Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Austria and China mainland, English (U.K.) is listed as an additional supported language. Filling in English (U.K.) with its own metadata takes minutes and gives you one more localization working for you in those storefronts.
A simple scoring framework
Score each candidate language from 1 to 5 on these five questions, then start with the highest totals:
- 1Market size: How much revenue or how many downloads does the market produce for your category?
- 2Category fit: Do apps like yours chart there? Check the top charts in that storefront.
- 3Competition: How many direct competitors have localized screenshots in that language? Fewer means easier wins.
- 4Cost: How much work is the localization? Right-to-left and CJK languages need more design care.
- 5Support: Can you handle reviews and support emails in that language, or at least with translation tools?
Store listing first, app UI later
You can localize your store listing and screenshots before you translate the app itself. It is a cheap way to test demand in a market. Just be clear in your description if the app interface is still in English, so reviews stay positive.
Starter packs by app type
- Subscription apps and utilities: Japanese, German, French, Korean, Spanish (Mexico), Portuguese (Brazil), Italian, then Chinese.
- Games: Japanese, Korean, Traditional Chinese, German, French, Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), then Simplified Chinese if you can distribute in China mainland.
- Ad-supported and reach-driven apps: Portuguese (Brazil), Spanish (Mexico), Indonesian, Hindi, Turkish, Vietnamese, then the new Indian languages.
- Apps in the Middle East: Arabic first, with proper right-to-left layouts.
A 30-day rollout plan
- 1Week 1: Pick your top 5 languages with the scoring framework and localize your app name, subtitle, keywords and screenshots.
- 2Week 2: Ship the update. Note the date, because you will compare conversion before and after.
- 3Week 3: Add the next 5 languages, including English variants and the cheap wins like Italian or French (Canada).
- 4Week 4: Check App Analytics and Play Console by storefront. Double down where conversion rose, and fix captions where it did not.
Why "which language first" matters less every year
This guide exists because localization used to be expensive: a translator per language, a designer to rebuild every screenshot, hours of exports and uploads. That cost forced developers to pick 3-5 languages and stop.
With AI localization, adding a language costs minutes instead of days. That changes the strategy: launch your top 10, measure conversion by storefront in App Analytics, and keep expanding where the numbers move. Boom Screens translates your screenshot captions into 80+ languages, handles right-to-left layouts and exports every device size, so you can test a new market today instead of next quarter.
Sources: Apple: App Store expands support to 11 new languages, Apple: App Store localizations, Sensor Tower: State of Mobile 2026, ASOMobile: Mobile App Market Report 2025.