Which App Store Markets to Localize First (Indie Dev Guide)

You built a great app. It ranks well in the US and English-speaking markets. Now you want to grow internationally — but you have limited time and budget. The question every indie developer faces: which markets should you localize for first?

This guide cuts through the noise. I'll rank the top markets by ROI potential for typical indie apps, explain what "localizing" actually requires per market, and help you build a priority list you can act on this week.

Why Localization Order Matters

App Store localization isn't just translation. It's screenshots, metadata, keywords, and sometimes App Store product pages. Each market takes time. If you try to do six markets at once, you'll do all of them poorly.

The smarter move: pick two or three high-value markets, do them right, measure the lift, then expand. This compounds. A well-localized Japanese listing earns revenue while you work on your next market.

Tier 1: Start Here

Japan

Japan is the most important non-English market for most indie app categories. Japanese users have high willingness to pay, strong app store spending per capita, and they overwhelmingly prefer fully localized experiences. An app with English screenshots will convert dramatically worse than the same app with Japanese screenshots.

Japanese localization is also technically demanding — the language does not break cleanly at word boundaries, so screenshot text needs careful layout. But the payoff is real. Read our full guide to localizing iPhone screenshots for the Japanese App Store before you start.

Germany

Germany is Europe's largest app market and Germans are notably reluctant to engage with apps that have not been localized into German. App Store revenue per user is high, and competition from localized competitors is still surprisingly low in many niches. If your app has a productivity, finance, or health angle, Germany should be in your first batch.

German text tends to run long — compound words expand UI elements — so your screenshots need room. See why German users skip unlocalized screenshots and what to do about it.

Tier 2: High Upside, More Effort

South Korea

Korea has one of the world's highest smartphone penetration rates and a deeply app-native culture. Korean users spend heavily on apps and in-app purchases, particularly in games, productivity, and lifestyle categories. The catch: Korean is a visually dense script, and Korean users have high standards for localization quality. Machine-translated metadata is obvious and off-putting. But if you invest in good Korean copy and localized screenshots, the market responds.

France

France punches above its weight in app revenue. French users are price-sensitive but loyal once they find an app they trust. Full localization — including screenshots — meaningfully improves conversion. French is also a gateway to French-speaking markets in Belgium, Switzerland, Canada (Quebec), and parts of Africa.

Brazil

Brazil is the largest app market in Latin America by a wide margin. Brazilian Portuguese speakers are underserved by apps that only ship European Portuguese or Spanish. The market skews younger, mobile-first, and is growing fast. Revenue per user is lower than Japan or Germany, but volume makes up for it in many categories. Games, social, and entertainment apps do particularly well.

Tier 3: Worth It Eventually

Spain / Latin America (Spanish) — One localization covers a huge combined market, but revenue per user varies widely. Good for apps with broad appeal.
Italy — Solid European market, often overlooked. Italian users respond well to localized experiences.
China (Simplified Chinese) — Massive market but requires separate App Store approval, compliance work, and a different distribution strategy. Not a beginner move.
Russia — Strong historical App Store market, but the macroeconomic and payment situation has become complicated since 2022.

How to Build Your Personal Priority List

Before you default to "do Japan first because everyone says so," check your own data:

App Store Connect Analytics, Territory view. Which countries are already sending you impressions or downloads without localization? Those are warm markets — localization will amplify something already working.
Check your category's top charts in each target country. If the top apps are all localized, that is a signal. If many are English-only, you might rank well without it.
Look at revenue, not just downloads. A market with 10% of your downloads but 40% of your revenue deserves to jump up your list.

Start With Screenshots

If you are not ready for a full localization sprint — metadata, keywords, the whole thing — screenshots are the highest-leverage starting point. They are the first thing users see on your App Store page. A listing with localized screenshots converts better even when the metadata is still in English.

This is where ScreenLocal fits in. You paste an App Store URL, pick a target language, and the AI extracts the text from your screenshots, translates it, and inpaints the translated text back onto the original design. You get localized screenshots without touching Figma. It is a fast way to test a market before committing to a full localization sprint.

For context on the cost difference between doing this manually versus using AI tools, see the Figma vs AI cost breakdown.

The Bottom Line

For most indie developers, the right first localization order is: Japan, then Germany. Both have high revenue per user, clear demand signals, and established playbooks. After that, let your own analytics data guide you — the market already sending you curious-but-unconverted visitors is your best next bet.

Do not try to be everywhere at once. Two markets done well will outperform six markets done halfway.