App Store Localization ROI: Is It Worth the Investment?

The ROI Question Every Developer Asks

Should you invest in App Store localization? It's not a simple yes or no. The answer depends on your app, your markets, and your approach.

This guide provides a framework for calculating localization ROI and making data-driven decisions about international expansion.

Understanding the Investment

What Localization Costs

DIY Approach:

• Time: 10-40 hours for comprehensive localization
• Tools: $0-100/month for AI localization tools
• Total: Primarily your time investment

Professional Translation:

• Cost: $0.10-0.25 per word
• Full description (500 words) × 40 locales: $2,000-5,000
• Plus review and iteration cycles

Agency Approach:

• Cost: $5,000-20,000+ for complete localization
• Includes research, translation, and optimization
• May include ongoing management

What You Get

The investment yields localized metadata across:

• App Name (30 characters × n locales)
• Subtitle (30 characters × n locales)
• Keywords (100 characters × n locales)
• Description (4,000 characters × n locales)
• Promotional Text (170 characters × n locales)
• What's New (4,000 characters × n locales)

Plus optional screenshot and preview localization.

Measuring the Return

Primary Metrics

Downloads:

The most direct measure. Compare downloads in localized markets before and after localization.

Average results from industry data:

• 30-80% increase in downloads from newly localized markets
• Some apps see 2-3x increases in specific markets

Conversion Rate:

Product page views → downloads. This isolates the impact of localized metadata on user decisions.

Typical improvements:

• 10-35% conversion rate improvement with localized descriptions
• Varies significantly by category and market

Revenue:

The ultimate metric. Localized markets should contribute more revenue post-localization.

Secondary Metrics

Impressions:

Localized keywords should increase search visibility. Track impressions per market.

Keyword Rankings:

Are you ranking for target keywords in each locale? Use App Store Connect or third-party tools.

User Acquisition Cost:

If running ads, localized pages typically reduce CPA in target markets.

Calculating Your ROI

Simple ROI Formula

`

ROI = (Revenue Increase - Localization Cost) / Localization Cost × 100

`

Example:

• Localization cost: $500 (AI tools + time)
• Monthly revenue increase from localized markets: $200
• Time to positive ROI: 2.5 months
• Year 1 ROI: 4,700%

Detailed Calculation

For a more accurate picture, account for:

Revenue factors:

• New downloads from localized markets
• Conversion of free users to paid
• In-app purchase rate by market
• Lifetime value differences by region

Cost factors:

• Initial localization investment
• Ongoing maintenance (updates with each release)
• Tools and services
• Time spent managing localization

Breakeven Analysis

Calculate how many additional downloads you need to recover your investment:

`

Downloads Needed = Localization Cost / Revenue Per Download

`

Example:

• Localization cost: $500
• Revenue per download: $0.50 (based on conversion to paid)
• Downloads needed: 1,000

If localization generates 1,000+ additional downloads, you've broken even.

ROI by Market

Not all markets return equal value. Prioritize based on potential:

Tier 1: High ROI Potential

Tier 2: Strong ROI Potential

Tier 3: Volume Play

Case Study: ROI in Action

Scenario: Productivity App

Before Localization:

• 5,000 monthly downloads
• 90% from English markets
• $2,500 monthly revenue

Localization Investment:

• $200 in AI localization tools
• 20 hours of time (valued at $1,000)
• Total: $1,200

After Localization (3 months later):

• 7,500 monthly downloads (+50%)
• 35% from newly localized markets
• $4,000 monthly revenue (+60%)

ROI Calculation:

• Revenue increase: $1,500/month
• Investment: $1,200
• Time to positive ROI: <1 month
• Year 1 ROI: 14,000%

Why Results Vary

ROI depends on:

App category:

• Utilities and productivity: High localization ROI
• Content apps: ROI depends on localized content availability
• Games: Visual-heavy games see lower text-localization ROI

Current market mix:

• Apps with existing international traffic benefit most
• Apps with US-only traffic may take longer to gain traction

Competition in target markets:

• Less competition = easier gains
• Saturated markets require better localization to stand out

Monetization model:

• Subscription apps: High LTV amplifies ROI
• Ad-supported: Revenue scales with user volume
• Premium apps: Per-download revenue is direct

When Localization Doesn't Pay Off

Be realistic about when ROI may be negative:

Low-ROI Scenarios

Extremely niche apps:

If your app serves a tiny market, international expansion may not provide sufficient volume.

Heavy in-app content requirements:

Apps requiring extensive in-app content localization have higher total costs than metadata-only localization.

Apps with US-only monetization:

If your monetization only works in the US (certain ad networks, US-only payment systems), international traffic may not convert to revenue.

Highly competitive categories:

If category leaders have already captured international markets, ROI may be harder to achieve.

Signs to Reconsider

• No organic international traffic currently
• App solves a region-specific problem
• Monetization is region-limited
• Cost of full localization exceeds realistic revenue potential

Maximizing Your ROI

Start Small, Scale Smart

Don't localize all 40 languages at once:

• **Phase 1:** en-GB, en-AU (quick wins, minimal effort)
• **Phase 2:** de-DE, ja, fr-FR (high-value markets)
• **Phase 3:** Expand based on Phase 2 results

This de-risks your investment and provides data for decisions.

Invest Where It Matters

High-impact investments:

• Keywords (direct ASO impact)
• App name and subtitle (search visibility)
• First paragraph of description (conversion)

Lower-impact investments:

• Full What's New localization
• Every regional variant
• Perfect translation vs. good localization

Use Data to Iterate

After initial localization:

• Monitor performance by market for 4-8 weeks
• Identify underperforming locales
• Investigate: poor translation? wrong keywords? tough competition?
• Improve and iterate

The Bottom Line

For most apps, App Store localization offers compelling ROI:

• **Low investment:** Especially with AI tools
• **Compounding returns:** Benefits grow over time
• **Risk-limited:** Start small and scale based on results

The question isn't whether localization is worth it—it's which markets to prioritize first.

Run your own numbers using the frameworks above. In most cases, the math strongly favors localization.