Short answer: start in the market your app, store page, language and pricing are built for, and add countries when your data supports the economics. Country tiers are informal labels: judge each market on cost per conversion against what those users go on to pay. The Languages audience control can help reach minority-language speakers, but it does not identify who is an expat.
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What are tier 1, tier 2 and tier 3 countries?
Country tiers are a publisher’s grouping, so read the definition behind the list. For example, the 2024 Unity Gaming Report groups the US, Canada, Australia and Great Britain as tier 1; Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland and Ireland as tier 2; and other countries as rest of world. That is its report methodology, not a universal tier 1-to-3 classification or a prediction of your Meta costs.
Meta’s international location targeting supports countries, regions, country groups and worldwide targeting. For your own planning, rank countries by what a user costs you and what they pay you, then group those with similar economics.
Do emerging markets or tier 1 countries perform better?
Neither, as a rule. Acquisition cost and revenue per user can both vary by country, and their relationship determines whether a market works for your app. Check these differences:
- Platform mix. In StatCounter’s September 2026 mobile browsing data, Android accounted for about 94% in India and 79% in Brazil, while iOS accounted for about 54% in the US and 61% in Japan. These are shares of measured page views, not a census of devices or app buyers. Check your app’s own platform mix before choosing where to spend.
- Local pricing. App Store Connect generates prices for all 175 storefronts from your base price and lets you change them per country; Google Play converts your price using local pricing patterns and lets you edit each country. A price set for the US can make a country look unprofitable when the problem is the paywall, not the ads.
- Language and creative. Match the ad, offer and store page to the market, then test whether localizing them improves conversion.
So the honest answer to “tier 1 or emerging markets” is to test, then judge each country on cohort revenue against spend from your own data.
Which countries should a new app or game start in?
Our starting recommendation is the market the product is built for. Size each campaign from the conversions a day you want: ideally 30, with 10 good and 1 or 2 fine on a small budget. Before opening more markets, check whether you can fund a useful read in each.
For games, our channel starting point is Meta on iOS and Google App campaigns on Android; from about $500 a day, AppLovin can be the first channel (how to pick ad channels for a mobile game). A cheaper market can also be useful for creative testing, provided its winners transfer to your main market. Compare the same ads in both before relying on that shortcut (how to structure creative tests on Meta).
When should countries share a Meta campaign?
Group countries when their conversion economics and creative needs are similar. Meta’s international targeting guidance explains that delivery can favor countries with the best cost per action. Under volume optimization, cheaper conversions can attract budget even when those users are worth less. Separate markets when you need independent budgets, or test value optimization when eligible. How to run Meta app ads in multiple countries covers the structure and spend controls. See also Google App campaigns in multiple markets and Apple Ads (formerly Apple Search Ads) in multiple countries.
How do you target expats with Meta ads, step by step?
Meta predicts which languages people understand from signals such as location, device settings, posts and the ads they interact with, and by default shows your ad to people likely to understand it. Choose a language only when you want people who speak a language that is not widely spoken where they live, for example French speakers in the US or Hindi speakers in the UAE. To set it up:
- In Ads Manager, open the ad set and find Audience.
- Select Show more controls.
- Hover over Languages and select Edit.
- Enter one or more languages, then finish and publish the ad as usual.
Make sure the ad and store page are in that language. Languages are an audience control, so setting one keeps Advantage+ on. This reaches predicted language speakers, including local residents who speak it; it does not verify nationality or expat status. Meta also notes that language prediction is imperfect, so some impressions may fall outside the language setting.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries are tier 1 for ads? Check the source’s definition. Unity’s 2024 gaming report uses the US, Canada, Australia and Great Britain. That is one report’s grouping, not a universal Meta list.
Is the Philippines a tier 2 country? There is no universal answer; tier lists vary. Group it using your own cost per conversion, revenue per user and localization needs.
What are the best countries for early scaling of a mobile game? The market the game is built for, where you can get enough conversions a day per campaign. Add cheaper markets for creative testing only after checking that winners there also win in your main market.
What is the minimum daily budget for Meta ads in Brazil? Meta’s minimum budgets vary by country and campaign settings, and Ads Manager warns when a budget is below the applicable requirement. Check that minimum, then size your budget from cost per conversion in Brazil times the conversions a day you want.
Can you target expats on Meta? You can target speakers of a language within a country using Audience, Show more controls, then Languages. That may help reach an expat audience, but language is not proof of expat status and other speakers can see the ads too.
