App store localization cost ranges per locale

App Store localization costs $50 to $300 per locale for human text translation of a listing-only scope, plus $100 to $300 per locale for screenshot rework, based on current agency and platform rate data. A three-locale listing pass totals $600 to $2,200 through agencies, or under $200 DIY with a one-time tool fee plus one native review round.

Start with word counts. A typical listing holds 500 to 900 words: 30 characters of name, 30 of subtitle, 100 characters of keywords, a 300 to 600 word description, 100 to 200 words of release notes, and 10 to 15 words of caption on each screenshot. Human translation at $0.10 to $0.30 per word puts the text layer at $50 to $270 per locale. Screenshot re-rendering adds $100 to $300 per language, the range one automation study measured across agency quotes. One native review pass adds $30 to $60 per locale for a listing this size at proofreading rates. Add the three and a single locale lands between $200 and $630 through vendors. Multiply by locale count, then add tooling and refresh cycles, and you have the full program number. The rest of this guide prices each layer so you can build that total for your own app.

Translation itself is usually the smallest check you write. AppFollow's 2026 playbook makes this point directly: keyword research, creative adaptation, linguistic review, testing, and iteration take the larger share of most budgets. Treat translation as one row in a spreadsheet with six rows. The sections below fill every row with 2026 numbers.

Count your words: what a listing really contains

Agencies price by the word, so your first costing step is an honest count. Pull your live listing and tally each field:

  • Name: 30 characters. That's 3 to 6 words, but translators often charge a short-string minimum, so budget it as 10 words.
  • Subtitle: 30 characters. Same math as the name: 3 to 6 words, and the minimum charge applies here too.
  • Keywords: 100 characters of comma phrases. Count 12 to 20 words. This field needs ASO skill, not just language skill, since each term must match what shoppers type.
  • Description: up to 4,000 characters, but most indie descriptions run 300 to 600 words. This is the bulk of the job.
  • Release notes: 100 to 200 words per version for an average update.
  • Screenshot captions: 10 to 15 words per image. Six screenshots per device size means 60 to 90 words, before UI strings inside the screens.

A compact listing lands near 500 words per locale. A long description with full caption sets pushes 900. Our description guide shows how length choices affect both conversion and this count, and our subtitle guide keeps that field short before translators see it. Anything outside this list, interface strings, support pages, and video scripts, sits outside listing scope. Price it separately or you will compare vendor quotes that cover different jobs.

Translation rates per word in 2026

Three tiers cover the market. Each suits a different line item.

  • Machine translation costs a fraction of a cent per word through services such as DeepL Pro and Google Cloud Translation. It drafts fast and reads rough. Use it for first drafts and keyword brainstorming, never for ship-ready captions.
  • AI-assisted workflows cost around half a cent per word. OneSky's AI offering starts near that level, per AppFollow's survey. Output beats raw machine drafts but still needs a human pass for store copy.
  • Human translation runs $0.10 to $0.30 per word for typical app store projects. Kings of Translation quotes from $0.10 per word, and LOW/CODE's 2026 breakdown cites $0.10 to $0.25. Regulated categories and games pay more because translators need domain knowledge, not just language skill.

Two warnings come with the numbers. Language pair moves the rate: Brazilian Portuguese, Indonesian, and many Eastern European languages often cost less per word than German or Japanese, though the linguist matters more than the market. And the lowest bid rarely stays cheapest: weak translations create rework, ranking losses, and conversion damage that cost far more to fix later. Our keyword-field guide explains why that field deserves a human with ASO sense even when everything else goes through cheaper tiers.

Screenshot costs: the budget doubler

Screenshots decide taps, and they consume budgets to match. Each locale needs its captions translated, reflowed for length, and re-rendered at exact App Store sizes. German lines run a third longer than English. Arabic and Hebrew layouts mirror. Japanese and Thai need fonts with full glyph coverage. Someone must check each set at full size, and that labor is what you're really paying for.

The measured range for screenshot work is $100 to $300 per language on top of text costs, per the automation research cited above. Full refresh cycles with new creative, app previews, or voiceovers add $500 to $2,000 per cycle across program-level budgets. Our screenshot translation guide walks the caption workflow step by step, including the overflow and font traps that cause paid rework.

Three questions keep this layer honest. Ask whether captions are re-rendered per language or only translated in a document. Ask whether the quote covers both iPhone and iPad sizes or one set. Ask what a second review round adds. Vendors answer these differently, and the spread between answers explains most quote gaps. App preview videos deserve a separate line: listing tools re-render screenshots, not video, so price video localization as its own project or cut it from v1 scope.

Sample app store localization budgets: 3 vs 10 locales

Two worked examples show how the rows add up. Both assume a 700-word listing.

A 3-locale agency pass: text translation at $0.10 to $0.30 per word gives $70 to $210 per locale, or $210 to $630 for three. Screenshots at $100 to $300 per language add $300 to $900. One native review round is often bundled, so the honest range lands at $600 to $2,200 all in. This matches the AEO answer above and suits teams with zero review capacity in-house.

A 3-locale DIY pass: a one-time listing tool fee of $19.99 covers 3 languages including every screenshot. Add freelance proofreading at $0.03 to $0.05 per word, about $30 to $50 per locale, or $90 to $150 for three. Total: under $200. You trade money for an afternoon of your own QA time in App Store Connect.

A 10-locale agency program: the dev.to research puts full per-language ASO localization at $200 to $500 including metadata, with screenshots adding $100 to $300 more, totaling $3,000 to $8,000 for ten languages. Add a translation management system at several hundred dollars per month and native-speaker QA per release, and year-one program cost passes five figures. This tier fits teams that've already proven revenue per market.

A 10-locale DIY pass: a $99.99 one-time fee covers all supported languages with screenshots, plus $300 to $500 of proofreading. Total stays under $700. Our strategy guide orders those ten markets by revenue so the strongest locales ship first, and our locales reference lists every code worth funding. Start funded, expand with revenue behind you.

Five forgotten line items

Quotes skip these. Your budget shouldn't.

  • Release refresh: every app update ships new release notes per active locale. Ten locales times twelve releases is 120 small translations a year. Price them or watch listings rot back to English.
  • Keyword revisits: localized keywords need quarterly checks against the queries your listing actually earns. Our Connect setup guide includes the per-locale checklist that catches drift.
  • Tooling fees: a translation management system adds several hundred to several thousand dollars per month at program scale. Listing-only teams can skip this row entirely.
  • Tester time: linguistic QA means opening each locale build and tapping through screens. Nobody includes those hours unless you ask.
  • Source churn: every English rewrite retriggers translation. Lock your English listing before you fund locales, or you'll pay for the same words twice.

How App Store Localizer fits a tight budget

App Store Localizer (https://asolocalization.com) replaces the tooling and first-draft rows for listing-only scope. Paste a public App Store URL and it imports your title, description, icon, and screenshots through Apple's public lookup API. It translates the title, subtitle, description, and the 100-character keyword field per target locale, and it generates localized keywords from free heuristics over your listing. It re-renders screenshots with translated captions in iPhone 14 Plus 1284x2778 and iPad Pro 12.9-inch 2048x2732 sizes.

Coverage runs to 20-plus target locales, from Japanese, Korean, and both Chinese scripts through German, French, Spanish, and Brazilian Portuguese down to Hindi, Thai, and Vietnamese. You download the assets or publish toward App Store Connect. Pricing is one-time per listing: Starter at $19.99 covers 3 languages with every available screenshot, and Global at $99.99 covers all supported languages. Two honest limits apply. It handles the store listing only, never interface strings or code. Keyword ideas come from listing heuristics rather than paid search-volume data.

Frequently asked questions

  • How much does it cost to localize an app? A store listing alone costs $200 to $630 per locale through vendors, or under $200 for three locales DIY with a one-time tool fee plus proofreading. Full app localization with interface strings, QA, and tooling runs $1,000 to $5,000 per market per cycle. The listing is the cheap layer. Fund it first and measure installs before deeper work.
  • How much does mobile app localization cost per word? Human translation starts near $0.10 per word and typical app store projects land between $0.10 and $0.30, varying by language pair and domain. Machine translation costs a fraction of a cent and AI-assisted tiers sit near half a cent, but both need human review before store copy ships. Always ask which tier a quote assumes.
  • Which languages should I localize my app into first? Start with two or three markets where you already see downloads or store interest, plus English. Our locales reference gives an indie priority order that balances revenue potential against translation effort. Nail those listings end to end with screenshots, measure installs, then expand in revenue order as our strategy guide recommends.
  • Can I localize just my listing without translating my app? Yes. App Store Connect treats each localization independently, so you can ship a Japanese listing for an English interface. Many indie teams test a market this way before funding interface work. Our services comparison covers when this listing-first move beats hiring an agency for the full job.
  • Do localized listings cost money after launch? Yes, per release. Each update needs translated release notes per active locale, screenshots need refreshes when the interface visibly changes, and keywords deserve quarterly reviews. Budget roughly one proofreading hour per locale per release plus a screenshot pass per major redesign. A listing that launched multilingual but updates in English slowly rots back into a monolingual page.

Run your numbers this week at https://asolocalization.com. Count your listing words with the field list above, price three locales both ways, and generate your first set this afternoon. If the math favors DIY, the tool path costs less than one agency locale and ships the same day. Don't fund ten locales before three prove themselves. Put the savings toward the markets that actually convert.