The same app idea in 60 countries: how much harder is it outside the US?
October 1, 2026 · data as of September 30, 2026
667 app ideas measured in the US and again in 60 other countries against each country's own rivals. Outside the US the same idea scores lower, mostly because of weaker trend and money, not harder ranking.
The short version
- The same app idea scores a median 7.6 points lower outside the US, measured against each country's own competition.
- The gap is mostly trend (-9.6) and lifetime value (-7.7): smaller markets grow slower and pay less. Ranking is barely easier (-1.7).
- Closest to the US: Laos, Nigeria, Bahrain, Nepal, Palau. Furthest: Bulgaria, Lithuania, China, Latvia, Sweden.
Where the gap comes from
Median change per dimension, all countries, other country minus the US.
Every country
Median score difference from the US for the same idea. Closer to zero means the idea holds up.
| Country | Ideas | Score vs US | Trend | LTV | Rankability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laos | 10 | -1.2 | -2.7 | -12.8 | +2.8 |
| Nigeria | 11 | -2.6 | -1.4 | -2.1 | +1.9 |
| Bahrain | 11 | -3.2 | -3.2 | -11.4 | -1.3 |
| Nepal | 10 | -3.2 | -5.2 | -6.1 | -3 |
| Palau | 11 | -4.1 | -3.6 | -18.3 | -2.3 |
| Oman | 11 | -4.3 | -0.6 | -7.6 | +3.1 |
| Canada | 10 | -4.5 | -6.4 | -4.1 | -0.9 |
| Myanmar | 11 | -4.6 | -5.7 | -10.4 | +0.4 |
| Cambodia | 11 | -4.7 | -5.9 | -7.4 | -1 |
| Fiji | 12 | -4.8 | -4.5 | -13.4 | -1.1 |
| India | 14 | -4.9 | -4.9 | -2.8 | -1.2 |
| Egypt | 11 | -5.1 | -5.7 | -1.9 | -6 |
| Yemen | 10 | -5.2 | -6.5 | -10 | +1.3 |
| Benin | 10 | -5.4 | -3.9 | -18.7 | -5 |
| United Kingdom | 11 | -5.4 | -4.9 | -1.3 | -2.6 |
| Singapore | 15 | -5.5 | -8.4 | -13.4 | +1.8 |
| Australia | 10 | -5.7 | -6.5 | -3.4 | -0.4 |
| Senegal | 11 | -6 | +0.2 | -12.6 | -3.4 |
| Sri Lanka | 11 | -6.1 | -14.5 | -5.8 | -0.3 |
| Thailand | 10 | -6.4 | -12 | -3.4 | -0.4 |
| Jordan | 10 | -6.4 | -9.2 | -4.9 | -2 |
| Türkiye | 12 | -6.4 | -8.3 | -6.4 | -3.3 |
| Hong Kong | 14 | -6.7 | -9.7 | -11 | -2.5 |
| Azerbaijan | 10 | -6.8 | -7.2 | -7.4 | -1.2 |
| Mongolia | 11 | -7 | -9.5 | -19.8 | +1.8 |
| Maldives | 11 | -7.1 | -8.1 | -17.3 | -2 |
| Netherlands | 11 | -7.2 | -12.7 | +0.5 | +1.3 |
| Kuwait | 11 | -7.3 | -8.1 | -10.1 | -5.1 |
| North Macedonia | 10 | -7.5 | -9.5 | -15.1 | +3.9 |
| Belgium | 11 | -7.5 | -10 | -0.6 | -0.8 |
| Gambia | 10 | -7.7 | -9.1 | -8.3 | -7.5 |
| Liberia | 10 | -7.7 | -12.1 | -12.3 | -3.8 |
| Croatia | 12 | -7.8 | -15.1 | -3.5 | -1.9 |
| Japan | 15 | -8 | -9.6 | -5 | -4.9 |
| United Arab Emirates | 11 | -8.1 | -7 | -9.7 | -2.2 |
| Saudi Arabia | 12 | -8.1 | -10.2 | +1.6 | -1.7 |
| Sierra Leone | 10 | -8.2 | -10.8 | -13.7 | -3.7 |
| Qatar | 11 | -8.2 | -9.1 | -8.5 | -4.5 |
| Congo | 10 | -8.4 | -7.7 | -6.7 | -8.9 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | 10 | -8.5 | -9.4 | -16.5 | +3.9 |
| Cape Verde | 10 | -8.8 | -12 | -17 | -4.9 |
| Ireland | 11 | -9 | -9.6 | -7.2 | -4.4 |
| Greece | 10 | -9 | -9.4 | -4.4 | -1 |
| Ukraine | 13 | -9.1 | -11.2 | -13.9 | -3 |
| Estonia | 12 | -9.5 | -12.5 | -13.4 | +4.2 |
| Guinea-Bissau | 11 | -9.6 | -13.8 | -15.9 | -0.9 |
| Slovenia | 12 | -9.6 | -15.4 | -19.1 | +0.5 |
| Luxembourg | 12 | -9.9 | -15.4 | -19 | -4.2 |
| Bhutan | 12 | -10.8 | -11.7 | -24.3 | -2.8 |
| Eswatini | 10 | -10.9 | -10.1 | -7.9 | -4.5 |
| Papua New Guinea | 12 | -10.9 | -14.7 | -10.9 | -0.6 |
| Czechia | 10 | -11.1 | -18.2 | -6.7 | -3.7 |
| Poland | 11 | -11.4 | -16.4 | -8.9 | +1.3 |
| Slovakia | 12 | -11.5 | -16.8 | -7.7 | -1.9 |
| Serbia | 11 | -12 | -13.5 | -13.7 | -3.1 |
| Sweden | 12 | -12.6 | -15.2 | -3.1 | -2.1 |
| Latvia | 11 | -14.2 | -18.9 | -4.6 | -0.2 |
| China | 10 | -14.5 | -20.9 | -8.8 | -2.8 |
| Lithuania | 11 | -14.6 | -18.9 | -4.5 | -1.2 |
| Bulgaria | 11 | -15 | -13.5 | -16.1 | -6.7 |
What this means if you are building
A smaller market is not an easier one: the competition is thinner, but so is the money and the growth. Launch where the idea is strongest — usually a large market — and treat other countries as their own launches, checked against their own rivals, rather than as free extra reach.
Every niche on SideRadar is measured country by country; filter the list by country to see an idea's own reading there. For store differences, see App Store vs Google Play for indie developers.
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−7.6
points: how the same app idea scores outside the US, at the median
Method and limits
- 667 pairs: an app idea measured in the United States and the same idea measured in another country, each against that country's own top ten. 60 countries have at least 10 pairs and are shown.
- The score is SideRadar's 0–100 niche score; each dimension (trend, lifetime value, content ease, ops ease, conversion, rankability) is scored the same way in every country. Differences are the country minus the US, median across the country's pairs.
- Samples are small — 10 to about 15 ideas per country — and the ideas were chosen because they score well in the US, which flatters the US. Read the country table as direction, not a league table.
- Scores are from public store data: ratings and their growth, prices, launch and update dates, search results. Local languages, payment habits and ad markets are not in them.
Using this data?
Free to quote and cite with a link to this page: https://sideradar.com/research/app-ideas-by-country