Key takeaways
- Tier 1, 2 and 3 group countries by how much a user is typically worth to advertisers. There is no official list.
- Tier 1 costs the most per result, Tier 3 costs the least and has the largest audiences.
- Use tiers to start, then set a bid per country from what a user there is worth to you.
What Tier 1, 2 and 3 countries mean
In online advertising, countries are often sorted into three tiers by how much a user from that country is typically worth to advertisers. Tier 1 countries have the highest incomes, the most online spending, and the highest ad prices. Tier 2 countries sit in the middle. Tier 3 countries have the lowest prices per result, but very large and fast-growing online audiences.
There is no official list. Ad networks, affiliate networks, and offerwalls each draw the lines a little differently, and they move them as markets change. The tiers are a shorthand for pricing and planning, not a judgement about the people who live there.
Our recommendation
To advertise across all three tiers without overpaying, use Sharklio. One campaign can target any country worldwide with its own bid, so you pay Tier 1 prices only where a result is worth that much to you. Create your Sharklio account.
A common 2026 list
The grouping below reflects how many networks use the terms in 2026. Treat it as a starting point and check how your own network defines each tier.
| Tier | Common examples | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland | The highest prices per click, install, and sign-up. The most competition. High spending per user. |
| Tier 2 | Spain, Italy, Portugal, Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Croatia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Israel, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Chile, Uruguay | Mid-range prices and solid spending power, often with less crowded auctions. Local languages matter more. |
| Tier 3 | India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Egypt, Nigeria, Kenya, Morocco, Colombia, Peru, Ukraine | The lowest prices per result and the largest audiences. Mostly mobile and Android. Lower spending per user on average. |
Some countries move between tiers depending on who you ask. Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Turkey, and South Africa are Tier 2 for some networks and Tier 3 for others. Some networks also count Japan, Singapore, and the United Arab Emirates as Tier 1, while many shorter lists keep Tier 1 to the four largest English-speaking markets: the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Why advertisers group countries by tier
Prices in online advertising follow what a user is worth. A new customer in a high-income market usually spends more, so more advertisers compete for that customer and prices rise. Grouping countries lets you plan with three numbers instead of two hundred on day one.
- Budgeting. You can decide how much of the budget goes to expensive and cheaper markets before you have any data.
- Bidding. Countries that behave alike can start with the same bid.
- Reporting. Results are easier to compare when you look at three groups first and single countries later.
- Offer availability. Many offers and campaigns accept only some countries, often split along the same lines.
What changes from tier to tier
- Price per result. The same sign-up can cost several times more in Tier 1 than in Tier 3, because more advertisers compete for it.
- Spending per user. Purchases, subscriptions, and in-app spending tend to be higher in Tier 1, which is why advertisers can afford to pay more there.
- Devices. Tier 3 audiences are mostly on mobile and mostly on Android, while iPhones make up a bigger share in many Tier 1 markets. Make sure your product works well on lower-end phones and slower connections before you target Tier 3.
- Language. English covers most Tier 1 traffic. In Tier 2 and Tier 3, a page or app in the local language usually performs much better.
- Payment methods. Cards dominate in many Tier 1 markets. In many Tier 3 markets, people pay with mobile wallets, bank transfers, or local methods. If your checkout accepts only cards, many users there cannot pay you at all.
- Competition. Fewer advertisers bid in Tier 2 and Tier 3, so prices are lower and often more stable through the year.
Tiers are a shortcut, not a rule
The only tier that really matters is how much a user from a country is worth to you. A Hungarian-language app will find most of its value in Hungary, whatever list Hungary is on. A game that earns from ads rather than purchases may earn similar amounts per user in many countries, which makes cheaper markets more attractive. A business tool priced in dollars may only make sense where companies can pay that price.
Start with the tiers, then replace them with your own numbers as soon as you have results. For each country, compare the value of one result with the price of one result. That comparison, not the tier label, tells you where to spend.
How to choose countries for a campaign
- List where your product works. Check language, payment methods, app store availability, delivery, and any legal limits.
- Estimate what one user is worth in each country. Use your own sales data if you have it, or the share of users who pay multiplied by what they pay.
- Set a maximum price per result. Divide that value by your target return on ad spend. See What is ROAS?
- Start small in several countries. Pick a few countries from each tier you can serve and give each a modest budget.
- Compare cost and quality. After the first results, look at the price per result and at what those users did next.
- Move budget to the winners and review every month, because prices and audiences shift.
Example with sample numbers
You sell a $6 monthly subscription. In the United States, 5% of new sign-ups subscribe and stay four months on average, so one sign-up is worth $6 × 4 × 0.05 = $1.20. In India, 2% subscribe at a local price of $2 for four months, so one sign-up is worth $0.16. With a target ROAS of 2, you can pay up to $0.60 per sign-up in the United States and $0.08 in India. Both markets can be profitable, they simply need different bids.
What tiers mean for publishers
For publishers, the tiers work the other way round. Users from Tier 1 countries usually earn more per click and per conversion, because advertisers pay more for them. Offer supply changes too: an offerwall usually shows more offers, and better-paying ones, to users in Tier 1 than to users in some Tier 3 markets.
That does not make Tier 3 audiences worthless. Many rewards sites, games, and communities earn most of their revenue from large Tier 2 and Tier 3 audiences, because volume makes up for the lower value per user. Compare earnings per user or EPC and eCPM by country rather than raw traffic. On Shark Earnings, our sister rewards site, the offerwall comparison guide shows from the user’s side how different offer partners suit different kinds of offers.
Worldwide targeting on Sharklio
Sharklio lets advertisers target any country worldwide with a separate bid for each one. In the campaign builder, the Tier 1 quick add button adds Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States in one click, and region buttons add Europe, Asia, Africa, South America, or the Middle East. You can then raise the bid where a result is worth more to you and lower it elsewhere, so one campaign can run in all three tiers at the right price.
Because you pay only for approved results, a low bid in a new market costs nothing until it brings results. Read Set bids by country for the details, and Where to advertise in 2026 to compare channels.
Frequently asked questions
Which countries are Tier 1?
Almost every list includes the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Most add New Zealand, Ireland, and the wealthiest countries of Western and Northern Europe. There is no official list, so check the definition your network uses.
Is Tier 3 traffic low quality?
No. Tier 3 traffic is cheaper because users there spend less on average, not because they are less real. Traffic quality depends on the source and on fraud checks, and bad traffic exists in every tier.
Is Japan Tier 1 or Tier 2?
Both appear. Japan has high spending per user, but some networks place it in Tier 2 because campaigns usually need Japanese-language pages and ads to work there.
Should I target all three tiers at once?
Only if your product works in all of them. If it does, run them in one campaign with a different bid per country, or in separate campaigns if you want separate budgets and reports.