Tier 1, 2 and 3 Countries: The Full 2026 List

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 judgment about the people who live there.

Which countries are Tier 1, 2 and 3? 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.

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.

That shortcut helps in four places. Before you have any data, it lets you decide how much of the budget goes to expensive and cheaper markets. Countries that behave alike can start with the same bid. Results are easier to read when you look at three groups first and single countries later. And many offers and campaigns accept only some countries, often split along the same lines.

How ad prices, devices, and payments differ by 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

1. List where your product works. Check language, payment methods, app store availability, delivery, and any legal limits.
2. 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.
3. Set a maximum price per result. Divide that value by your target return on ad spend. See What is ROAS?
4. Start small in several countries. Pick a few countries from each tier you can serve and give each a modest budget.
5. Compare cost and quality. After the first results, look at the price per result and at what those users did next.
6. Move budget to the winners and review every month, because prices and audiences shift.

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, and it is not something to apologize for if most of your users live there. 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; that view often shows which countries deserve more of your promotion effort.

Choosing countries with Moonetix

Advertising on Moonetix runs through custom integrations. We work with each advertiser directly: together we agree on the offer, the payout per conversion, the target countries, and how conversions are tracked, then connect your tracking with a server-to-server postback. The tier exercise above is a good way to prepare: it shows which countries you can serve and what one result is worth to you in each.

Because you pay only for the conversions your postback confirms, never for impressions or clicks, a new market costs nothing until it brings results. Read Cost per install by country for published price benchmarks, and Where to advertise in 2027 to compare channels.

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