Definition
What a base price is for a mobile app
Base price is the anchor price you set in your chosen base country or base currency. Every other per-country price is derived from this anchor, either by Apple's auto-pricing FX conversion, by Google's auto-pricing, or by a localized-pricing strategy you apply explicitly.
On the App Store, you pick a base territory in App Store Connect (typically the United States) and a price point for that territory. Apple uses the storefront's price-point set to render that point in every other territory. You can then override specific countries with different price points (country overrides).
On Google Play, you set prices per currency rather than per territory. Your base currency price (usually USD) is the anchor; Google auto-converts to other supported currencies at the daily exchange rate unless you override.
Why base price matters
Base price decisions ripple through every other market. If your base price moves from $9.99 to $19.99, every FX-translated country price doubles. If you change base country from United States to Germany, the price-point table shifts and every other country renders differently.
The two decisions you make at the base-price level:
- Base country / base currency. Anchors which market sets the reference. Most apps default to USA/USD, which is the highest-volume market and the convention most pricing logic assumes.
- Base price value. The actual number in the base territory. This is the single biggest pricing decision; everything else scales from it.
How base price interacts with localized pricing
Base price is the input to your pricing strategy. The strategy takes the base price and produces per-country output:
- FX-only. Base price translated to local currency at the daily exchange rate. The default.
- PPP-based. Base price multiplied by the per-country PPP multiplier, then snapped to the local price-point ladder or rounding convention.
- Index-based. Base price scaled by Big Mac Index, Netflix Index, or similar.
- Custom blend. Base price scaled by a weighted average of multiple sources.
Across all strategies, the base price is the anchor. Localized pricing does not erase base price; it derives every other market price from it.
Can I change my base price after launch?
Yes, with care. For subscription products, Apple requires a 60-day notification window for price increases on existing subscribers in most regions. Decreases can ship immediately. Changing the base price affects every other market that derives from it. Model the per-country impact before pushing.
What happens if I change the base country?
Apple's price-point table shifts. The same price point that rendered as $9.99 in the US (when US was the base) might render as a different USD value when Germany becomes the base. Most indie apps keep USA as the base for stability, even when their actual largest market is elsewhere.
How PricePush handles base price
In PricePush, you set the base price once at the app level. The pricing strategy you pick (PPP, IMF, Big Mac, custom blend) takes that base price and computes per-country prices for every supported storefront. Change the base, every derived price recalculates instantly. Push to App Store Connect and Google Play through the official APIs.
This matches Apple's mental model of "base country sets the reference" and Google's of "base currency anchors free-form prices," so the workflow translates cleanly to both stores.
Examples
Base price scaling across markets
$19.99 base price in USD, scaled across four markets:
| Country | FX-translated | PPP-scaled | Difference from FX |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States (base) | $19.99 | $19.99 | n/a |
| India | ₹1,660 | ₹499 | -70% |
| Brazil | R$98 | R$39 | -60% |
| Japan | ¥3,000 | ¥1,500 | -50% |
| Switzerland | CHF 17.50 | CHF 21.00 | +20% |
Note Switzerland scales up under PPP. Base price is the anchor; the strategy decides which direction (and by how much) each market moves.
Frequently asked
What is a base price for a mobile app?
Base price is the anchor price set in your base country (App Store) or base currency (Google Play) that every other localized price scales from. On Apple, it's the price point in your base territory; on Google, it's the price in your base currency, typically USD.
Why does base price matter?
Every per-country price derives from base price. Change it and every other market recalculates. The base price decision is the single biggest pricing lever; localized-pricing strategies scale from it, not around it.
Can I change my base price after launch?
Yes, with notice rules. Apple requires a 60-day notification window for subscription price increases on existing subscribers in most regions. Decreases can ship immediately. Changing base price affects every other derived market price, so model the per-country impact before pushing.
Should I set base country to my highest-revenue market?
Most apps keep USA as the base country for stability and convention, even when their actual largest market is elsewhere. Switching base country shifts the price-point table and recalculates every other market. The convenience of using USA as the reference usually outweighs the small benefit of base-changing.
Further reading
- Localized Pricing for Mobile Apps: The Complete GuideHow to set localized pricing for mobile apps across App Store and Google Play: PPP baselines, rounding rules, and a maintenance rhythm that scales.
- App Store Pricing by Country: The Developer's ReferenceA reference for App Store pricing by country: how Apple's 900 price points work, what auto-conversion gets wrong, and what prices should look like.
- Real Localized Pricing: PPP Baselines + Prices That Feel LocalStore auto-conversion is currency math. Real localization is PPP-style baselines + rounding rules that land in familiar thresholds.