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How Many App Store Ratings You Need
The star average gets the attention, but the number of ratings behind it is what people and rankings trust. Here is the target, the timing and the rules.
Quick answer
Aim for at least 50 ratings in every App Store storefront you care about. Ratings are counted per country, so a strong US count does nothing for a reader in Germany, and in what we see the step from 20 to 50 ratings is the one that matters most for a small app. Once the US passes 100, move on to the next markets, such as the UK, Germany, France and Ireland. Across ranked AppTierList list entries, the median S-tier entry has 77,582 ratings and the median F-tier entry has 1,898, counted across the storefronts we read. Almost no S-tier entries sit under 50 ratings, while 34.0% of F-tier entries do. Rating count is an input to the AppTierList score, so the gap partly follows from how tiers are built. Ask with Apple's own prompt, AppStore.requestReview(in:) or SwiftUI's requestReview, which shows at most 3 times in 365 days per person. Ask right after a moment of success, never on first launch, and never offer anything in return.
The number of ratings matters as much as the stars
A near-perfect average from a handful of people tells a reader very little. The same average from thousands tells them the app works for most people who try it. That is why the count of ratings sits next to the stars on every App Store page, and why people glance at both before they install.
Across ranked list entries on AppTierList (an app in two lists counts twice), the gap between tiers is wide. Counting ratings summed across the storefronts we read, which for most apps are the US, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany, the median S-tier entry has 77,582. The median A-tier entry has 13,546, B has 8,904, C has 6,906, D has 3,321 and F has 1,898. Low counts cluster at the bottom: almost no S-tier entries have fewer than 50 ratings (2 of 6,601), while 1.0% of A-tier, 4.1% of B-tier, 5.6% of C-tier, 13.8% of D-tier and 34.0% of F-tier entries do.
Read those numbers with care. Most of the score comes from what the App Store shows publicly; How we rank lists every part. Rating count is an input, so part of the gap is there by construction. What the figures do show is that a thin count is rare near the top of any list, for people and for rankings alike.
Aim for 50 ratings in each storefront
Ratings live in storefronts. A person in Germany sees the German count, not your US total, so an app with a healthy US page can look brand new everywhere else.
In what we see, the rule for small apps is simple: get at least 50 ratings in every storefront you care about. Up to that point each new rating changes the picture a lot. An app with 20 ratings and one with 50 can have the same average, but they read very differently to someone deciding in a few seconds.
Two indie apps we looked at show how little crosses a border. Each had 60 to 130 ratings in the US, yet under 30 in every other storefront and 10 or fewer in most, while the US brought only 40 to 50% of their first-time downloads in the three months we read. Outside the US, each storefront’s count stayed small.
In what we see, if you run paid ads, point them at ratings rather than downloads. Advertise in one storefront only, the US or one big European market, and keep going until that storefront reaches 50 ratings before you spread the budget. Ads are a paid channel, so count their cost against what those ratings are worth to you.
After that, spread out rather than pile up.
- Start with your biggest market. For most English-language apps that is the US.
- Once it passes 100 ratings, put the same effort into the next storefronts: the UK, Germany, France, Ireland and the other countries where people already download the app.
- Localise the listing for a market before you push for ratings there, so the people you ask can read what they are rating.
The extra ratings in your first market still help, but the next 50 in a market where you have almost none do more.
Ask right after a moment of success
Apple gives every app one way to ask for a rating inside the app: AppStore.requestReview(in:) in StoreKit, or the requestReview action in SwiftUI. The older SKStoreReviewController is deprecated since iOS 18, and Apple’s documentation points to AppStore.requestReview(in:) instead. Apple’s guidelines say to use the provided API and disallow custom review prompts. The prompt shows at most 3 times in 365 days for each person, and the system decides on its own whether to show it when you call it.
Because the prompt is rare, where you call it decides what you get. Apple’s own advice is to ask when people are most likely to be satisfied, such as after they finish an action, a level or a task, and never to interrupt them.
- Good moments: a workout logged, a file exported, a booking confirmed, a streak kept for a week.
- Bad moments: the first launch, the middle of a task, right after an error or a paywall.
- Wait for repeat use. Ask after a person has reached a good moment a few times, so the rating reflects real use rather than a first impression.
There is no need for a timer of your own on top of Apple’s pacing. Call the prompt at the good moments and let the system skip it when it has shown recently.
Never trade anything for a rating
Offering a reward for a rating, or unlocking a feature after one, breaks Apple’s rules. The App Review Guidelines say apps must not force people to rate or review the app to reach features or content, and Apple says it acts against developers who manipulate reviews with paid, incentivised, filtered or fake feedback, which can end in removal from the developer program.
Filtering is the quiet version of the same mistake. Asking people first whether they like the app and sending only the happy ones to the prompt is still filtered feedback. Ask everyone at the same good moment and let the ratings fall where they fall.
Answer bad reviews in public with a fix, not an argument. A reply that names the change and the version it shipped in is read by the next person who opens the page. Apple notes that when you respond, the reviewer is notified and can choose to update the review.
Be careful with resets. Apple lets you reset the summary rating when you release a new version, and recommends doing it sparingly. The reset applies to every country at once and clears the count as well as the average, so you start again below 50 in every storefront. Written reviews stay visible either way.
Claim your page, then keep the page in step with your ratings
Ratings move slowly, so the rest of your presence should be ready for the people they bring.
- Claim the app’s page for free with your email: add it if it is new, or find it and tap Claim. No password is involved.
- Fill in your website and describe, in your own words, what the app does and who it suits. This text goes live when the Verified mark does.
- Share your page with the people who already follow the app, on your site and social accounts.
Then check your counts storefront by storefront once a month, and move your effort to the next market as each one passes the target.
The numbers
- 77,582median rating count of S-tier list entries, summed across the storefronts we readAs of
- 13,546median rating count of A-tier list entries, summed across the storefronts we readAs of
- 8,904median rating count of B-tier list entries, summed across the storefronts we readAs of
- 6,906median rating count of C-tier list entries, summed across the storefronts we readAs of
- 3,321median rating count of D-tier list entries, summed across the storefronts we readAs of
- 1,898median rating count of F-tier list entries, summed across the storefronts we readAs of
- 2 of 6,601S-tier list entries have fewer than 50 ratings (rounds to 0.0%)As of
- 1.0%of A-tier list entries have fewer than 50 ratingsAs of
- 4.1%of B-tier list entries have fewer than 50 ratingsAs of
- 5.6%of C-tier list entries have fewer than 50 ratingsAs of
- 13.8%of D-tier list entries have fewer than 50 ratingsAs of
- 34.0%of F-tier list entries have fewer than 50 ratingsAs of
- 50ratings per storefront: the first target in this guideAs of
- 20ratings: the low count the 50 target is compared withAs of
- 100ratings in the US before moving on to the next storefrontsAs of
- 60 to 130lifetime US ratings of each of two indie apps we looked atAs of
- under 30ratings in every storefront outside the US for the same two apps (10 or fewer in most)As of
- 10 or fewerratings in most storefronts outside the US for the same two appsAs of
- 40 to 50%share of the two apps' first-time downloads that came from the US in the 90 days we readAs of
- 18the iOS version since which SKStoreReviewController is deprecated in favour of AppStore.requestReview(in:)As of
- 3times at most that Apple's rating prompt can show to one personAs of
- 365days: the period Apple's limit of three prompts applies toAs of
Method: Ranked members of active lists on 2026-11-02 (6,601 S, 7,414 A, 6,116 B, 6,546 C, 2,223 D and 1,175 F memberships; an app in three lists counts three times). Rating count is the sum across the storefronts we read (US, UK, Canada, Australia and Germany for most apps; a full 170-storefront total for a minority). Rating count is an input to the score, so the link to tier is partly by construction.
Reproduce it: GET https://apptierlist.com/api/v1/lists/habit-tracking
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FAQ
How many ratings does an iPhone app need?
Aim for at least 50 ratings in each storefront you sell in. In what we see, the step from about 20 to 50 is the one that matters most for a small app. After 100 in your main country, such as the US, start on the next markets instead of piling more into the first one.
How often can an app ask for a rating?
Apple's prompt, requested with AppStore.requestReview(in:) or SwiftUI's requestReview action, shows at most three times in 365 days for each person, and the system decides whether it appears at all. Call it at good moments and let Apple handle the pacing; you cannot show your own custom rating prompt instead.
Can I give users a reward for rating my app?
No. Apple's App Review Guidelines say apps must not make people rate or review the app to use a feature or content, and Apple acts against paid, incentivised, filtered or fake reviews, up to removal from the developer program.
Should I reset my App Store rating with a new version?
Rarely. Apple lets you reset the summary rating when you release a version, and asks you to use it sparingly. A reset applies to every country at once and takes your counts back to zero everywhere, so only reset when the old average describes an app that no longer exists.
Sources
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