Still uploading in English and wondering why your growth’s hit a wall? YouTube in 2025 is built for creators who think globally. That means reaching the right people, in the right language, with the right intent.
Language is often the first, and most misunderstood, piece of that puzzle. You hear advice like “Just dub into Spanish,” or “Try India – huge audience.” Okay, but what about the competition and CPM are we looking at? Will the content actually resonate?
We worked with thousands of creators across markets, niches, and formats, and we’ve seen firsthand what happens when the right content meets the right language. So, if you’re asking what the most popular YouTube languages are in 2025, we’ll give you the answer.
Let’s get into what languages are actually working on YouTube and how to make them work for you.
Most Popular YouTube Languages ≠ Best Languages for Your Channel
YouTube viewers by country and language lists are everywhere. The top languages on YouTube today are Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, Japanese, French, German, and Asian. But just because they’re the most popular YouTube languages overall doesn’t mean they’ll deliver for you.
Top 10 countries by YouTube users. (Source: YOUTUBE STATISTICS 2025)
English Still Reigns – But It's Not Your Only Shot
English is still the top language on YouTube. It accounts for over 39% of all content on the platform. Most major creators post in English, and the US, UK, Canada, and Australia remain some of the most valuable markets in terms of CPM and brand deals.
But that dominance comes at a cost: market saturation.
English has 1.45 billion potential viewers, and over 12 million creators competing for them. Unless you’re a breakout star or working with a serious production engine, growing in English alone has become very competitive.
Multilingual content on YouTube is the new standard, and the earlier you move, the more ground you can claim.
Spanish: Big Reach, Fast Payoff
There’s no mystery why creators keep turning to Spanish. With 600+ million speakers globally and relatively low competition in YouTube content, it’s one of the most accessible ways to expand your audience fast from this YouTube language popularity.
From Mexico to Argentina to Spain, the Spanish-speaking world is YouTube-addicted. Mexico alone has over 96 million internet users, and YouTube is their #1 platform.
Still, we’ve seen creators double their views within months of launching a Spanish-localized channel. Yes, CPMs might be lower than in the US, around $0.91 on average, but the volume more than makes up for it. And Spanish audiences engage hard with comments, shares, and super chats.
If you’re in entertainment, kids, beauty, or education, Spanish is often the first move we recommend.
Want to take your content global? AIR Media-Tech has helped creators reach hundreds of millions of subscribers by translating and localizing their content into over 50 languages. AIR Translate handles everything – from translation and dubbing to tailoring content for local audiences. Get in touch with us to find the best strategy for your channel and watch your reach and earnings soar!
Hindi: Massive Views, Minimal Competition
Creators often hesitate when they hear the CPMs for India. Yes, they’re low (around $0.53), but don’t let that discourage you.
India has the largest YouTube audience in the world. Over 610 million Hindi-speaking users. And here’s the kicker: fewer than 250,000 creators produce content in Hindi. Compare that to English or Spanish, and the difference is staggering.
We helped a kids' channel translate their content into Hindi. The Hindi version now has over 28 million subscribers and outperforms the English channel in monthly views.
This is one of the fastest-growing audiences on YouTube. And the competition is still low, for now.
Portuguese: Brazil Is Its Own Universe
Portuguese is among the TOP 5 when it comes to going global, and fair enough. Brazil alone accounts for over 147 million active YouTube users, making it the third-largest market after India and the US.
Portuguese CPMs hover around $0.91, but again, volume is the real story here.
We’ve seen channels gain more from Brazil than they ever did in Europe. Brazilian audiences are loyal, engaged, and known for long watch times, especially on mobile. If you want retention and community, you’ll find it here.
Even better, Brazil’s market isn’t as saturated as you think. There’s still room for niche creators, especially in education, family, fitness, and tech.
French & German: Smaller Audiences, Higher CPMs
If you’re chasing higher revenue per view, look at Europe.
France has over 300 million French speakers worldwide, and German is spoken in 42 countries. But what really stands out is CPM. German-language content earns up to $3.86 per 1,000 views, and French is around $2.87. That’s up to four times higher than Hindi or Portuguese.
Yes, this is a smaller audience and slower growth, but if your content fits – finance, tech, education, design – the revenue upside is real.
We've helped several channels launch French and German translations using a mix of human dubbing and optimized metadata. And results are 3x the RPM without changing their core content strategy.
Vietnamese, Indonesian, Filipino: Underrated Growth
YouTube is growing the fastest in Southeast Asia. Vietnam, Indonesia, and the Philippines are seeing surges in user numbers and mobile-first content consumption.
These are not premium CPM markets (ranging between $0.61 – $0.78), but if you’re looking for retention and reach, they punch way above their weight.
Creators who run long-form educational or inspirational content have seen surprising success here, especially when paired with good subtitling and community management.
In these regions, dubbed Shorts can go viral fast, and YouTube’s recommendation engine does a lot of the heavy lifting. It’s worth testing.
What the Data Doesn’t Tell You: Relevance Beats Popularity
Popularity is not the same as opportunity. A language might have 400 million potential viewers, but if your niche doesn’t resonate in that culture, you’ll get nowhere.
For example, specific gaming channels crush in Spanish and Portuguese, but the same video dubbed into French might tank. Some educational how-tos can work great in Hindi, but not so good in Japanese.
Before choosing languages, you can test it with YouTube’s Auto Dubbing, which is finally here.
Use YouTube Auto Dubbing to Test Markets
You flip on YouTube’s new auto-dubbing feature, and your English video gets automatically dubbed into Spanish, German, Hindi, and others.
The quality is honestly not perfect. But that’s not the point. Auto-dubbing is your test balloon. You turn it on, wait a few weeks, and then check analytics:
Did your video gain more views in new regions? Are you seeing new subs from dubbed-language markets?
If yes, that’s your green light to invest in localization.
When to Move Beyond AI
Once a market shows promise, that’s when you switch gears. AI tools will remain in test mode for a long time. They don’t deliver the emotional depth and voice fidelity that real voice actors do. There can be drop-offs in retention when audiences feel a disconnect between the visuals and the dub. Therefore, you need to think about how to make this process better for your channel.
AIR Media-Tech offers full-service localization, dubbing, and channel management for creators. We handle production and help scale into new markets. If you’re seeing traction from auto-dubbing, let’s talk about how we can take that further.
What Language Should You Translate Into First?
There’s no universal answer, but we can give you some clarity based on cases:
Want to maximize views?
Spanish or Hindi are your best bets.
Want to increase RPM?
Try German or French.
Have kids/family or gaming content?
Portuguese is a hidden gem.
Have educational/visual content?
Vietnamese, Indonesian, or Filipino might be effective.
Always align your language choice with content type and audience interest.
Don’t Guess the Language: Read the Data
So, the best language to translate your YouTube videos into is the one where:
- Your content fits the audience’s taste.
- There’s high interest and low competition.
- CPM makes sense for your goals.
- You see clear signs of traction from early tests.
Start with a test – auto dubbing, subtitling, or translated metadata. Then look at the data. When you see sub growth, you can go for full dubbing and localization.
AIR Media-Tech helped creators do this for Spanish, Hindi, Portuguese, French, Japanese, Vietnamese, and every time, it starts with a test and scales from there.
Go Global, But Do It Right
Global growth with the best languages for YouTube is about finding where your content naturally connects and doing the work to speak that audience’s language.
Sometimes that means Spanish with a neutral accent and clean dubs. Sometimes that means German tech reviews with precise terminology and a formal tone. Sometimes it’s Brazilian Portuguese with humor and slang.
Whatever it is, we know the patterns, the pitfalls, and the paths to scale. Get in touch with us and let’s start your strategy of multilingual content on YouTube today!
