SaaS International Expansion: Why 83% Want to Go Global but Only 56% Feel Ready

Key Takeaways

• 83% of software companies say international expansion is a priority, but only 56% feel confident they can actually pull it off. The gap comes down to localization.

  
  

• 96% of buyers want to see local currency, and 43% will leave if the checkout isn't in their language. Yet only 17% of sellers plan to invest in localization.

  
  

• Localization is not just about the checkout page. It covers your marketing content, your product messaging, your onboarding emails, your help docs, and every other touchpoint a customer has with your brand.

  
  

• Companies that localize every checkout touchpoint are 2.5x more likely to feel confident about scaling globally than those that don't.

  
  

• The real cost of skipping localization isn't just lost conversions. It's compounding friction that quietly pushes potential customers away before they even consider your product.

What is SaaS international expansion?

SaaS international expansion is the process of growing a software-as-a-service business into new geographic markets beyond its home country. It involves adapting the product, pricing, marketing, sales, and support to meet local buyers' expectations.

For most B2B SaaS companies, this means more than just making the product available in a new country. It means localizing the entire customer experience: from the website and marketing content, to the checkout flow, onboarding, billing, and post-purchase communication.

International expansion is one of the biggest growth opportunities for SaaS companies today. But it's also one of the most commonly underestimated.

The confidence gap: ambition vs. execution

New research from the Cleverbridge Friction Report (2025), a survey of over 700 software sellers and 1,000+ buyers worldwide, reveals a striking disconnect.

83% of software companies say global expansion is a top priority for the next 12 months. That's a huge number. The ambition is clearly there.

But only 56% feel confident in their ability to actually scale internationally. That's a 27-point gap between wanting to expand and feeling ready to do it.

What's causing this? The report points to a long list of operational challenges: cross-border tax compliance, system integrations, regulatory complexity. But one theme runs through nearly every pain point: localization.

33% of sellers say localizing for different markets (prices, currencies, languages) is one of their biggest challenges. And only 40% say their language and currency localization is well-optimized.

Meanwhile, 60% of software companies sell into fewer than 10 countries, out of 195 worldwide. There's a massive untapped market out there, and localization is what's standing between most companies and that opportunity.

What do buyers actually want? (It's not what sellers think)

One of the most eye-opening findings in the Cleverbridge report is how differently sellers and buyers see the purchase experience.

Sellers think buyers care most about: a fast, simple checkout process (55%) and security/trust (55%).

Buyers say they care most about: clear pricing and terms (53%), a secure and trustworthy process (48%), and a fast, simple checkout (45%).

Notice the difference? Buyers put transparency first. They want to understand exactly what they're paying, in a format that feels familiar. Security and speed matter too, but they're not enough on their own.

Here's where it gets really interesting for anyone planning international expansion:

• 96% of buyers say seeing prices in their local currency is important

• 43% won't proceed if the checkout isn't in their language

• 38% of buyers identify localization as a top expectation when buying software

  
  

Yet only 17% of sellers say localization is an investment priority. Only 17%. Despite the fact that just 40% have well-optimized localization and 38% of their buyers are asking for it.

That's not a small gap. That's a blind spot.

Why localization goes beyond the checkout page

When people hear "localization," they often think about translating a website or displaying prices in euros instead of dollars. That's part of it. But the Cleverbridge data shows that friction doesn't live in just one place. It shows up across the entire customer journey.

Before the sale: 31% of buyers say a language or currency mismatch is a reason they abandon their cart. And 48% leave when they encounter unexpected taxes or fees, which is often a localization problem too (displaying local tax rules clearly).

After the sale: 79% of buyers report frustrations in their post-purchase experience. The top complaints? Difficulty canceling (36%), inability to reach support (31%), and confusion about renewal pricing (29%). These are all touchpoints where localization matters: billing communications, support channels, renewal emails.

As Vincent Jong from Poolside Ventures explains, friction compounds. An English-only website plus USD pricing plus unfamiliar payment methods adds up to a single message in the buyer's mind: "This is probably not for me."

The same logic applies to your marketing content. If your blog posts, case studies, landing pages, and email campaigns only speak to your home market, you're creating friction long before anyone reaches your checkout page. This is where content localization becomes a growth lever, not just a nice-to-have.

Europe's patchwork problem

The Cleverbridge report confirms what anyone who's tried to expand in Europe already knows: it's not one market. It's many.

European and APAC sellers name the Middle East/Africa as the most challenging region to sell into. But Europe's internal complexity is a challenge in itself.

Different currencies, languages, payment preferences, and regulatory requirements in every country.

Consider payment preferences alone:

• In North America, credit/debit cards dominate (48% of buyers' first choice)

• In Europe, PayPal outranks credit cards (32% vs. 23%)

• In APAC, digital wallets lead (32%)

  
  

If buying preferences vary this much across regions, imagine how much your messaging and positioning need to adapt. Hugo Pereira from Ritmoo puts it well:

What works in the Netherlands (sustainability messaging, exclusivity-based channel strategy) falls flat in Spain (where you need many smaller partners and a relationship-first approach). What converts in Germany (technical specs, detailed product information) won't necessarily work in France (where ROI-led pitches failed, but storytelling tripled close rates).

This is why copying your home-market playbook into new markets almost never works. As Filippo Irdi from OrderChamp puts it:

How to close the SaaS international expansion gap

The good news from the Cleverbridge report: sellers' top priorities for the next year actually align with the friction gaps the research uncovered. 35% plan to improve checkout experience, 32% want to expand into new markets, and 30% are focused on streamlining operations.

But priorities without action stay priorities forever. Here's how to start closing the gap:

1. Audit your full customer journey, not just your checkout

Map every touchpoint a customer in your target market has with your brand: website, ads, content, checkout, onboarding, billing, support, renewal. Where is the experience localized? Where isn't it? The Cleverbridge data shows that post-purchase friction is just as damaging as pre-purchase friction, but only 6% of sellers prioritize it.

2. Localize your content, not just your product

Your blog posts, case studies, landing pages, and email sequences are often the first thing a potential customer sees. If they're only in English, you're invisible to a huge part of your addressable market. Strategic localization means adapting your messaging to resonate with each market, not just translating words.

3. Start with a Minimum Viable Experience (MVE)

You don't need to localize everything on day one. Bjorn Ingmansson from Kognic recommends starting with a landing page and help center in the target language, then expanding from there. The key is to start, validate, and build.

4. Think like the buyer, not the seller

The biggest theme in the Cleverbridge data is the disconnect between what sellers optimize for and what buyers actually need. Sellers focus on checkout UX. Buyers want pricing transparency, familiar payment methods, and content in their language. Localization bridges that gap.

5. Build localization into your expansion strategy from the start

As Charlotte Jaakola from Advance B2B warns: "International expansion is massively underfunded." And Sjeel Koster adds: "As a CMO, you really need to take a stand and challenge the teams on what localization actually means." Don't treat it as an afterthought. It should be part of your go-to-market plan before you enter a new market.

What is the cost of poor localization in SaaS?

The Cleverbridge report puts a number on it. The average cart abandonment rate among software sellers is 27%. For a midsize SaaS company with $10M in annual online sales, reducing that rate from 27% to 10% could mean an extra $2.3M per year in recovered revenue.

Language and currency mismatch is a direct driver of that abandonment. But the cost goes beyond lost transactions. It includes:

• Buyers who never reach your checkout because your marketing didn't speak to them

• Prospects who don't trust your brand because the experience felt foreign

• Customers who churn because post-purchase communications weren't clear

• Markets you never entered because the operational complexity felt overwhelming

  
  

Localization is a revenue enabler, not a cost center. The companies that get this right, the ones the Cleverbridge report calls "Global Growth Leaders," are 2.5x more likely to localize every checkout touchpoint and 2.5x more likely to report high confidence in scaling globally.

FAQ

How many countries do most SaaS companies sell into?

According to the Cleverbridge Friction Report (2025), 60% of software companies sell into fewer than 10 countries. Only 4% reach 100 or more. This suggests a significant untapped market opportunity for companies willing to invest in localization and international expansion.

What is the biggest barrier to SaaS international expansion?

The report identifies multiple barriers, but localization consistently appears across the top challenges: 33% of sellers struggle with localizing for different markets, 40% find managing multiple payment methods and processing partners difficult, and 37% cite regulatory compliance. Companies that invest in localization infrastructure are significantly more confident in their ability to scale.

Do buyers really care about language and currency localization?

Yes. 96% of buyers say seeing prices in their local currency is important. 43% won't complete a purchase if the checkout isn't in their language. And 38% name localization as a top expectation when buying software. These numbers are hard to ignore.

What is the Minimum Viable Experience (MVE) approach to localization?

MVE is a phased approach to localization where you start with the essentials, typically a localized landing page, core product interface, and help center, then expand based on market validation and results. It lets you test a new market without committing to full localization upfront.

How does localization affect customer retention, not just acquisition?

The Cleverbridge data shows that 79% of buyers experience post-purchase frustrations. Key issues include confusing renewal pricing (29%), inability to reach support (31%), and difficulty canceling (36%). Localizing billing communications, support channels, and renewal flows reduces these friction points and protects retention.

Ready to close your localization gap?

If you're planning to expand into European markets, or already there but not seeing the results you expected, the problem might not be your product or your pricing. It might be your content.

At Undertow, we help B2B SaaS companies turn their content into a real go-to-market asset for international markets. Not just translating it, but adapting it to resonate with each audience. We work as your fractional localization team: plugging into your workflows, understanding your brand, and making sure your message lands the way it should in every market.

Get in touch with us to talk about your international expansion plans. No jargon. Just a conversation about your goals and how to get there.

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Data cited in this article comes from The Friction Report by Cleverbridge (2025), a survey of 715 software sellers and 1,081 buyers conducted in partnership with Ascend2.

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About the author: Nicola Calabrese is the co-founder and CEO of Undertow, a fractional localization team for B2B SaaS companies expanding internationally. He hosts The Multilingual Content Podcast, where he interviews founders, growth leaders, and localization experts about building global businesses. With over 15 years of experience in localization and 20+ languages under management, Nicola helps SaaS companies turn multilingual content into a growth engine.