Should I learn Spain Spanish or Latin American Spanish?

Choose the one you're most likely to hear and use. If you plan to live in Spain or have Spanish friends or family, learn Spain Spanish. For most other people, especially in the Americas, Latin American Spanish is the more practical choice, since far more speakers live there. Either way, the two are far more alike than different.

They're the same language

Spain Spanish and Latin American Spanish share the same grammar, almost the same vocabulary and the same writing system. A Mexican and a Spaniard understand each other without trouble. The differences are mostly accent, a handful of words, and a couple of grammar habits.

If you learn one, you will be able to communicate with speakers of the other. It's a bit like American and British English.

The main differences

Vosotros. Spain uses vosotros for informal "you all". Latin America uses ustedes for everyone. See do I need to learn vosotros.
Pronunciation. In much of Spain, z and c before e or i sound like English "th". In Latin America they sound like "s".
Vocabulary. Coche (car) in Spain, carro or auto in much of Latin America. Ordenador versus computadora for computer.
Tenses. Spain uses the present perfect more often for recent past events.

For a closer look, see Mexican vs Spain Spanish.

Latin America is not one accent

"Latin American Spanish" covers about twenty countries with big differences. Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Chile and the Caribbean all sound distinct. If you choose Latin American Spanish, you'll probably start with a fairly neutral accent (Mexican or Colombian are common choices) and add others later.

How to decide

Ask yourself:

Where will I use it? Travel, family, work or study plans point to a place.
Who do I know? Having a Spanish speaker in your life often decides it.
What content do I like? Shows, music and podcasts from a country make learning more fun.
Is there a local community? In the US and many other places, Latin American Spanish is what you'll meet day to day.

If none of these point anywhere, go with Latin American Spanish, and probably a Mexican-leaning accent, since it's widely understood and has lots of learner content.

Don't overthink it

Early on, the differences barely matter. You'll learn the same core grammar and the most common words either way. Later, you can listen to other accents and adapt. Many learners end up mixing a bit and it's fine, as I explain in mixing Spanish dialects.

Pick one, stick with it for your first year, and get on with learning. You can broaden whenever you want. If a regional word trips you up along the way, Langtok, the app I built, lets you tap any word in a short story to see its translation.