diff --git a/include/fmt/compile.h b/include/fmt/compile.h
index eeba72db..b2183596 100644
--- a/include/fmt/compile.h
+++ b/include/fmt/compile.h
@@ -522,7 +522,7 @@ auto format_to_n(OutputIt out, size_t n, const S& fmt, T&&... args)
     -> format_to_n_result<OutputIt> {
   using traits = detail::fixed_buffer_traits;
   auto buf = detail::iterator_buffer<OutputIt, char, traits>(out, n);
-  fmt::format_to(std::back_inserter(buf), fmt, std::forward<T>(args)...);
+  fmt::format_to(appender(buf), fmt, std::forward<T>(args)...);
   return {buf.out(), buf.count()};
 }