Almost every Saudi agency hides pricing behind a contact form. Here are the actual numbers, the ranges each type of project falls into, and the three variables that move a quote more than anything else.
The short answer
A professional bilingual website in Saudi Arabia costs between SAR 15,000 and SAR 90,000 for most businesses. Simple brochure sites sit at the bottom of that band, corporate sites with a content management system sit in the middle, and ecommerce or custom platforms start around SAR 40,000 and rise with integration complexity.
Those numbers assume an established agency with in-Kingdom delivery, Arabic and English as equal languages, and a real design process. You can pay less. Freelancers and offshore shops quote SAR 3,000 to SAR 10,000, and template resellers less again. Whether that is a bargain depends entirely on what happens in month seven.
| Project type | Typical range (excl. VAT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page or one-pager | SAR 5,000 – 12,000 | 1–2 weeks |
| Brochure website (5–10 pages, bilingual) | SAR 15,000 – 35,000 | 4–7 weeks |
| Corporate website (15–40 pages, CMS) | SAR 35,000 – 90,000 | 7–12 weeks |
| Ecommerce store (Salla or Shopify) | SAR 40,000 – 110,000 | 8–12 weeks |
| Custom ecommerce / headless | SAR 110,000 – 300,000 | 14–24 weeks |
| Web application or portal | SAR 120,000+ | 16 weeks+ |
All figures exclude the 15% Saudi VAT. Timelines assume content and feedback arrive on schedule — in practice, client-side delays are the single largest cause of overrun on Saudi projects.
What you are actually paying for
Website quotes vary by a factor of ten for the same page count because the word "website" describes an outcome, not a scope. Two quotes at SAR 12,000 and SAR 60,000 may both be honest and both be correct for what they include.
Design: template versus bespoke
A purchased theme with your logo dropped in costs a few thousand riyals and looks like the four hundred other Saudi businesses using the same theme. Bespoke design — research, wireframes, two or three visual directions, iteration — is usually SAR 12,000 to SAR 40,000 of the total. It is also the part that determines whether visitors trust you in the first three seconds.
Arabic: parity versus translation
This is where cheap quotes hide the most. Running your English copy through machine translation and flipping the CSS direction is not an Arabic website. Real Arabic parity means right-to-left layouts designed as their own thing, native copywriting rather than translation, Arabic typography that is actually readable at body size, and QA by someone who reads Arabic. Budget 30% to 50% on top of a single-language build.
Content: supplied versus produced
If you hand over finished bilingual copy and licensed photography, you remove a large chunk of cost and several weeks of calendar time. If the agency writes, translates, art-directs and shoots, that is a separate professional service and should appear as a distinct line item on your quote. If it does not appear at all, ask why.
Integrations
Every connection to an external system — ERP, CRM, payment gateway, courier API, legacy database — needs discovery, build, error handling and testing. A single non-trivial integration commonly adds SAR 8,000 to SAR 30,000. This is the line most often missed in initial quotes and most often responsible for change orders later.
The cheapest website is rarely the one with the lowest quote. It is the one you do not have to rebuild in eighteen months.
The three variables that move the number most
- Unique template count. Ten pages sharing two templates cost far less than ten pages each needing bespoke design. Consolidating templates is the fastest way to reduce a quote without damaging the result.
- Number of integrations. Each external system connection carries discovery, build, error-handling and test cost. Be honest about these at scoping stage — they do not get cheaper by being discovered in week nine.
- Who produces content. Supplied, finished, bilingual content can cut both the quote and the timeline by a third.
Ongoing costs nobody mentions in the quote
The build price is not the total cost of ownership. Budget for the following annually:
- Hosting: SAR 1,200 – 18,000 per year depending on traffic and whether in-Kingdom residency is required
- Domain: SAR 60 – 400 per year
- SSL certificate: free with most modern hosts, or SAR 300 – 2,000 for extended validation
- Maintenance and security patching: SAR 1,500 – 9,000 per month
- Content updates: either internal staff time or an agency retainer
- SEO and marketing: SAR 6,000 – 30,000 per month if you want the site to be found
A common and expensive mistake is to spend the entire budget on the build and nothing on being found. A beautiful website that nobody visits is an expensive brochure.
Red flags in a Saudi website quote
- No line-item breakdown. A single number with no detail is impossible to compare and easy to dispute later.
- Arabic listed as "translation". This almost always means machine translation and a flipped stylesheet.
- No mention of who owns the code. If ownership is not stated, assume you do not get it.
- Unlimited revisions. Either it is untrue or the price already assumes you will not use them.
- No hosting or maintenance discussion. The costs still exist; they have just been left out of the conversation.
- A timeline with no dependencies. Real timelines state what the agency needs from you and by when.
How to get a realistic quote quickly
Give any agency five things and you will get an accurate number within a couple of days instead of a vague range after three meetings:
- A rough page list or sitemap, even hand-written
- Two or three websites you like, and one sentence on why for each
- The languages you need and whether Arabic is primary
- A list of systems the site must connect to
- Your actual budget band
The last one causes the most hesitation and saves the most time. Naming a range does not invite a padded quote from a reputable firm — it lets them tell you honestly whether the scope you want fits the money you have, before either side spends a week on a proposal that was never viable.
Is a cheaper option ever right?
Yes, frequently. A new business validating an idea, a single-location service business, or an event that needs a page for six weeks does not need a SAR 60,000 build. A well-configured Salla store or a good template on WordPress, set up carefully, is the correct commercial decision in plenty of cases.
The mistake is not buying cheap. The mistake is buying cheap while expecting enterprise outcomes — and discovering the gap after the launch party.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a basic website cost in Saudi Arabia?+
A basic bilingual brochure website of five to ten pages typically costs SAR 15,000 to SAR 35,000 from an established Saudi agency, excluding 15% VAT. Landing pages and single-page sites start around SAR 5,000.
Why do website quotes in Saudi Arabia vary so much?+
Because "website" describes an outcome rather than a scope. The main differences are bespoke versus template design, genuine Arabic parity versus machine translation, who produces content, and how many external systems the site integrates with.
Is VAT included in website pricing?+
Usually not. Saudi agencies normally quote excluding the 15% VAT, which is added at invoice. Always confirm which basis a quote uses before comparing.
How much does website maintenance cost in Saudi Arabia?+
Monthly maintenance covering security patching, backups, uptime monitoring and minor content updates typically runs SAR 1,500 to SAR 9,000 per month depending on the platform and response-time commitments.
Should I use a freelancer or an agency?+
A freelancer can be excellent value for a small, well-defined site. Agencies make more sense when you need multiple disciplines at once, guaranteed continuity, and someone accountable if a key person becomes unavailable mid-project.
How long does a website take to build in Saudi Arabia?+
Four to seven weeks for a brochure site, seven to twelve weeks for a corporate site with a CMS, and fourteen weeks or more for ecommerce and custom platforms — assuming content and approvals arrive on time.