Salla and Zid both have a free plan and paid plans at SAR 99 and SAR 299 a month. Shopify starts around SAR 146 a month, but because Shopify Payments is not available in Saudi Arabia it adds a 0.6% to 2% fee on every sale. At SAR 50,000 a month in sales, that fee alone can cost SAR 6,000 to 12,000 a year.
The plan prices, side by side
These are the published prices we checked in October 2026, before VAT. Salla and Zid price in riyals. Shopify prices in US dollars, so we have converted at 3.75.
- Salla Basic: free. Salla Plus: SAR 99 a month or SAR 990 a year. Salla Pro: SAR 299 a month or SAR 2,990 a year. Salla Special: custom price for larger merchants.
- Zid Starter: free. Zid Rise: SAR 99 a month. Zid Growth: SAR 299 a month, with 5 team members. Zid Professional: custom price, with 20 team members.
- Shopify Basic: about SAR 146 a month, or about SAR 109 a month paid yearly.
- Shopify Grow: about SAR 394 a month, or about SAR 296 a month paid yearly.
- Shopify Advanced: about SAR 1,496 a month, or about SAR 1,121 a month paid yearly.
Prices change often and both Salla and Zid run regular discounts. Check the live pricing page on the day you sign up, and look closely at what the free plans leave out, such as your own domain.
The Shopify fee most Saudi merchants find out about too late
Shopify Payments, Shopify's own checkout, is not available in Saudi Arabia. So a Saudi store has to use a third party gateway such as Tap, Moyasar, HyperPay or PayTabs. When you do that, Shopify charges its own extra fee on every order, on top of what the gateway charges you.
That extra fee is 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. Salla and Zid do not charge anything like it. You still pay your payment gateway on all three platforms, so the gateway cost cancels out in the comparison. The Shopify fee does not.
A worked example at SAR 50,000 a month
Take a store selling SAR 50,000 a month, paying monthly, and leave the payment gateway out because it is the same everywhere. Here is the platform cost alone.
- Salla Pro or Zid Growth: SAR 299 a month. About SAR 3,600 a year.
- Shopify Basic: SAR 146 plan plus SAR 1,000 in fees, so SAR 1,146 a month. About SAR 13,750 a year.
- Shopify Grow: SAR 394 plan plus SAR 500 in fees, so SAR 894 a month. About SAR 10,700 a year.
- Shopify Advanced: SAR 1,496 plan plus SAR 300 in fees, so SAR 1,796 a month. About SAR 21,550 a year.
If you are on Shopify Basic and selling more than about SAR 25,000 a month, moving to Grow is cheaper. Above that point the 1% you save on fees is bigger than the higher plan price.
So why does anyone in Saudi Arabia pick Shopify?
Because the cheapest platform is not always the one that makes you the most money. Shopify has the biggest theme and app ecosystem in the world, strong tools for selling across the GCC and abroad, and a lot of developers who know it well. If you plan to sell into the UAE, Kuwait and further, or your brand needs a very particular look, those things can be worth more than the fee.
Salla and Zid were built for Saudi merchants first. Arabic is the default rather than an add on, local payment methods like mada, Apple Pay, STC Pay, Tabby and Tamara connect with little effort, and the big Saudi couriers are already integrated. For a store that sells mainly inside the Kingdom, that saves real setup time.
How they compare on the things that matter day to day
- Arabic and RTL: Salla and Zid are Arabic first. Shopify handles Arabic well with the right theme, but needs more care.
- Payments: Salla and Zid have their own payment services plus local gateways. Shopify needs a third party gateway, and charges the extra fee above.
- Shipping: Salla and Zid have built in shipping with SMSA, Aramex, SPL, J&T and others at negotiated rates. On Shopify you install an app or connect a shipping aggregator.
- ZATCA e-invoicing: Salla and Zid include tax invoice settings on their paid plans. On Shopify you connect a certified e-invoicing app or your accounting system.
- Design freedom: Shopify gives you the most control. Salla and Zid themes are improving fast but you will hit limits sooner.
- Selling outside Saudi Arabia: Shopify is the strongest. Salla and Zid can sell to the GCC but are tuned for the Saudi market.
Which one we would pick, and when
- First store, selling mostly inside Saudi Arabia, small team: Salla or Zid. Start on the SAR 99 plan and move up when you need staff accounts or tax settings.
- You want to sell across the GCC and internationally from day one: Shopify, ideally on Grow once sales pass about SAR 25,000 a month.
- Your brand depends on a design no theme can give you: Shopify with a custom theme, or a fully custom store.
- You have complex pricing, an ERP to sync with, or very high volume: talk to someone about a custom build, because at that point platform fees and limits start to add up.
