In Saudi Arabia, Meta charges about SAR 0.19 for each WhatsApp marketing message and about SAR 0.04 to 0.05 for utility and login code messages. Replies to customers who messaged you in the last 24 hours are free. On top of that you pay your WhatsApp provider a monthly platform fee, which varies a lot between providers.
Why everyone in the Gulf is asking about this
Customers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE would rather message a business on WhatsApp than call it or fill in a form. So businesses want order updates, booking reminders and offers to go out on WhatsApp too. The free WhatsApp Business app stops working once you have more than a few staff or want to automate anything, which pushes people to the API. Then the question becomes: what does it actually cost?
Meta also changed how it bills. Since July 2025 you pay for each message delivered, not for 24 hour conversations, and Saudi marketing messages became more expensive in April 2026. A lot of older price guides are now wrong.
The price per message, by country
These are Meta's rates in US dollars from the rate card in October 2026, converted to local currency. Your provider may add a markup on top.
- Saudi Arabia, marketing: about USD 0.052, roughly SAR 0.19 per message.
- Saudi Arabia, utility and authentication: about USD 0.012, roughly SAR 0.04 to 0.05 per message.
- UAE, marketing: about USD 0.057, roughly AED 0.21 per message.
- UAE, utility and authentication: about USD 0.018, roughly AED 0.07 per message.
- Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman (Meta's Rest of Middle East group), marketing: about USD 0.039 per message.
- Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman, utility and authentication: about USD 0.010 per message.
You are charged by the country of the phone number you send to, not where your business is. A UAE company messaging Saudi customers pays the Saudi rate.
Which messages are free?
- Replies. When a customer messages you, a 24 hour window opens. Normal replies inside that window cost nothing.
- Utility templates inside that window, such as an order confirmation sent while the customer is still chatting with you.
- Messages after a click to WhatsApp ad or a Facebook page button. If you reply within 24 hours, a 72 hour free window opens.
- Everything else is paid: marketing messages always, and utility or login code messages sent outside an open window.
A worked example for a Saudi online store
Say you get 3,000 orders a month and send each customer two updates, one when the order ships and one when it is out for delivery. Most of these go out when the customer is not chatting with you, so assume they are all paid utility messages.
- Order updates: 6,000 utility messages at about SAR 0.045 = about SAR 270 a month.
- One weekly offer to 10,000 customers who opted in: 40,000 marketing messages at about SAR 0.19 = about SAR 7,600 a month.
- Customer service replies: free, however many there are.
- Provider platform fee: varies, so add your provider's monthly price to the total.
The order updates are cheap. Marketing is where the bill grows. Sending offers to a smaller, better targeted list usually brings in the same sales for a fraction of the cost.
WhatsApp vs SMS: which is cheaper?
Business SMS in Saudi Arabia costs roughly SAR 0.05 to 0.13 per message depending on the provider and how many you buy. You also need a registered sender name, and marketing SMS must use a sender name ending in -AD.
- Login codes (OTP): close to a tie. WhatsApp is about SAR 0.045, SMS about SAR 0.05 to 0.07 at volume. Many businesses send on WhatsApp first and fall back to SMS.
- Order and delivery updates: WhatsApp is similar in price and much richer. You can add buttons, tracking links and let the customer reply.
- Marketing: SMS is cheaper per message, often by two to three times. WhatsApp usually gets more people to read and click, so compare cost per sale, not cost per message.
Before you pick a WhatsApp provider
- Ask for the monthly platform fee and the per message markup separately, in writing.
- Check that their system works in Arabic, including message templates and the shared inbox.
- Make sure you own your WhatsApp number and can move it to another provider later.
- Check that it connects to your store or CRM, so updates are sent automatically and not by hand.
- Only message people who opted in. Meta limits how many marketing messages each person receives, and too many blocks will restrict your number.
