WhatsApp platform3 min read
WhatsApp Business API in Saudi Arabia: setup guide
By Shraddha Agarwal
The short answer: To get the WhatsApp Business API in Saudi Arabia, you need a Meta business portfolio, a number you own and a matching display name. Meta charges SAR 0.2159 per marketing template and SAR 0.0401 per utility template to a Saudi number.
Marketing also needs prior consent under Article 25 of the Personal Data Protection Law, covered below.
The WhatsApp Business API lets software answer customers, run several agents on one number and send approved messages at scale. Our app versus API guide covers when the free app is enough.
What you need before you start
A Saudi business needs four things for the WhatsApp Business API, and only the first three on day one.
- A Meta business portfolio in your company's name, not an agency's. It holds your WhatsApp account, numbers and templates.
- A phone number you own that can receive a code by text or call. An eligible WhatsApp Business app number can connect with an in-app code, with up to six months of chats copied in.
- A display name customers recognize, in Arabic if that is how they know you. Meta checks it when your limit rises.
- Business verification, when you want to scale. Meta checks a document such as your commercial registration, and your daily limit rises.
The blue tick is optional: Meta grants it separately to verified, well-known businesses. Our blue tick guide covers how to apply.
How long setup takes
You can set up the WhatsApp Business API in Saudi Arabia and reply to customers the same day.
- Connecting: Meta's signup window. Add the number and confirm the code.
- Replying: straight away. A reply inside the 24-hour window needs no template.
- Messages you start: need an approved template. Meta reviews each within 24 hours, so submit Arabic and English versions together.
- Daily limit: 250 people a day before verification, 2,000 after, and more as your messages rate well.
Our guide to messaging limits explains how the limit grows.
What the API costs in Saudi Arabia
A WhatsApp marketing message to a Saudi (+966) number costs SAR 0.2159 on Meta's SAR card, priced by the recipient's country, not yours:
| Message | SAR per delivered message |
|---|---|
| Marketing template | 0.2159 |
| Utility or authentication template | 0.0401 |
| Your reply inside the 24-hour window | Free for 1,000 a month per number, then 0.0401 |
| Messages customers send you | Free |
A Riyadh business messaging a UAE customer pays the UAE rate. The pricing guide has the full Saudi and UAE cards and a worked month in SAR, and the WhatsApp API cost calculator prices your own month.
Your software provider bills on top. With Otobiz, WhatsApp starts on the Pro plan at US$39 a month billed yearly, with unlimited messages, a 14-day free trial and no markup on Meta's fees. See Otobiz pricing.
Saudi rules for WhatsApp marketing messages
WhatsApp marketing in Saudi Arabia must meet both Meta's policy and the Personal Data Protection Law.
Meta's policy. Message first only people who gave you their number and agreed to hear from you. A customer who writes first has not agreed to later promotions; our opt-in guide shows how to ask.
Saudi law. Article 25 of the Personal Data Protection Law requires prior consent before you use someone's contact details for direct marketing. The implementing regulations add:
- an easy way to stop receiving messages;
- your business named as the sender;
- stop requests honored promptly.
Service messages the customer asked for, such as an order update, are not direct marketing.
Official API or a bulk sender
Bulk senders and browser extensions are not the official WhatsApp Business API: they risk a ban and cannot send approved templates. See our bulk sender comparison.
When comparing providers in Saudi Arabia, check:
- the account stays in your own Meta business;
- how Meta's fees are billed, and any markup;
- how well replies work in Arabic;
- what happens to your number if you leave.
Why Otobiz for Saudi businesses
Otobiz is a UAE company serving businesses across Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. It connects your number to the official WhatsApp Business API inside your own Meta business.
- AI replies in Arabic, English and any language your customers write in, from information you approve.
- Refunds, payment issues and requests for a person go to your team, as do questions the AI can't answer.
- Your team answers from one shared inbox, and campaigns check consent and opt-outs before sending.
