Riyadh, Saudi Arabia App Development
App Development Company in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
We design and build mobile apps, web apps and customer portals for companies in Riyadh and across Saudi Arabia. They're Arabic-first, with proper right-to-left interfaces, they support the payment and sign-in methods Saudi users expect, and they handle personal data the way the PDPL requires. Product work runs from our Dubai studio with your Riyadh team.
Talk to us about RiyadhWhat's included
Discovery before code
Workshops over video to agree who the users are, what the first release must do and what can wait, written up as a scope your board can sign off.
Arabic-first interface design
Screens designed in Arabic with mirrored navigation, gestures and icons, a deliberate choice of Arabic or Western numerals, and English as a full alternative.
Saudi sign-in and payments
Nafath national sign-in where your service qualifies, phone OTP through a CST-licensed SMS provider where it doesn't, and mada, Apple Pay, STC Pay, Tabby or Tamara for payments.
Mobile, web and portal builds
React Native apps for iOS and Android and web apps or portals sharing one backend, so features ship to every platform together.
Data handling under the PDPL
Consent flows, data minimisation, retention rules, and a written answer on where each kind of data is stored and whether it ever leaves the Kingdom.
Launch and after
App Store and Google Play submission, crash and performance monitoring, and a support plan for the fixes and features that follow release.
App Development in Riyadh
What Saudi users expect from an app
Saudi users are used to well-made apps. They log in to government services with Nafath, pay with mada through Apple Pay without thinking about it, and split purchases with Tabby or Tamara. Their banking apps are fast and fully Arabic. That sets the bar for yours.
In practice, a Riyadh app needs a few things an imported template won’t give you:
- Real Arabic, right to left. Not a translation layer over an English layout. Typography, alignment, numerals and the direction of every animation have to work in Arabic.
- Familiar sign-in. Nafath for services where identity matters and approval is granted, phone OTP for everything else, with SMS sent under a registered sender name as CST rules require.
- Local payments. mada through a Saudi gateway, Apple Pay, STC Pay, and buy-now-pay-later where basket sizes justify it.
- Arabic support and notifications, so push messages, emails and error states don’t suddenly switch to English.
Building for the PDPL and the NCA
Data rules in Saudi Arabia shape architecture decisions, so we deal with them in discovery, not at launch.
The Personal Data Protection Law has been fully enforced by SDAIA since 14 September 2024. It covers consent, purpose limits, data subject rights and transfers outside the Kingdom. If your app collects names, phone numbers, locations or health details, the PDPL decides what you can collect, how long you keep it, and where it can go.
If you sell to government entities or operate critical infrastructure, the National Cybersecurity Authority’s Essential Cybersecurity Controls apply as well, including controls on cloud hosting. Fintech and health apps carry sector rules on top. We document these choices so your compliance team, and your future auditors, can see why the app is built the way it is.
Where a custom app makes sense in Riyadh
Not every idea needs an app. A good mobile website handles plenty. A custom build earns its keep when:
- Customers come back often, as with bookings, reorders, loyalty or account management.
- Your team works in the field, across Riyadh’s districts or between cities, and needs offline-capable tools.
- You’re replacing spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups that no longer cope with the volume of orders or jobs.
- Your Saudi entity needs its own systems, separate from a global group’s tools, often with Arabic interfaces the parent company never needed.
How we run a build from Dubai
We’ve built software products end to end, including SmartVin, a SaaS platform for vehicle recyclers where we handled product design, development and brand. We’ve also shipped browser extensions and desktop apps of our own, such as the Search Location Changer extension and GBP Rank Tracker.
A Riyadh project runs in short cycles. Discovery and a clickable prototype come first, reviewed with your team over video. Then two-week sprints, each ending with a build you can install and test. Dubai is an hour ahead of Riyadh, so a morning stand-up works for both offices.
Related services
Apps rarely live alone. Leads and customer records usually belong in a CRM wired to WhatsApp for Riyadh teams, and your marketing site should come from the same design system, so see our Riyadh website design. Our full approach is on the web and mobile app development service. You can also see everything we do in Riyadh or our app development for Jeddah.
Selected work
How we work
- 01
Discovery
Short working sessions to pin down users, the one workflow that matters most, the data involved and what can wait. You get a written scope at the end.
- 02
Clickable prototype
The key screens designed and linked so you can put them in front of real users before production code exists.
- 03
Build in short cycles
Working software on a test environment every two weeks, reviewed with you, so changes happen while they're still cheap.
- 04
Beta with real users
A small group uses the app on real work. We fix what they trip over and measure whether the core workflow gets done.
- 05
Launch and support
Store submissions or go-live, monitoring, and an agreed support arrangement for fixes, updates and the next features.
Questions
Can you build an app with Nafath login?
Often, yes. Nafath is the national single sign-on run by the National Information Center under SDAIA, and many banks, telecoms and private services use it. Access for private apps goes through an approval process and not every use case qualifies. Where it does, we build the flow; where it doesn't, we use phone verification.
Does our app's data have to stay in Saudi Arabia?
Not always. The PDPL allows transfers outside the Kingdom under conditions set by SDAIA's transfer regulation, such as standard contractual clauses. Government entities and critical infrastructure operators face stricter NCA controls, and regulated sectors like finance have their own rules. We map which apply before choosing where to host.
Do you build apps in Arabic and English?
Yes, and we design the Arabic first. Right-to-left layouts need more than flipped text: navigation, swipe gestures, progress indicators and charts all change direction, and some icons shouldn't. Designing in Arabic from the start avoids an English app with Arabic squeezed in afterwards.
What kinds of apps make sense for a Riyadh company?
Customer portals for B2B suppliers, booking apps for clinics and service businesses, field-team tools for maintenance and logistics, loyalty apps for restaurants and retail, and internal dashboards that replace spreadsheets. The good ones usually start smaller than the founder imagines and grow from real usage.
Can you work with our in-house developers in Riyadh?
Yes. Some clients want us to own the whole build; others want product design and architecture from us and development shared with their team. We work in your repository, follow your review process, and hand over documentation so your team isn't dependent on us.
How much does app development cost in Saudi Arabia?
It depends on the platforms, the number of user types, the integrations involved, and how much of the backend already exists. We scope after a discovery call, and often recommend a smaller first release so you learn from real users sooner.