Building an app like Herfy in Saudi Arabia costs SAR 56,000 to SAR 190,000 or more, depending on whether you start from a pre-built platform or build from scratch. On top of that, Saudi-specific compliance work adds SAR 30,000 to SAR 90,000, and it isn’t optional.
This guide gives you the real cost to build an app like Herfy in Saudi Riyal, with a feature-by-feature breakdown, realistic timelines, and the local requirements most food ordering app cost guides skip: Mada integration, ZATCA e-invoicing, PDPL data rules and Arabic RTL design
What It Costs to Build an App Like Herfy
| Build type | What you get | Cost (SAR) | Approx. USD | Timeline |
| White-label launch | Pre-built customer, restaurant and driver apps rebranded as yours, plus admin dashboard | 56,000 to 94,000 | $15,000 to $25,000 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Custom MVP | Four apps built to your model, live tracking, Mada and multi-payment, admin panel | 94,000 to 188,000 | $25,000 to $50,000 | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Enterprise platform | Full multi-branch or marketplace build, AI features, POS integration | 188,000+ | $50,000+ | 16 to 24 weeks |
| Saudi compliance layer | Mada, STC Pay, ZATCA e-invoicing, PDPL consent flows, Arabic RTL | +30,000 to 90,000 | +$8,000 to $24,000 | runs in parallel |
Most restaurant owners in the Kingdom land in the white-label or custom MVP band. The enterprise figure applies when you’re running dozens of branches or opening a marketplace to other restaurants.
Apps like Herfy development cost scales with branch count more than with feature count, so a five-branch chain and a fifty-branch chain can sit in different bands even with an identical feature list.
Read the compliance layer as a separate line, not as part of a higher tier. It’s work every serious Saudi launch needs regardless of which build type you pick.
What Kind of App Are You Building?
Get this distinction right before you look at a single number, because it changes your whole budget.
Herfy runs a single-brand food ordering and delivery app. Customers browse Herfy’s own menu, order from Herfy branches, pay, and track delivery. It isn’t an open marketplace like HungerStation or Jahez where hundreds of restaurants list side by side.
That matters:
- Single-brand app (like Herfy): one menu, one brand, your own branches. Lower cost.
- Multi-restaurant marketplace: restaurant onboarding, commission engines, vendor dashboards for hundreds of partners. Substantially higher.
Most restaurant owners searching for this want the first type. This guide focuses there and flags where marketplace features change the price.
Why Saudi Arabia Is a Strong Market Right Now
Smartphone penetration in the Kingdom sits above 95%, the customer base skews young, and Vision 2030 has pushed digital payments hard through Mada and national wallets.
Globally, online food delivery was valued at $319.99 billion in 2025 and is projected to reach $350.63 billion in 2026, growing at roughly 9.58% a year through 2034 (Fortune Business Insights).
Growth like that is why food ordering app cost in Saudi Arabia has become a question for restaurant groups rather than just for tech startups. For a restaurant owner in Riyadh or Jeddah, though, the market number matters less than the margin one. Aggregators charge a percentage of every order. Moving your repeat customers to your own app keeps that money in the business and puts the customer data in your hands instead of the platform’s.
Saudi Rules That Add to Your Cost
This is where generic articles fall short. Ignore these and you risk rejection, fines, or a rebuild.
You Must Accept Mada
Mada is the national debit network, and a large share of Saudi customers pay with it. Your app needs Mada support, not just Visa and Mastercard. STC Pay and Apple Pay are also widely expected. Each gateway is a separate integration with its own cost and testing cycle.
Budget SAR 10,000 to SAR 25,000 for a proper multi-gateway setup covering Mada, STC Pay, Apple Pay and cards.
ZATCA E-Invoicing (Fatoora)
If your app issues tax invoices, it must comply with ZATCA’s e-invoicing rules, including QR codes and structured invoice formats. Building this in from the start is far cheaper than retrofitting it. Confirm current requirements on the ZATCA portal, since the phases have moved before.
Budget SAR 8,000 to SAR 25,000.
PDPL Data Protection Rules
The Personal Data Protection Law governs how you collect, store and process customer data. Your app needs proper consent flows, secure storage and data handling that meets SDAIA’s rules. This affects backend design, not just a privacy policy page.
Budget SAR 6,000 to SAR 20,000.
Arabic and English in One App
Your app has to work fully in Arabic with right-to-left layouts, not just translated strings. Bilingual Arabic and English is standard in the Kingdom, and doing it properly is a design and development task rather than an afterthought.
Budget SAR 6,000 to SAR 20,000.
Where Your Data Is Stored
Some data may need to stay within Saudi Arabia or the region. Plan your cloud setup around this early, because migrating later is expensive.
Hire Experts for Herfy-Like App Development
Work with skilled app developers delivering food delivery app solutions designed for sustainable business growth and success.
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Must-Have Features and What They Cost
| Feature | What it does | Cost (SAR) |
| User registration and login | Sign up via phone, email or social | 6,000 to 12,000 |
| Menu and product catalog | Categories, items, images, prices | 8,000 to 16,000 |
| Search and filters | Find items fast | 5,000 to 10,000 |
| Cart and checkout | Add, edit, confirm orders | 8,000 to 15,000 |
| Order placement and history | Place orders, view past ones | 6,000 to 12,000 |
| Payment gateway (Mada + cards) | Accept the methods Saudi customers use | 10,000 to 25,000 |
| Push notifications | Order updates, offers | 4,000 to 9,000 |
| Basic admin panel | Manage menu and orders | 12,000 to 25,000 |
Get these right and you have a working, revenue-generating app. Everything below is an upgrade.
Extra Features Worth Adding Later
| Feature | Value to your business | Cost (SAR) |
| Live GPS order tracking | Customers see driver location, fewer support calls | 12,000 to 30,000 |
| Loyalty and rewards | Repeat orders, higher lifetime value | 15,000 to 35,000 |
| In-app wallet | Faster checkout, prepaid balance | 15,000 to 32,000 |
| Driver app | Run your own delivery fleet | 25,000 to 55,000 |
| Multi-branch routing | Send orders to the nearest branch | 18,000 to 40,000 |
| Ratings and reviews | Social proof, quality feedback | 8,000 to 18,000 |
| Promo codes and offers | Run campaigns, lift basket size | 10,000 to 22,000 |
| AI recommendations | Personalized menus, bigger orders | 18,000 to 45,000 |
| Analytics dashboard | Track sales, customers, peak hours | 14,000 to 32,000 |
You don’t need all of these at launch. Live tracking and a loyalty program usually give a single-brand restaurant the best early return.
Which Technology to Use
| Layer | Common choices |
| Frontend (cross-platform) | Flutter, React Native |
| Frontend (native) | Swift for iOS, Kotlin for Android |
| Backend | Node.js, Python (Django), Laravel |
| Database | PostgreSQL, MongoDB |
| Cloud and hosting | AWS, Google Cloud, Firebase |
| Real-time | Firebase, WebSockets |
| Maps and tracking | Google Maps API |
| Payments (Saudi) | Mada, STC Pay, HyperPay, PayTabs, Moyasar, Apple Pay |
| Notifications | Firebase Cloud Messaging |
For most Saudi restaurant apps, Flutter on the front with Node.js on AWS or Firebase gives fast development, lower cost and room to grow. Cross-platform cuts frontend cost by 30% to 40% against building native twice.
How Long the Build Takes
| Build type | Design | Development | Testing | Total |
| White-label | 1 week | 1 to 2 weeks | 1 week | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Custom MVP | 2 to 3 weeks | 5 to 7 weeks | 1 to 2 weeks | 8 to 12 weeks |
| Enterprise | 4 to 6 weeks | 10 to 16 weeks | 2 to 4 weeks | 16 to 24 weeks |
Compliance work runs alongside development rather than after it. ZATCA and PDPL requirements shape the backend, so raise them in week one.
What It Costs to Run After Launch
| Cost item | Frequency | Cost (SAR/year) |
| Hosting and cloud | Monthly | 8,000 to 40,000 |
| Bug fixes and updates | Ongoing | 15,000 to 50,000 |
| OS compatibility updates | Yearly | 10,000 to 30,000 |
| Payment gateway fees | Per transaction | 1% to 2.75% per order |
| App Store and Play fees | Yearly / one-time | ~375 (Apple), ~95 (Google) |
Plan for 15% to 20% of build cost per year. Budgeting this from day one keeps the app healthy.
How Your App Makes Money
- Direct sales margin: The core model. You keep the full margin instead of paying aggregator commission on every order.
- Delivery fees: Charge for delivery, or make it free above a minimum order to lift basket size.
- Loyalty-driven repeat orders: A rewards program turns one-time buyers into regulars.
- In-app promotions: Feature high-margin items, combos and limited offers.
- Subscription plans: A paid tier with free delivery and perks.
For a single-brand restaurant, the biggest financial win is simply owning the customer relationship. An app that costs SAR 150,000 pays for itself quickly if it moves even a modest share of orders off commission-heavy platforms.
Advice for Restaurant Owners
Start Small: Launch with core ordering, get real customers, then add loyalty and advanced tools based on what they actually use.
Keep Your Customer Data: The main reason to leave aggregators is control. Make sure your app captures customer info, order history and preferences.
Get Mada and Arabic Right at Launch: These aren’t optional in Saudi Arabia, and retrofitting them costs more than building them in.
Do Not Over-Build Early: AI recommendations and multi-branch dispatch are powerful once you have order volume. Before that, they’re cost with no return.
Pick a Partner Who Knows Saudi Arabia: Compliance, payment gateways and Arabic design need someone who has shipped it before. Ask for case studies, and if you’re comparing several teams, the same shortlisting questions that work for any food delivery build apply here too.
Budget for Maintenance. 15% to 20% of build cost, yearly, permanently.
Building for Another Country?
The cost to develop an app like Herfy is the same underlying build as anywhere else, priced for Saudi Arabia and loaded with Saudi compliance. Move it to Dubai and the compliance layer changes completely, which is why a Talabat-style build prices differently in AED despite covering the same four apps. Strip local requirements out altogether and you are left with the base food delivery app development cost, which is where every one of these market-specific numbers starts.
Why Work With Comfygen
Comfygen has delivered 550+ projects for 400+ clients across 30+ countries since 2019, with a 97% client retention rate. The food delivery app development team builds online food ordering apps end to end, from Arabic-first UI/UX to Mada and ZATCA integration to scalable cloud backends.
Every build ships four connected products: a customer app, a restaurant app, a driver app and a web admin panel. Projects run in two-week sprints with a working demo at the end of each one, and full source code ownership transfers at delivery with no license fee. Restaurant groups scoping a custom food ordering platform around their own branch structure usually start with a call before any code is written.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Mr. Saddam Husen, (CTO)
Mr. Saddam Husen, CTO at Comfygen, is a renowned Blockchain expert and IT consultant with extensive experience in blockchain development, crypto wallets, DeFi, ICOs, and smart contracts. Passionate about digital transformation, he helps businesses harness blockchain technology’s potential, driving innovation and enhancing IT infrastructure for global success.
