OTP SMS providers in Saudi Arabia (2026): prices, sender names and what to check

Who this is for

You are building a Saudi app or store and need to send a one-time code to a Saudi mobile number, by SMS and maybe WhatsApp. You want to know who can do it, what it costs, and what the catch is. This is the comparison we wished existed when we started, with every number taken from the provider's own public page and the date we checked it. Tawked is in the table too; we say plainly where we are not the cheapest.

The short answer

• You will pay somewhere between 6.9 and 13 halalas per SMS with a Saudi gateway, and about 73 halalas with a global provider. The Saudi gateways list prices in riyals including VAT; the global ones list US dollars before tax and charge per 160-character segment.
• Almost everyone charges per message sent. Tawked charges per code delivered. A failed send is not billed.
• A sender name is a yearly fee at the gateways (SAR 230 a year on the public lists we found) and included at Tawked.
• Only an OTP product gives you the verification logic. A gateway sells the message; code generation, expiry, attempt limits and abuse protection are yours to build.

The comparison

Provider	What it is	Public price for one Saudi SMS	Charged when	Sender name	OTP logic included
Tawked	OTP verification API (SMS and WhatsApp)	SAR 0.09 per delivered code	Delivered	Reviewed, included	Yes: codes, expiry, attempts, limits, webhooks
OurSMS	Saudi bulk SMS gateway	SAR 0.13 to 0.069 per message by package (1,000 to 100,000), VAT included	Sent	Not listed on the price page	No
4Jawaly	Saudi bulk SMS gateway	12, 10 or 8 halalas by volume tier, VAT included	Sent	SAR 230 per year, VAT included	No
Msegat	Saudi SMS gateway (points system)	Loaded dynamically; no static price on the page	Sent	SAR 230 per year (FAQ)	No
Unifonic	Saudi CPaaS	No public price page; contact sales	Sent	Not listed	Separate products
Twilio	Global CPaaS	USD 0.1949 per segment (about SAR 0.73)	Sent	Alphanumeric sender free, registration through a local partner	Separate product (Verify)
Plivo	Global CPaaS	USD 0.1949 to STC, 0.2288 to Mobily, 0.2693 to Zain per message	Sent	Not listed	Separate product

All prices checked on 2026-09-09 on the pages listed under Sources. Riyal conversions use USD 1 = SAR 3.75. Tawked's price is the one on its pricing page; whether a provider's figure includes VAT is stated where the provider states it.

What the table does not show

Delivery versus sending. A gateway bills the moment it accepts the message. Networks reject or drop a share of messages (wrong numbers, ported numbers, filtered content, handset off for hours). If you pay per sent message, that share is money spent on nothing. If you pay per delivered code, it is not.

Segments. Global providers price per 160-character segment for Latin text and 70 characters for Arabic. An Arabic OTP message with a brand line and an autofill line can be two segments. Saudi gateways and Tawked price per message.

The logic you still have to write. With a gateway you generate the code, store it hashed, expire it, count attempts, throttle a number that asks for codes ten times a minute, refund yourself when a send fails, and log everything for support. An OTP API does that for you. That is the real cost difference at small and mid volumes, not the halalas.

Volume pricing. At 100,000 messages a month a bulk gateway's per-message price can fall below Tawked's. If you send that much and already have the verification logic built and maintained, a gateway can be cheaper per message. Below that, the built-in logic and the delivered-only billing usually win.

What to check before you sign up

1. Is the provider licensed by CST (the Communications, Space and Technology Commission) or sending through one that is? Sender names in Saudi Arabia are registered through a licensed provider; a global provider needs a local partner for that.
2. Does the price include VAT? Saudi gateways usually say so; global providers price before tax.
3. Are you charged per sent or per delivered message?
4. What does the sender name cost, and how long does registration take? Public lists show SAR 230 a year; providers quote anything from a couple of days to a few weeks for registration.
5. Can you send real test messages before approval? Tawked's sandbox sends real, stamped SMS to your own phone from day one.
6. Do the docs exist in the language your team reads? Arabic documentation is rare at global providers.
7. Is WhatsApp available as a second channel from the same integration? Meta's authentication templates cost less than an SMS per message in Saudi Arabia (see our SMS versus WhatsApp post), but they need an approved template and a data connection on the phone.

Where Tawked fits

Tawked is the OTP verification API in that table: one call to send a code by SMS or WhatsApp to a Saudi number, one call to check it, SAR 0.09 per delivered SMS code, prepaid, no contract, the sender name reviewed and included. It is not a bulk SMS gateway and does not try to be one; if you want to send marketing campaigns, pick a gateway. If you want your sign-in to work, the two calls are documented at tawked.com/en/docs and every limit is listed on the features page.

Sources (checked 2026-09-09)

• Tawked pricing: https://tawked.com/en/pricing
• OurSMS pricing: https://www.oursms.com/en/pricing
• 4Jawaly pricing: https://www.4jawaly.com/en/pricing
• Msegat FAQ (sender name fee): https://www.msegat.com/en/faqs
• Twilio SMS pricing, Saudi Arabia: https://www.twilio.com/en-us/sms/pricing/sa
• Plivo SMS pricing, Saudi Arabia: https://www.plivo.com/sms/pricing/sa/
• CST, Regulations of the Provision of the Short Messaging Service (SMS), Decision 515/1445 of 2024-02-08: https://www.cst.gov.sa/en/regulations-and-licenses/regulations/Document-1560

If a price above is out of date, write to support@tawked.com and we will correct it with the new check date.