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Setup cost calculator

It adds up what the ministries publish, and lists separately what they do not. Nothing here is estimated on your behalf.

Last checked

Add up your setup fees

Four choices. It adds up published fees only, and names the items no ministry prices.

Entity type
Trade name language
Activity and ownership
Foreign employees

Published government fees, first year

SAR 2,155

Trade name reservation
SAR 200
Company establishment fee
SAR 1,200
Publication fee
SAR 500
VAT at 15%
SAR 255
From year two, each year
SAR 1,200

Work licences and expat levy for foreign staff, per year (2)

SAR 17,000 to SAR 18,400

The lower figure uses SAR 700 a month per worker where foreign staff do not outnumber Saudi staff; the higher one uses SAR 800 a month where they do. Both add the SAR 100 a year work licence. The ministry's table prints the higher annual amount as SAR 9,100 a year, so that is the figure used. Source: Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, rules for calculating the financial equivalent of work licences (PDF)

Section 5.1.1 of the investor guide sets minimum capital, a minimum Saudi share or extra conditions only for the activity types it lists.

Activity table: Ministry of Investment, Investor Guide (PDF, section 5.1.1)

Items no official page prices

Per foreign employee, ask for these in writing

A total of fees published as at 2026-09-16, not a quote. It leaves out consultant fees, translation, attestation and premises.

What the calculator counts

Four company fees, all from Ministry of Commerce service pages: the trade name reservation, the establishment fee for your company type, the publication fee of SAR 500, and 15% VAT. Year two onwards carries the annual confirmation of your registration data, which for an LLC is SAR 1,200.

For staff, it multiplies the labour ministry's own figures by the number of foreign employees you enter: the work licence at SAR 100 a year each, and the financial equivalent, which the ministry's table prints as SAR 8,400 a year where foreign staff do not outnumber Saudi staff and SAR 9,100 a year where they do. Which of the two applies depends on your payroll mix, so the result is shown as a range.

Ministry of Commerce establishment fee by company type General or limited partnership SAR 1,000, Limited liability company SAR 1,200, Joint stock or simplified joint stock SAR 1,600. Source: Ministry of Commerce. General or limited partnership SAR 1,000 Limited liability company SAR 1,200 Joint stock or simplified joint stock SAR 1,600
Source: Ministry of Commerce, Establishing a Company Under an Investment License
Show the numbers
Company typeEstablishment fee
General or limited partnershipSAR 1,000
Limited liability companySAR 1,200
Joint stock or simplified joint stockSAR 1,600

What it refuses to count

The investment registration fee itself is set by the ministry on approval, so no calculator can show it honestly. The same is true of the annual update, whose fee is set by the ministry on approval. For residence permits the investor guide lists only the fees of the issuing agency, with no amount, and GOSI's public law page describes who is covered without printing a rate.

Those are the lines to put in front of a consultant. A firm that quotes them confidently should be able to name the page the amount came from.

What it leaves out entirely

Consultant fees, legal translation, embassy attestation of your parent company documents, office space, the national address, medical insurance and bank account opening. They are real costs, but none of them is a published government fee, so none of them belongs in a calculator that claims to be sourced.

Where the full picture is

The calculator is the quick total. The commercial registration guide explains each company fee, the Iqama and levy guide covers staff, and the annual cost guide covers what repeats.