Apps Every Expat Needs in Riyadh

Why Apps Are Your Best Friend in Riyadh

If Riyadh had a motto, it might well be: “There’s an app for that.” From government services to grocery deliveries, life here genuinely runs on your phone.

Without them, you’ll end up in an endless queue (the wrong one, usually) or missing dinner because you didn’t realise half the city had ordered shawarma at the same time.

Think of this list as your shortcut to feeling like a seasoned expat fast. Download these before you arrive, and you’ll glide through those early days with fewer meltdowns at the supermarket checkout.

My Must Have Saudi Apps

The Essentials: Admin & Government

• Absher – your digital key to Saudi bureaucracy: Iqama renewals, exit-re-entry visas, traffic fines.

• SPL (Saudi Post) – set up your Wasel address to receive deliveries.

• Sehhaty – for healthcare, vaccination records, and booking medical appointments.

• Nafath – used for secure logins to a range of government services.

• Najm – crucial if you’re in a car accident; it’s how you file the report.

Sarah’s Tip: Absher is the “don’t leave home without it” app. Bookmark your login — you’ll use it weekly.

Money Made Simple: Banking & Payments

• Local bank apps – NCB, Al Rajhi, Riyad Bank (you’ll need one as soon as your Iqama comes through).

• STC Pay – smooth for bill settling, transfers, and quick payments.

• Wise – the easiest way to send money home without punishing fees.

Sarah’s Tip: Keep both a local bank app and Wise. When school fees land, you’ll be grateful you’ve got options.

Getting Around: Maps & Transport

• Google Maps / Waze – Riyadh traffic is real; Waze often has the edge.

• Careem / Uber – reliable rides across the city.

• Jeeny / Bolt – budget-friendly alternatives when surge pricing hits.

• Sayara – for car rentals.

• Morni – roadside assistance in case your car gives up in the desert.

• SAR (Saudi Railways) – handy for train trips to Dammam or Qassim.

Sarah’s Tip: Careem is family-friendly (yes, car seats).JEENY is a lifesaver on busy weekends when Uber prices soar.

Grocery apps... saves you from wasting hours pounding the gigantic shopping aisles

Groceries & Everyday Shopping

• Carrefour, Lulu, Tamimi – order your weekly shop direct to your door.

• Danube Online – loved for its wide selection.

• Amazon.sa / Noon / Temu / iHerb – for everything from vitamins to gadgets.

• IKEA, Starbucks, Sufra – brand apps with built-in loyalty perks.

Sarah’s Tip: Carrefour’s app often has promo codes. Lulu is unbeatable for bulk bargains (family-size peanut butter jars, anyone?).

Food Delivery: Your Lifeline

• HungerStation – the biggest coverage, huge variety.

• Jahez – slick and speedy.

• Mrsool – for when you need more than dinner (yes, they’ll fetch forgotten milk or printer ink).

• The Chefz / ToYou / Lugmety / Shgardi / DailyMealz – worth a scroll if you want variety.

Sarah’s Tip: HungerStation is great for variety, Jahez is quicker, Mrsool is your “oops, no milk” saviour.

Lifestyle & Family Helpers

• Justlife / Matic – cleaning, babysitting, AC servicing.

• Fitlov / compound gym apps – for booking PTs and classes.

• Healthcare apps – Dr Sulaiman Al Habib, Bupa, Tawuniya, or whichever hospital/insurer you’re with.

• Aqar / Musaed – for house-hunting and maintenance services.

Sarah’s Tip: Book cleaners early in Ramadan and Eid. Trust me — slots vanish before you’ve even blinked.

Finding Out What’s On in Riyadh

Here’s the thing no one tells you: there’s no single place to discover what’s happening in Riyadh. Events leap out of nowhere with just a few days’ notice, and unless you’ve got your ear to the ground, you’ll miss them.

So, you need to spread your net wide:

• Riyadizen (Facebook) – brilliant community group that shares genuinely useful stuff, not just events.

• WeBook – the official platform for big-ticket events.

• NOFOMO – slightly mysterious, but sometimes lists things you won’t see elsewhere.

• Platinumlist – as of mid-2025, a good resource (though who knows by 2026).

• Compound Whatsapp groups – goldmine for family-friendly events.

• Parent WhatsApp groups – the real-time rumour mill, especially in Riyadh Season.

And don’t underestimate the role of social media. You would have to be living under a rock if you did. Whether your platform of choice is Instagram, TikTok, or Snap, you’ll pick up on events and pop-ups that never make it to official listings.

Sarah’s Note: I’d practically said goodbye to Facebook before moving to Riyadh, but expat life turned it into a daily go-to. It’s often the fastest way to feel connected and clued in.

It’s not neat and tidy — think less “curated guide” and more like chasing a kite in the desert wind. Especially lively during Riyadh Season, when events appear and vanish faster than you can book a babysitter.

Beyond the Basics: Digital Life in Riyadh

• VPN apps – most expats keep one installed. Not just for streaming BBC iPlayer, but also to smooth out access to banking or shopping platforms.

• Mall reward apps – malls and shops love to sign you up for their schemes. Sometimes worth it, often just a data grab.

• Data privacy – cashiers will often ask for your mobile number at checkout. Data protection isn’t the same as in Europe or the US, so pause before handing it over unless you’re happy to be spammed.

Sarah’s Tip: If you don’t want a flood of SMS offers, politely decline. A simple “no thanks” works fine.

Bonus Apps for Travel & Weekends

• Airalo / Holafly – eSIMs for easy roaming when you head abroad.

• Barakah – a no-food-waste app, a bit like Too Good To Go. Great if you want to pick up surplus meals or treats for a group at a bargain while doing your bit for the planet.

• Yolla – handy for cheap international calls. I’d written off phone cards and Skype years ago, but when Skype killed its bargain-rate service, Yolla came to the rescue. Perfect for quick, low-cost calls back home.

• YouGotGift – useful for gifting without faffing around malls.

Sarah’s Tip: Keep Morni installed too. Even if you never use it, the peace of mind is worth the storage space.

Wrap-Up

Riyadh without apps? Unthinkable. They’re your lifeline for sanity, efficiency, and surviving the chaos of expat life. Saudi is a future-facing country with kick-arse mobile data (you’d have to be very lost in the desert to lose signal) and a young, app-loving population — so new platforms are popping up every week.

We give you the highlights, but half the fun is discovering your own.

What about you — did I miss your favourite? Drop it in the comments so we can all add it to our “must-download” list.

👉 Want to make your first weeks smoother? Download my full Saudi Relocation Starter Pack PDF for a printable week-one checklist.