Why we built Dhahabi: a gold price app for Saudi Arabia
By SKA · 19 October 2026 · العربية
You open a gold price app, note the price per gram, walk into a gold shop… and the price is higher. Most gold apps are built for traders: dollars per ounce, candlestick charts, market news. Someone buying wedding jewellery or saving in gold bars in Riyadh or Jeddah needs something else: the price per gram in Saudi riyals, for each karat, and a way to tell whether the shop's price is fair.
That's why we built Dhahabi (ذهبي), an Arabic-first iPhone app for gold and silver prices in Saudi Arabia. This article explains why we built it, what it shows, where its prices come from, and what's free and what's paid.
The problem: the app price isn't the shop price
Any app shows the raw metal price. A shop price is made of several parts:
- Gold value: weight × the price per gram for that karat.
- Making charge (المصنعية): the cost of crafting the piece, which varies by design and shop.
- The shop's margin.
- 15% VAT on jewellery, charged on the full amount. Documented 24K investment bars and coins are zero-rated under conditions (details on saudigold.net, in Arabic).
Without knowing those parts, it's hard to judge a price. Dhahabi was built to fix that.
What the Dhahabi app shows
Gold price per gram in Saudi riyals, by karat
24K, 22K, 21K and 18K on the home screen in SAR, with day, week, month and year charts. It also supports other Gulf currencies, such as the Kuwaiti and Bahraini dinar and the Omani rial.
Gold bar prices before you go to the shop
Bar prices by weight, so you know the expected number before you hear the dealer's quote.
A calculator for the shop counter
Pick the karat and weight, type the shop's price, and Dhahabi breaks it down: gold value, making charge, VAT and shop margin, each on its own line. It then gives a verdict (good, fair or high), with a price to start negotiating from and a ceiling not to go past.
Silver
Silver prices sit next to gold, and the calculator handles 999, 925 and 900 silver.
Portfolio and zakat
Log your pieces (weight, karat and a photo) to see what your gold is worth at today's price. The zakat calculator works out zakat on gold once a year, so you don't have to.
Alerts and a widget
Get an alert when the price reaches a number you set, and see the price on your Home Screen with a widget. The app works in Arabic and English, in light and dark mode.
Where do the prices come from?
We take global gold and silver prices from the metals data provider metals.dev and convert them to Saudi riyals. What you see is the raw metal price per gram:
| Part | Included in the app price? |
|---|---|
| Metal price per gram, by karat | Yes |
| Making charge | No. The calculator works it out from the shop's price |
| Shop margin | No. The calculator works it out from the shop's price |
| VAT | No. It's shown in the calculator breakdown |
So a shop price will always be higher than the app price. That's normal; what matters is knowing by how much.
Privacy: no login
Dhahabi needs no account or login. Portfolio data stays on your device and is never uploaded. Subscriptions are handled entirely by Apple. See the privacy policy.
Free and paid
| Free | Dhahabi Premium |
|---|---|
| Live gold and silver prices and charts | Full calculator breakdown and price verdict |
| Value calculator and zakat calculator | Portfolio, alerts and silver in the calculator |
Premium costs $1.99 a month, $14.99 a year or $34.99 for life on the US App Store (SAR 9.99, 69.99 and 149.99 in Saudi Arabia; prices as of October 2026).
FAQ
Is Dhahabi free?
Yes. It's free to download, and prices, charts and the zakat calculator are free. The subscription is optional.
Does it show the gold price in shops?
It shows the raw metal price per gram. If you enter a shop's price in the calculator, it breaks down the making charge, VAT and shop margin.
Which karats does it support?
Gold in 24K, 22K, 21K and 18K, and silver in 999, 925 and 900.
Is it the same as other apps called Dhahabi?
No. Other developers have apps with similar names. SKA's Dhahabi is App Store ID 6772710896.
Who makes Dhahabi?
SKA, an independent app studio for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf. It launched in June 2026 and is rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store.
In short
Dhahabi is a gold price app built for buyers in Saudi Arabia, not traders: price per gram in riyals for every karat, a calculator that breaks down a shop's price, a portfolio, zakat and alerts, with no login.
Get Dhahabi on the App Store · Today's gold prices on saudigold.net · App page · Support