What’s the Cost to Build a Marketplace App Like Haraj?

Key Takeaways:

• Building a Haraj-style marketplace enables scalable local commerce by connecting buyers and sellers directly, lowering inventory risk while supporting long-term revenue growth.

• The cost to build a marketplace app like Haraj typically ranges from $20,000 to $110,000+, depending on feature depth, scalability, security, and platform choices.

• Launching with an MVP and expanding features based on real user behavior helps validate demand while keeping early investment under control.

• Strong testing, moderation, and security reduce hidden costs by preventing downtime, fraud, and negative user experiences as the platform scales.

• Built-in monetization models like featured listings, subscriptions, and commissions improve ROI and support predictable revenue streams.

• Partnering with JPLoft ensures a structured development approach with transparent cost planning and scalability built from day one.

Success in the digital marketplace isn't about having the biggest budget, yet it's about smart investment. 

Haraj, Saudi Arabia's leading classifieds platform, exemplifies this principle by revolutionizing how millions buy and sell everything from cars to real estate. 

Inspired by its success, many entrepreneurs now wonder: How much does it cost to build a marketplace app like Haraj? 

The answer ranges from $20,000 to $110,000+ for a feature-rich platform. However, these numbers only tell part of the story. 

The actual investment depends on your chosen features, technology stack, development team location, design complexity, and scalability requirements. 

Whether you're a startup founder testing the waters or an established business expanding digitally, understanding cost breakdowns is crucial for budgeting and planning. 

This comprehensive guide provides a complete breakdown of development costs, essential features, monetization strategies, and money-saving techniques to help you launch your successful marketplace app.

An Overview of the Haraj App

Haraj is a buying and selling platform in Saudi Arabia and was founded in Riyadh. The platform started as a website focused on car sales, later expanded into real estate, and became a general one-stop shop for all classifieds. 

The name of the app is basically an Arabic term often used to describe an auction, market, or bazaar. It is one of the largest Saudi platforms for buying and selling cars, real estate, electronics, and other items. 

Before you proceed with building a mobile app, let’s explore the stats related to marketplace apps and Haraj below. 

• The demand for the classified platform in the USA is valued at USD 4.2 billion in 2025, and is forecasted to reach USD 1.29 billion by 2035. 

• However, when it comes to Saudi Arabia, the e-commerce market size is estimated at USD 31.29 billion in 2026 and is projected to reach USD 54.87 billion by 2031. 

• Haraj sees over 50 million visitors each month. 

• Additionally, the integration of the Haraj app with the HUAWAI app gallery has resulted in effective performance growth for the brand. It has brought a growth of over 100,000 new users. 

With this growing number of users in the Haraj app, it is one of the important reasons to invest. Well, there are plenty of other reasons for investing in an app like Haraj. 

Let’s have a quick view in the following section. 

Reasons to Build an App Like Haraj

The different reasons to build an app like Haraj are rapid growth in the e-Commerce market, high profit potential with a low operating cost, and fostering community trust. 

Let’s discuss the complete reasons for the same. 

1. Massive Market Opportunity

Saudi Arabia’s classified market is booming with millions of active users in the industry. The size of the Saudi Arabian e-Commerce market is projected to reach USD 54.87 billion by 2031.

Hence, it's a great opportunity for you to invest as an entrepreneur and an investor in an app like Haraj. 

2. Low Inventory Costs

The low inventory cost is a primary driver for investing in classified ad marketplace apps like Haraj. Unlike the traditional marketplace apps like Haraj, these apps don’t require inventory management or warehousing. 

Hence, here, you can save the mobile app development cost, which is a major aspect to look at when it comes to building a large marketplace app like Haraj. 

3. Localized Trading Preferences

Saudi consumers often prefer to buy locally, which is a primary driver of investment in classified marketplace apps like Haraj, as it enables a high-margin, scalable business model that eliminates risks and related overheads. 

It tailors functionality to regional user behavior through hyperlocal listings, category specialization, and interface design. 

4. Minimal Customer Acquisition Cost

The acquisition cost of customers in the marketplace apps is minimal. The powerful and key ways are that it builds cultural and linguistic adaptation through forcing the brands to reduce waste on generic and expensive mass-marketing. 

It improves conversion rates through localization strategies such as using local currencies and payment methods, which can further enhance trust and relevance. 

5. The Potential to Scale

Apps like Haraj have the potential to scale in this competitive market. These apps have a large potential to scale through leveraging network effects, where more users can attract more sellers and vice versa. 

These apps offer geographic and category expansion. Here, you can enter other regions and cater to the needs of diversified markets. 

Now that you are clear on the reasons to invest in an app like Haraj, a reliable classified app development company can help bring this vision to life. Let’s move to the next section to evaluate the key features of the Haraj app below.

Key Features of Haraj App

You cannot think of an app without its features, hence it's important to evaluate them, even in the case of an app like Haraj. 

The key features of the Haraj app include user-friendly listings, direct buyer-seller chat, advanced search filters, and more. 

Let’s evaluate the complete list of features in the following table. 

Cost to Build a Marketplace App Like Haraj

The cost to make a marketplace app like Haraj can fall between $20,000 to $110,000+. This cost is further impacted by several factors, such as the complexity of features, app design, technology stack, security of the app, testing of the app, and many more. 

A basic MVP with essential functionalities like user registration, listing creation, search filters, and messaging can start around $20,000 to $40,000. Mid-range apps with advanced features such as payment integration, geolocation, push notifications, ratings/reviews, and admin dashboards cost between $40,000 to $80,000. 

Enterprise-level solutions with AI-powered recommendations, multi-language support, advanced analytics, video listings, and sophisticated security features can exceed $110,000. 

The final cost also depends on development team location, platform choice (iOS, Android, or both), design complexity, and ongoing maintenance requirements.

Let’s evaluate the cost to create an app like Haraj in the table below. 

The mobile app development cost in Saudi Arabia depends on several factors, such as app complexity and features, the development team, and the location of the team. 

Apart from this, there are many other factors that you should be worried about. Let's check them all below. 

Factors Influencing the Cost to Develop an App Like Haraj

Haraj is a marketplace and classified app, and certain factors might impact its complete development cost, such as the selection of features, design of the app, technology stack, and many more. 

Let’s discover the complete list below. 

1. App Size and Complexity of Features

The size of the app and the intricacy of features have a significant impact on development hours. Here, you should analyse what kind of features you want to include. Categorising the features among essential, advanced, and admin panel can be helpful. 

When you consider the advanced features, such as AI-driven recommendations, real-time messaging, advanced searches, and secure payment gateways, which significantly increase the development hours. 

With a larger app size, you need a higher development cost, which will result in an increase in the complexity of coding, testing, and infrastructure needs. 

Let’s examine the complete app size impacts and how it affects the cost in the table listed below. 

2. Design of the Marketplace App

Another important decision that you need to take is the design of the marketplace app, like Haraj. 

With advanced UI/UX design services, you can create a highly customized, feature-rich interface. It might require more time and resources than the template-based solutions, but it will build a good user base. 

The selection of diversified platforms will impact the cost of mobile app design. Here, due to the unique design guidelines, the cross-platform apps can be more efficient, though still complex. Here, this cost will be impacted via high-fidelity UI/UX, complex animations, and unique user screens. 

You can ask for the mobile app wireframe and even for the mobile app prototype for building an app like Haraj. Let’s check out the table for the cost breakdown. 

3. Tech Stack for an App Like Haraj

The mobile app tech stack that you select for your app, like Haraj, does influence the development costs, timelines, and long-term maintenance expenses. 

Selecting the right technologies, such as Native development using Swift (iOS) and Kotlin (Android), delivers superior performance, but it requires separate codebases, effectively doubling development costs compared to the cross-platform frameworks. 

Additionally, choosing the modern, well-documented technologies minimizes developer hourly rates and helps to speed up development. Here, the choice of technologies determines whether you require one team or multiple teams. 

In the given table, let's evaluate the complete list of how the technology stack impacts the overall cost to build an app like Haraj, below. 

4. Choice of Platform

The selection of platforms, whether it's Android or iOS have a large influence on the total cost to make a classified app like Haraj. Creating a native app for iOS app development and Android app development will have a large influence on the complete cost to create an app like Haraj. 

It is a primary driver of Haraj-like app development costs, with the choices impacting overall development time and resources. Many hidden costs might be impactful, such as app store fees, device fragmentation, and design customization. 

Whether you submit an app on the App Store or publish an app on the Play Store, this will impact the total cost to create an app like Haraj. 

Let’s evaluate the complete cost figure breakdown in the table mentioned below. 

5. Development Team Expertise

The cost to hire mobile app developers in Saudi Arabia is one of the crucial factors to consider. Here, all you need is to evaluate the expertise of the developers, balancing the higher hourly rates for seniors against the efficiency and quality they bring, which reduces total project hours. 

The expertise of the development team reduces rework, increases the time to market the app, optimizes resource allocation, and is even helpful in better risk management. 

You need to evaluate whether the developer has an in-depth knowledge of technical aspects and whether the mobile app development services are apt for your project or not. 

Let’s evaluate the complete breakdown of cost in the given table.

6. Maintenance and Support

Maintenance and support for a classified app like Haraj significantly impact the complete cost of ownership, typically requiring an annual budget of 15% to 20% of the overall mobile app development cost. 

Neglecting maintenance can lead to a higher total cost of ownership. This can even result in user abandonment, a crash of an app, which minimizes ROI. 

The maintenance and support add ongoing cost beyond any initial development, covering bug fixes, performance tuning, security updates, and OS compatibility. Mobile app maintenance and support services can help you to reduce costs to make an app like Haraj. 

This factor adds cost by adding ongoing expenses for bug fixes, server upkeep, and feature updates. As the user activity grows, these recurring efforts become essential to keep the app stable and fast. Let’s evaluate the cost breakdown below. 

7. Testing an App

The mobile app testing does impact the total cost to make an app like Haraj.  It involves a comprehensive, multi-stage process that is designed to ensure functionality, usability, security, and performance across diversified devices. 

The key stages include planning, manual or automated execution using tools like Appium, and crucial testing on real devices to combat fragmentation. Effective testing can address network, screen, and security constraints. 

This factor increases the cost, because it introduces, identifies, and requires the rectification of errors that cause 20-50% of the project effort. 

It is important to consider the testing cost because testing is an important determinant that prevents, detects, and fixes defects early. It further helps to reduce customer support costs and speeds up time-to-market. Let’s evaluate the cost breakdown in the given table. 

8. API and Third-Party Integration

The third-party integration and APIs, such as payment gateways, maps, and SMS services, are some of the important drivers of the cost to make a marketplace app like Haraj. 

Many third-party services charge ongoing fees based on usage volume, which leads to higher, long-term operational costs. It helps to leverage pre-built functionality but introduces diversified expenses related to ongoing maintenance, potential licensing fees, and increased complexity. 

You should note that the number and complexity of APIs directly impact the overall cost to make a classified app like Haraj. 

Complex APIs involve sensitive data that requires enhanced security measures and adherence to regulations. In the given table, you will find the cost breakdown of how API and third-party integrations impact the complete Haraj like-app development cost. 

9. Development Time

The total time of mobile app development has a large influence on the total cost to develop an app like Haraj. Time and cost are directly proportional factors when you consider building a marketplace or classified app.

More features in an app result in an increase in development time, requiring more hours from developers, designers, and testers. 

If you hire a developer who spends more time building your app like Haraj, it will directly lead to increasing the cost to make it. 

You should note that faster delivery of an app increases the cost due to parallel work, larger teams, and tighter release issues. Let’s break down the cost in the given table. 

10. Security and Compliance

Security and compliance typically add 10-20% to initially app development budgets, with specialized high regulated apps. The ongoing annual maintenance for security, patches, and compliance audits often results in additional costs. 

Mobile app security do impacts the total cost to make an app like Haraj. The robust security measures, like encryption and multi-factor authentication, can increase the development time and budget. 

These are essential to prevent far more expensive, catastrophic, and public security failures. Ensuring compliance with data protection laws like GDPR and CCPA adds specialized legal and technical requirements. 

Let’s discuss the security cost and how it impacts the complete cost to make a classified app like Haraj, in the given table. 

As you are aware of the cost and how the factors impact it, let's discover the strategies to reduce the total cost to make an app like Haraj in the following section. 

How to Reduce the Cost to Make an App Like Haraj?

When it comes to minimizing the total cost to develop an app like Haraj, there are many factors to consider, such as outsourcing to cost-effective development regions and using pre-built solutions and templates. 

In this section, let's discuss the complete reasons below. 

• Start with an MVP (Minimum Viable Product)

Focus on core features like user registration, listing creation, search, and messaging initially. Launch an MVP to quickly test market demand, then add advanced features based on user feedback and revenue generation.

• Choose Cross-Platform Development

Use frameworks like React Native or Flutter to either submit an iOS app, publish an Android app, or both simultaneously. This approach reduces development time by 30-40% compared to building separate native apps for each platform.

• Utilize Pre-Built Solutions and Templates

Leverage ready-made UI kits, admin panels, and third-party APIs for common functionalities like payment gateways, maps, and authentication. This eliminates building everything from scratch and accelerates development.

• Outsource to Cost-Effective Development Regions

Partner with a top-rated mobile app development company in regions offering competitive rates without compromising quality. Countries like India, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia provide skilled developers at 40-60% lower costs than Western markets.

• Use Cloud-Based Infrastructure

Opt for scalable cloud services like AWS, Google Cloud development services, or Azure instead of dedicated servers. Pay-as-you-go models reduce initial infrastructure investment and allow scaling as your user base grows.

Now, as you are aware of diversified strategies for minimizing cost to make an app like Haraj, let's learn diversified monetization strategies for the same in the following section. 

Monetization Strategies to Include in an App Like Haraj

Mobile app monetization strategies provide a complete pathway to run a business. It helps to identify the different streams one can opt for to monetize your app completely. 

Let’s discuss the overall list of monetization strategies below. 

1. Featured Listings and Premium Placements

Charge sellers to promote their listings at the top of search results or category pages for increased visibility. This priority placement drives more views and faster sales, making it attractive for serious sellers and businesses willing to pay for premium exposure.

2. Subscription Plans for Professional Sellers

Offer tiered subscription packages for dealers, real estate agents, and businesses who post frequently. Monthly or annual plans can include benefits like unlimited listings, priority support, advanced analytics, and reduced commission fees on transactions.

3. Commission on Transactions

Implement a percentage-based fee on completed sales facilitated through the platform's integrated payment system. This performance-based model aligns platform revenue with user success and works particularly well for high-value categories like vehicles, real estate, and electronics.

4. In-App Advertising

Display banner ads, native ads, or video advertisements from third-party businesses throughout the app. Target ads based on user browsing behavior, categories viewed, and location to maximize relevance and click-through rates while generating consistent passive revenue.

5. Verification and Badge Services

Charge users for verified seller badges, identity verification, or trusted dealer certifications that build buyer confidence. These premium trust indicators help sellers stand out, reduce scam concerns, and justify higher pricing for their products or services.

6. Value-Added Services

Offer paid services like professional photography, product listing optimization, delivery coordination, inspection services, or escrow payment protection. These complementary services enhance user experience while creating additional revenue streams beyond basic marketplace functionality.

Ready to Build an App Like Haraj? Partner with JPLoft

Online marketplaces have become a primary way people buy and sell locally, especially in regions where trust, location relevance, and direct communication matter. 

Platforms like Haraj show how a well-designed marketplace can scale by keeping the user journey simple, fast, and community-driven.

That’s where JPLoft comes in. As a mobile app development company in Saudi Arabia, JPLoft helps businesses build marketplace apps inspired by Haraj, with features designed for real users and long-term growth. From discovery to moderation and monetization, JPLoft turns proven marketplace concepts into scalable digital products built to last.

Building a similar app requires more than basic listings. It demands strong architecture, thoughtful UX, and the ability to grow without breaking performance.

Conclusion

Building a marketplace app like Haraj requires strategic planning, smart investment, and the right development partner. The actual investment depends on your feature priorities, technology choices, and scalability needs. 

Starting with an MVP allows you to test market demand while keeping initial costs manageable. By leveraging cross-platform development, cloud infrastructure, and experienced development teams, you can significantly reduce expenses without compromising quality. 

The key to success lies in balancing cost efficiency with robust functionality, security, and user experience.