How to Call Saudi Arabia from the US — Country Code +966
Saudi Arabia's country code is 966 (also written as +966 or 00966). To call Saudi Arabia from the United States, dial 011 + 966 + area code + local number from a US landline, or +966 + area code + local number from a mobile phone. Drop the leading 0 from the local number. Kinvo connects any Saudi Arabia number from your browser at $5.89/min — no app, no subscription. For the dialing code itself and number-format reference, see the Saudi Arabia country code page.
All Saudi mobile numbers start with 5 after the country code — stc uses 50/55, Mobily uses 54/56, Zain uses 53/58/59. Landline area codes are 2 digits everywhere: 011 Riyadh, 012 Jeddah/Makkah, 013 Eastern Province, 014 Madinah. Drop the leading 0 when calling from abroad; dial +966 followed by the 9 remaining digits.
Dial Saudi Arabia from the US
011 is the US international exit code. 966 is Saudi Arabia's country code. On a mobile phone, replace 011 with + (hold the 0 key).
Dialing Quick Reference
How to Dial Saudi Arabia From the US — Step by Step
Dial 011 + 966 + area code + local number
From a US landline or carrier cell phone, dial 011 966 + local number. On a mobile phone you can replace 011 with +, giving +966 + local number. If the local Saudi Arabia number starts with a leading 0, drop that 0 when dialing internationally.
Sign up for Kinvo
Create an account at kinvophone.com. Setup takes under a minute — no install required.
Add credits (from $5)
With $5 in credits, you can talk for approximately 0 minutes to Saudi Arabia. Credits never expire.
Dial and call
Open the Kinvo dialer, type +966 followed by the local number, and click Call. Allow microphone access when prompted. Your call connects in under 3 seconds with HD audio quality.
What it costs
Calls to Saudi Arabia with Kinvo start at $5.89/min plus a one-time $0.05 connection fee per answered call. No subscription, no minimums.
See the full rate breakdown for Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia Area Codes — Worked Examples
Here is how to convert a domestic Saudi Arabia number into the international format Kinvo accepts:
| City | Domestic | Dial from abroad |
|---|---|---|
| Riyadh | 011 XXX XXXX | +966 11 XXX XXXX |
| Jeddah / Makkah | 012 XXX XXXX | +966 12 XXX XXXX |
| Dammam / Eastern Province | 013 XXX XXXX | +966 13 XXX XXXX |
| Madinah | 014 XXX XXXX | +966 14 XXX XXXX |
| Abha / South | 017 XXX XXXX | +966 17 XXX XXXX |
How to Call Saudi Arabia From iPhone, Android, or a Landline
From an iPhone
Open the Phone app, press and hold 0 until a + appears, then type 966 followed by the local Saudi Arabia number. Or use Kinvo in Safari — no dialer permissions needed.
From Android
Open your Phone app, long-press 0 to get +, then dial +966 + the number. In Chrome, open kinvophone.com and call directly without touching your carrier plan.
From a US Landline
Landlines don't have a + key, so use the full exit code: 011 966 then the local number. Check with your phone provider that international calling is enabled to avoid blocked calls.
How to Call Saudi Arabia For Free
If the person you're calling in Saudi Arabia has a smartphone with internet access, the cheapest way to call them is free: use WhatsApp, FaceTime, Telegram, Signal, or Google Meet. Both sides need the same app, and calls travel over the internet rather than the phone network — no per-minute fees, no country code needed.
For calling any regular Saudi Arabia landline or mobile number — the kind that requires dialing +966 — there is no truly free option, because someone has to pay the termination fee to connect the call. Kinvo is the lowest-cost option for dialing Saudi Arabia phone numbers, starting at $5.89/min with no subscription, compared to $1–$3/min at most US carrier rates.
Saudi Arabia Calling Tips
Drop the leading 0 from Saudi numbers. Riyadh area code is 011 (becomes +966 11). Mobile numbers start with 05 (becomes +966 5). The Saudi work week is Sunday to Thursday. Business hours are typically 8 AM to 5 PM AST, with a break during prayer times. Arabic is the official language.
Why Calls to Saudi Arabia Sometimes Fail (and How to Fix Them)
When a call to Saudi Arabia doesn't go through, the cause is almost always one of four issues — not the network. The most common is forgetting to drop the leading 0 from the local number after entering +966. Domestic Saudi Arabia numbers are written with that 0 at the start; that 0 is the trunk prefix and has no role in international dialing. Dial +966 11 directly, with no 0 in between.
The second is using the wrong exit code from the US. The North American Numbering Plan uses 011 — not 00, which is the international exit code most European countries use, and not the + sign on a landline (which has no + key). From a US mobile, holding the 0 key produces +; that's functionally identical to dialing 011 and works on any GSM or CDMA network worldwide. The third is dialing while your US carrier's international calling is disabled — some pre-paid plans block outbound international calls by default, and you need to call your carrier to enable it (often free, sometimes a small monthly add-on). The fourth is mistaking a +966 number for a fixed-line when it's a mobile or vice versa — the rate difference can be 2-5x, so confirm the number type before long calls.
Saudi Arabia's domestic time zone matters for whether anyone picks up. Most Saudi Arabia households answer between roughly 8 AM and 9 PM local time; check the local time before dialing if you want anyone to actually answer.Government offices, banks, and most businesses observe local public holidays and may close early on the day before a major holiday — calls placed during those windows will go to voicemail or unanswered ring regardless of dialing format.
On cost: a 30-minute call to Saudi Arabia via direct-dial from AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile costs $30–$90 depending on whether you have an international add-on. The same call through Kinvo costs $176.75 with no monthly fee. WiFi calling on your phone routes the call through your carrier and bills at carrier rates — it does not save you money on international calls (see WiFi calling vs VoIP).
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I dial Saudi Arabia from the US?
From a US mobile phone, dial +966 followed by the local Saudi Arabia number (long-press the 0 key to get the + sign). From a US landline, dial 011 966 and then the number. Drop any leading 0 from the local number.
Is +1 the same as 011?
No. +1 is the country code for the United States and Canada. 011 is the US international exit code used before dialing any foreign country code. To call Saudi Arabia from the US, you use 011 + 966, not +1.
How do I call Saudi Arabia from an iPhone?
Open the Phone app, press and hold the 0 key until a + appears, then dial +966 followed by the local Saudi Arabia number. Or open kinvophone.com in Safari and call directly from the browser at $5.89/min.
Do I need to drop the leading 0 when dialing Saudi Arabia?
Yes — when calling from outside Saudi Arabia, drop any leading 0 from the local number after entering the country code. The leading 0 is the domestic trunk prefix and is only used for in-country calls.
How can I call Saudi Arabia for free?
If the recipient has a smartphone with internet, use WhatsApp, FaceTime, Telegram, or Signal — free over data. For calling any regular Saudi Arabia phone number, Kinvo is the cheapest option from $5.89/min.
Can I dial Saudi Arabia from my browser without an app?
Yes. Kinvo works entirely in Chrome, Firefox, Safari, or Edge using WebRTC. No download, no SIM swap, no carrier add-on needed — just sign up and dial +966 + the local number.
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