In this article
Key takeaways
- Instagram carries 97% of the Arabic ads shown in Saudi Arabia in our study (October 12, 2026), Facebook 76%.
- There is no separate Instagram ad library: every Instagram ad is in Meta's library, and the "Instagram" platform filter isolates them.
- Video is 63% of Saudi ads and single images 21%, the highest image share in the Gulf.
- The median advertised price is SAR 199; "Shop now" is on 36% of the ads and "WhatsApp message" on 23%.
How many Saudi ads run on Instagram?
In our second study (October 12, 2026) we read 8,272 Arabic ads shown in Saudi Arabia and looked at the platforms each one runs on: Instagram in 97% of them, Facebook in 76%. One ad usually runs on both, but Instagram is in almost every ad, while Facebook is missing from part of them.
In practice: your ad for Saudi Arabia is designed for Instagram first, and Meta spreads it to Facebook. In the newer third study we found 56,619 Arabic ads shown in Saudi Arabia in just a few days, from 10,633 advertiser pages: the Gulf's biggest ad market by a clear margin. For the full market picture read Facebook ads in Saudi Arabia.
How to see Instagram ads alone in the Ad Library
There is no separate library under the Instagram name; all of its ads are published in the Meta Ad Library together with Facebook and Messenger. Here is how to isolate them:
- Open the library at facebook.com/ads/library (it works in a mobile browser too), choose the country "Saudi Arabia" and "All ads".
- Type a product word ("عطر" for perfume, "فستان" for dress) or the store name, and pick its Page from the suggestions if you want that store's ads.
- Open the Filters button and, under Platform, choose "Instagram".
- Open any ad to see its versions, start date and the link it leads to.
If you start from an Instagram account: ads appear under the advertising Page, which is usually the account's name or close to it. "About the advertiser" in an ad's details shows the Instagram account linked to the Page and its followers, and in the Instagram app itself "About this account" shows the join date, the country and former usernames. Details in Instagram ad library.
Which formats work on Instagram in Saudi Arabia?
Among Saudi ads in our third study: video 63%, single image 21%, dynamic ads (from a store catalogue) 11%, carousel 5%. Video is the base, but Saudi Arabia has the lowest video share in the Gulf and the highest image share: a product photo with a price still has its place here.
- Reels and Stories: full-screen vertical video, and the first two seconds decide whether the viewer stops. Open with the product in use, not the logo.
- On-screen text: many watch without sound, so write the offer and the price on the video itself.
- Short captions: half of Saudi ads are shorter than 45 words, shorter than the Gulf median (60 words).
- Images still work for a clear offer: a known product, a price and a discount.
Video shares for every country and category are in Video ads in the Gulf.
Buttons, payment and prices in Saudi ads
"Shop now" is on 36% of Saudi ads, "WhatsApp message" on 23% and "Order now" on 20%, the highest "Order now" share in the Gulf: the button of quick order pages and Salla stores.
A discount or an offer in 34% of the ads, cash on delivery in only 12%, instalments (Tabby, Tamara) in 4%. Saudi buyers are used to paying online at known stores, so cash on delivery is mentioned less here than in Oman, Bahrain and Qatar.
Prices: of 7,294 ads that stated a price in riyals, the lower quartile goes up to SAR 99, the median is 199 and the upper quartile starts at SAR 370.
Saudi Instagram ads that have run for weeks
Meta's library shows what runs now and does not sort by running time. In GccFY every ad carries the icons of the platforms it runs on; you filter by Saudi Arabia and a word, then sort by "longest running" to see the ads that lasted first, with the store page behind each ad.
Stopped ads stay saved, so you can see what a competitor tried on Instagram last month and then switched off.
A weekly routine for Instagram advertisers in Saudi Arabia
- Monday: open Meta's library with Saudi Arabia, the Instagram filter and your product word, sorted by most recent, to see what competitors started this week.
- Wednesday: sort the same category in GccFY by longest running and open the store pages behind the first five ads: price, offer, payment method.
- Thursday: make two versions: a vertical Reel with the offer written on screen, and an image with the price. Copy templates in Arabic ad copy.
- Two weeks later: stop the weaker one, scale the stronger, and check your saved competitors again.
