Market Data
Saudi Government Tenders Statistics: 2025 in Numbers
13 October 2026 · 8 min read · By NextBid Bid Experts
Public competitions are 31.0% of the tenders that closed in 2025 but 95.0% of awarded value. Method mix, award sizes, activities, bidders and technical failures, from NextBid analysis of Etimad award data.
NextBid analysis of Etimad award data shows a market of two halves. Public competitions are 31.0% of the tenders that closed in 2025 but 95.0% of awarded value, while direct purchases are 67.9% of tenders and only 1.5% of value. The median award in a public competition was about SAR 1.2 million (SAR 1,195,138), the median awarded public competition drew 6 bidders, and 33.8% of the bids in awarded public competitions failed technical evaluation.
This page covers tenders whose bid deadline fell in 2025, with 2024 alongside where it helps. Award recording for 2025 is still being completed, so year-on-year changes in value are provisional (see About the data).
How is the market split between public competitions and direct purchases?
Most tenders are small purchases, but almost all the money moves through public competitions. Framework agreements are 1.0% of tenders and 3.5% of awarded value, and all other methods together are 0.1% of tenders and a negligible share of value.
| Method | Share of all tenders (%) | Share of awarded tenders (%) | Share of awarded value (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public competition | 31.0 | 31.4 | 95.0 |
| Direct purchase | 67.9 | 67.7 | 1.5 |
| Framework agreement | 1.0 | 0.9 | 3.5 |
| Other methods | 0.1 | less than 0.1 | less than 0.1 |
| All methods | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
Public competition is the default method under the current law and the new law. Direct purchase is allowed only in listed cases, and one of them is a low estimated cost: up to SAR 100,000 now, and up to SAR 1,000,000 under the new law, which takes effect in early January 2027 (local SMEs first). The 2025 figures describe the current rules. Our guide to direct purchase and limited competition shows where smaller firms have the edge.
How big is a typical award, and where does the value sit?
Awards vary enormously. The median public competition was awarded at about SAR 1.2 million (SAR 1,195,138), against about SAR 29,000 (SAR 29,250) for the median direct purchase, a gap of roughly 41 times. The middle half of public competition awards ran from SAR 385,998 to SAR 4,090,941, while the mean of SAR 7,043,748 is pulled up by a few very large awards.
| Award size band (all methods) | Share of awarded tenders (%) | Share of awarded value (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Under SAR 100,000 | 68.6 | 1.2 |
| SAR 100,000 to under 1 million | 14.4 | 2.7 |
| SAR 1 million to under 10 million | 12.9 | 19.3 |
| SAR 10 million to under 100 million | 3.8 | 41.1 |
| SAR 100 million and above | 0.4 | 35.7 |
Across all methods, awards under SAR 100,000 are 68.6% of awarded tenders but 1.2% of awarded value, while the 0.4% of awards worth SAR 100 million or more carry 35.7%.
Which activities hold the most awarded value?
The top 10 activities hold 72.4% of all 2025 awarded value. Facilities operation and maintenance leads with 20.3%, followed by information technology with 12.4% and road operation and maintenance with 12.0%.
| Rank | Activity | Share of awarded value (%) | Share of awarded tenders (%) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Facilities operation and maintenance | 20.3 | 5.3 |
| 2 | Information technology | 12.4 | 6.4 |
| 3 | Road operation and maintenance | 12.0 | 1.0 |
| 4 | General construction contracting, general works | 6.7 | 1.6 |
| 5 | Specialised sub-contracting, general works | 5.0 | 0.4 |
| 6 | General building contracting | 3.6 | 4.5 |
| 7 | Restaurants and catering services | 3.6 | 0.3 |
| 8 | Trade in vehicles, equipment and machinery | 3.1 | 1.3 |
| 9 | Security and safety | 3.0 | 1.5 |
| 10 | General construction contracting, road construction | 2.8 | 0.6 |
How many firms bid, and how many bids fail technical evaluation?
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The median awarded public competition drew 6 bidders (mean 8.5), and the middle half drew between 3 and 11. Technical evaluation removes a large share of bids: 33.8% failed in awarded public competitions in 2025, against 12.4% in direct purchases and 24.6% across all methods.
| Measure (awarded tenders closing in 2025) | Value |
|---|---|
| Median bidders, awarded public competition | 6 |
| Middle half of awarded public competitions | 3 to 11 bidders |
| Bids failing technical evaluation, public competitions (%) | 33.8 |
| Bids failing technical evaluation, direct purchases (%) | 12.4 |
| Bids failing technical evaluation, all methods (%) | 24.6 |
Did the market shrink in 2025?
The recorded figures point down, but they are provisional. Recorded awarded value for tenders closing in 2025 is 13.3% below 2024 (12.9% for public competitions alone), yet 2025 awards are still being recorded: 82.4% of 2025 public competitions have an award on record, against 88.9% of 2024's. The true decline is likely smaller than the figure shown.
| Measure | Change 2025 vs 2024 (%) |
|---|---|
| Total awarded value, all methods | -13.3 |
| Total awarded value, public competitions only | -12.9 |
| Median award value, public competitions | -0.8 |
| Mean award value, public competitions | +3.5 |
| Number of tenders closing, all methods | -8.3 |
| Number of awarded public competitions on record | -15.8 |
Typical award size held steady, so the lower recorded total reflects fewer recorded awards (15.8% fewer awarded public competitions) rather than smaller contracts.
What does this mean for bidders?
- Choose your arena first. Direct purchases are most tenders by number, but public competitions hold 95.0% of awarded value. They need different cost models, and our bid or no-bid guide helps you decide where effort pays.
- Size the opportunity with medians. Compare your target with the median award for its method and activity, not the mean, which a few very large awards pull up.
- Price against the right peers. A direct purchase (median SAR 29,250) and a public competition (median SAR 1,195,138) are different markets. Our guide to using public award results to price a bid shows how to benchmark.
- Treat compliance as the first contest. With 33.8% of bids in awarded public competitions failing technical evaluation, a complete, verified offer keeps you in the race until your price is read. See the common technical disqualification reasons.
Almost all the value sits in public competitions (95.0%), and 33.8% of the bids in awarded public competitions failed technical evaluation. Choose the competitions you can qualify for, make the offer compliant first, and price it against the right peers.
About the data
- Source and period. NextBid analysis of Etimad award data for tenders whose bid deadline fell between 1 January and 31 December 2025, compared with 2024, with awards as recorded up to 9 October 2026. Each tender is assigned to the year of its bid deadline.
- Awarded competition. A tender with at least one winner recorded. Open, cancelled and unawarded tenders do not appear in the bidder and technical evaluation figures, so those figures describe competitions that reached an award and may understate failure for the market as a whole.
- Awarded value. The amount awarded in tenders with a winner recorded on the government e-tendering platform. It is not total public spending, a budget or an estimated value.
- Bidders and failures. A bidder is a supplier that submitted a priced offer, counted once per competition; the winner counts. A bid fails technical evaluation when all of the bidder's offers were marked technically non-compliant.
- Provisional and rounded. As of October 2026, awards for 2025 closings are still being recorded, so the 2025 total and every year-on-year change in value or in the number of awards may move. Shares are rounded to one decimal and can add up to 99.9 or 100.1. Each tender has one registered activity.
Frequently asked questions
What share of Saudi government tenders are public competitions?
According to NextBid analysis of Etimad award data, public competitions are 31.0% of the tenders that closed in 2025 but 95.0% of awarded value. Direct purchases are 67.9% of tenders and 1.5% of value, and framework agreements are 1.0% of tenders and 3.5% of value.
What is the typical value of a Saudi government award?
For tenders that closed in 2025, the median public competition was awarded at about SAR 1.2 million (SAR 1,195,138) and the median direct purchase at about SAR 29,000 (SAR 29,250). Across all methods, awards under SAR 100,000 are 68.6% of awarded tenders but 1.2% of awarded value.
Which activities have the most awarded value?
Facilities operation and maintenance leads with 20.3% of 2025 awarded value, followed by information technology with 12.4% and road operation and maintenance with 12.0%. The top 10 activities together hold 72.4%.
How many bidders does a typical tender attract, and how many bids fail?
For tenders that closed in 2025, the median awarded public competition drew 6 bidders, and the middle half drew between 3 and 11. In awarded public competitions, 33.8% of bids failed technical evaluation, against 12.4% in direct purchases.
Did government tender awards fall in 2025?
Recorded awarded value for tenders closing in 2025 is 13.3% below 2024, but the figure is provisional because 2025 awards are still being recorded. Typical award size held steady, so the drop reflects fewer recorded awards rather than smaller contracts.
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