When families search "maid salary in Saudi Arabia" they get a single number — usually wrong, usually agency marketing. The truth is that what you'll pay depends on the nationality you hire, the role, the experience, and the city. This is what the data actually shows for 2026, drawn from the live pool of 2,800+ approved Rufy caregivers across Saudi Arabia.
For a live lookup tuned to your exact city and experience preference, pair this guide with the Saudi Arabia salary index.
The only published bilateral floor in 2026: the Philippines
There is exactly one nationality with a regulatory monthly salary minimum that any of Saudi Arabia's host authorities surfaces today: the Filipino household service worker. The Philippine Department of Migrant Workers (DMW) sets a global floor (Memorandum Circular 03-2025 raised the global Filipino HSW minimum to USD 500, with a GCC carve-out at USD 400). Musaned enforces this at the SAR equivalent — about SAR 1,500 — and will not validate a Filipino HSW contract below it.
For every other nationality — Kenyan, Ugandan, Ethiopian, Bangladeshi, Indonesian, etc. — neither MHRSD nor Musaned publishes a per-nationality salary floor. The figure is set inside the Musaned standard contract, by negotiation between you and the recruitment office (or the worker, in a direct-hire). What the marketplace actually pays matters more than a fictional "minimum."
What families actually pay, by role
All figures below are monthly cash salaries paid to the worker, in SAR. Source: the median (p50) and interquartile range (p25–p75) of desired-salary on currently approved + publicly browseable Rufy caregivers in Saudi Arabia. Updated June 2026.
Housekeepers (maids)
| Nationality | Sample (n) | p25 (SAR) | Median (SAR) | p75 (SAR) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethiopian | 13 | 2,500 | 3,000 | 3,000 |
| Pakistani | 16 | 2,000 | 2,800 | 3,000 |
| Filipino | 395 | 2,000 | 2,500 | 3,000 |
| Indonesian | 12 | 2,425 | 2,500 | 2,625 |
| Bangladeshi | 8 | 1,900 | 2,500 | 3,000 |
| Nigerian | 13 | 2,000 | 2,200 | 2,600 |
| Ghanaian | 36 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,500 |
| Kenyan | 931 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,500 |
| Ugandan | 343 | 2,000 | 2,000 | 2,500 |
Kenyan caregivers dominate availability (about 53% of the active maid pool), which keeps their entry-level salary at SAR 2,000. Small samples (n < 20) for Ethiopian, Bangladeshi, and Indonesian mean the medians are indicative, not statistical — confirm against your specific candidate's profile.
Nannies
| Nationality | Sample (n) | Median (SAR) |
|---|---|---|
| Filipino | 381 | 3,000 |
| Nigerian | 9 | 3,000 |
| Pakistani | 14 | 3,000 |
| Ethiopian | 10 | 2,500 |
| Ghanaian | 28 | 2,400 |
| Kenyan | 701 | 2,300 |
| Ugandan | 215 | 2,000 |
Nanny is where the Filipino premium becomes clearest: a SAR 700/month gap over Kenyan candidates, driven by English fluency and DMW-accredited childcare training.
Elder-care workers
| Nationality | Sample (n) | Median (SAR) |
|---|---|---|
| Filipino | 290 | 3,500 |
| Nigerian | 20 | 3,000 |
| Pakistani | 19 | 3,000 |
| Ghanaian | 17 | 2,500 |
| Kenyan | 475 | 2,500 |
| Ugandan | 131 | 2,500 |
The Filipino premium is largest here: SAR 1,000/month over the Kenyan median. Filipino nursing-aide training and medication management are formally accredited, which carries a real wage signal for families hiring for an elderly parent.
Private drivers
| Nationality | Sample (n) | Median (SAR) |
|---|---|---|
| Filipino | 21 | 3,000 |
| Pakistani | 24 | 3,000 |
| Bangladeshi | 10 | 2,650 |
| Kenyan | 48 | 2,500 |
| Ugandan | 20 | 2,500 |
Driver salaries skew higher than housekeeping — median SAR 2,500–3,000 vs maid SAR 2,000–2,500 — reflecting longer hours and the licence requirement. Pakistani drivers have established themselves as a distinct category in Saudi households at the same median as Filipino drivers.
Five patterns the data reveals
- Filipino premium is real but smaller than agency marketing claims. For maids it's about SAR 500/month over Kenyan median (25% premium). For elder care it grows to SAR 1,000/month (40% premium) — because the underlying Filipino training matters more for that role.
- Kenyan caregivers dominate supply. They're 53% of the approved maid pool and 51% of nannies. That keeps Kenyan entry-level salaries at SAR 2,000–2,300 and also makes matching faster — there are simply more candidates available.
- Pakistani drivers carve out their own niche. n=24 with median SAR 3,000 — an established category in Saudi households, equal to the Filipino driver median.
- Ethiopian and Indonesian samples are scarce. The workers are present but in small numbers (n=13 and n=12 for maids), and the medians sit at the upper end — typical of niche supply with selective demand. Confirm with a live lookup before budgeting on these figures alone.
- Driver salaries skew SAR 500–1,000 higher than housekeeping at the median, reflecting both the licence requirement and longer working hours typical of driver contracts.
What pushes a worker to the top of the range
Within any nationality + role combination, four factors move a candidate up or down from the median:
- Experience: 3+ years adds roughly SAR 200–500 per month. Use the Salary Index's experience filter to see the actual gap for your target role.
- Language: English (for nannies tutoring schoolchildren) and Arabic (for elder care) command a premium of SAR 200–400 per month.
- City: Riyadh and Jeddah typically sit at the higher end of the range, especially for premium roles. The Eastern Province sits closer to the market median.
- Live-in vs daily: live-in with one rest day per week is the standard structure. Daily attendance (worker keeps own accommodation) commands SAR 500–1,000+ above the live-in median to compensate for housing.
The "Filipino premium" — what the data actually shows
The premium varies sharply by role, which most online price guides flatten into a single number:
| Role | Filipino median | Kenyan median | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maid | 2,500 | 2,000 | +500 (+25%) |
| Nanny | 3,000 | 2,300 | +700 (+30%) |
| Elder care | 3,500 | 2,500 | +1,000 (+40%) |
| Driver | 3,000 | 2,500 | +500 (+20%) |
The pattern: the premium grows where Filipino training (English, nursing-aide, medication awareness) carries a real signal. For a basic housekeeping role, the gap is small. For elder care where conversational English and clinical confidence matter, it's substantial. Budget accordingly to the role you're hiring for, not the nationality alone.
How the new 2026 e-salary rule changes salary negotiation
From January 1, 2026, every domestic-worker salary in Saudi Arabia must move through Musaned-linked digital wallets, participating banks, or a Mada card issued to the worker. See our full cost-of-hiring breakdown for the cash-flow detail. For salary specifically, three things change:
- Every payment is logged. "We'll back-pay you next month" is now a documented arrangement, not an informal one.
- Below-floor agreements (for Filipinos: under SAR 1,500) will surface as compliance flags. Don't negotiate there.
- Bonuses (Eid, Hajj, year-end) should move through the same channels for the same paper-trail reason.
Use the Salary Index for your exact case
These medians are aggregates. For your city, your experience preference, and your specific nationality — including the live 25th–75th percentile range around the median — open the Saudi Arabia salary index. For the full year-one cost breakdown that includes salary plus recruitment, visa, gratuity and ticket reserves, see the real cost of hiring a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia. And if you haven't started the hire yet, the Musaned hiring guide walks through every step.
Want to see what candidates of your target nationality are actually asking for? Browse caregivers in Saudi Arabia by nationality on Rufy — Filipino, Kenyan, Ethiopian, Ugandan and more, with their stated salary preferences live in their profiles.