OpenSooq
OpenSooq is a Jordan-founded online classifieds marketplace operating across 20+ MENA countries, serving 65 million users across 120+ categories including automobiles, real estate, and jobs via a freemium platform with paid promotion and emerging financing services.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersAmman, Jordan
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingDigital Commerce or Content
What OpenSooq does
OpenSooq is a Jordan-headquartered online classifieds marketplace founded in 2013 that operates across 20+ Middle Eastern and North African countries under country-specific localized domains. The platform serves approximately 65 million users across 120+ categories — primarily automobiles, real estate, jobs, services, and consumer goods — and facilitates over $30 billion in annual goods traded volume, with a transaction occurring every 15 seconds and the platform receiving more than 800 million annual visits and 2 billion monthly page views. The technical stack consists of a multi-country, multi-language web platform (Arabic, English, and Kurdish in Iraq) with native mobile applications for iOS, Android, and Huawei AppGallery, complemented by AI-powered matching, recommendation, and trust systems, and sub-products including the Read editorial content platform and the Area Guide location directory.
The business model is fundamentally a freemium horizontal marketplace. Basic listing creation is free for all users, while revenue is generated through optional paid promotion services: featured and boosted listings, video reel promotion, account-manager-assisted campaigns, and per-listing analytics tools for commercial sellers. The platform also supports dedicated virtual stores for SMBs managing multiple listings. In 2026, OpenSooq announced a strategic pivot toward vertical depth, introducing financing and service extensions layered on top of the horizontal marketplace — particularly targeting higher-value automotive and real estate transactions — thereby diversifying revenue beyond listing fees into transaction-adjacent fee streams. The company employs 300+ staff, is privately held, and its most significant disclosed institutional backing is a $24 million round led by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund (PIF) in June 2021, with earlier participation from iMENA Group and FJ Labs.
OpenSooq firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OpenSooq
- Legal name
- OpenSooq.com
- Website
- https://opensooq.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- OpenSooq is a Jordan-founded online classifieds marketplace operating across 20+ MENA countries, serving 65 million users across 120+ categories including automobiles, real estate, and jobs via a freemium platform with paid promotion and emerging financing services.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OpenSooq industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Online Classifieds Marketplace
- NAICS
- Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290), All Other Miscellaneous Retailers (45999)
- SIC
- Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961), Retail-Miscellaneous Retail (5900)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Marketplace Enablement, Seller Tools & E-commerce Infrastructure (BPAMAGAK)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Private/Closed Membership Generalist Marketplaces (CRAFAAAG)
Keywords
Where OpenSooq is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Amman
- HQ country
- Jordan
- HQ region
- Middle East
Offices1 record
Markets served
OpenSooq business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Digital Commerce or Content
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Featured/Promoted Listings: Free basic listing for all sellers. Sellers can pay to feature, promote, and boost their listings to reach more potential buyers and sell faster. Includes video reel promotion for enhanced visibility.
- Optional promoted ad services: Account managers available to assist sellers; promoted ad options provide enhanced reach and visibility for sellers seeking to accelerate sales.
- Financing and service extensions: Vertical expansion into financing services and other extensions across markets, creating additional revenue streams beyond listing fees.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free basic listing tier |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels4 records
OpenSooq product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OpenSooq operates a horizontal online classifieds marketplace that connects individual buyers and sellers across 20+ MENA countries, enabling free posting and discovery of listings across 120+ categories including automobiles, real estate, jobs, services, and consumer goods. The platform monetizes through optional paid promotion features such as featured listings, boosted visibility, and video reels, while supporting direct communication between buyers and sellers via call or chat.
Product overview
OpenSooq operates a unified online classifieds marketplace platform spanning 20 MENA countries, offering a comprehensive selection of categories including automobiles, real estate, jobs, services, electronics, fashion, and more. The core OpenSooq platform facilitates peer-to-peer buying and selling with features for direct communication between buyers and sellers. Supporting the main platform are two complementary sub-products: 'Read' (اقرأ), a content and educational platform providing articles and buying guides, and 'Area Guide' (دليل الأماكن), a location directory service. The company also provides mobile applications for iOS, Android, and Huawei devices enabling access across platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- اقرأ (Araa): A content platform by OpenSooq providing articles and information on various topics including real estate, automobiles, electronics, and lifestyle.
- دليل الأماكن (Area Guide)
Products and services
- OpenSooq Marketplace (السوق المفتوح) Online classifieds marketplace enabling buyers and sellers to connect and trade across 20+ MENA countries in over 120 categories, including automobiles, real estate, jobs, services, and consumer goods. Free basic listings with optional paid promotion (featured ads, video reels).
- Read (اقرأ) Arabic-language content and editorial platform providing articles and information on categories including Islam, family, education, beauty, travel, medicine, art, electronics, home, mobile, cars, business, and food. Supports top-of-funnel awareness and SEO for the main marketplace.
- Area Guide (دليل الأماكن) Location-based directory service providing editorial and geographic information about cities and places across MENA countries, supporting local SEO and regional user engagement for the OpenSooq marketplace.
Quantifiable outcome
- A sale occurs on OpenSooq every 15 seconds, with over $30 billion in goods traded annually across the platform.
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use OpenSooq
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
OpenSooq technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability1 record
Feature4 records
OpenSooq partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
OpenSooq competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- Noon: Major MENA e-commerce platform (backed by Saudi PIF and Mohamed Alabbar) operating across categories from general merchandise to fashion. Comparable to OpenSooq as a regional digital commerce player with overlapping user base and ambition, though its model is first-party/3P marketplace retail rather than classifieds.
- OLX: Global classifieds operator (parent of Dubizzle and Bayut) operating across multiple continents including MENA. Comparable as a horizontal listings platform with freemium + promoted listings monetization, though it sits at a broader scale and operates OpenSooq-adjacent geographies.
Direct peers
- Bayut: Leading real estate classifieds platform in the UAE and Saudi Arabia, owned by the OLX/Dubizzle group. Directly comparable to OpenSooq as a country-localized listings marketplace with promoted listing monetization, focused on a high-value vertical that OpenSooq also serves.
- Haraj: Saudi Arabia's leading horizontal classifieds marketplace owned by Souq.com/Amazon. Directly comparable to OpenSooq in product (free listings with paid promotion), category breadth, and Saudi user base.
- Avito: Morocco's dominant horizontal classifieds marketplace. Directly comparable to OpenSooq in offering (free classifieds with paid promotion), category breadth, and product-led mobile-first approach across the Maghreb.
- Dubizzle: Leading horizontal classifieds marketplace in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other MENA markets. Directly comparable to OpenSooq in product (free listings + paid promotion), category breadth (cars, real estate, jobs, services), and target users (individual buyers/sellers and SMBs).
- Mstaml: Saudi horizontal classifieds marketplace focused on used goods and consumer listings. Comparable to OpenSooq in offering (free + featured listings) and target audience, operating as a direct competitor in the Saudi market.
Emerging players
- CarSwitch: Used-car inspection and listing platform operating in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Comparable as a category-specific listings marketplace targeting automotive — one of OpenSooq's largest categories — with deeper trust/inspection services.
- Property Finder: MENA-focused real estate listings platform with strong presence in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and other markets. Comparable as a localized, premium-tilted listings marketplace competing for the same real estate category OpenSooq serves.
Regional players
- Expat.com: Classifieds and community platform serving expatriate communities primarily in MENA and selected other regions. Comparable to OpenSooq as a listings marketplace with free + paid promotion across categories like housing, jobs, and services.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OpenSooq social profiles
Digital presenceOpenSooq financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OpenSooq leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
OpenSooq funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds4 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OpenSooq M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OpenSooq
What does OpenSooq do?
OpenSooq operates a horizontal online classifieds marketplace that connects individual buyers and sellers across 20+ MENA countries, enabling free posting and discovery of listings across 120+ categories including automobiles, real estate, jobs, services, and consumer goods. The platform monetizes through optional paid promotion features such as featured listings, boosted visibility, and video reels, while supporting direct communication between buyers and sellers via call or chat.
Is OpenSooq a public or private company?
OpenSooq is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was OpenSooq founded?
OpenSooq was founded in 2013. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is OpenSooq based?
OpenSooq is headquartered in Amman, Jordan, in the Middle East region.
How does OpenSooq make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Featured/Promoted Listings are the primary driver. The others are optional promoted ad services and financing and service extensions.
Who are OpenSooq's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are Noon and OLX. Direct peers are Bayut, Haraj, Avito, Dubizzle and Mstaml. Emerging players are CarSwitch and Property Finder. Expat.com is listed as a regional player.
Does OpenSooq have an API?
No public API is recorded for OpenSooq.
What industry is OpenSooq in?
OpenSooq's product category is Online Classifieds Marketplace. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAGAK, Marketplace Enablement, Seller Tools & E-commerce Infrastructure, with a secondary code of CRAFAAAG, Private/Closed Membership Generalist Marketplaces. Its NAICS code is 519290 and its SIC code is 5961.