How Much a Website Costs in Dubai in 2026: Every Price Band

A business website in Dubai costs between AED 4,000 and AED 120,000 in 2026, and the gap comes down to three things: whether it is built on a template or from scratch, how many pages and languages it needs, and whether it sells anything online. Below are the four price bands we quote, what sits inside each one, the yearly costs that never make it into the first quote, and how to compare two quotes without being misled by the cheaper number.

The four price bands in Dubai (2026)

Two notes on that table. The ranges are for agency work in Dubai with a project manager, a designer and a developer on the job; a freelancer will quote lower, and the section on the AED 2,000 website explains what that buys. And the timelines assume your copy and photos are ready on day one, which is the single biggest reason projects run late.

What moves the price up or down

Design from scratch against a premium theme is the biggest single swing. A theme gets you a proven layout for a few hundred dirhams in licensing; bespoke design means wireframes, two rounds of revisions and a designer's time on every screen.

Arabic as a second language is the next one. A right-to-left layout is not a mirror image of the English site; fonts, menus, forms and tables all need rebuilding, and the translation itself should be done by a native writer, not a plugin. Expect Arabic to add roughly a third to the build cost of a corporate site.

Then page count, who writes the copy and takes the photos, and integrations. A CRM connection to HubSpot or Zoho, a booking engine, WhatsApp Business, and a UAE payment gateway such as Telr, PayTabs or Network International each add development and testing days. Gateway setup also needs your trade licence and a bank letter, so start that paperwork at kick-off.

The yearly costs nobody mentions

A quote covers the build. These keep going after launch, and they belong in the comparison from the start.

Two local details. A .ae domain is registered through TDRA-accredited registrars and costs more per year than a .com, which is why some businesses run both and point one at the other. And if you sell online from Dubai you need a licence that permits it: DET's E-Trader licence for home-based sellers costs just over AED 1,000 a year, while companies trade on their commercial licence with e-commerce activity added, through DET or their free zone. The licence number also goes on the site's footer and the gateway application.

What a AED 2,000 website actually gets you

A freelancer or builder package at that price gets you a theme, your logo and five pages of text you supply. What is usually missing: ownership of the code and sometimes the domain, any speed work, SEO setup beyond the page titles, a backup, support after launch, and Arabic. It is the right choice for a one-page launch site, a hobby business or anything you expect to replace within a year. It costs more than it saves when leads are supposed to come from Google, because the rebuild arrives in year two.

How to compare two quotes fairly

Ask both agencies to confirm these ten lines in writing before you look at the totals.

• Who owns the domain, the hosting account and the code when the project ends
• The mobile page-speed target, as a number
• SEO setup included: titles, meta descriptions, schema, sitemap, Search Console
• Number of design revision rounds
• Who writes the copy and who supplies the photos
• Arabic included or priced separately
• What post-launch support covers and for how long
• Payment gateway and licence help for stores
• Year-one running costs, itemised
• What happens if the project runs over the agreed timeline

If a quote cannot answer line one, stop there. A domain registered in a freelancer's name is the most common website problem we untangle in Dubai, and it costs more than the site did.

When the cheaper site costs more

Take two clinics in Jumeirah. One pays AED 3,000 for a template site that loads slowly, has no SEO setup and cannot take bookings. Eighteen months later it is rebuilt properly for AED 18,000, so the total is AED 21,000 plus a year and a half of lost enquiries. The other pays AED 15,000 once, with the booking integration and speed work done at the start, and spends year two on content and links instead of a rebuild. The second clinic spent less. That is the arithmetic behind most of our quotes, and it is why website development in Dubai at an agency is priced the way it is.

If the site is a store, the gateway, delivery and stock logic are where the money goes; our e-commerce website development page sets out what that build includes. For the running costs, website maintenance plans cover updates, backups and security monitoring for a fixed yearly fee. And if you are budgeting the website alongside a campaign, what advertising costs in Dubai puts the media numbers next to it.

FAQ

How much does a basic business website cost in Dubai?

A basic five-to-seven-page business website in Dubai costs AED 4,000 to AED 9,000 in 2026 when it is built on a template by an agency, including hosting setup and basic SEO. Freelancer and builder packages start lower, around AED 1,500 to 3,000, but usually exclude ownership of the code, speed work and support after launch.

How much does an e-commerce website cost in the UAE?

An online store in the UAE costs AED 35,000 to AED 120,000 depending on catalogue size, payment gateway, delivery integration and Arabic. Shopify-based stores sit at the lower end; custom catalogues with ERP or POS integration sit at the top. Add gateway setup fees and the e-commerce licence to the budget.

Is a freelancer cheaper than an agency for a website in Dubai?

Usually yes on the first invoice: a freelancer in Dubai charges roughly 30 to 50 percent less than an agency for the same page count. The difference shows up afterwards. Design, copy, SEO and support all come from one person, and when they are unavailable the site waits. Check who owns the domain before you sign.

How much does website maintenance cost per year in Dubai?

Budget AED 1,500 to AED 6,000 a year for a standard business site: domain, hosting, SSL, plugin licences and monthly updates. E-commerce stores run higher, AED 8,000 to AED 20,000, because of gateway fees, security monitoring and stock integrations. Agencies usually offer this as a fixed yearly plan.

Do I need an Arabic version of my website in Dubai?

Not always. If your customers are expats and tourists, English alone is normal in Dubai. If you sell to government, Emirati households or Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates, an Arabic version is expected and often required in tenders. Arabic adds roughly a third to the build cost because the layout is rebuilt right to left.

Want a number for your site, not a range?

Send us your page list and whether you sell online, and you will have a fixed-price quote in 24 hours, in AED, with hosting and the first year of maintenance shown separately. Start on the website development page or message us on WhatsApp.