How Much Does a Website Cost in Dubai? A Developer’s Honest Breakdown

Ask five agencies in Dubai for a website quote and you’ll get five very different numbers. As a developer who has built hundreds of websites, stores and web apps, I’ll explain what actually drives the price, so you can budget properly and avoid paying for the wrong things.

Prices vary widely between freelancers and agencies. The ranges below are typical market ranges to help you plan, not fixed quotes.

Table of contents

1. Typical website types and price ranges
2. What drives the price
3. Ongoing costs people forget
4. How to avoid overpaying (or underpaying)
5. Which platform?
6. Frequently asked questions
7. How much does a basic website cost in Dubai?
8. How long does it take to build a website?
9. Do I need Arabic on my website?
10. Get a clear quote

Typical website types and price ranges

Type	What you get	Typical range (AED)
Simple business website	5 to 8 pages, contact form, WhatsApp, basic SEO	About 2,000 to 8,000
Professional / personal brand site	Custom design, blog, lead capture, SEO setup	About 6,000 to 20,000
E-commerce store	Products, payments, shipping, BNPL, policies	About 8,000 to 40,000+
Custom web app / portal	Logins, dashboards, ERP/LMS/CRM features	About 25,000 to 150,000+

What drives the price

• Custom design vs template: unique designs take more time.
• Number of pages and content: who writes the copy and creates the images?
• Features: bookings, memberships, multi-language, multi-vendor, integrations.
• Arabic and English: bilingual sites need translation and right-to-left layouts.
• E-commerce complexity: number of products, variants, gateways, courier integrations.
• SEO and speed: proper technical SEO and performance work.
• Who builds it: freelancer, small studio or large agency.

Ongoing costs people forget

• Domain (yearly)
• Hosting (monthly or yearly)
• Platform subscriptions (Shopify) or premium plugins (WooCommerce)
• Maintenance, updates and backups
• Payment gateway fees
• Content updates and SEO

Budget for maintenance from day one. An unmaintained website becomes slow, insecure and outdated within a year.

How to avoid overpaying (or underpaying)

1. Write a short brief: goals, pages, features, examples you like, budget.
2. Ask what’s included: content, images, SEO, training, support period.
3. Insist on ownership: you should own the domain, hosting account and website files.
4. Check real work: live sites, not just screenshots.
5. Beware very cheap quotes: they often skip security, speed and SEO.

Which platform?

• WordPress: great for business sites, blogs and personal brands (this site runs on WordPress with a custom lightweight theme).
• Shopify or WooCommerce: for online stores. See Shopify vs WooCommerce for UAE.
• Custom development: for portals, ERPs and unique workflows.

Frequently asked questions

How much does a basic website cost in Dubai?

A simple business website commonly ranges from about AED 2,000 to 8,000, depending on who builds it and what’s included.

How long does it take to build a website?

Simple sites take one to three weeks; e-commerce stores three to eight weeks; custom apps longer.

Do I need Arabic on my website?

For consumer-facing businesses it’s strongly recommended, and for e-commerce key information should be available in Arabic. See UAE e-commerce law basics.

Get a clear quote

I build websites, stores and custom web apps for UAE businesses with transparent pricing and full ownership. Book a free consultation and tell me what you need.