How much does a website cost in Dubai in 2026? Prices by type of site
By Bilal Haider, Founder, Theepa Studio · · 5 min read
Short answer
In 2026 price guides from two Dubai agencies, a basic business website costs roughly AED 1,500 to 15,000, a CMS or business site AED 6,000 to 40,000, and an ecommerce store from about AED 10,000 to well over AED 100,000. The spread comes from page count, custom design, Arabic, integrations and who builds it. A written scope is the only way to compare quotes fairly.
How much does a website cost in Dubai in 2026?
A basic business website in Dubai usually costs somewhere between AED 1,500 and AED 15,000. A business site with a content management system (CMS) runs from about AED 6,000 to AED 40,000, and an ecommerce store starts around AED 10,000 and can pass AED 100,000 for a custom platform. Those are the ranges two Dubai agencies, Element8 and Cubix, published in their 2026 price guides.
Both guides call their figures planning estimates, not fixed rates, and they disagree with each other by a wide margin. That gap is the real answer: the price depends far more on your scope than on the city.
What do Dubai agencies charge by type of website?
Here are the two guides side by side, quoted as published:
| Type of website | Element8 (updated 18 September 2026) | Cubix (updated 1 June 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Basic business website | AED 1,500 to 6,000 | AED 3,000 to 15,000 |
| CMS or business website | AED 6,000 to 18,000 | AED 15,000 to 40,000 ("moderate") |
| Corporate or custom website | AED 18,000 to 50,000+ | AED 40,000 to 120,000 ("complex") |
| Ecommerce website | AED 12,000 to 60,000+ | AED 30,000 to 120,000+ |
| Enterprise platform | Not listed | AED 120,000 to 200,000+ |
If you're a startup or a small business, the first two rows are where most projects land. The corporate and enterprise rows are for sites with user accounts, dashboards, heavy integrations or many languages and markets.
Why do quotes for the same website vary so much?
Because "a website" can mean very different amounts of work. Element8 lists ten cost factors. These are the ones that move the price most:
- 1Number of pages and how much content each one carries. Ten simple pages cost less than five pages full of tables, forms and product detail.
- 2Custom design or a template. Cubix puts basic UI/UX design at AED 5,000 to 15,000 and advanced UI/UX at AED 15,000 to 40,000 or more.
- 3CMS or custom development. Cubix prices WordPress or CMS builds at AED 5,000 to 20,000 and custom development at AED 30,000 to 150,000 or more.
- 4Integrations. Payments, bookings, CRM and ERP connections. Cubix puts basic integrations at AED 2,000 to 10,000 and complex ones above AED 10,000.
- 5Arabic and other languages. A bilingual site needs right-to-left layouts, Arabic fonts and translated content, not just a language switch.
- 6SEO, content entry and migration. Moving old pages and keeping their search rankings is real work, and it is often left out of cheap quotes.
- 7Who builds it. Cubix gives freelancers at AED 3,000 to 30,000 and agencies at AED 15,000 to 120,000 for comparable work.
What does an ecommerce website cost in the UAE?
Cubix's separate 2026 ecommerce guide breaks stores down further:
| Type of store | Cubix estimate |
|---|---|
| Basic ecommerce store | AED 10,000 to 20,000 |
| Growth-focused branded store | AED 20,000 to 45,000 |
| Advanced ecommerce website | AED 45,000 to 90,000 |
| Custom ecommerce platform | AED 90,000 to 180,000+ |
| Multivendor or enterprise marketplace | AED 180,000+ |
Platform fees (Shopify, WooCommerce hosting, payment gateways) are paid on top of the build, every month or as a share of each sale. Ask for them in writing before you compare quotes.
Worked example: pricing a bilingual cafe website
Say a new cafe in Dubai wants eight pages in English and Arabic, a menu the team can update, table bookings and a link to a delivery app. Here is how to place it in the ranges above:
- 1Type: a CMS business website, because staff need to edit the menu. That's Element8's AED 6,000 to 18,000 band, or Cubix's AED 15,000 to 40,000.
- 2Add-ons: a booking integration and a full Arabic version both push it toward the top of whichever band you use.
- 3Not needed: no online shop, no user accounts, so it should not be priced as ecommerce or custom.
- 4Decide what to ask for: a fixed price for the eight pages in both languages, the booking integration, CMS training and SEO setup, with hosting and plan fees listed separately.
On those guides' figures, a fair quote for that scope sits in the upper half of the CMS band. A quote far below it usually means a template with the Arabic or the integration left out.
Is it cheaper to hire a freelancer or an agency in Dubai?
Usually, yes, a freelancer costs less upfront: Cubix's ranges for freelancers start at AED 3,000, and for agencies at AED 15,000. The trade-off is coverage. A single freelancer may not handle design, Arabic, SEO and development equally well, and you become the project manager. We compare the options in more detail in branding agency vs freelancer.
How do you get an accurate website quote?
Send every supplier the same short brief, so the quotes are comparable:
- A list of pages (a rough sitemap)
- Two or three websites you like, and why
- Features: forms, bookings, payments, accounts, blog
- Languages, and who writes or translates the content
- Who will edit the site after launch, and how often
- Your launch date and budget band
Then check each quote for what it leaves out: Arabic, content entry, SEO, hosting, training and support after launch.
To get a first figure for your own scope, try our free website cost calculator. If you want the brand and the site designed together on a fixed price and date, see the Brand + Website package, with current prices on the pricing page.
Sources
- How Much Does Website Design Cost in Dubai? (Element8, published 25 March 2026, updated 18 September 2026)
- How Much Does Web Development Cost in Dubai? 2026 Guide (Cubix, published 15 April 2026, updated 1 June 2026)
- How Much Does Ecommerce Development Cost in Dubai? 2026 Guide (Cubix, published 30 April 2026, updated 1 June 2026)
Bilal Haider
Founder, Theepa Studio
Bilal founded Theepa Studio in 2016. The studio has delivered more than 10,000 brand identities for companies in the US, UK and the GCC.
