How much does a small-business website cost in the UAE?

Quotes for the “same” website in Dubai can range from a few thousand dirhams to tens of thousands. That’s not because some people are cheating. Each quote prices a different amount of work, and most quotes don’t show the hours. Once you can see the hours, the quotes become comparable.

The two costs, in one line each

• Running cost is what you pay every year to keep the site online: domain, platform or hosting, apps or plugins, email and upkeep. It is mostly fixed, and you can look most of it up.
• Build cost is what you pay once to get the site made: planning, design, building pages, writing, connecting tools, testing. It is mostly people’s time. The same site gets cheaper or dearer depending on how many hours it needs and what an hour costs.

Budget the two separately. A low build quote with high running costs, such as a premium plugin bundle or a monthly “maintenance” fee, can cost more over three years than a higher build quote on a cheaper platform.

Running costs: the predictable part

Prices below were checked on 22 October 2026. Foreign software is billed in US dollars. The dirham is pegged at 3.6725 per dollar, so the AED figures are exact conversions before any bank card fees.

VAT. A UAE supplier that is VAT-registered adds 5% to its invoice. Registration is mandatory above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies a year, so many freelancers won’t charge VAT and most agencies will. Ask whether a quote includes VAT before you compare it with another.

Build costs: what you are actually paying for

Every website build is a mix of the same components. The hour ranges below are our planning estimates for a small-business site, not survey data. Use them to sanity-check a quote: if a quote is far below the low end, ask what is not included.

Two UAE-specific points make the biggest difference to a quote:

1. Arabic and English. A bilingual site is not “the same site twice”. Arabic needs right-to-left layout, a font that renders Arabic well, translated page names and URLs, and someone to check the translation. If you need both languages, make sure every quote you compare includes both.
2. Who writes the words. Writing is often the slowest part of a website project. If you supply final text and photos, the quote should drop. If the supplier writes, the quote should say so.

Three worked examples

These are hypothetical examples built from the estimates above. The hourly rate is set to AED 200 for illustration only. Rates vary widely between freelancers and agencies, so put your own quoted rates into the calculator.

Example A: 5-page service website, adapted template

Home, services, about, FAQ and contact. The supplier writes the text. There is a contact form, a WhatsApp button and the SEO basics.

Example B: 12-page bilingual website, custom design

Arabic and English, custom design, a contact form that goes into a CRM, online booking and a WhatsApp button. Professional translation is priced separately.

The range is wide because a “custom design” and the share of extra work for Arabic both vary a lot. Pin both down in writing before you compare quotes.

Example C: Shopify store, 50 products

A theme adapted to the brand, 4 information pages (you supply the text), 50 products entered from data you supply, payments (cards plus cash on delivery), shipping and tax settings, and the SEO basics.

For the store maths beyond year one, see Shopify vs WooCommerce for UAE stores.

Why two quotes for “the same website” differ

When quotes are far apart, it is almost always one of these:

• Content. One quote includes writing and photos. The other expects you to provide them.
• Languages. One quote is English only.
• Design. One is a template with your colours. The other is custom.
• Integrations. One connects the form to your CRM and WhatsApp. The other emails you.
• After launch. One includes training, a month of fixes or ongoing updates. The other ends at launch.
• Ownership. One registers the domain, hosting and analytics in your name. The other keeps them in theirs. The second is cheaper only until you want to leave.

Costs that show up later

• Renewals at a higher price than year one (domains, hosting, premium themes).
• Paid apps and plugins for features like reviews, bookings, filters or multi-currency.
• Card and payment fees on stores, which grow with sales.
• Upkeep on self-hosted sites: updates, backups and security fixes.
• Changes. New pages, new services and new photos. Agree an hourly rate for changes before launch.

How to compare quotes in 10 minutes

Ask each supplier the same questions, in writing:

1. How many hours is this, and at what rate?
2. Which pages are included, and in which languages?
3. Who writes the text and who supplies the photos?
4. Which tools does the site connect to (CRM, WhatsApp, booking, payments)?
5. Whose name are the domain, hosting, analytics and platform accounts in?
6. What happens after launch, and what does a change cost?
7. Does the price include VAT?

The calculator has a comparison sheet where you can put up to three quotes side by side using these questions.

When to do it yourself, and when to pay

Do it yourself if you need a few pages, can write your own text, are happy with a good template and don’t need integrations. Hosted builders are designed for exactly this.

Pay for help when the website has to do a job: bring in enquiries from ads, take bookings, send leads into a CRM, work in two languages, or run a store. Mistakes there cost more than the build. Even then, keep every account in your own name. The software audit guide shows how to check.

Frequently asked questions

Is a cheaper platform always cheaper overall?

No. WordPress software is free, but hosting, premium plugins and upkeep add up. Shopify charges a subscription, but needs much less upkeep. Compare three-year totals, not the first invoice.

How long does a small-business website take?

The hours above give a guide. Example A is roughly 40–78 hours of work, but the calendar time depends mostly on how quickly text, photos and feedback come back. Content delays are the most common reason projects run late.

Should the price include SEO?

The basics, yes: page titles, descriptions, a sitemap, Search Console and analytics set up. Ongoing SEO, such as writing new content and earning links, is a separate, continuing job and should be quoted separately.