What do Dubai agencies say a website costs?
It depends which guide you read. We compared four price guides that rank for this question, each published by a company that builds websites. None states a method beyond its own projects or pricing, and we don't name other agencies on this site.
| Type of site | Guide A (updated Sep 2026) | Guide B (Apr 2026) | Guide C (updated Jul 2026) | Guide D (Apr 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic or starter business site | 800–3,000 Evidence Price guide A: a UAE web design company. Updated 26 Sep 2026. Market ranges it gives: a 5-page starter website AED 800–3,000, a business website AED 2,500–12,000, an online store AED 3,999–20,000+. Running costs: a domain at about AED 40–120 a year and hosting at about AED 200–800 a year for a small business site. It states no method for the ranges. We don't name other agencies on this site. A UAE web design company's published guide · checked 12 Oct 2026 | 3,500–8,000 Evidence Price guide B: a Dubai agency. Posted 10 Apr 2026. Ranges it gives: a basic business website AED 3,500–8,000, a corporate or SME website AED 12,000–55,000, an e-commerce website AED 15,000–110,000+, a custom web application AED 50,000–275,000+. It calls them planning estimates and states no method. We don't name other agencies on this site. A Dubai agency's published guide · checked 12 Oct 2026 | 15,000–25,000 Evidence Price guide C: a Dubai agency. Updated July 2026. Ranges it gives: a basic business website AED 15,000–25,000, a corporate website AED 25,000–60,000, an e-commerce website AED 30,000–200,000+, a custom web application AED 100,000+. It says the ranges follow its own pricing for agency-built sites. We don't name other agencies on this site. A Dubai agency's published guide · checked 12 Oct 2026 | 3,500–18,000 Evidence Price guide D: a design company. Dated 22 Apr 2025, titled for 2026. Ranges it gives: a basic website AED 3,500–18,000, a small-business website AED 7,000–55,000, an e-commerce website AED 8,000–110,000, a custom website AED 18,000–145,000. Running costs: a domain at AED 50–500 a year, hosting at AED 40–500 a month, maintenance from around AED 2,000 a month. It says the guide draws on its own projects and gives no breakdown. We don't name other agencies on this site. A design company's published guide · checked 12 Oct 2026 |
| Business or corporate site | 2,500–12,000 | 12,000–55,000 | 25,000–60,000 | 7,000–55,000 |
| Online store | 3,999–20,000+ | 15,000–110,000+ | 30,000–200,000+ | 8,000–110,000 |
| Custom web application | Not stated | 50,000–275,000+ | 100,000+ | 18,000–145,000 |
Each guide defines its types differently, so each row is the closest match, not like for like.
Read across any row and the top of one range is ten or more times the bottom of another. That isn't one market price with noise around it; it's different products sharing a name. A five-page site assembled from a template and a site planned around enquiries, with tracking and a CRM behind it, are both sold as "a business website".
What does a website cost with Lucidarc Digital?
AED 12k–25k (≈ USD 3.3k–6.8k) · one-off project, when it's sold on its own as a Digital Launch. Evidence · published Digital Launch: published price. AED 12k–25k (≈ USD 3.3k–6.8k) · one-off project. Website plus the conversion system behind it: analytics, call and form tracking, CRM integration, WhatsApp. The audit sets the exact number within the range. Published price list · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence → The published scope reads: "Website plus the conversion system behind it: analytics, call and form tracking, CRM integration, WhatsApp." The free audit sets the number within the range.
| What you need | How it's sold | Our published price |
|---|---|---|
| A website built to produce enquiries | Digital Launch, a one-off project | AED 12k–25k (≈ USD 3.3k–6.8k) · one-off project |
| The site as month 1 of a full system, with search, ads and follow-up after it | The 90-day system, a fixed fee | AED 15,000–30,000 (≈ USD 4,000–8,000) |
| A client portal, dashboard or marketplace | Custom Systems, in fixed-scope phases | AED 25k–150k+ (≈ USD 6.8k–41k+) · fixed-scope phases |
| Maintenance and conversion work after launch | The Growth retainer, monthly | AED 5k–7.5k / mo (≈ USD 1.4k–2k) |
Ranges are indicative; the audit sets the number. Ad spend is always separate and paid direct. Custom development is quoted outside the retainer. We contract in AED, USD, GBP or EUR. Prices exclude VAT. UAE VAT at 5% is added to the invoice where it applies.
Where we're not the right fit: if five pages that describe the business are all you need, the lower ranges in the first table are a sensible buy, and we'd say so on a call.
What changes the price of a website?
Scope, in six places. Ask any builder to price each one, so two quotes can be compared line by line.
- Pages that take enquiries. Not the page count: the number of pages a buyer can act on, each with its own next step.
- Who writes it. Copy written from your facts and approved by you costs more than text you supply.
- Selling online. A store adds products, payments, delivery rules and tax settings.
- What it connects to. A CRM, WhatsApp, a booking system or stock. Connections a tool doesn't offer need custom work, quoted separately.
- Tracking. Analytics, call tracking and a test enquiry through every form, so each enquiry arrives with its source.
- Languages. A second language, such as Arabic, is a second set of pages to write, lay out and check.
One thing that shouldn't change it: a promise of where the site will rank. A new site can be built so search engines and AI assistants can read it. Nobody can promise its position.
What will you pay every year after launch?
Four things, usually to someone other than the builder, plus VAT on the builder's own invoice. The amounts below are what two of the guides and one platform publish; yours will depend on the platform you choose.
| Cost | What's published | Where it's from |
|---|---|---|
| Domain name | About AED 40–120 a year in one guide; AED 50–500 a year in another | Two of the price guides Evidence Price guide A: a UAE web design company. Updated 26 Sep 2026. Market ranges it gives: a 5-page starter website AED 800–3,000, a business website AED 2,500–12,000, an online store AED 3,999–20,000+. Running costs: a domain at about AED 40–120 a year and hosting at about AED 200–800 a year for a small business site. It states no method for the ranges. We don't name other agencies on this site. A UAE web design company's published guide · checked 12 Oct 2026 Evidence Price guide D: a design company. Dated 22 Apr 2025, titled for 2026. Ranges it gives: a basic website AED 3,500–18,000, a small-business website AED 7,000–55,000, an e-commerce website AED 8,000–110,000, a custom website AED 18,000–145,000. Running costs: a domain at AED 50–500 a year, hosting at AED 40–500 a month, maintenance from around AED 2,000 a month. It says the guide draws on its own projects and gives no breakdown. We don't name other agencies on this site. A design company's published guide · checked 12 Oct 2026 |
| Hosting | About AED 200–800 a year for a small business site in one guide; AED 40–500 a month in another | The same two guides |
| A store platform, with Shopify as the example | USD 24, 69 or 299 a month when paid yearly, plus card fees from 2.9% + AED 1.00 per online sale on the entry plan | Shopify's UAE pricing page Evidence · published What Shopify charges in the UAE. Shopify's UAE pricing page lists Basic at USD 24 a month, Grow at USD 69 and Advanced at USD 299 when paid yearly (USD 32, 92 and 399 paid monthly), with online card rates from 2.9% + AED 1.00 on Basic. A platform's prices change; read the page before you budget. Shopify · checked 12 Oct 2026 Open the evidence → |
| Maintenance | With us, part of the Growth retainer at AED 5k–7.5k / mo (≈ USD 1.4k–2k). One guide puts market rates from around AED 2,000 a month | Our price list Evidence · published After day 90: a retainer. Growth, Growth+ or Growth Partner, from AED 5,000 a month (≈ USD 1,400). Optional: the system you own keeps working without it. Published price list · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence → ; one price guide Evidence Price guide D: a design company. Dated 22 Apr 2025, titled for 2026. Ranges it gives: a basic website AED 3,500–18,000, a small-business website AED 7,000–55,000, an e-commerce website AED 8,000–110,000, a custom website AED 18,000–145,000. Running costs: a domain at AED 50–500 a year, hosting at AED 40–500 a month, maintenance from around AED 2,000 a month. It says the guide draws on its own projects and gives no breakdown. We don't name other agencies on this site. A design company's published guide · checked 12 Oct 2026 |
| VAT | 5% on the builder's invoice where it applies. Ask whether a quote includes it; ours exclude it | Our price list Evidence · published Prices exclude VAT. Our published prices exclude VAT. Where VAT applies, the UAE standard rate of 5% is added and shown on the invoice. Published price list · UAE VAT law (Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017) · checked 2 Oct 2026 Open the evidence → |
Should you use a website builder, a freelancer or an agency?
It depends on what the site has to do. We couldn't find a sourced comparison of their rates in the UAE, so we don't quote one. Compare what you'd own and what you'd be able to change.
- A website builder suits a business that needs a presence and will look after it in-house. You pay the platform monthly and do the work yourself.
- A freelancer suits a small, clear brief. Ask who covers when they're unavailable, and whose logins hold the domain and hosting.
- An agency suits a site that has to connect to other systems and be measured. Ask who does the work, by name, and what you keep if you leave.
Whoever builds it, the domain, hosting, analytics and CRM should be in your name from the first day, with the builder as an invited user. Evidence · published You own every account. We work inside your analytics, ads, CRM and WhatsApp accounts as invited users. You stay the owner of every one, from the first day. Programme terms · checked 1 Oct 2026 Open the evidence →
What should a website quote include?
- The pages, listed, and what each one asks the visitor to do.
- Who writes the copy, and who supplies the images.
- The platform, and what your team will be able to edit without the builder.
- Tracking: what's installed, and how a test enquiry proves it works.
- What it connects to: CRM, WhatsApp, booking, payments.
- Who owns the domain, the hosting and every account.
- Every cost after launch: domain, hosting or platform, maintenance.
- Whether the price includes VAT.
- What happens to the files and the accounts if you part ways.
Our own answers are on the websites page and the pricing page. For the wider budget, see what digital marketing costs in Dubai.
Sources
Each source as we read it on 12 Oct 2026. Official texts are marked; everything else is labelled by who published it. We wrote this guide as an agency that sells these services, so our own prices and claims are kept apart from market figures.
- AgencyWebsite price guide by a UAE web design company, updated 26 Sep 2026A UAE web design company's published guide · updated 26 Sep 2026 · read 12 Oct 2026
- AgencyWebsite price guide by a Dubai agency, updated Jul 2026A Dubai agency's published guide · updated Jul 2026 · read 12 Oct 2026
- AgencyWebsite price guide by a Dubai agency, posted 10 Apr 2026A Dubai agency's published guide · 10 Apr 2026 · read 12 Oct 2026
- AgencyWebsite price guide for Dubai by a design company, dated 22 Apr 2025A design company's published guide · 22 Apr 2025 · read 12 Oct 2026
- OfficialShopify pricing, United Arab EmiratesShopify · read 12 Oct 2026