Quick answer
In 2026, a professionally built website in Dubai and the wider GCC usually costs from about AED 5,000 for a template-based brochure site to AED 100,000 or more for custom e-commerce or a web app. Most business sites in published UAE agency price guides fall between AED 15,000 and 55,000. Page layouts, bilingual Arabic/English scope, integrations and who builds it drive the price.
Key takeaways
- All figures are typical market ranges from published UAE agency guides, not Nexlla prices.
- The number of unique page layouts matters more than the number of pages.
- A real Arabic/RTL version, integrations and content are separate scope, not extras to assume.
- Check every quote for VAT, hosting, licences, maintenance and who owns the code and domain.
- Nexlla quotes per project, in a written plan with a fixed first milestone.
Why quotes for “the same website” vary so much
A buyer in Dubai, Riyadh, Doha or Damascus can collect five quotes for what looks like the same brief and find a tenfold gap between them. That gap is usually real, because the vendors are quoting different things:
- Template or custom design. A purchased theme with your logo swapped in is a different product from a site designed around your content and customers.
- Who builds it. A freelancer, a small studio, an in-house agency team and an offshore reseller have very different cost bases, and leave you with very different risk.
- What is included. Copywriting, Arabic translation, photography, SEO set-up, hosting, the first year of maintenance and VAT are often left out of the headline price.
- Who owns the result. Some quotes are cheap because you are renting the site on the vendor’s platform. You may not get the code, the hosting account or even the domain.
The fastest way to compare quotes is to turn each one into the same list of line items. The checklist further down does exactly that.
Typical 2026 price ranges by website type
These ranges come from UAE agency price guides published for 2026 (see Sources). The sources disagree with each other at the edges, so treat them as planning bands, not benchmarks.
| Website type | What it usually includes | Typical market range (AED, excl. VAT) |
|---|---|---|
| Landing page | One page, one goal (enquiry, sign-up, launch) | 2,000 – 7,000 |
| Small business / brochure site | 5–10 pages on a CMS, contact form, basic SEO | 4,000 – 18,000 |
| Corporate site (custom design) | Custom UI, 10–30 pages, CMS, often bilingual EN/AR | 15,000 – 55,000 |
| E-commerce store | Catalogue, cart, payment gateway, shipping, admin | 15,000 – 110,000+ |
| Portal or web app | Logins, dashboards, integrations, custom backend | 100,000+ |
These are typical market ranges, not Nexlla’s prices. Nexlla quotes every project in writing after a short discovery call.
Saudi Arabia
The AED and the SAR trade close to parity, so the bands above are a fair starting point for Saudi quotes. Expect upward pressure where Arabic-first design, mada card support and Saudi PDPL work are in scope.
Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain and Oman
Pricing tends to follow the UAE bands. Local payment rails (KNET in Kuwait, NAPS in Qatar, BenefitPay in Bahrain, OmanNet in Oman) can add integration time.
Syria
Build labour can cost less, but the payment and infrastructure picture is different (see payments by country). Budget for cash-on-delivery workflows, local wallets and hosting outside the country.
What actually drives the price
1. Design depth
The number of unique page layouts matters more than the number of pages. Ten blog posts on one template are cheap. Ten different layouts (home, services, case study, careers, pricing and so on) each need design, build and QA. Custom illustration, motion and 3D or WebGL push the price up quickly.
2. Arabic and English
A proper bilingual site is not “English plus machine translation”. It needs right-to-left (RTL) layouts that mirror correctly, Arabic typography that holds up at small sizes, translated or transcreated copy, separate SEO metadata per language, and hreflang tags so search engines show the right version. Plan for a meaningful uplift over a single-language build; the size depends on how much copy needs translating and whether the Arabic is written natively.
3. Integrations
Every system the site talks to adds scope: a CRM, a booking calendar, an ERP or inventory system, a WhatsApp Business number, a payment gateway, an e-invoicing provider. In Saudi Arabia, e-commerce businesses also need to check how their checkout and invoicing fit ZATCA’s e-invoicing (FATOORAH) rules.
4. Content
Agencies often quote on the assumption that you will supply final copy and images. Copywriting, Arabic copy, product photography and video are separate budget lines, and they often decide whether the launch date holds.
5. Platform choice
A hosted platform (Shopify, Webflow, Wix) lowers build cost and adds a monthly subscription. A self-hosted CMS such as WordPress has low licence costs and higher maintenance. A custom or headless build costs more up front and gives you the most control. Our WordPress vs Shopify vs custom comparison walks through the trade-offs.
6. Compliance and accessibility
Privacy notices and cookie consent under the UAE PDPL, the Saudi PDPL and other GCC laws, accessibility work (WCAG 2.x AA is the usual target) and security headers all add design and development time. They are cheaper to build in than to retrofit. See our guide to UAE PDPL website requirements.
7. Who you hire
A studio that designs and builds in-house usually costs more than a freelancer or a reseller. In exchange, one team is accountable from design to launch. Ask every vendor whether any part of the work is subcontracted.
Costs that are usually not in the headline quote
| Cost | Typical shape | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| VAT | UAE 5%, KSA 15%, Bahrain 10%, Oman 5%; no VAT in Qatar or Kuwait (as of October 2026) | Check whether the quote says “excl. VAT” |
| Domain | Yearly | .ae, .sa and some other country domains have local-presence eligibility rules |
| Hosting | Monthly or yearly | Local or regional hosting may be needed for sector rules (e.g. health data) |
| Platform subscriptions | Monthly | Shopify, Webflow, premium plugins, form tools |
| Payment gateway fees | Per transaction plus set-up | Varies by provider and card type |
| Translation and copy | Per word or per page | Native Arabic copy costs more than machine translation, and reads better |
| Maintenance | Yearly | One published UAE guide suggests 15–20% of build cost per year for apps; websites vary |
| SEO and content | Monthly | Ranking takes ongoing content and authority work, not just launch set-up |
Payment methods by country
For e-commerce, integration time and fees depend on which local payment methods you must accept. This is market information, so confirm current availability with each provider.
- UAE: card gateways such as Network International (N-Genius), Checkout.com, Telr, PayTabs, Amazon Payment Services and Stripe. Buy-now-pay-later (Tabby, Tamara) is often requested.
- Saudi Arabia: mada debit cards are essential for local shoppers. Apple Pay and STC Pay are widely expected.
- Kuwait: KNET debit is the norm. Qatar: NAPS. Bahrain: BenefitPay. Oman: OmanNet.
- Syria: card acceptance is new. In May 2026 Mastercard and QNB processed Syria’s first international card payment in more than 15 years, alongside a Visa trial in Damascus. In August 2026 the Central Bank of Syria announced Decision No. 1124, a licensing framework for payment service and e-money providers. For now, most Syrian e-commerce runs on cash on delivery and local wallets such as Sham Cash, Syriatel Cash and MTN Cash. Many international SaaS tools have historically restricted Syrian accounts, so check each vendor before you design around it.
Clients pay Nexlla by Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, PayPal and other methods. The payment gateways inside your own build (mada, KNET, Stripe, PayPal and others) are chosen per market and scoped per project.
Quote comparison checklist
Ask every vendor to answer each line in writing:
- How many unique page templates are included?
- Is the design custom or based on a purchased theme?
- Is the site bilingual? Who writes or translates the Arabic?
- Is RTL layout and QA included for every template?
- Which CMS is used, and can my team edit every page without a developer?
- Which integrations are included (CRM, WhatsApp, booking, payments, ERP)?
- Which payment methods are supported (cards, mada, KNET, Apple Pay, BNPL, COD)?
- Are hosting, domain and licences included, and for how long?
- Who owns the code, design files, domain and hosting accounts at the end?
- Is a privacy notice and cookie consent set-up included?
- What accessibility standard is targeted?
- How many revision rounds are included?
- Is any part subcontracted or offshored?
- What happens after launch: warranty window, maintenance or a retainer?
- Is the price inclusive or exclusive of VAT?
How Nexlla prices and builds websites
Nexlla Creative Agency is a design and technology studio founded in Dubai in 2022. It is cloud-based and remote-first, and works with clients across the UAE, the wider GCC and Syria. From Nexlla’s published process and portfolio:
- Quoted per project, in writing. There is no price list. A project starts with a short discovery call, then a written plan with scope, a timeline and a fixed first milestone you can accept or decline before any long commitment. See how we work.
- Indicative timelines. A content-managed marketing website typically runs 4–8 weeks. Dashboards and platforms run 8–16 weeks.
- In-house delivery. One team designs and builds the site, with no subcontracting.
- You own it. At handover you get the code, a documented runbook and a repository you own, deployed to your accounts. A roughly 30-day stabilisation window is included; a retainer is optional.
- Bilingual Arabic/English builds, with a CMS your team can edit.
- Payment gateways scoped per project. The gateways inside your own build (mada, KNET, Stripe, PayPal and others) are chosen to fit your market. Clients pay Nexlla by Visa, Mastercard, bank transfer, PayPal and other methods.
Relevant work
- Shaam Store (Damascus, Syria): a bilingual Arabic/English marketplace at shaamstore.sy with prices in USD and SYP, cash on delivery, Sham Cash, Syriatel Cash, MTN Cash or bank transfer, delivery to all 14 governorates and an Android app.
- Itar Agency (Muscat, Oman): a showcase website built to move visitors from first impression to service enquiry.
- AlRiyada Group (Muscat, Oman): a rebrand plus a corporate showcase website for a multi-service group.
- ER Law Firm (Dubai, UAE): a rebrand and a new website for a law firm serving corporate and high-net-worth clients.
- Superlaundry (Muscat, Oman): a brand refresh, website and customer portal for pickup requests, order tracking and delivery visibility.
- Dreamoro Book (Kuwait): a revision of a book website and marketplace to improve discovery and the browse-to-purchase path.
See more in the portfolio, or request a written quote or book a call.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a basic business website cost in Dubai?
In published UAE agency guides, a 5–10 page brochure site on a CMS usually falls between AED 4,000 and AED 18,000 excluding VAT. Bilingual Arabic/English content, custom design and integrations push it higher.
How much does an e-commerce website cost in the UAE?
Typical market ranges run from about AED 15,000 to more than AED 110,000. The main drivers are catalogue size, payment gateways, shipping and ERP integrations, and whether the store is on a hosted platform or custom-built.
Is a website cheaper in Saudi Arabia or Syria than in the UAE?
Saudi quotes are broadly similar, because the SAR and AED trade near parity, but mada support and 15% VAT apply. Labour can cost less in Syria, but payments, hosting and tool availability add their own costs.
Does a website quote in the UAE include VAT?
Often it does not. UAE VAT is 5%. Check whether the quote is marked inclusive or exclusive of VAT.
How much extra does an Arabic version cost?
It depends on the volume of copy and whether the Arabic is written natively or translated. RTL design and QA, Arabic typography, a second set of SEO metadata and hreflang set-up all add scope. Ask for it as a separate line item.
What are the yearly running costs of a website?
Budget for the domain, hosting, platform or plugin subscriptions, payment fees, security updates and content. One published UAE guide suggests 15–20% of the build cost per year for maintenance on larger app builds.
Why does Nexlla not publish a price list?
Scope varies too much between a showcase site and a platform. Nexlla quotes per project: after a short discovery call you receive a written plan with scope, a timeline and a fixed first milestone.
Sources
External facts on this page come from these sources. Figures from agency price guides are typical market ranges, not Nexlla prices.
- Element8, "Website design cost Dubai"
- Cubix, "Web development cost in Dubai (2026)"
- Redberries, "Web design Dubai 2026 pricing"
- Netguru, "Mobile app development cost in Dubai, UAE" (maintenance 15–20% figure)
- Enab Baladi, "Syria tests Visa and Mastercard payments after 15 years" (May 2026)
- Kuwait Times, "Visa, Mastercard begin Syria global card payments"
- Enab Baladi, Central Bank of Syria electronic payment system decision (Aug 2026)
- ZATCA, E-Invoicing (FATOORAH)