By Renie Ravin, co-founder of InkySites. Updated 8 November 2026. This is general guidance, not legal or tax advice. The companion guide is what it costs to keep a small-business website running in the UAE.
The bill for a UAE website, line by line
The table lists each cost a build can carry, with the published figure and a link to the page it came from. Put your own quotes beside it. Any line your quote leaves blank is a line to ask about before you compare two prices.
| What it is | Lowest we read | In the middle | Highest we read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doing it yourself on a buildera plan you keep paying, not a one-off fee | AED 3.65 a site a month, billed yearly, VAT on top (Zoho Sites Lite) source | USD 17 a month, paid yearly (Squarespace Core) source | USD 29 a month, paid yearly, for a shop (Shopify Basic) source |
| A freelancerone-off | AED 399 for one page (Buildsite24 Basic) source | AED 999 for five pages (The Web Makers Static Starter) source | From AED 3,999 for an online store (The Web Makers) source |
| A small agencyone-off | AED 499 for up to five pages (Control Shift Starter; FiveOcean Basic); sources: Control Shift, FiveOcean | AED 1,499 (Control Shift Business; Agency Dubai Business, before VAT); sources: Control Shift, Agency Dubai | AED 5,900 for ten pages (DXB Web Designer Growth) source |
| An established agencyone-off | AED 4,725 for five custom pages, including VAT (Social Team Basic) source | AED 8,000 for up to eight pages, before VAT (Marketing Agency UAE) source | AED 30,000 for a shop (Marketing Agency UAE); from AED 50,000 for bespoke work (DXB Web Designer); sources: Marketing Agency UAE, DXB Web Designer |
| Arabic as a second languagean add-on, where it is priced at all | From AED 400 (DigiSphere) source | AED 1,500 for three to five pages of copy in both languages (Labeeb, which writes and does not build) source | AED 2,500, the top of Control Shift's range source |
| Bookingan add-on | AED 600 (DigiSphere) source | No middle price published; Control Shift prices booking as a range, AED 750 to 3,000 source | AED 3,000, the top of Control Shift's range source |
| An online shopone-off | AED 1,299 (Buildsite24 Light commerce) source | From AED 2,999 (Control Shift Ecommerce starter) source | AED 15,750 (Social Team, including VAT) source |
| Payment fees, if you sell onlineon every sale, after launch | 2.9% + AED 1.00 a domestic card payment (Stripe) source | The same 2.9% + AED 1.00 through Shopify Payments source | Shopify Basic adds 2% a sale when you use another payment provider, on top of that provider's own fee source |
| Copywritingan add-on | AED 120 a page (DigiSphere) source | AED 250 a page, both languages (Labeeb) source | AED 3,000, the top of Control Shift's range source |
| Logo and photosan add-on | AED 150 for a photo pack, a "starting point" (DigiSphere) source | AED 300 for a logo (DigiSphere) source | No higher price published. Innomedia includes a logo in its AED 1,200 package source |
| VATon each taxable line | None, if your builder is under the AED 375,000 registration threshold source | 5% source | 5% source |
| The first year, build plus upkeepeach from one provider's own figures, before VAT | AED 2,039: Control Shift's AED 499 build plus the low end of its own domain, hosting and email figures source | AED 7,749: the same build plus the high end of each of those figures source | AED 8,904 or more: Effective Web's AED 4,500 build plus 12 months of required care at AED 367 source |
Every figure as its provider published it on 8 November 2026, in the currency it was published in. "Before VAT" means the page says its price excludes VAT; where a cell says nothing about VAT, the page did not say. Nothing is converted or averaged.
Two quotes compare fairly once they cover the same lines. Check pages, Arabic, editing, hosting, the web address and VAT on each one. A quote that looks high may include what a lower one bills later. Ask the lower one for its year-two price before you choose.
What a website package leaves out
A starter site is AED 499 at Control Shift or FiveOcean, and bespoke work at DXB Web Designer starts at AED 50,000. Much of that gap is what each price covers. The Web Makers says: "Domain and hosting are quoted separately; an editing dashboard and online checkout are not included." DXB Web Designer quotes hosting, the domain and maintenance after its support window separately. Marketing Agency UAE says: "Hosting billed separately." Agency Dubai leaves them out too, and says "they are in your name and paid directly to your providers, including renewals." That is the version to look for, because your web address stays yours.
Arabic is the price most pages leave off
Many UAE sites need Arabic and English, yet most packages we read give no Arabic price. Control Shift lists bilingual Arabic and English at AED 500 to 2,500 on top. DigiSphere starts Arabic from AED 400. Labeeb, a copywriter, charges AED 1,500 for Arabic and English copy on three to five pages. Social Team includes two languages only in its AED 15,750 tier, and DXB Web Designer only from AED 50,000. Arabic has two costs: the words, and pages built to read right to left. Ask for both in writing, so your Arabic pages arrive without a second bill.
Your first year, added up
A build price is rarely the whole first year. Control Shift's AED 499 build has no monthly charge, and it lists the costs that sit outside it: a domain renewal, managed hosting and business email. On its own figures, your first year with one email user comes to AED 2,039 to 7,749 before VAT. Effective Web charges AED 4,500 plus a required AED 367 a month care plan for at least 12 months, so its first year is at least AED 8,904. Ask every builder for this one figure before you sign. For the years after, see our guide to what it costs to keep a small-business website running in the UAE.
Things that move your price
- Pages. DigiSphere charges AED 90 for an extra page, so count yours before you ask for quotes.
- A second language. Arabic is usually priced apart from the package, so ask to see it on the quote.
- Editing it yourself. A content system is an add-on at some agencies, and it decides whether every change goes back to them.
- Booking, payments or a shop. Each is a separate add-on at Control Shift, so name the ones you need up front.
- Words and photos. Most packages leave them to you, so ask who supplies them.
- Year two. A free first year of hosting can hide the renewal price, so ask for it in writing.
The traps in a UAE website quote
- The free first year. FiveOcean, Innomedia and Doodletech include hosting and the web address in year one, and their pages give no year-two price.
- The cheap build with a year of care. Effective Web's AED 4,500 build comes with a required AED 367 a month care plan and a 12-month minimum. Count the care in your first year.
- A site you rent. e&'s Managed Web Solution is AED 160 or AED 190 a month plus a one-time AED 900 onboarding fee, before 5% VAT. Its page says: "As these are subscription-based Solutions, cancellation of the Solution will mean that your website will cease to exist." It also says: "Domain registration is not included in the price."
- Rights the agency keeps. Amwaj NWD's terms say "The copyrights of the project remain with AMWAJ NWD. However, they can be transferred to the Client at an additional cost". Dubai Web Design's terms say that after payment "you receive a licence to use the delivered website for your business." Ask who owns the files once you have paid.
- A shop on someone else's address. FWM's AED 3,000 ready shop "runs on a .fwm.ae subdomain", away from your own web address.
- The price that left the page. One Dubai agency's page now says "Why are there no prices on this page? We share the plan details on your demo." Keep the date on every quote you hold.
Questions worth asking before you sign
- How many pages do I get, and what goes on each?
- Is Arabic included, both the words and the right-to-left pages, and at what price?
- Can I edit my site myself, or do changes go through you?
- Who writes the words and supplies the photos?
- Is my web address registered in my name, and who pays its renewal?
- What will hosting and the address cost in year two?
- Is VAT included in this price?
- Who owns the design and the files once I have paid?
- What support comes after launch, and for how long?
Keeping old page addresses when you replace a site
A new site often gives some pages new addresses, and anyone following an old link, from a search result or a bookmark, then lands on an error page. Google's own guide to moving a site says to list each old address beside its new one, and recommends "server side permanent redirects from the old URLs to the new URLs". It also says to expect search rankings to move for a while as it reads the new site. Ask for that list and the redirects as a line in your quote, so people who arrive at an old address still reach you.
When your current site is good enough
If your site brings enquiries, your details on it are right, and someone changes it when you ask, a rebuild may cost more than it earns back. Fix what is wrong on your current site and keep the money for something else. A freelancer you already know, who answers on WhatsApp, may suit you better than any package on this page.
Where InkySites fits
InkySites builds a fresh version of your current site for free, from the pages already public, and emails it to you within 48 hours, no card. With no site, we build a first draft from your public listings. If you go live with it, you pay $29 a month for hosting and unlimited reasonable changes, with no build fee. Unlimited has no counter; a new online store or a ground-up redesign is a different piece of work, and we say so. We do not take over your accounts or run WordPress sites. Your web address stays in your name, and your site's complete code comes back to you any time you ask.
Questions people ask
How much does a small-business website cost in Dubai and the UAE?
On 8 November 2026, published UAE build prices started at AED 399 to 499 for a starter site from a freelancer or small agency. Small-agency packages ran to AED 5,900, established agencies to AED 30,000, and bespoke Arabic and English work started at AED 50,000. Ask each quote what it leaves out, since hosting, the web address and Arabic are often extra.
Does a UAE website package include Arabic?
Usually the page does not say. Most UAE packages we read on 8 November 2026 gave no Arabic price. Control Shift lists bilingual Arabic and English at AED 500 to 2,500 extra, and DigiSphere starts Arabic from AED 400. Arabic needs the words and pages that read right to left, so ask that your quote prices both in writing.
Is VAT included in UAE website prices?
Often it is not. Most UAE price pages we read quote before the 5% VAT, while Social Team quotes including it. A provider must register for VAT only above AED 375,000 a year, so a freelancer's quote may carry none. Ask whether VAT is on top before you compare two quotes.
Should my web address end in .ae or .co.ae?
A .ae address is open to anyone with no documents, under aeDA's published policy. A .co.ae needs a UAE trade licence, a free-zone licence or a UAE trade mark. A .ae costs AED 125 to 150 a year before VAT at the UAE registrars we read. Whichever you choose, ask that it is registered in your name, so you decide where your site points.
What does a website cost in its first year in the UAE?
The build price is only part of it. On Control Shift's own figures, its AED 499 build plus a domain renewal, managed hosting and one email user comes to AED 2,039 to 7,749 for the first year, before VAT. Effective Web's AED 4,500 build with its required care plan comes to at least AED 8,904. Ask every builder for a first-year total before you sign.
How we got these figures
We read 81 UAE price and authority pages on 8 November 2026. Every figure here is one a provider published on its own page, and each links to that page so you can check it. Nothing is converted between currencies or averaged. We re-read the pages and update this guide when prices move, so the date tells you how fresh it is.
- Zoho Sites, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Squarespace, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Shopify (UAE), pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Stripe (UAE), pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Buildsite24, read 8 November 2026.
- The Web Makers, starter website, read 8 November 2026.
- Control Shift, AED 499 website offer, read 8 November 2026.
- FiveOcean, packages, read 8 November 2026.
- Control Shift, website development cost, read 8 November 2026.
- Agency Dubai, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- DXB Web Designer, packages compared, read 8 November 2026.
- Social Team, web development packages, read 8 November 2026.
- Marketing Agency UAE, web design pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- DigiSphere, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Labeeb, bilingual website copywriting, read 8 November 2026.
- Innomedia, website packages, read 8 November 2026.
- Federal Tax Authority, VAT registration, read 8 November 2026.
- Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2017 on VAT, Article 3, read 8 November 2026.
- Effective Web, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Doodletech, pricing plans, read 8 November 2026.
- e&, Managed Web Solution, read 8 November 2026.
- Amwaj NWD, payment policy, read 8 November 2026.
- Dubai Web Design, terms, read 8 November 2026.
- FWM, offers, read 8 November 2026.
- dub-ai.ae, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- aeDA, Domain Name Policy, read 8 November 2026.
- TDRA (aeDA), accredited registrars, read 8 November 2026.
- AEserver, domain pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Tasjeel, .ae domain names, read 8 November 2026.
- e& (nic.ae), domain charges, read 8 November 2026.
- Google Search Central, site moves with URL changes, read 8 November 2026.
Take this page to your next quote
Put your quotes beside the bill above and ask the nine questions in order. You will know what each price covers and what your first year costs before you sign. Keep your web address in your name, and your site stays yours.