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 a small-business website costs to build in the UAE.
What each line of a UAE website bill costs
The table lists each line you are likely to see on your website bill, with each provider's published price and a link to its page. Hold your invoices next to it. A figure well above the range is the line to ask about. If you are choosing who builds a new site, our UAE build cost guide covers that.
| What it is | Lowest we read | In the middle | Highest we read |
|---|---|---|---|
| A .ae web addressevery year, before VAT | AED 125 the first year, AED 145 to renew (AEserver) source | AED 129 the first year, then AED 145 (Tasjeel) source | AED 150 a year (e&, nic.ae) source |
| A .com web addressevery year, before VAT | AED 55 a year, the same at renewal (Tasjeel) source | AED 60 a year (e&, nic.ae) source | AED 55 the first year, then AED 69 to renew (AEserver) source |
| Hosting, the first termthe price you pay to start | AED 8.50 a month for the first 1-year term (GoDaddy Economy; VAT not stated) source | AED 19 a month on 36-month billing (AEserver Essentials) source | AED 30 a month on a yearly plan, AED 40 paid monthly; renewal price not on the page (Tasjeel Single Site, before VAT) source |
| Hosting, at renewalthe price you keep paying | AED 31.50 a month (Buzinessware Start) source | AED 52.50 a month (Buzinessware Grow) source | AED 78.75 a month (Buzinessware Scale). The only UAE host we read that publishes a renewal price source |
| Security certificate (SSL)every year, if paid | Free (Let's Encrypt) source | Free, included with hosting (Tasjeel, AEserver); sources: Tasjeel, AEserver | AED 719 a year for an EV certificate (AEserver, before VAT) source |
| Business emailevery month, per person | AED 3.65 a month, billed yearly, VAT on top (Zoho Mail Lite) source | AED 22 a month on a yearly plan (Microsoft 365 Business Basic through e&, before VAT) source | AED 46 a month on a yearly plan (Microsoft 365 Business Standard through e&, before VAT) source |
| Business email in US dollarsevery month, per person, from Google | USD 7 a month, before tax (Google Workspace Business Starter) source | USD 14 a month, before tax (Business Standard) source | USD 22 a month, before tax (Business Plus) source |
| Care plan (AMC)every month, or every year | AED 600 a year (Innomedia Basic AMC); by the month, AED 149 with no edit hours (FrameWork Basic); sources: Innomedia, FrameWork | AED 299 a month with 1 to 3 hours of edits (The Web Makers); AED 299 with up to 1 hour (UpStream Solutions); sources: The Web Makers, UpStream Solutions | AED 3,499 a month with 25 hours (Pro Web Technos Gold) source |
| A change past your planeach time | From AED 100 a task (Control Shift) source | AED 120 an hour (Amwaj NWD) source | From AED 125 an hour (Si3 Digital) source |
| Paid WordPress add-onsevery year, in US dollars, if your site uses them | USD 59 a year (Gravity Forms Basic) source | USD 89 a year (Divi) source | USD 228 a year at renewal (Elementor One) source |
| Payment fees, if you sell onlineon every sale | 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 |
| VATon each taxable line | None, if your provider is under the AED 375,000 registration threshold source | 5% source | 5% 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.
Your web address, hosting and email come back every year or every month. So do your care plan and any paid WordPress add-ons. The security certificate can cost nothing: the free one comes with hosting at Tasjeel and AEserver. Check every renewal price: on several pages the first year costs less.
Care plan hours, and the change that runs past them
Your care plan covers a set number of hours of changes each month. The Web Makers' AED 299 plan includes "1-3 hours of content edits each month". UpStream Solutions allows "Up to 1 hour of changes a month". OXEDGE offers 1, 3 or 6 hours for AED 499, AED 1,299 or AED 2,499 a month, before 5% VAT. Past those hours, a change is quoted or billed by the hour. Si3 Digital's one-time support starts at AED 125 an hour. At FrameWork and OXEDGE, hours you do not use are gone at the month's end. Count the changes you asked for last year, and you will know which plan fits before you sign.
Which website bills arrive in US dollars
Google Workspace, Hostinger, Bluehost and Kinsta hosting, Squarespace and Shopify plans, and WordPress add-ons such as Elementor and Divi are priced in US dollars. Google's own help page says: "UAE dirham (AED) is not included." Microsoft's page for Business Basic tells a UAE visitor "This product is not available in your market", so its AED prices come through e&, which resells it. These lines reach your card in another currency, so read them in dollars when you compare them, and ask your bank what it charges on a payment in dollars.
Why your bill may be higher or lower
- How many people need email, since it is priced per person every month.
- Paid WordPress add-ons, which renew every year in US dollars.
- How many changes you ask for, since anything past your plan's hours is billed again.
- How long you pay up front, since the low starting prices at AEserver and Hostinger need 36 or 48 months.
- Whether your provider is VAT-registered, since registration is required only above AED 375,000 a year and a small freelancer's invoice may carry no VAT.
- A .co.ae address, which costs AED 150 a year at e& and AED 199 at AEserver and needs a UAE trade licence or trade mark, where a plain .ae needs no documents.
Renewal surprises, and the wording that warns you
- The renewal jump. Hostinger: "Today you pay US$71.52 for 48 months. Renews at US$8.99/mo for the same term." AEserver: "Displayed price is with 36-month billing". AEserver, Tasjeel and e& showed no hosting renewal price, so ask for it in writing.
- Hours that vanish. FrameWork: "Unused edit hours do not roll over between months." OXEDGE: "Unused hours do not carry over."
- Minimum terms and automatic renewal. Si3 Digital: "Minimum 12-Month AMC". FWM: "3-month, half-year and yearly plans renew automatically until you cancel." Note your cancel date.
- A site you rent. e&'s Managed Web Solution is AED 160 or AED 190 a month plus AED 900 onboarding, 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." and "Domain registration is not included in the price."
- When payment stops. FrameWork states its term plainly: if payment stops, your site stays live for 14 days and is then paused, and your data can be exported for 30 days. Ask every provider for theirs.
- Your web address in someone else's account. Whoever holds the account decides where your site points, so ask whose it is. Tasjeel: "Private WHOIS registration isn't available for the .ae extension." Make sure the name on yours is yours.
Questions worth asking before you renew or sign
- Whose account is my web address in, and when does it renew, at what price?
- What will hosting cost at renewal, as well as this year?
- How many hours of changes a month are included, and do unused hours carry over?
- What does a change past those hours cost: an hourly rate, or a quote each time?
- Is VAT included in this price?
- Which lines are billed in US dollars?
- Is there a minimum term, does it renew by itself, and what does leaving cost?
- What happens to my site and my files if I stop paying?
- Does the plan cover fixing my site after a hack or a failed update?
When staying with your provider makes sense
If your provider makes your changes when you ask, your renewal prices are in writing, and your web address is in an account in your name, staying is often the easier path. A care plan with one to three hours a month is good value when your changes fit inside it. A local freelancer you can meet, who answers on WhatsApp, may suit you better than any plan. Run through the questions above, and you renew knowing what each line will cost.
Where InkySites fits
InkySites runs small-business websites for $29 a month: hosting, unlimited reasonable changes, and the basics that help Google and AI tools find your site. Unlimited has no counter, so there is no hour four. The bound is the kind of work, such as content edits, new pages and fixing what breaks. A new online store is a separate job. We do not take over your accounts, provide your email or run WordPress sites. We will build a fresh version of your site free and email it within 48 hours, no card. Your web address stays in your name, and your site's complete code is yours any time you ask.
Questions people ask
How much does website maintenance cost in Dubai per month?
On the UAE price pages we read on 8 November 2026, monthly care plans ran from AED 149 to AED 3,499. AED 299 a month sits in the middle: The Web Makers' Care Plan and UpStream Solutions' plan are both AED 299. The plans that include changes cap them, usually at one to three hours a month. Most of these pages do not say whether VAT is included, so ask before you sign.
What does a website AMC in the UAE include?
On the UAE pages we read, the care plans that include changes cap them at a set number of hours. That ran from 30 minutes a month at Effective Web to 25 hours a month in Pro Web Technos' Gold plan. A change past those hours is quoted or billed by the hour, and Si3 Digital's one-time support starts at AED 125 an hour. Innomedia's Basic AMC is AED 600 a year.
Do unused care plan hours carry over to the next month?
At some UAE providers they do not. FrameWork says "Unused edit hours do not roll over between months." OXEDGE says "Unused hours do not carry over." In those plans, hours you did not use are gone at the month's end. Ask your provider before you sign, and get the answer in writing, so you know what a quiet month costs you.
Is VAT charged on website maintenance in the UAE?
The UAE's standard VAT rate is 5% (Federal Decree-Law No. 8 of 2017, Article 3). Most UAE price pages we read quote before VAT, so your invoice may carry 5% on top of the page price. A provider must register for VAT only above AED 375,000 a year, so a small freelancer's invoice may carry no VAT at all. For anything else about VAT, ask your accountant.
Why is part of my website bill in US dollars?
Google Workspace, international hosts such as Hostinger, and WordPress add-ons such as Elementor and Divi are priced in US dollars. Google's own help page, listing the currencies it bills Workspace in, says "UAE dirham (AED) is not included." Those lines reach your card in another currency. Zoho Mail and Microsoft 365 through e& are priced in AED, so your email can stay in dirhams.
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 in the list below. Nothing is converted or averaged, so you can check any figure yourself. We re-read the pages and update this guide when prices move.
- AEserver, domain pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Tasjeel, .ae domain names, read 8 November 2026.
- e& (nic.ae), domain charges, read 8 November 2026.
- Tasjeel, .com domain, read 8 November 2026.
- GoDaddy, web hosting, read 8 November 2026.
- AEserver, web hosting, read 8 November 2026.
- Tasjeel, web hosting, read 8 November 2026.
- Buzinessware, web hosting, read 8 November 2026.
- Let's Encrypt, read 8 November 2026.
- AEserver, SSL certificates, read 8 November 2026.
- Zoho Mail, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- e&, Microsoft 365, read 8 November 2026.
- Google Workspace, UAE pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Innomedia, maintenance pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- FrameWork, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- The Web Makers, website maintenance, read 8 November 2026.
- UpStream Solutions, website maintenance, read 8 November 2026.
- Pro Web Technos, maintenance packages, read 8 November 2026.
- Control Shift, website development cost, read 8 November 2026.
- Amwaj NWD, payment policy, read 8 November 2026.
- Si3 Digital, website maintenance, read 8 November 2026.
- Gravity Forms, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Elegant Themes, Divi, read 8 November 2026.
- Elementor, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Stripe (UAE), pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- Shopify (UAE), pricing, 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.
- OXEDGE, website maintenance, read 8 November 2026.
- Effective Web, pricing, read 8 November 2026.
- FWM, website maintenance, read 8 November 2026.
- Google Workspace Help, local billing currencies, read 8 November 2026.
- Microsoft, Business Basic, read 8 November 2026.
- Hostinger (UAE), web hosting, read 8 November 2026.
- e&, Managed Web Solution, read 8 November 2026.
- aeDA, Domain Name Policy, read 8 November 2026.
- TDRA (aeDA), accredited registrars, read 8 November 2026.
Take these prices to your next renewal
Put your last website invoice next to the table above. Mark each line that comes back every year. Then ask the questions above, in order, before you renew or sign. You will know what you pay for and what your next change costs.