App development cost in Dubai (2026): AED ranges from published price guides
What a mobile app costs in Dubai in 2026: AED ranges from published guides and company rate cards, hourly rates, maintenance and timelines.
Building a mobile app in Dubai costs from about AED 30,000 for a simple app to more than AED 1 million for a complex platform, going by price guides and rate cards published in 2025 and 2026. Most business apps with payments, accounts and an admin panel fall between AED 80,000 and AED 440,000 in those guides. The spread between publishers is wide, so the tables below show each source separately.
Every figure on this page comes from a page you can open, listed at the end. STYLABS builds apps from Dubai and Mumbai, so we have an interest in the answer; our own price is stated once and labelled.
Published AED ranges by app size
Three cost guides give tiers for Dubai.
| Size of app | Cubix (3 April 2026) | Techugo (13 May 2026) | Tenet (5 July 2025) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | AED 8,000 to 180,000 | AED 30,000 to 80,000 | AED 18,000 to 180,000 |
| Mid-sized | AED 180,000 to 440,000 | AED 80,000 to 180,000 | AED 180,000 to 440,000 |
| Complex | AED 440,000 to 1.1 million | AED 180,000 to 500,000 and up | AED 440,000 to 1.1 million and up |
| Enterprise | AED 1,100,000 to 2,940,000 and up | Not published | Not published |
Techugo's FAQ starts its advanced tier at AED 300,000, not the AED 180,000 in its body text. Tenet also prices by sector: an e-commerce app at AED 29,000 to 220,000, a real estate app at AED 26,000 to 294,000, and a healthcare app at AED 37,000 to 367,000 or more.
What app companies publish on their own sites
Cost guides describe the market. Rate cards say what one company charges.
| Company | What it prices | Published figure |
|---|---|---|
| AppVerticals | Basic app to complex enterprise platform | AED 55,000 to 1,000,000+ |
| Branex | Complex, multi-platform apps at the top end | AED 25,000 to 150,000+ |
| Control Shift (updated 30 October 2026) | Mobile apps; the AED 4,999 floor is a limited-time launch price | AED 4,999 to 17,999 |
| TekRevol | Startup MVP | AED 18,000 to 180,000 |
| Full enterprise platform | AED 300,000 to 450,000+ | |
| TheAppIdea | MVP, six to eight weeks | From AED 15,000 |
| Cross-platform iOS and Android, ten to sixteen weeks | From AED 45,000 | |
| STYLABS | App build, three to twelve weeks | AED 33,000 to 130,000 |
The lowest and highest figures differ by a factor of two hundred. They do not describe the same product: a AED 5,000 app and a AED 500,000 app differ in screens, user roles, integrations and the team behind them. The companies themselves are compared in mobile app development companies in Dubai.
iOS, Android or both
Cubix publishes ranges by platform:
| Platform | Published range |
|---|---|
| iOS only | AED 100,000 to 550,000 |
| Android only | AED 80,000 to 600,000 |
| Cross-platform (Flutter or React Native) | AED 70,000 to 500,000 |
Tenet gives AED 18,000 to 55,000 for a basic Android app and AED 22,000 to 66,000 for a basic iOS app. A cross-platform build writes each feature once for both stores, which is why it costs less than two native apps. Native code still suits apps that depend on device hardware or heavy graphics.
Developer rates in Dubai
Netguru's guide (5 December 2025) gives hourly rates for Dubai by experience:
- Junior developers: AED 50 to 100 an hour
- Mid-level developers: AED 100 to 150 an hour
- Senior developers: AED 150 to 250 or more an hour
It breaks a project into planning (two to four weeks), design (three to six weeks), engineering (eight to twenty-four weeks) and testing (three to six weeks).
What moves a quote
- User roles. A customer app with a separate driver, seller or staff app is two or three apps.
- Payments. Cards, Tabby, Tamara, Apple Pay and cash on delivery each need integration and testing.
- Languages. Arabic with right-to-left layout costs less when it is planned from the first screen.
- Integrations. An ERP, a booking system, a CRM or a delivery partner each add work.
- The back end. An admin panel, an API and hosting are part of the app, whether or not the quote lists them.
- Platforms. iOS, Android or both, and native or cross-platform.
Costs after launch
- Maintenance. Cubix says to plan for 10% to 20% of the build cost each year. Netguru and Tenet both say 15% to 25%.
- Store accounts. The Apple Developer Program costs 99 US dollars a year. Google Play charges a one-time 25 US dollar registration fee.
- Store commission. Apple's App Store Small Business Program charges 15% on paid apps and in-app purchases for developers who earned up to 1 million US dollars in the previous calendar year.
- Running costs. Hosting, payment gateway fees, SMS and push notifications.
How long it takes
Cubix and Techugo both publish two to four months for a simple app, four to eight months for a mid-sized one, and eight to twelve months or more for a complex one. TheAppIdea publishes six to eight weeks for an MVP. STYLABS takes three to twelve weeks depending on complexity.
For what STYLABS builds and has shipped, see mobile app development in Dubai. For software beyond an app, see custom software development cost in the UAE.
FAQ
How much does it cost to develop an app in Dubai? Published 2026 guides put a simple app at AED 30,000 to 80,000 (Techugo) or up to AED 180,000 (Cubix, Tenet), a mid-sized app at AED 80,000 to 440,000, and a complex platform at AED 440,000 to more than AED 1 million. Company rate cards run from AED 4,999 at Control Shift to AED 1,000,000 or more at AppVerticals.
How much does a simple app or MVP cost in Dubai? TheAppIdea publishes an MVP from AED 15,000, TekRevol prices a startup MVP at AED 18,000 to 180,000, and Techugo puts a simple app at AED 30,000 to 80,000. A STYLABS app build runs from AED 33,000 to AED 130,000, quoted as a fixed proposal after a scoping call.
Is it cheaper to build one app for iOS and Android? Usually, yes. Cubix publishes AED 70,000 to 500,000 for a cross-platform app in Flutter or React Native, against AED 100,000 to 550,000 for iOS alone and AED 80,000 to 600,000 for Android alone. Building both stores natively means building each feature twice.
How much does app maintenance cost in Dubai? Cubix says to plan for 10% to 20% of the build cost each year; Netguru and Tenet say 15% to 25%. TheAppIdea lists maintenance from AED 3,500 a month. Add 99 US dollars a year for the Apple Developer Program and a one-time 25 US dollars for Google Play.
What do app developers charge per hour in Dubai? Netguru's guide gives AED 50 to 100 an hour for junior developers, AED 100 to 150 for mid-level developers and AED 150 to 250 or more for senior developers in Dubai.
How long does it take to build an app in Dubai? Cubix and Techugo publish two to four months for a simple app, four to eight months for a mid-sized one and eight to twelve months or more for a complex one. TheAppIdea publishes six to eight weeks for an MVP. STYLABS takes three to twelve weeks depending on complexity.
Sources
- Cubix, How Much Does Mobile App Development Cost in Dubai? (2026 Guide) (3 April 2026) — https://www.cubix.co/ae/blog/how-much-does-mobile-app-development-cost-in-dubai/ (retrieved 10 November 2026). Verified: fetched and read.
- Techugo, How Much Does App Development Cost in Dubai in 2026? (13 May 2026) — https://www.techugo.com/blog/how-much-does-app-development-cost-in-dubai-in-2026/ (retrieved 10 November 2026). Verified: fetched and read.
- Tenet, Mobile App Development Cost in Dubai: 2026 Pricing Guide (5 July 2025) — https://www.wearetenet.com/blog/mobile-app-development-cost-in-dubai (retrieved 10 November 2026). Verified: fetched and read.
- Netguru, Mobile App Development Cost In Dubai, UAE for 2026 (5 December 2025) — https://www.netguru.com/blog/mobile-development-cost-dubai-uae (retrieved 10 November 2026). Verified: fetched and read. The page gives more than one range for some tiers, so only its hourly rates, stage lengths and maintenance figures are used here.
- AppVerticals — https://www.appverticals.com/mobile-app-development-dubai (retrieved 10 November 2026).
- Branex — https://www.branex.ae/mobile-app-development (retrieved 10 November 2026).
- Control Shift, App Development Cost in Dubai 2026: Price Breakdown (updated 30 October 2026) — https://controlshift.ae/app-development-cost-dubai (retrieved 10 November 2026).
- TekRevol — https://www.tekrevol.com/ae/mobile-app-development-dubai (retrieved 10 November 2026).
- TheAppIdea — https://www.theappidea.ae/ (retrieved 10 November 2026).
- Apple, Enrollment: Apple Developer Program — https://developer.apple.com/support/enrollment/; App Store Small Business Program — https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/ (retrieved 10 November 2026). Verified: fetched and read.
- Google Play Console Help, developer account registration page — https://support.google.com/googleplay/android-developer/answer/6112435 (retrieved 10 November 2026). Verified: fetched and read.