Mobile app development company in Dubai
STYLABS designs and builds iOS and Android apps for Dubai businesses in Flutter or native code. Shipped apps, published AED prices and timelines.
STYLABS is a mobile app development company with offices in Dubai and Mumbai. One senior team designs and builds iOS and Android apps for UAE businesses and founders, in Flutter or native code, together with the back end and admin panel behind them. Apps it has shipped include Outlet House, a UAE shopping app downloaded more than 10,000 times, and Matcha Pass, a receipt photo booth app for cafes built natively for iPad and Android tablets. A build takes three to twelve weeks depending on complexity, and the client owns the code.
The Dubai office is at 1616 Binary Tower, Business Bay. The studio was founded in 2015 and has between 10 and 49 people across both offices.
This page covers the apps we build, the apps we have shipped, how we choose between Flutter and native, what Dubai agencies publish as prices, timelines, and when to hire someone else. For websites, see website development in Dubai. For internal platforms and ERPs, see custom software development in Dubai.
Apps we build for UAE businesses
Design and engineering are one engagement. The team that designs the screens writes the code, and flows are tested with real users before the full build (product design).
- Shopping apps. Catalogue, cart and checkout with the payment methods UAE shoppers use: cards, Tabby, Tamara and cash on delivery, in Arabic and English. See e-commerce development.
- In-store tablet and kiosk apps. Apps that run on an iPad or Android tablet on the counter, as Matcha Pass does in cafes.
- Marketplace apps. Buyers and sellers in one product, with listings, payouts and an admin panel to run it.
- Booking and guest apps. Live availability and prices from the same system as the website, so a guest sees the same thing on both.
- Owner and partner apps. A private app for the people a business reports to. Villa owners follow payouts, calendars and reports, and reserve a stay in their own property.
- MVPs for founders. The smallest app that tests the idea with paying users, built so it does not have to be thrown away if it works. See MVP development.
- Apps with AI inside. Search, recommendations, support and booking conversations handled by an agent. See workflow and AI automation.
Every app comes with what it needs to run: the API and database, an admin panel for your team, analytics, crash reporting, and the App Store and Google Play submissions.
Apps we have shipped
Outlet House
Outlet House is a UAE shopping app. STYLABS built it on Flutter, so one codebase serves iOS and Android. It takes payment through Tabby, Tamara and cash on delivery, runs in Arabic as well as English with the layout set right to left, and has been downloaded more than 10,000 times.
Matcha Pass
Matcha Pass is a receipt photo booth app for cafes. STYLABS built it natively for iPad and Android tablets, and it is live in at least five stores.
Hireavilla guest app and owners apps
Hireavilla is a multi-host villa marketplace of about 150 properties across Goa, Alibaug, Mangalore, Bali and Dubai. STYLABS built the marketplace, its ERP back office, a guest app and an owners app. Owners follow their monthly payouts, calendars and reports, and can reserve a stay in their own property.
The same owners app pattern runs for Makarska Exklusiv in Croatia and Manzil in Dubai. Each one shares its back end with the booking website it belongs to.
The Mainstreet Marketplace
The Mainstreet Marketplace is a resale marketplace for sneakers and streetwear in India. The storefront runs on the web and as native iOS and Android apps, with seller onboarding, authentication of every pair, and an ERP for orders and fulfilment. It has taken 8,000 orders.
All published case studies are at stylabs.com/work.
Flutter or native: how we choose
Most business apps in Dubai do not need two separate native codebases. We decide per product.
| Flutter (one codebase) | Native (Swift and Kotlin) | |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | iOS and Android from the same code | One codebase per platform |
| Cost and time | Lower, because features are built once | Higher, because features are built twice |
| Suits | Shopping, booking, loyalty, marketplace and internal apps | Apps that lean on device hardware, heavy graphics or the newest platform features |
| Our example | Outlet House | Matcha Pass; The Mainstreet Marketplace apps |
Cubix, a Dubai agency, publishes AED 70,000 to 500,000 for a cross-platform app, against AED 100,000 to 550,000 for iOS alone and AED 80,000 to 600,000 for Android alone (source 1). The gap is widest when you need both platforms.
The back end is half the app. Front ends are written in Flutter or native code; behind them sit Node, Python and PostgreSQL on AWS, deployed through CI pipelines. When one team builds the website, the back end and the app, a change to a field is made once.
Arabic is planned from the first screen. Right-to-left layout, Arabic typography and mixed-direction text such as prices and phone numbers are designed in, as Outlet House has them. Adding Arabic to a finished left-to-right app costs more than starting with it.
What a mobile app costs in Dubai
Three agencies that sell in Dubai publish app price bands for 2026. Their tiers have different names, so the rows below group them by rough size.
| Size of app | Cubix | Techugo | Tenet |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simple | Low-complexity: AED 8,000 to 180,000 | AED 30,000 to 80,000 | AED 18,000 to 180,000 |
| Mid-sized | Moderately complex: AED 180,000 to 440,000 | AED 80,000 to 180,000 | AED 180,000 to 440,000 |
| Complex | Highly advanced: AED 440,000 to 1.1 million | Advanced: 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 |
Sources: Cubix (3 April 2026), Techugo (13 May 2026) and Tenet (5 July 2025), all retrieved 10 November 2026; full references are at the end of the page. These are agencies competing for the same clients, and their bands disagree by a factor of two or more for the same tier. Techugo's own FAQ starts its advanced tier at AED 300,000, not the AED 180,000 in its table.
What STYLABS charges. Every project is a fixed proposal after a scoping call. A STYLABS app build runs from AED 33,000 to AED 130,000, or ₹8 lakh to ₹30 lakh. Prices exclude 5% VAT. What moves a quote most is the number of user roles, the payment methods, the integrations, and whether you need iOS, Android or both.
Costs after launch.
- Store accounts. The Apple Developer Program costs 99 US dollars a year, and Google Play charges a one-time 25 US dollar registration fee (sources 4 and 5).
- 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 (source 6).
- Maintenance. Cubix says to plan for 10% to 20% of the build cost each year, and Tenet says 15% to 25%. STYLABS supports apps after launch on a monthly retainer, priced on request.
- Running costs. Hosting, payment gateway fees on each transaction, SMS and push notification services.
The full set of published ranges, with company rate cards and hourly rates, is in app development cost in Dubai. For software beyond the app, the published ranges are in our guide to custom software development cost in the UAE. For founders comparing Dubai with India, see what an MVP costs in India and Dubai.
How long it takes
A STYLABS app build takes three to twelve weeks from kickoff to launch, depending on complexity, with a working demo every week.
Other agencies publish longer timelines. Cubix and Techugo both give 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.
Three things outside the build can move a launch date:
- Store review. Apple and Google review every release, and a rejection means a fix and a resubmission. We submit a first build early so the surprises come before launch week.
- Payment onboarding. Gateway and buy-now-pay-later accounts need your trade licence and bank details, and approval is on the provider's clock.
- Content. Product data, photography and Arabic copy. Give each one a named owner on your side before kickoff.
STYLABS, a freelancer or a large app agency
Named alternatives, with their published prices, are in mobile app development companies in Dubai.
| Freelancer | Large app agency | STYLABS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team | One developer; design is often separate | Account manager, project manager and a rotating delivery team | One senior team for strategy, design and engineering |
| Back end and admin panel | Often out of scope | In scope, usually as a separate workstream | Built by the same team as the app |
| Website alongside the app | Rarely | Usually a different team | Same team, same back end |
| After launch | Depends on availability | Support contract | Monthly retainer; code and IP are yours |
| Best when | The app is small and you can manage the work yourself | You need a large team and enterprise procurement | The app is a core sales or service channel and has to work with your website and operations |
When to hire someone else
- Your budget is under AED 33,000. Tenet and Cubix both publish simple-app tiers that start below that. A freelancer or a template-based builder will get a basic app into the stores for less than we charge.
- You are building a game. Nothing in our shipped work is a game.
- The app depends on specialised hardware. Bluetooth devices, wearables and augmented reality are native specialities, and a studio that does them every month will be faster.
- You are in regulated fintech or healthcare. Nothing in our published work covers those sectors. Ask, and we will say whether we have done it.
- You have a finished spec and only need hands. Buy capacity from a development shop at a lower hourly rate.
If none of those fits, talk to the Dubai team or write to hello@stylabs.com. Bring what the app has to do, who will use it, the systems it has to connect to, and the date it has to be live.
FAQ
How much does it cost to build a mobile app in Dubai? Published 2026 ranges run from under AED 30,000 for a simple app to more than AED 1 million for a complex platform. Techugo lists a medium-complexity app at AED 80,000 to 180,000, and Cubix and Tenet list a mid-sized app at AED 180,000 to 440,000. STYLABS quotes a fixed proposal after a scoping call, from AED 33,000 to AED 130,000.
How long does it take to build an app in Dubai? A STYLABS app build takes three to twelve weeks from kickoff to launch, depending on complexity, with a demo every week. Cubix and Techugo publish two to four months for a simple app and four to eight months for a mid-sized one. App Store and Google Play review, payment gateway approval and Arabic content are the usual causes of a late launch.
Which mobile apps has STYLABS built? Outlet House, a UAE shopping app built on Flutter with Tabby, Tamara, cash on delivery and Arabic, downloaded more than 10,000 times; Matcha Pass, a receipt photo booth app for cafes built natively for iPad and Android tablets, live in at least five stores; the Hireavilla guest app; owners apps for Makarska Exklusiv, Hireavilla and Manzil; and the iOS and Android apps for The Mainstreet Marketplace, which has taken 8,000 orders.
Should we build in Flutter or native? Flutter suits most shopping, booking, loyalty and marketplace apps, because one codebase serves iOS and Android and features are built once. Native Swift and Kotlin suit apps that depend on device hardware, heavy graphics or the newest platform features. STYLABS built Outlet House in Flutter, and Matcha Pass and The Mainstreet Marketplace apps natively, and recommends one or the other after the scoping call.
Do you build apps in Arabic? Yes. Arabic is planned from the first screen, with right-to-left layout, Arabic typography and mixed-direction text such as prices and phone numbers designed in. Outlet House runs in Arabic and English. Adding Arabic to a finished left-to-right app costs more than planning it from the start.
Who owns the app and the code? You do. The code, the repositories and the IP belong to your business when the project ends, and the apps are published under your own Apple and Google developer accounts. After launch, STYLABS offers a monthly retainer for updates, new features and store releases.
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. The platform table labels its columns in US dollars but gives the values in AED.
- 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. The advanced tier starts at AED 180,000 in the body and AED 300,000 in the FAQ.
- 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.
- Apple, Enrollment: Apple Developer Program — https://developer.apple.com/support/enrollment/ (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.
- Apple, App Store Small Business Program — https://developer.apple.com/app-store/small-business-program/ (retrieved 10 November 2026). Verified: fetched and read.