There is no single price for an app in Dubai. The cost depends on how many user types the app serves, how many systems it connects to and how many platforms it ships on, and any quote given without a written scope is a guess. The only reliable number is one that comes out of a scoping call and is written down before you commit.
For planning purposes, we can be specific about time. A focused MVP, meaning an API, one web portal and one mobile app, is typically an 8-14 week fixed-scope build. Anything much bigger than that is a phased programme, not a single project.
The three things that set the budget
The first is user types. A customer-only app is one product. Customers plus providers plus an admin team is three products that have to agree with each other, each with its own screens, permissions and testing. Most of the surprise in app budgets comes from user types that were left out of the first conversation.
The second is integrations. Every payment gateway, maps and routing service, ERP hook or messaging provider is real engineering and real testing, and each one fails in its own way. The third is platforms. A React Native build lets us ship iOS and Android from one codebase, which keeps that cost down compared with two separate native apps, but you still pay for store submission, device testing and two sets of release notes.
What else adds cost
Several smaller items move the number at the edges: how polished the design needs to be, how deep the reporting goes, whether the app must work offline, how many languages it supports and whether you need a notification system beyond basic push alerts.
Arabic support deserves a mention. Right-to-left layouts touch every screen, so it is cheaper to decide on day one than to add later. Hosting and ongoing support also belong in the budget. An app is not finished at launch, and the first weeks in production always surface things testing did not.
How we price it
We start with a free scoping call. We map the real workflows, who taps what and where money and data move, and cut anything that does not ship value. You get a written scope and a written number before any commitment.
From there you can buy in one of three ways. Fixed scope is an agreed specification, price and date, with weekly demos of working software, full source and infrastructure handover and a 30-day post-launch fix window. Build and run is a monthly retainer with a prioritised backlog for a product that keeps evolving. A dedicated team means full-time engineers embedded with you, billed per seat each month.
Contracts and IP assignment are in writing before work starts, and the code is yours. For international clients we invoice formally as an FBR-registered business, against milestones, by bank transfer or Wise.
How to compare Dubai quotes
When quotes differ widely, the usual cause is that they describe different things. Ask each vendor the same questions. Which user types are included? Which integrations? iOS, Android or both? Who owns the source code and the cloud accounts? What happens in the 30 days after launch?
Be wary of a number that arrives within a day of your first call, or one with no written specification attached. A price that looks low at the start is often recovered later through change requests.
If you want a number for your own idea, send us a short description of the app and who will use it. We will come back with questions first, and a written scope and price after that.
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