Mobile app development in Dubai costs between AED 30,000 and AED 250,000 depending on complexity. A straightforward single-platform app starts at AED 30,000; a mid-complexity app for both iOS and Android is around AED 92,000 to AED 200,000; fintech and marketplace apps start at AED 250,000. Most builds take 12 to 20 weeks.
An app is not a one-off purchase.
| Cost | Typical | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Apple Developer account | USD 99/year | Required to publish on iOS |
| Google Play account | USD 25 one-off | Required to publish on Android |
| Backend hosting | Varies with usage | Servers, database, storage |
| Maintenance | 15–20% of build per year | OS updates, bug fixes, security |
| Push notifications, analytics | Often free tier, then usage-based | — |
Maintenance is not optional. iOS and Android ship breaking changes every year. An unmaintained app typically stops working within about 18 months. Budget for it from the start.
Honestly, no — not one that works, is maintained and passes App Store review.
What that budget usually buys is a template app with your branding, or an offshore build with no ongoing support. Both routinely cost more to fix than a proper build would have cost originally.
If the budget is genuinely limited, better options exist:
No app store, no two platforms, far cheaper. Works for many business cases.
Launch on whichever your audience uses, prove the concept, then add the second.
A small app that works well beats a large one that half-works.
Two native apps cost roughly double one. A cross-platform build with React Native or Flutter serves both from one codebase, typically 30–40% cheaper than two native apps.
An app displaying content is a fraction of the cost of one handling user accounts, payments, real-time updates and third-party integrations. The backend is often more than half the total.
A customer app is one thing. A customer app plus a driver app plus an admin dashboard is three products.
Adding payment processing brings security requirements, compliance work and substantially more testing.
Fintech, healthcare and anything handling personal data carries requirements that add engineering and testing time. In the UAE that can include Central Bank considerations and UAE PDPL data handling.
A generic template is cheap. A distinctive product with a considered interface is not — and for consumer apps it is usually the difference between retention and deletion.
Hourly billing puts all the risk on you and gives the developer no reason to be efficient.
Scoping covers what the app must do, who uses it, which platforms, what the backend needs, and what genuinely belongs in version one. Most budget overruns start with a scope nobody pinned down.
| App Type | Cost | Timeline |
|---|---|---|
| Simple — one platform, basic features | From AED 30,000 | 8–12 weeks |
| Mid complexity — both platforms, accounts, payments | AED 92,000 – 200,000 | 12–20 weeks |
| Complex — fintech, marketplace, real-time | From AED 250,000 | 20–36 weeks |
| Maintenance | 15–20% of build cost per year | Ongoing |
Or reach out via WhatsApp
