Top 5 App Store, 1M+ downloads
- Mobile companion app launched at the height of the Pokémon Go wave
- iOS and Android release pipelines and store rollouts
Mobile app development · Abu Dhabi
Mobile app development in Abu Dhabi, at one fixed price
We build iOS and Android apps for companies in Abu Dhabi, from ADGM firms to clinics. The rules an app follows here depend on where the company is licensed and on the data it handles, so the scope settles them before the price.
Request a fixed price WhatsApp Antonin
- Step one
- Scope first A written scope before any price. It is free, and you keep it.
- Price
- One figure Fixed before work starts. If our estimate is wrong, the extra work is on us.
- Last payment
- On acceptance You pay the final 20% once you accept the finished build.
- Ownership
- Your accounts Code, cloud and app store accounts registered to your company from day one.
How much does an app cost in Abu Dhabi?
The one 2026 price guide we found for Abu Dhabi, published by the app agency Apptunix, puts a mobile app at roughly AED 73,000 to AED 660,000. Its tiers are its own, and the rules below can add hosting, registration or security work that a generic quote leaves out. The figure to compare is a price set against a written scope.
Sources: Apptunix, read 30 October 2026.
Apps and platforms our founder has shipped
Before Nakhoda, Antonin Ribeaud released consumer apps and built document search for a large regulated company. Each entry says where and in which role. All of it, or the full record on arelion.dev.
Carsharing, rentals and minicabs in one app
- React Native developer on core app features
- Owned the iOS release pipeline: App Store submissions and production rollouts
R&D teams search 100M+ pages and get answers with their source
- Built the pipeline that reads, OCRs and indexes the documents, on Google Cloud
He does not just do the job: he digs into the stakes behind every topic and delivers something that actually creates value.
What the price covers in Abu Dhabi
The parts every app needs, plus the ones Abu Dhabi rules add. The scope marks each one as in or out before you sign.
iPhone and Android from one codebase
React Native, with native code only where a feature needs it, named in the scope.
Sign-in with UAE PASS, if your users are residents
UAE PASS, the national digital identity, offers sign-in to private companies; its onboarding asks for a valid UAE trade licence.
Hosting inside the UAE when the data requires it
For health data, the servers, the backups and the disaster recovery copy stay in the country.
The backend and the admin panel
The server, the database and the screens your team uses to run the service.
Arabic and English
A right-to-left layout planned from the first screen, when your users read Arabic.
Card payments, Jaywan included
Network International and Telr accept Jaywan, the UAE's own card scheme, online.
Store release from your own accounts
App Store and Google Play listings in your company's name.
The cost that appears after launch
An app built without knowing where the company is licensed tends to meet the rules late: an ADGM firm that never registered as a data controller, or a health app hosted on a cloud region outside the UAE. Both are cheaper to plan than to fix. Our scope names the regulator, the hosting region and the registrations before the price is set.
What changes when the app is for an Abu Dhabi company
ADGM firms
Every ADGM registered entity that processes personal data registers as a data controller with the ADGM Office of Data Protection and renews each year, for USD 300 at each step. Processing sensitive personal data, or sending personal data out of ADGM, may also need a permit from the Registrar.
Health apps
Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 bars storing, processing or transferring health data from UAE health services outside the country, unless a decision of the health authority allows it, with fines of AED 500,000 to 700,000. Abu Dhabi's Department of Health adds its security standard (ADHICS), which asks for cloud hosting inside the UAE, backups included, and runs a registration for companies that provide health services through an app.
Clinics connected to Malaffi
Malaffi, Abu Dhabi's health information exchange, is required for most licensed facilities, telemedicine providers included. An app that sits next to a clinic's records has to fit that connection.
Government services
TAMM, Abu Dhabi's government services platform, gives access to over 1,100 services from more than 90 entities. We found no public developer access for private apps: an app can link to TAMM, and cannot plug into it.
Our guides: ADGM Data Protection Regulations and AI
How a project runs
You can stop after the quote without paying anything.
Call
You explain the problem and what the software has to change in your business. Antonin asks the questions that decide the price.
Scope
We send a written scope that lists the screens, the integrations, the data and what is excluded.
Quote
One fixed price and a delivery date for that scope. If you stop here, you pay nothing and keep the scope.
Build
A first working version early, then a new one every week. The final 20% is due when you accept the build.
When we are not the right choice
- An app that has to run inside TAMM itself. We found no public route for a private company to do that.
- A program that needs a large team for a long time. A bigger agency fits that better, and we will say so.
- A project whose scope cannot be written yet. Start with the two-week sprint, then decide.
Common questions
How much does an app cost in Abu Dhabi?
Apptunix, an agency that sells apps, publishes roughly AED 73,000 to AED 660,000 for Abu Dhabi in 2026. Our price is one fixed figure against a written scope, with the Abu Dhabi rules that apply to your company counted in.
Does an ADGM company need anything before its app collects personal data?
Yes. It registers as a data controller with the ADGM Office of Data Protection and renews every year, and sensitive data or transfers out of ADGM may need a permit from the Registrar. We map the data the app collects in the scope so that this is known before the build.
Can a health app in Abu Dhabi use a cloud outside the UAE?
Not for the health data, unless the health authority grants an exception. Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 keeps that data in the country, and the Department of Health's ADHICS standard asks for the cloud, the backups and the disaster recovery to be hosted in the UAE.
Can users sign in with UAE PASS?
Yes. UAE PASS offers sign-in to private organisations, and its onboarding asks for a valid UAE trade licence. We include it in the scope when your users are UAE residents.
Who will I talk to?
Antonin Ribeaud, the founder. He takes the first call, writes the scope and works on the build with the team.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from one of these pages, read on 30 October 2026. Most of them are published by agencies that sell these services.
- Apptunix: Mobile App Development Cost in Abu Dhabi 2026
- ADGM Office of Data Protection: For Data Controllers
- ADGM Office of Data Protection: Fees
- UAE Ministry of Justice: Federal Law No. 2 of 2019 on the Use of ICT in Health Fields, articles 13 and 24 (archived copy)
- Department of Health Abu Dhabi: Abu Dhabi Healthcare Information and Cyber Security Standard (ADHICS) V2, 2024 (archived copy)
- Department of Health Abu Dhabi: Registration of the Companies Providing Healthcare Services via Mobile Applications
- Malaffi: Facilities Required to Connect
- UAE PASS: UAE PASS developer documentation
- Department of Government Enablement Abu Dhabi: Seamless experiences (TAMM)
- Network International: Network International rolls out UAE's Jaywan card acceptance for online payments (20 July 2026)
- Telr: Telr Launches Jaywan for Its UAE Merchants (27 April 2026)
Antonin Ribeaud, the founder, reads each request himself. If the project fits, the next step is a call, then the written scope and its price. The scope costs you nothing, and you keep it even if you build with someone else.
Describe your app
A few lines are enough. You get an answer by email.
Thank you, your request is in. You will get an answer by email.
Prefer to talk first? Book a call · WhatsApp · hello@nakhoda.ae