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 · Dubai
Mobile app development in Dubai, at one fixed price
We build iOS and Android apps for companies in Dubai and across the UAE. You get a written scope and one price set before work starts, and the app, its code and its store accounts are registered to your company.
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 it cost to build an app in Dubai?
Agencies publish very different 2026 prices for the same kind of app in Dubai. For a mid-level business app, Skimbox gives AED 40,000 to 120,000, Netguru AED 40,000 to 400,000, and Decipher Zone AED 92,000 to 294,000. Their tiers are not defined the same way, so the only figure you can compare is a price set against a written scope. On top of the build, these guides put upkeep at 15 to 25% of the build cost a year.
Sources: Skimbox, Netguru, Decipher Zone, read 30 October 2026.
Apps our founder has shipped
Before Nakhoda, Antonin Ribeaud built and released consumer apps as a React Native engineer. 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
53M+ songs streamed to 14M+ users in 180+ countries
- Continuously evolved the React and Redux web stack at scale
- Shipped product features on the music-streaming platform
Of all the developers and engineers I've worked with (125+ and counting over 21 years), I've never met one who could balance such a calm, tolerant personality with the often insane workloads he took on. If you get the chance to work with him, take it.
What the price covers
Each item below is in the scope we price, unless the scope says otherwise. Low quotes often leave out several of them.
One app for iPhone and Android
Built from one codebase with React Native. If your app needs native code somewhere, the scope says where and why.
The backend and the admin panel
The server, the database and the screens your team uses on day one to manage users, content and orders.
Sign-in, roles and push notifications
With the screens for an empty list, a slow connection and a failed action.
Payments, when the app takes money
Apple Pay and the card gateways UAE businesses use, such as Network International, Telr, PayTabs or Stripe.
Arabic and English, if you need Arabic
The right-to-left layout is planned in the scope, from the first screen.
Store release under your accounts
App Store and Google Play submission from your own developer accounts. Apple charges 99 USD a year, Google Play US$25 once.
Crash reports and usage analytics
Each crash is reported with the screen and the device it happened on, and you see which features people use.
Handover
Documentation, the repository in your organisation, and every account in your company's name.
The part a cheap quote leaves out
Decipher Zone puts the backend and the APIs at 25 to 35% of a Dubai app budget. That is the part a demo never shows, so it is the first thing a low quote cuts. You then learn in the third month that the admin panel, the order flow or the data migration was never in the price. Our scope names each of them before you sign, and the price covers all of them.
What changes when the app is for a Dubai company
Personal data
Most Dubai companies fall under the UAE Personal Data Protection Law. A company registered in the DIFC follows the DIFC Data Protection Law instead. Which one applies changes where data is stored and what users can ask for, so the scope settles it first. Decipher Zone says this work adds 15 to 20% to a build when it is planned from the start, and costs three to five times more when it is retrofitted after launch. We have published guides on both laws.
Payments
Customers here expect Apple Pay and local cards. The gateway is chosen in the scope, because each one has its own onboarding and settlement rules.
Arabic
If some of your users read Arabic, the layout, the fonts and the content have to work right to left, on every screen. Decipher Zone puts it at 15 to 25% more design time and 8 to 15% more development hours.
Our guides: UAE PDPL and AI: using ChatGPT with personal data · DIFC Data Protection Law and AI: Regulation 10 explained
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 idea that an off-the-shelf app builder or a Shopify app already covers. We will say so on the call.
- A program that needs twenty people for two years. A large agency fits that better.
- 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 Dubai?
Published 2026 prices for a mid-level business app range from AED 40,000 to 120,000 (Skimbox) and AED 92,000 to 294,000 (Decipher Zone) to AED 40,000 to 400,000 (Netguru). The tiers are defined differently, so compare prices against a written scope. Our price is one fixed figure against that scope.
Do I own the code and the app store accounts?
Yes. The code is in a repository your company owns from the start, the app is published from your own Apple and Google developer accounts, and the contract transfers the intellectual property to you.
Can the app be in Arabic and English?
Yes. We decide it in the scope, because a right-to-left layout touches every screen: mirrored navigation, flipped icons, text in both directions, and a test pass in each language.
How long does it take to build an app?
The duration depends on what the scope contains, so we give it once the scope is written. The quote then commits to a delivery date.
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.
- Skimbox: Mobile App Development Cost in Dubai 2026: Real Pricing
- Netguru: Mobile App Development Cost in Dubai, UAE for 2026
- Decipher Zone: Mobile App Development Cost in Dubai UAE: 2026 Guide
- Apple: Apple Developer Program: purchase and activation
- Google: Get started with Play Console: registration fee
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