How much does branding cost in Dubai? (2026 prices)

Branding in Dubai typically costs between AED 3,000 and AED 25,000 for a small or mid-sized business, with standalone logo design starting from a few hundred dirhams and full identity programmes for established companies running past AED 50,000. The range is enormous because “branding” describes anything from a single logo file to a complete system covering strategy, naming, bilingual typography, signage and guidelines. What follows is what sits in each band, what genuinely moves the price, and the questions that separate a real quote from a padded one.

What does branding actually include?

Most disagreements about price are really disagreements about scope. A logo is one deliverable. A brand identity is the system that makes everything you produce recognisably yours, and it usually covers some or all of the following.

• Positioning — who you are for, what you do better, and what you will not compete on
• The logo, plus secondary marks and the sizes signage and app icons actually need
• A colour palette with defined roles, not just a set of swatches
• Typography, including an Arabic face that sits properly beside the English one
• Photography and illustration direction
• Templates — business cards, letterhead, invoice, social posts, vehicle livery
• Guidelines, so your printer and your next marketing hire can follow it without asking

A quote covering the first item and the last is a strategy project. A quote covering only the second is a logo. Both are legitimate; they are not the same purchase, and comparing their prices tells you nothing.

What are the real price bands in Dubai?

These are the bands UAE businesses are commonly quoted in 2026. Where you land depends far more on scope and on who does the work than on the emirate you are in.

• AED 50 – 500: a logo from a marketplace or a junior freelancer. Usually one concept, limited files, no strategy and no guidelines
• AED 1,000 – 5,000: a small studio or experienced freelancer. A considered logo, basic colour and type, core stationery
• AED 5,000 – 15,000: a full small-business identity — positioning, logo, bilingual lockup, templates and a guidelines document
• AED 15,000 – 50,000: an established agency running research, naming, a complete system and rollout across print, digital and environment
• AED 50,000 and above: multi-brand or regional programmes, usually with naming, trademark work and a long rollout

The gap between the bottom and the top is not mostly craft. It is scope, seniority, and how much of the price covers people who never touch your project — account managers, strategists, planners. Whether that layer is worth paying for depends entirely on the size of the decision you are making.

Why is there such a gap between AED 500 and AED 50,000?

Four things account for almost all of it.

• Strategy. Deciding what the brand should say takes longer than drawing it, and it is the first thing cut from a cheap quote
• Originality. A drawn mark costs more than a modified stock symbol, and it is the difference between owning your identity and renting someone else’s
• Bilingual work. A proper Arabic lockup is original lettering matched to the English mark, not a font substitution — it is real design work and it is priced as such
• Revisions and ownership. Unlimited rounds and full source files carry a cost; quotes that exclude them look cheaper until you need either

The expensive logo is not the one that cost the most. It is the one you have to replace in eighteen months because it cannot be printed, cannot be read small, and was never yours to begin with.

What should a brand identity package always include?

Whatever you pay, insist on these. Their absence is what turns a cheap project into an expensive one later.

• Vector source files — not just PNG and JPG exports
• Full ownership in writing, with no ongoing licence
• A single-colour version, and a version that works reversed on dark
• Favicon and app icon sizes
• The Arabic version, if you trade in the UAE and expect to use it
• A short guidelines document, even if it is only a few pages

Does an Arabic version cost extra?

Almost always, and it should. An Arabic lockup is not the English name typed in an Arabic font — the letterforms are drawn to match the weight, rhythm and presence of the Latin mark so the two can sit together without one looking like an afterthought. Expect it to add meaningfully to a quote. Expect a quote that includes it for nothing to have produced a font substitution.

How long does branding take in Dubai?

A standalone logo can be finished in a day or two. A full identity usually takes two to six weeks, and the variable is rarely design time — it is how quickly decisions come back. Positioning needs answers only the owner can give, and projects stall there far more often than they stall in the studio. If a timeline matters to you, agree the decision points up front rather than the delivery date alone.

What questions expose a padded quote?

• Is the mark drawn for me, or modified from stock? Ask them to say it in writing
• Do I receive the source files, and do I own them outright?
• How many concepts, and how many revision rounds are included before extra charges start?
• Is the Arabic version original lettering or a font?
• What exactly is in the guidelines document — how many pages, covering what?
• Who is doing the work, and will I speak to them or to an account manager?

A studio confident in its pricing answers all six in a sentence each. Hesitation on the first or the last two is the useful signal.

What do we charge?

Our prices are published rather than quoted case by case, and they sit deliberately at the lower end of the bands above. A starter logo is AED 50, a professional logo with source files AED 75, and a bilingual English and Arabic logo AED 120. A full brand identity system is AED 350. Business cards are AED 100, stationery AED 150, a social media kit AED 250, and vehicle branding artwork AED 400.

Those numbers are lower than most of this article would suggest, and it is fair to ask why. We are a small studio founded in 2026, there is no account layer between you and the people doing the work, and we are still building a book of client work — which is worth more to us right now than a larger margin. Every price is fixed and agreed in writing before anything starts, and you own the source files on completion. If that changes as we grow, the published prices will change with it.