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Website design cost in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2026: published market ranges, what drives a custom build, hidden costs and a quote checklist.
Short answer: Website design cost in Egypt and the Gulf in 2026 ranges from a few thousand (EGP, SAR or AED) for a template site to six figures for a custom-built platform, and the gap is explained by scope, not by the agency's logo. A custom website built from scratch sits at the upper end because you are paying for design, backend logic and integrations made for your business, so the useful question is not "how much is a website?" but "what exactly am I paying for?"
By Mohamed Samy, senior Laravel/PHP backend developer (7 years). Published: 24 October 2026. Last updated: 24 October 2026.
Every week someone sends me a message that goes roughly like this: "I got one quote for 8,000 and another for 80,000 for the same website. Who is lying?" Usually nobody. They are quoting two different products that happen to share the word "website".
This guide is for business owners in Egypt first, and then Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman, who want to understand the price before they talk to anyone. I will show you what the market publishes, what pushes a custom build up or down, and how to get a quote you can actually compare. If you are still at the stage of choosing who to work with, our guide to choosing the best web design company in Egypt (Arabic) covers that side; this article is only about cost. If what you need is an online store rather than a company website, see our custom ecommerce website cost guide.
What the market publishes in 2026
I do not want to invent numbers, so here is what agencies themselves publish on their own pages. Treat these as market signals, not quotes, and note that each company defines "custom" differently.
| Market | Published range for custom or advanced builds | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Custom web site/app (Laravel / Next.js): EGP 80,000 to 250,000+ | Aghrba guide |
| Egypt | Custom multilingual site with CMS: EGP 60,000 to 160,000; complex platforms from EGP 150,000 | Webdivs guide |
| Egypt | Business websites EGP 8,000 to 30,000; complex systems priced separately | SM Web Studio |
| Saudi Arabia | Custom web platform or system: SAR 20,000 to 100,000+ | Hexapert |
| UAE (Dubai) | Custom / enterprise: AED 50,000 to 145,000+ | Upscape |
| UAE (Dubai) | Custom web app, CRM or ERP integrations: from AED 50,000 | DXB Web Designer |
I could not find published guides of the same quality for Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain or Oman, so I will not quote numbers for them. In practice, Gulf clients from those countries tend to compare against Saudi and UAE quotes, and the cost drivers below are the same.
Two things jump out when you read these pages side by side. First, the same "company website" can be EGP 8,000 on one page and EGP 35,000 on another. Second, almost every guide says the custom tier is "quoted individually". That is not evasion; a custom build really does depend on what you need it to do.
Template site vs custom website: what you are paying for
Golden Code does not sell templates or ready-made platforms. We only build custom from scratch. So treat this table as a buyer's guide, not a sales pitch.
| Template / page-builder site | Custom website built from scratch | |
|---|---|---|
| Design | Adapted theme, shared with many other sites | Designed around your brand and your customer's journey |
| Backend | Plugins doing most of the work | Logic written for your process (bookings, quotes, portals) |
| Integrations | Limited to available plugins | Payment gateways, ERP/CRM, WhatsApp, shipping, e-invoicing |
| Arabic/English (RTL) | Depends on the theme | Planned from day one |
| Performance and security | Depends on plugins and updates | Controlled at code level |
| Ownership | Often tied to themes and licences | You own the code |
| Fair use case | Simple brochure site, tight budget | Business where the site is part of operations |
If you just need a few pages with your services and a phone number, a well-made template site is honestly fine. Custom becomes worth it when the website has to do things: take bookings, calculate quotes, sync with your stock, show customers their orders, or serve Arabic and English properly.
What actually drives the price of a custom build
From the projects I have scoped, these are the line items that move the number most:
- Features and logic. A booking flow with availability rules, a quote calculator or a customer portal is real backend work. This is usually the biggest single factor.
- Integrations. Each external system (Paymob, Tap, Moyasar or HyperPay for payments; a shipping company; an ERP; ZATCA e-invoicing in Saudi Arabia) adds build and test time.
- Admin panel. How much do you want to manage yourself: pages, products, orders, users with different permissions, reports?
- Languages. Proper Arabic and English means RTL layouts, two sets of content and SEO for both, not just a translate button.
- Design depth. A design system made for you takes longer than adjusting a theme, but it is what makes the site feel like yours.
- Content. If the copy and photos are ready, the project moves faster. Waiting for content is one of the most common reasons timelines slip.
- Quality work nobody sees. Testing, security review, speed optimisation and technical SEO. Cheap quotes usually cut here.
The costs after launch
The build price is only part of the first year. Budget separately for:
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Domain | Renewed yearly; .eg and .sa have their own registration requirements |
| Hosting | Depends on traffic and how heavy the application is |
| Maintenance | Security updates, backups, small fixes; several published guides put it at about 10 to 20% of project value per year (Aghrba, Webdivs) |
| Third-party fees | Payment gateway commissions, SMS, email services, paid APIs |
| VAT | Saudi Arabia applies 15% VAT on invoices from registered suppliers (ZATCA); the UAE applies 5% (UAE FTA) |
How to get a quote you can actually compare
Step 1: Write a one-page brief
List who the site is for, the five or six things a visitor must be able to do, the languages, and any systems it has to connect to. You do not need technical words.
Step 2: Separate must-haves from later
Mark each feature as "launch" or "phase two". This alone often cuts the first quote significantly, because you stop paying for things you will not use in month one.
Step 3: Ask for an itemised quote
Ask each company to break the price into design, frontend, backend, integrations, testing and launch, ideally with hours. A single total is impossible to compare.
Step 4: Check what is excluded
Domain, hosting, content writing, Arabic translation, payment gateway fees and post-launch support are often excluded. Put them in a list and ask about each one.
Step 5: Confirm code ownership and handover
Make sure the source code, the admin access and the hosting account are in your name. This matters more than a small price difference.
Step 6: Compare on scope, then on price
Line up the quotes item by item. Only when the scope matches does the price comparison mean anything.
Red flags I see in quotes
- A "fully custom" website delivered in a few days at a very low price. That is almost always a theme.
- No mention of who owns the code or the hosting account.
- No testing or support period at all.
- Arabic described as "included" without any mention of RTL design.
- A quote with no breakdown, only a number.
FAQ
How much does a custom website cost in Egypt in 2026?
Published guides from Egyptian agencies put custom web builds roughly between EGP 60,000 and 250,000+, depending on features and integrations. Your real number depends on scope, so ask for an itemised quote.
How much does website design cost in Saudi Arabia or the UAE?
Saudi guides list custom platforms from about SAR 20,000 upward (Hexapert), and Dubai guides list custom or enterprise builds from about AED 50,000. Simple template sites are much cheaper in both markets.
Why do quotes for the same website differ so much?
Because they are rarely the same website. Template vs custom, number of integrations, languages, testing and support explain most of the gap.
Is a custom website worth it for a small business?
Only if the site needs to do something specific for your operations, such as bookings, quotes or a customer portal. For a simple brochure site, a template can be the sensible choice.
What is not included in website design cost?
Usually domain, hosting, maintenance, payment gateway fees, content writing and VAT. Ask for these in writing.
How long does a custom website take?
It depends on scope and how quickly content and approvals arrive. Published guides commonly mention several weeks for company sites and a few months for platforms.
Sources
- Egypt: Aghrba, Webdivs, SM Web Studio
- Saudi Arabia: Hexapert
- UAE: Upscape, DXB Web Designer
- Tax: ZATCA, UAE Federal Tax Authority
All competitor figures were read from their own pages on 24 October 2026 and may change.
Planning a custom website?
If you want a clear, itemised estimate for a website built from scratch around how your business works, send us a short brief and we will tell you honestly what is worth building now and what can wait. You can reach the Golden Code team through the contact page, read more about our web development services, or start with our guide to building a website for a small business.
About the author: Mohamed Samy is a senior backend developer at Golden Code with 7 years of experience building custom Laravel and PHP systems and their integrations.
