Office fit-out cost in Dubai is the first question every business asks and the hardest one to get a straight answer to. So here is ours: a full office fit-out typically runs between AED 1,100 and AED 6,000 per square metre — roughly AED 100 to AED 560 per square foot — depending on specification. This guide breaks down what sits at each level, what it means for your office size, and what actually moves the number.
Office Fit-Out Rates in Dubai
The spread is wide because "fit-out" covers everything from painting a shell and laying carpet tiles to acoustic glass boardrooms with full MEP. These are our own working rates for fitting out a shell or a stripped space.
Basic fit-out — AED 1,100 to 2,000 per m²
Open-plan layout, gypsum partitions, carpet or vinyl tiles, a standard grid ceiling, minimal joinery and light MEP alterations. This suits a straightforward workspace where the budget goes into function rather than presentation.
Standard fit-out — AED 2,000 to 3,500 per m²
Cabins and meeting rooms, part-glazed partitions, a built reception counter, better flooring, custom joinery and a properly designed MEP and data layout. Most Dubai offices land here.
Premium fit-out — AED 3,500 to 6,000 per m²
Acoustic glass, executive boardrooms, feature ceilings and lighting design, bespoke joinery throughout, AV and smart systems. This is where the office is doing brand work as well as holding desks.
These figures exclude loose furniture, IT hardware, and landlord or authority fees, all of which are quoted separately.
Price your own space
Enter your office area and finish level and get an indicative range in seconds.
Try the Cost CalculatorWhat That Means by Office Size
Small office — around 100 m² (1,075 sq ft)
A reception point, one or two cabins, an open area and a pantry. Basic lands around AED 110,000 to 200,000, standard around AED 200,000 to 350,000. Most small offices sit at the lower end unless the reception is carrying the brand.
Medium office — around 300 m² (3,230 sq ft)
Reception, several cabins, two or three meeting rooms, open workspace, pantry and a server room. Basic runs around AED 330,000 to 600,000, standard around AED 600,000 to 1,050,000. This is the size where partition choice starts to dominate the budget.
Large office — around 750 m² (8,070 sq ft)
Multiple departments, an executive suite, boardrooms, breakout areas and heavier MEP. Basic from around AED 825,000, standard from around AED 1.5 million. At this scale the condition of the building's existing services matters more than any finish you choose.
Where the Money Actually Goes
Partitions
The single biggest swing in most office budgets. Gypsum runs AED 120 to 250 per m² of partition, better systems AED 200 to 400, and glass or acoustic partitions AED 300 to 800. Note that is per square metre of wall, not of floor — a heavily cellular layout can cost double an open one at the same floor area.
Electrical and data
Between AED 150 and AED 1,000 per m² depending on workstation density and equipment. Sockets, lighting circuits, data points, distribution board modifications and cable runs. Older buildings needing DB work sit at the top of that band.
Flooring
From AED 70 per m² for vinyl and carpet tile up to AED 600 for premium systems. Carpet tile remains the sensible choice for open workspace — quick to lay, good for acoustics, and damaged tiles are replaced individually rather than as a whole floor.
Ceilings, joinery and finishing
Rarely the headline cost, consistently the reason projects overrun. Reception counters, storage walls and pantry units are made to measure, so they price from drawings rather than by area.
One team, every trade
Partitions, electrical, flooring, ceilings and joinery handled as a single package — no subcontractors to chase.
Browse Office ServicesFit-Out or Renovation — Which Do You Need?
These two words get used interchangeably and they price completely differently. A fit-out takes an empty shell or a stripped space and builds it out — nothing to remove, nothing to make good. A renovation works on an office that already exists, so demolition, disposal and repairing whatever sits behind the old finishes all enter the price.
Office renovation runs AED 500 to 4,000 per m² depending on how much comes out. Lower than fit-out at the bottom of the range, because you may be keeping ceilings and services. Higher at the top, when a full strip-out is involved.
What Pushes the Price Up
The condition of the building
An older tower with tired MEP can add more to a fit-out than any finish you pick. It is also the cost nobody can see on a floor plan, which is why we insist on a site visit before quoting anything.
How cellular the layout is
Every cabin means partitions, a door, a light circuit, a diffuser and usually a data point. Ten cabins in 300 m² costs materially more than four in the same area.
Approvals
Depending on your location, drawings go to Dubai Municipality, Civil Defence, or a free zone authority such as Trakhees, DIFC, DMCC or TECOM. Each has its own submission process and timeline, and your landlord will have requirements on top of that.
Programme
Compressing a twelve-week job into eight means overtime and parallel trades. It is achievable, and it is not free.
Imported materials
Specified finishes with long lead times tie your programme to a shipment. Locally available equivalents often look near-identical without the wait.
How to Reduce Your Office Fit-Out Cost
- Open up the plan. Fewer partitions is the fastest saving available, and it usually improves the space.
- Use glass where it earns its place. Glazed partitions on the boardroom and gypsum elsewhere gives you the look without glazing the whole floor.
- Keep the ceiling simple. Feature ceilings are joinery, lighting and coordination stacked together. A clean grid with good lighting reads better than a poor bulkhead.
- Choose modular workstations over built-in joinery. Bespoke carpentry belongs at reception, not at every desk.
- Only move MEP where you have to. Designing the layout around existing services rather than against them saves more than most material choices.
Applied together, these usually take 15 to 25 per cent off a fit-out budget without the finished office looking cheaper.
Our Approach at ALIMAMA
We deliver office fit-outs as a single package — partitions, MEP, electrical, flooring, ceilings, joinery and painting handled by one team under one programme. You deal with one point of contact rather than coordinating five subcontractors and chasing whoever is holding up the next trade.
What's typically included
Site survey and measurement, drawings and authority submissions, demolition where needed, partitions and ceilings, full MEP and electrical, flooring, joinery, painting and final snagging — delivered as an itemised scope with a stage sequence, not a single lump sum.
Pricing another property?
We have the same breakdown for every property type we work on.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does an office fit-out take in Dubai?
A small office of around 100 m² typically runs six to eight weeks on site. A 300 m² office runs ten to fourteen weeks. Authority approvals sit before that and can add two to four weeks depending on the jurisdiction, so start them early.
Does the price include furniture?
No. The rates above cover construction and finishing — partitions, ceilings, flooring, MEP, electrical, joinery and painting. Loose furniture and IT hardware are quoted separately so you can see what each is costing you.
Who handles the authority approvals?
We do, as part of the project. Which authority applies depends on your location — Dubai Municipality, Civil Defence, or a free zone body such as Trakhees, DIFC, DMCC or TECOM — and your landlord will usually have their own approval process alongside it.
Can we stay in the office during the works?
Sometimes, if the work can be phased into zones. It extends the programme and costs more than an empty floor, because each phase needs its own protection, isolation and making-good. We will tell you honestly at the site visit whether phasing makes sense for your space.
How is the final price determined?
From a site visit, your floor plan and area, headcount and seating plan, your design if you have one, and your MEP requirements. We then issue an itemised scope with a stage sequence and an estimated schedule.
Get started
Send us your floor area, layout and headcount. We visit the space, check the existing services, and come back with an itemised scope and a written quotation — free, and with no obligation.
