Build cost calculator for the UAE
UAE
Size a build as a range with a stage split, not as one number that reads like a quote.
Enter the built area and pick a level of finish. The tool multiplies area by rate, shows the answer as a range rather than a single number, and splits it across the stages of the build so you can see what the payments should look like. The rate is almost the whole answer, so it arrives as an editable field with the date it was last checked.
- Runs in your browser
- No sign-up
- Nothing leaves your device
How is build cost estimated?
- Cost = built area × rate per square metre
- The range comes from the low and high rate for the chosen level
- Turnkey split: Excavation and foundations 8% · Concrete frame and steel 27% · Blockwork and plaster 12% · Electrical, plumbing and AC 18% · Finishes 25% · External works and sundries 10%
- Shell split: Excavation and foundations 18% · Concrete frame and steel 55% · Blockwork and plaster 20% · Site and sundries 7%
Symbols
- built area
- The total of every floor, not the plot size
- rate per m²
- The only number that goes out of date, which is why it arrives dated and editable
- the percentages
- Shares of the cost rather than prices, always adding to a hundred
What does a 400 m² villa cost at standard finish?
A villa with 400 m² of built area at a standard finish, at a rate of 3,100 AED per m²:
- Cost: 400 × 3,100 = 1,240,000 AED
- Range between 2,500 and 3,800 per m²: 1,000,000 to 1,520,000 AED
- Excavation and foundations at 8 percent: 99,200 AED
- Concrete frame at 27 percent: 334,800 AED
- Finishes at 25 percent: 310,000 AED
A realistic budget is around 1.24 million AED for the build alone. Add the land, permits, design and utility connections, and hold back ten percent for variations.
What is in the rate, and what is not?
Cost is estimated from a rate per square metre of built area. This is the standard early-stage method, and it is enough to tell you whether a project is within reach before you spend anything on design. It does not replace a bill of quantities, but it is far better than a guess.
The rate is almost the whole answer, and it is the only number on the page that goes out of date. So it arrives as an editable field with the date it was last checked printed underneath. Put your contractor's rate in it and the result becomes yours rather than the market's average.
The answer is shown as a range between the low and high rate for the chosen level, because a single number reads like a quotation and is not one. Below it is the split across build stages: ordinary proportions that tell you what the payments should look like, and that expose the quote asking for half the money before the digging starts.
- Cost = built area × rate per square metre
- The range comes from the low and high rate for the chosen level
- A shell splits across four stages, a turnkey build across six
- The proportions always add to a hundred percent, because they are shares and not prices
- The figure excludes land, permits, design and utility connections
Questions to settle before signing with a contractor
Does the figure include the land?
No, it is the build only. Land is usually the largest single item in the whole project and its price swings enormously between districts, so estimating it per built square metre makes no sense. Add permit fees, engineering office fees and connections for power, water and drainage as well.
What is the difference between shell and turnkey?
A shell is a concrete frame and block walls, handed over with no electrical, no plumbing, no finishes and no doors. Turnkey covers all of it, up to walking in and living there. Note that finishing after a shell usually costs more than the shell did, so building a shell to save money defers the larger amount rather than removing it.
Why is the gap between standard and premium so wide?
Because the structure is identical and the whole difference is in what you touch and see: stone instead of local tile, bespoke joinery instead of off the shelf, ducted air conditioning instead of splits, home automation. Those items have effectively no ceiling, which is why the premium range is the widest.
Can I use the stage split as a payment schedule?
Use it for comparison, not for copying. The proportions shown are the usual shape of a build cost, and they expose the problem when a quote asks for forty percent before the digging starts. The actual payment schedule belongs in the contract and should be tied to work certified by a supervisor.
When should I update the rate?
Every time a quote arrives. The defaults are dated and the date sits under the field, but building materials move quickly and steel moves fastest. Enter the rate you were actually offered, because it is the only number that belongs to your project.
Who issues the building permit for a villa in Dubai or Abu Dhabi?
In Dubai, Dubai Municipality, which has a permit procedure of its own for private and investment villas. In Abu Dhabi, the Department of Municipalities and Transport, through the Request a Building Permit service on TAMM. Permit and design fees are not in this estimate.
Do green building rules change what a villa costs in the UAE?
They can. In Abu Dhabi a privately funded project must reach at least a one-pearl Estidama rating to get its building permit. In Dubai the Al Sa'fat system requires new buildings to reach Silver Sa'fa, although some of its requirements are optional for private villas, and designs there are held to the Dubai Building Code. Meeting them can add to insulation, glazing and services, which is one more reason to put your contractor's rate in the field.
Sources
Reviewed September 2026- Rates per square metre for each level of finish are dated in the pricing config and shown as an editable field, because they are the only numbers on this page that go out of date
- The stage proportions are the usual way a contract price divides across the trades. They are shares rather than prices, and always add to a hundred percent
- A shell splits across four stages ending at the structure, and a turnkey build across six stages covering services, finishes and external works
- The figure excludes land, permit fees, design fees, utility connections and furniture, each of which has to be estimated on its own
Assumptions used
- Skeleton is structure only, handed over as bare concrete and blockwork. Standard and premium are turnkey, and differ in the finishes, joinery and fittings rather than in the structure.
- How a contract price usually splits across the trades. Proportions, not prices: they shift with design, but the shape holds well enough to tell you what a stage payment should look like.