Fit-Out Cost in Dubai by property type
The real BOQ brackets Dubai commercial fit-outs actually land in — office AED/sqft, clinic AED 250,000–600,000+, retail shopfits, restaurant kitchens. Most fit-out contractors quote per-project after a form fill; this guide publishes the ranges up-front so you can budget before you've even walked the site. Ranges are from live Samra BOQs, not brochure numbers.
Office fit-out — AED per sqft brackets
Three tiers cover most Dubai office fit-outs. Sqft is the standard baseline; approvals complexity, MEP loads and after-hours work push a project up its bracket, not into the next one.
Standard office spec
AED 800 – 1,500 / sqft
Demountable / drywall partitions, standard suspended ceiling, carpet tile or vinyl flooring, off-the-shelf lighting, standard MEP. Suits SME offices, back-office floors, mid-market co-working conversions.
Premium / branded spec
AED 1,500 – 3,000 / sqft
Glass partitioning, feature ceilings, bespoke joinery (reception, meeting-room walls, tea points), designer lighting, branded finishes, ELV integration. Suits regional HQs, professional-services firms.
Flagship / executive floor
AED 2,500 – 5,000+ / sqft
Marble, timber panelling, premium AV, biometric access, wine walls, executive-suite joinery. Suits C-suite floors, family-office space, DIFC / Downtown flagship offices.
Drivers that push you up the bracket
- Approvals complexity (DIFC vs mainland; developer-portal drawings for Emaar / Nakheel towers)
- MEP loads (high AC density, server rooms, kitchen wet points)
- Bespoke joinery %
- Glazing scope (demountable glass partitions add 15–25% vs drywall)
- After-hours / night-shift work (occupied towers require it)
Clinic fit-out — project brackets
Clinic fit-outs quote per project (not per sqft) because medical-scope drives the number more than area. DHA compliance, medical-gas, infection-control finishes and treatment-room MEP are the swing factors.
Small clinic (2–4 treatment rooms)
AED 250,000 – 400,000
GP, dental, aesthetics, physio. Reception + waiting + 2–4 rooms + WC + sterilisation area. Standard DHA fit-out spec.
Mid-size clinic (5–8 rooms + specialty)
AED 400,000 – 600,000
Multi-discipline clinic, small day-surgery, imaging. Medical-gas piping, treatment-room MEP redundancy, infection-control finishes (seamless flooring, antimicrobial paint, coved skirtings).
Specialty / day-surgery clinic
AED 600,000 – 1.5M+
Day-surgery, IVF, dermatology with lasers, aesthetic surgery. Operating-room MEP, positive-pressure zones, medical-gas manifolds, back-up power, DHA inspection cycles.
Drivers that move a clinic across brackets
- DHA licence category (GP vs specialty vs day-surgery)
- Medical-gas scope (O2, N2O, medical air, vacuum)
- Imaging / laser equipment MEP loads
- Infection-control finishes (seamless flooring cost 3–4× vinyl tile)
- Phased-refurb premium — keeping the clinic open adds 10–20% (see methodology)
Retail shopfit & restaurant / F&B — brackets
Retail and F&B fit-outs live in mall or standalone units. Landlord fit-out manuals, mall NOC and night-shift work windows are the constants. Kitchen scope is the biggest F&B swing factor.
Retail shopfit
- Small shop / kiosk (up to ~500 sqft): AED 150,000–350,000
- Standard mall shop (500–1,500 sqft): AED 350,000–900,000
- Flagship showroom (1,500+ sqft, premium finishes): AED 800,000–2M+
- Drivers: shopfront glazing, joinery %, LED / feature lighting, mall NOC + night-shift work
Restaurant / F&B fit-out
- Café / QSR (up to ~1,000 sqft): AED 400,000–900,000
- Casual dining (1,000–2,500 sqft): AED 800,000–2M
- Fine dining / speciality (with production kitchen): AED 1.5M–5M+
- Drivers: kitchen equipment scope, exhaust + grease-trap, cold-room count, bar joinery, seating capacity
Warehouse / industrial fit-out
Racking, mezzanine floors, office pods inside warehouses, industrial cold rooms. AED 200–800 / sqft depending on scope. Quoted per building.
What the fit-out brackets do NOT include
Fit-out BOQs are for the contractor scope. These sit outside every fit-out contract — budget them separately so the total project number is honest.
Authority fees (pass-through)
DM, DCD, DEWA, developer-NOC and free-zone fees are paid to the authority. We coordinate the submissions; the fees pass through at cost, typically 2–5% of contract value.
FF&E (furniture, fixtures, equipment)
Desks, chairs, screens, medical equipment, POS systems, kitchen chefs' equipment — usually bought direct by the client. We'll coordinate delivery and install where useful.
IT hardware
Structured cabling (CAT6, patch panels) is in scope. Servers, laptops, VoIP handsets, printers, phones — client procured.
Designer fees
If a licensed interior designer or architect is engaged (required on major clinic and structural works), their fee is separate. We happily work with your appointed designer or introduce partners we've worked with.
Signage & branding
Substrates (backing panels, illuminated boxes) can sit inside the fit-out contract. Vinyl branding, illuminated logos and mall-approved external signage are usually a separate signage-vendor scope.
Ongoing maintenance
Fit-out is one-off. Post-handover we offer an optional Commercial AMC — same team, no re-onboarding — for scheduled maintenance and priority dispatch.
Frequently asked questions
How much does an office fit-out cost in Dubai?
Standard office spec: AED 800–1,500 / sqft. Premium / branded: AED 1,500–3,000 / sqft. Flagship / executive: AED 2,500–5,000+ / sqft. Main drivers are approvals complexity, MEP loads, bespoke joinery percentage, glazing scope and whether after-hours work is required.
How much does a clinic fit-out cost?
Small clinic (2–4 rooms): AED 250,000–400,000. Mid-size clinic (5–8 rooms + specialty): AED 400,000–600,000. Day-surgery / specialty: AED 600,000–1.5M+. Medical-gas scope, imaging equipment MEP loads and infection-control finishes are the biggest swing factors — bigger than area.
How much does a restaurant fit-out cost?
Café / QSR (up to 1,000 sqft): AED 400,000–900,000. Casual dining: AED 800,000–2M. Fine dining with production kitchen: AED 1.5M–5M+. Kitchen equipment, exhaust and grease-trap scope, cold-room count and bar joinery are the main drivers.
What is included in a fit-out BOQ?
Architectural (partitioning, ceilings, flooring), MEP (AC re-zoning, electrical, plumbing), joinery (reception, meeting rooms, cabinetry), finishes (paint, tiling, lighting), ELV (structured cabling, AV, alarms, access control), duct manufacturing + installation, and authority-approval coordination. FF&E, IT hardware, designer fees, external signage and ongoing maintenance sit outside.
How long does a fit-out take end-to-end?
A mid-size office fit-out runs 8–12 weeks: 4–8 weeks of approvals (lodged in parallel) plus 4–8 weeks of construction. Clinics run longer because of DHA re-inspection. Small retail shopfits can close in 4–6 weeks. Fine-dining restaurants and flagship showrooms take 12–20+ weeks.
How is the price actually fixed?
Free site visit → trade-by-trade fixed-price BOQ within 7 working days. Materials line-itemised, brands specified, approval fees pass-through at cost. Once you sign the BOQ, the price is fixed unless you change scope. Change orders are priced against the same BOQ rates so nothing arrives as a surprise.
Can I keep operating during the fit-out?
For offices — small refits yes (phased between zones), full fit-outs no. For clinics — yes, we run a phased-clinic-fit-out methodology that keeps operating clinics open. It adds 10–20% to the number vs a closed-site refurb, but for busy clinics the revenue preserved usually beats that.
Areas we cover
Same-day reach across Dubai. Tap your area for landmarks, communities and the services we deliver there — or tell us your building on WhatsApp.
Get a fit-out BOQ for your space
WhatsApp the building name, floor, area (sqft) and use type. Free site visit, fixed-price BOQ within 7 working days. All authority approval fees pass through at cost.
