Interior fit out cost dubai

Interior Fit-Out Cost in Dubai: Rates Per Square Foot

Interior fit-out cost in Dubai start from AED 180 per square foot at Swissora, with standard material included in that rate. On a 1,200 sq ft apartment, a full fit-out therefore starts at roughly AED 216,000 before any premium specification. Apartment renovation starts from AED 35,000 and villa renovation from AED 150,000, both with standard material included.

Search the same question online and you will find figures anywhere between AED 80 and AED 1,200 per square foot. Same city. Same year. The same words are typed into the same search box.

Those guides are not lying to you. They are pricing four completely different things, and most of them never say which one.

What follows is the rate card Swissora quotes from, the trade-level numbers sitting behind that square foot figure, and the reason two contractors can look at the same flat in Business Bay and come back 100 percent apart. Every figure on this page comes from the same indicative price list a client receives before a site visit.

How much does an interior fit-out cost in Dubai?

A residential interior fit-out in Dubai starts from AED 180 per square foot with standard material included. Renovation of an existing property costs less because it touches fewer trades and reuses what is already there. Villa work costs more because the areas are larger and the specification is usually higher.

Scope of work	Starting price	Material
Interior fit-out	AED 180 per sq ft	Included
Apartment renovation	AED 35,000	Included
Villa renovation	AED 150,000	Included
3D interior visualisation	AED 3,500 per project	Digital service

 

Starting price means the floor, not the ceiling.

The confirmed figure comes after a site visit, itemised by material and labour, once somebody has actually stood in the property and looked at the substrate, the MEP condition, and the access. A rate given over the phone is an estimate. A quote follows an inspection. The scope covered by a full build-out is set out on the interior fit-out services in Dubai page.

Why two Dubai fit-out quotes for the same flat differ by 100 percent

This is the part that costs people money, so it goes near the top rather than buried at the bottom.

One rate includes material. The other does not.

Two contractors quote your apartment. One says AED 90 per square foot. One says AED 180. The cheap one wins, obviously.

Then the tile invoice arrives. And the paint invoice. And the parquet invoice. And you discover the AED 90 covered installation labour and nothing else, which was written in the quote, in a line you skimmed.

Every line on the Swissora price list states INCLUDED or NOT INCLUDED against it. Not as a legal safeguard, but because the alternative is a conversation in week six about who is paying for 60 square meters of porcelain. Wallpaper installation is AED 45 per sqm, and the wallpaper itself is not included. Painting a two-bedroom apartment costs AED 4,000, and the paint is included. Both are honest numbers. They are not comparable numbers.

Before you compare any two quotes in this market, find that word in both documents.

Per square foot and per square metre are not the same number

Half the published guides in Dubai quote per square foot. The other half quote per square metre. One square metre is 10.764 square feet, so a rate that looks nine times bigger might be identical.

Quoted as	Works out per sq ft	Works out per sq m
AED 180 per sq ft	AED 180	AED 1,938
AED 800 per sq m	AED 74	AED 800
AED 1,300 per sq m	AED 121	AED 1,300
AED 3,000 per sq m	AED 279	AED 3,000

 

An office quoted at AED 1,300 per square metre sounds enormous next to AED 180 per square foot. It is actually AED 121 per square foot, and it is probably labour only. Convert first, then read the inclusion line, then compare.

Design and visualisation usually sit outside the build

Most build quotes in Dubai exclude the design work that produced them. Design is commonly charged as a percentage of the build or as a separate fee, which means a client who budgeted the build figure alone is short before the first wall goes up.

Swissora prices 3D interior visualisation separately at AED 3,500 per project, covering the agreed number of rooms, renderings, and revisions. Furniture, physical samples, and authority approvals sit outside it. Knowing the design number upfront is usually cheaper than discovering it later.

The fourth variable is the property itself

An empty shell is predictable. A fifteen-year-old villa in Jumeirah with soft plaster, a leaking balcony and original MEP is not. Site condition moves a fit-out budget more than material choice does, and no honest contractor prices it from photographs.

What AED 180 per square foot actually buys

The rate covers labour and standard materials to the agreed fit-out specification. Partitioning, ceilings, flooring, electrical first and second fix, plumbing rough-in, joinery, wall finishes, and the final fitting of fixtures are coordinated as one sequence under one project manager rather than handed between crews.

Quoted separately: premium materials, custom-made elements, specialist equipment, authority approvals, and anything outside the agreed specification.

That last clause is doing real work. If you specify imported Italian marble and a bespoke walk-in wardrobe, you are no longer buying a standard fit-out, and the rate stops applying. Larger or bespoke projects get a detailed project quotation instead of a per-square-foot figure, because at that point the square foot rate stops describing the job.

Fit-out cost by trade: the rate card behind the square foot figure

A fit-out is not one price. It is fifteen trade prices bundled together, and if your project only needs four of them, you should be paying for four.

Flooring and tiling

Flooring is priced per square metre and the rate depends on the material and on who supplies it.

Trade	From	Material
Vinyl or SPC, installation only	AED 45 per sqm	Client supplies
Vinyl or SPC, supply and installation	AED 90 per sqm	Included
Parquet or engineered wood, installation only	AED 75 per sqm	Client supplies
Parquet or engineered wood, supply and installation	AED 160 per sqm	Included
Standard tile installation	AED 55 per sqm	Not included
Large-format and premium tile	AED 95 per sqm	Not included

 

Subfloor levelling, removal and disposal of existing flooring, skirting, and herringbone or chevron patterns are quoted on top. Herringbone in particular involves more cutting and more wastage than a straight plank layout, which is why it is never inside the base rate. The full material breakdown sits on the flooring contractors in Dubai page.

Walls, ceilings and finishes

Trade	From	Material
Plaster works	AED 45 per sqm	Not included
Drywall and gypsum works	AED 85 per sqm	Not included
Waterproofing	AED 45 per sqm	Not included
Wallpaper installation	AED 45 per sqm	Not included
Decorative finishes and Venetian plaster	AED 120 per sqm	Included
Painting, single room	AED 1,000	Included
Painting, one-bedroom apartment	AED 2,500	Included
Painting, two-bedroom apartment	AED 4,000	Included
Painting, three-bedroom apartment	AED 6,000	Included
Painting, villa	AED 10,000	Included

 

Painting is one of the few trades priced per property rather than per square metre, and the rate includes standard interior paint, normal surface preparation, and floor protection. Extensive crack repair, moisture damage, specialist coatings, and designer paints are assessed separately, which is exactly the kind of thing a site visit exists to catch. Scope detail is on the painting services in Dubai page.

Technical trades

Trade	Rate	Material
Plumbing	AED 175 per hour, one hour minimum	Not included
Maintenance technician	AED 175 per hour, one hour minimum	Not included
Standard AC service	AED 250 per unit	Consumables included

 

Plumbing and maintenance both run on an hourly rate with a one-hour minimum, and both cover labour only. Replacement parts, sanitary fittings, valves, pipes, pumps, and consumables are charged on top of the hour. Where a repair turns out to be bigger than it first looked, a quotation goes to the client before anybody proceeds, rather than after the invoice arrives.

Hourly pricing works well for small, defined jobs. It works badly for anything that needs coordinating against other trades. During a renovation, pipe routing, water pressure, and drainage have to be resolved before finishes go down, because once the tile is laid, moving a waste pipe means lifting the tile. The plumbing company in Dubai page covers how that sequencing is handled inside a larger project rather than as an isolated visit.

Refrigerant, compressors, PCBs, duct repairs, and specialist chemicals sit outside the standard AC service rate of AED 250 per unit and are quoted separately where required.

Worked example: a 1,200 sq ft two-bedroom apartment

Two owners, same tower, same floor plan. Very different bills.

Owner A wants a full fit-out. Stripped back and rebuilt: layout changes, new MEP, new joinery, new everything. At AED 180 per square foot with standard material included, the starting figure is AED 216,000. Premium specification pushes it up from there.

Owner B wants the flat to stop looking tired. New floors, fresh paint, the two bathrooms retiled, the AC serviced, a plumber for a day and a half.

Line	Calculation	Cost
Vinyl flooring, supply and install, 90 sqm	90 x AED 90	AED 8,100
Painting, two-bedroom apartment	Fixed	AED 4,000
Bathroom tiling labour, 40 sqm	40 x AED 55	AED 2,200
Waterproofing, 20 sqm	20 x AED 45	AED 900
Plumbing, 12 hours	12 x AED 175	AED 2,100
AC service, 4 units	4 x AED 250	AED 1,000
Deep clean at handover, two-bedroom	Fixed	AED 750
Labour and included material		AED 19,050

 

Owner B still buys tiles, sanitaryware, and grout on top, so call it somewhere near AED 30,000 all in depending on the tile selected. Which is roughly one seventh of Owner A's number. The four units in that AC line are a standard service; anything involving gas, a compressor, or a control board is priced separately, as the AC and HVAC service in Dubai page sets out.

Neither figure is the correct answer to "What does a fit-out cost in Dubai?" They answer two different questions. Any published range that does not tell you which question it is answering is not much use to you, and most of them do not.

This is also why the first serious question a contractor should ask is not about your budget. It is about what condition the property is in and what you actually want changed. A contractor who quotes before establishing that is quoting a number they invented, and it will move.

Owner B's job is closer to what Swissora prices as apartment renovation, which starts from AED 35,000 as a packaged scope with standard material included. Owner A's is a fit-out.

The difference between them is not only the price. Apartment work in a Dubai high-rise carries constraints a villa never does: building management approval before demolition starts, restricted working hours, service lift bookings for every material delivery, and hard limits on when noisy work can happen at all. None of that changes the rate per square foot. It changes how long the job takes, and duration is what quietly turns a fixed price into a series of variations. A program built around the building's actual rules beats an optimistic one every time, even though the optimistic one always sounds better in the meeting.

Villas run on the same logic at a larger scale. Villa renovation starts from AED 150,000 with standard material included, and the final number moves with villa size, existing condition, structural requirements, and how far the finish level is pushed. Luxury finishes, custom joinery, and specialist installations are priced on top rather than assumed inside.

Shell and core, Cat A and Cat B: what the handover condition does to your budget

If the space is commercial, the single biggest number in your budget was decided before you signed the lease.

Handover condition	What you receive	What you still have to build
Shell and core	Structure, facade, core services to the floor, common areas	Everything inside the demise
Category A	Raised floors or screeds, suspended ceilings, basic lighting, HVAC distribution, fire systems	All tenant-specific work
Category B	The finished, branded, occupiable space	Nothing, this is the end state.

 

Cat A is the landlord's baseline. Cat B is your fit-out, and it is where partitions, meeting rooms, kitchenettes, final floor finishes, MEP modifications, data cabling, joinery, and branding all sit. Most towers in Business Bay, JLT and DIFC hand over in Cat A, which means the tenant is buying a Cat B fit-out, whether or not anybody used that phrase during the lease negotiation.

Published Cat B office rates in Dubai sit broadly between AED 900 and AED 1,800 per square metre in 2026, which converts to roughly AED 84 to AED 167 per square foot, with premium and specialist spaces running well above that. Swissora quotes commercial Cat B work per project rather than off a fixed rate, because the number of enclosed offices, the acoustic glazing spec, the fresh air load, and the condition of the existing MEP change the figure more than floor area does.

One thing worth checking before you budget: a Cat B fit-out in Dubai typically needs a landlord NOC and Dubai Municipality approval, and free zones run their own process. Those timelines belong in the programme from day one, not in week four.

What sits outside every fit-out quote in Dubai

None of the following is automatically included in a fit-out price, from Swissora or from anybody else, unless the quotation says so in writing:

• Demolition, strip-out, removal, and disposal of existing material
• Extensive substrate preparation, crack treatment, and moisture damage repair
• Scaffolding and specialist access equipment
• Work outside normal working hours, which high-rise buildings often mandate
• Building NOCs, authority approvals, and Dubai Municipality submissions
• Parking and building access charges
• Premium and imported materials, custom joinery, specialist equipment
• Furniture, appliances, and loose items

VAT is another one to confirm. Contracting services in the UAE are standard-rated at 5 percent, and quotes are not always shown inclusive. On an AED 216,000 fit-out, that is AED 10,800, which is not the kind of number you want appearing after you have committed.

Set aside 10 to 15 percent contingency on top of the agreed contract sum. On older properties, closer to 15. Something always turns up behind a wall.

How to compare two fit-out quotes without getting caught

Four checks, in this order, and they take about ten minutes:

1. Convert both to the same unit. Per square foot or per square metre, pick one, multiply or divide by 10.764, then look at them side by side.
 

2. Find the inclusion line. Does the rate include material or not. If a quote does not state this per trade, that is your answer about how the rest of the project will be documented.
 

3. Read the exclusions before the inclusions. The exclusions list tells you what the contractor already knows will become a variation later.
 

4. Check the payment schedule is tied to milestones, not dates. Calendar-based payments reward slow work. Milestone-based payments do not.
 

A quote that is one lump sum with three broad categories is not a quote, it is a starting position. The detailed version of this checklist, including license verification and the questions worth asking before signing, is in the guide to hiring an interior fit-out company in Dubai.

Which rooms cost the most

Kitchens and bathrooms carry the highest cost per square foot in any Dubai property, and it is not the finishes doing it. It is the MEP. Every kitchen and bathroom concentrates plumbing, drainage, waterproofing, tiling, electrical, and ventilation into a small area, and each of those trades has to happen in the right order, or the one after it fails.

A bedroom is flooring, paint, and a light fitting. A bathroom is six trades stacked in eight square metres with a waterproofing layer that has to be right the first time, because the cost of getting it wrong is the ceiling of the apartment below yours. The sequencing detail behind kitchen work is covered in the kitchen renovation in Dubai guide.

If your fit-out budget looks tight, the room to compromise on is not the wet areas.

Cut the joinery specification. Drop the decorative wall finish. Keep the same tile and lay less of it. Move the feature wall to phase two. All of those are reversible decisions that cost you nothing later. What you do not do is save AED 900 on a waterproofing layer that sits underneath everything else and cannot be inspected again once the tiling goes on top of it. That saving reappears in about three years as a damp patch on somebody else's ceiling, and by then it is not an AED 900 problem. Every trade behind these figures is priced individually and listed under our services, which makes it easier to see where a scope can genuinely shrink.

Frequently asked questions

How much does an interior fit-out cost in Dubai?

Interior fit-out in Dubai starts from AED 180 per square foot at Swissora with standard material included, putting a 1,200 sq ft apartment at approximately AED 216,000. Apartment renovation starts from AED 35,000 and villa renovation from AED 150,000. The confirmed figure follows a site visit and is itemized by material and labour.

What is the interior fit-out cost per square foot in Dubai?

Swissora quotes residential interior fit-out from AED 180 per square foot with standard material included. Published market figures in Dubai range from AED 80 to AED 1,200 per square foot because they describe different scopes, different inclusion levels, and sometimes different units of measurement.

Does the fit-out rate include materials?

The Swissora fit-out rate of AED 180 per square foot includes labour and standard materials to the agreed specification. Premium materials, custom-made elements, specialist equipment, and authority approvals are quoted separately. Individual trades vary: painting includes paint, while tiling and wallpaper rates cover installation labour only.

How much does it cost to fit out a one-bedroom apartment in Dubai?

A one-bedroom apartment of around 750 sq ft starts from approximately AED 135,000 for a full fit-out at AED 180 per square foot with standard material included. A selective renovation of the same property costs considerably less, since apartment renovation starts from AED 35,000 as a packaged scope.

How much does a villa fit-out or renovation cost in Dubai?

Villa renovation at Swissora starts from AED 150,000 with standard material included. The final figure depends on villa size, existing condition, architectural requirements, and finish level. Luxury finishes, premium products, custom joinery, specialist installations, sanitary fixtures, and appliances are quoted separately.

What is the difference between Cat A and Cat B fit-out cost?

Cat A is the landlord's baseline finish: raised floors, suspended ceilings, basic lighting, and HVAC distribution. Cat B is the tenant fit-out that turns that shell into an occupiable, branded space, and it carries most of the cost. Published Cat B office rates in Dubai run roughly AED 900 to AED 1,800 per square metre in 2026, equal to about AED 84 to AED 167 per square foot.

Why do interior fit-out quotes in Dubai vary so much?

Four variables account for most of the spread: whether material is included in the rate, whether the quote is per square foot or per square metre, whether design fees sit inside or outside the build, and the actual condition of the property. Two quotes for the same apartment can differ by 100 percent while both being accurate.

Is VAT included in a Dubai fit-out quote?

Contracting services in the UAE are subject to 5 percent VAT, and quotations are not always presented inclusive. Confirm which applies before signing, since on an AED 216,000 fit-out the difference is AED 10,800.

What is not included in an interior fit-out quote?

Demolition and disposal, extensive substrate repair, scaffolding, out-of-hours working, building NOCs and authority approvals, parking and access charges, premium or imported materials, custom joinery, and loose furniture are not automatically included. Anything chargeable beyond the agreed scope is communicated and approved before execution.

How much contingency should I budget for a fit-out in Dubai?

Set aside 10 to 15 percent of the contract sum, closer to 15 percent on older properties where MEP condition and substrate quality are unknown until work opens up the walls. A contractor who tells you no contingency is needed has not opened many walls.

Get a fixed fit-out quote in Dubai

Swissora Contracting L.L.C is an interior fit-out and renovation company in Dubai founded by Emin Istrefi, who spent twenty years in European interior construction managing complex projects in wood, flooring, and tiling before bringing that working method to this market. Every project runs under one project manager, with a documented scope, defined milestones, and one point of contact from the first site visit through to handover. That does not stop at handover either. A property that has been fitted out can move straight onto 24 hour maintenance or an annual contract from AED 3,500, so the people who built the interior are the same people who look after it afterwards.

Every price on this page is published deliberately. Most contractors in this market will not put a number in writing until they have you on a call, which makes comparison almost impossible and is usually the point. You should be able to hold these figures against any other quote you have received and see immediately where the two differ before anyone asks you for a decision.

The confirmed number for your property follows a site visit. It arrives itemised by material and labour, with the exclusions stated in writing, before any work begins.

Clear scope. Clear pricing. No surprises during the build.

Request a quote with the size and location of your property, or message the team on WhatsApp for a same-day response.

 

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