Office Fit Out Cost Dubai: AED Per Sqft Rates for 2026
Office fit out cost in Dubai is quoted per sqft, but the number means little without knowing whether you're paying for shell-and-core, Cat A or Cat B scope. Here's how to read a quote line by line and where the real cost variables sit.
Key takeaways
- Shell-and-core space usually carries a lower cost per sqft to take over than a floor already fitted to Cat A or Cat B, because you are not paying for base MEP, ceilings and raised floors someone else has already installed.
- Cat B costs sit above Cat A: partitions, joinery, branding, meeting rooms and tenant-specific furniture all land on top of the landlord's base build.
- Free zone landlords often impose fixed fit-out guidelines, contractor pre-qualification and set approval windows that mainland buildings don't, which changes both the sequence and the budget.
- A genuine turnkey quote itemises design fees, MEP, joinery, FF&E and project management separately. A single per sqft number hides the risk.
- One ISO 9001 certified partner from concept to handover closes the coordination gaps between designer, main contractor and MEP subcontractor, which is where most overruns start.
What Drives Office Fit Out Cost in Dubai
Office fit out cost in Dubai in 2026 broadly falls between AED 350 and AED 1,500 per sqft, with the spread driven by design complexity, MEP upgrades, joinery, IT infrastructure and authority approvals (Rady Interior). A practical way to read that range: light refurbishment sits at the bottom, a standard corporate fit-out lands in the middle, and premium builds in prime districts push the top (TRDB). Location alone moves the number. DIFC and Downtown typically run 20–25% above standard areas for the same specification.
Where your project lands depends first on what the landlord hands you. There are three starting conditions, and they are not interchangeable.
Shell and core: what you're starting with
Shell and core means structure, façade, core lifts, stairs and toilets, plus incoming services brought to a point on the floor. No ceilings, no raised floor, no distributed cooling, no lighting. You pay for all of it.
The headline rate is higher because your scope is larger, but the cost per sqft to take over the space itself is lower. You are not inheriting and then stripping out someone else's ceiling grid. Shell and core suits occupiers with an unusual brief: high-density trading floors, labs, studios, venues with acoustic or ventilation demands the base build would not have anticipated.
Cat A fit out: the landlord-standard base build
Cat A is the landlord's finished-but-empty floor: raised access floor, suspended ceiling, lighting, fire detection and suppression, air conditioning distribution, finished surfaces to the core walls. Cat A works in Dubai generally sit around AED 300–500 per sqft depending on location and building regulations (Design Divine).
If you lease a Cat A floor, you rarely pay for it directly. It is priced into the rent or delivered as part of the landlord's obligation. What matters is checking whether the Cat A specification actually matches your density and layout. A ceiling grid and sprinkler pattern designed for open plan will need modification the moment you add closed meeting rooms.
Cat B fit out: the fully finished, branded office
Cat B is your office: partitions, doors, joinery, meeting rooms, kitchens, branding, floor finishes, feature lighting, data cabling, furniture. Most tenant budgets are Cat B budgets, and in 2026 that scope spans roughly AED 60 per sqft for the lightest intervention up to AED 450 per sqft and beyond by grade (A5Renova). Turnkey standard projects more commonly settle between AED 350 and AED 800 per sqft, with premium DIFC environments exceeding AED 1,000 (Capital Associated).
The variance inside Cat B is almost entirely material and joinery-led. Laminate carcasses with edge banding sit at a very different budget line to walnut veneer, microcement and bronze detailing. On a 260 sqm commercial fit-out in Dubai the joinery package carried the brand identity, a deliberate allocation of budget rather than a default.
Scope · What it covers · Indicative AED/sqft · Who usually pays
Shell and core takeover · Structure, façade, core, services to the floor · Tenant funds full Cat A + Cat B scope · Tenant
Light refurbishment · Repaint, recarpet, minor reconfiguration · 130–170 · Tenant
Cat A · Ceilings, raised floor, lighting, HVAC distribution, fire systems · 300–500 · Landlord (priced into rent)
Cat B, standard · Partitions, joinery, finishes, data, branding · 350–800 · Tenant
Cat B, premium (DIFC, Downtown) · Bespoke joinery, feature lighting, high-spec materials · 800–1,200+ · Tenant
Sources: Design Divine, TRDB, Capital Associated, FCSI.
Free Zone vs Mainland: How Location Changes the Cost
Two identical 5,000 sqft offices, one in a free zone tower and one in a mainland building, will not cost the same to deliver. The difference is not the drywall. It is who approves the drawings, how long that takes and what the landlord obliges you to specify.
Free zone landlord fit out guidelines
Free zones are regulated by their own authorities rather than by Dubai Municipality. JAFZA, DDA and Trakhees each run distinct permitting regimes (IR Interior). DDA approvals apply to free zone development areas, while Dubai Municipality governs mainland buildings, and some projects touch both (Fermium Designs).
In practice that means:
- A pre-qualified contractor list. If your preferred fit-out firm is not registered with that free zone, you either register them or change contractor.
- Fixed fit-out guidelines covering ceiling heights, partition types, glazing to corridors, signage and permitted floor finishes.
- Security deposits and reinstatement bonds held against the works.
- Defined working hours, often restricting noisy activity to evenings, which lengthens the programme and adds cost.
Mainland municipality and Civil Defence approvals
Mainland projects route through Dubai Municipality, with Dubai Civil Defence reviewing fire and life safety. Any change to sprinkler layout, smoke detection, emergency lighting or escape routes triggers a fire strategy submission. Add closed meeting rooms to an open floor and you have changed all four.
Build the approval cycle into the programme rather than treating it as paperwork running alongside construction. Drawings submitted late, or submitted incomplete, are the single most common reason a handover date slips.
DEWA connections and MEP capacity checks
Before you price anything, confirm the floor's electrical load allocation and cooling capacity. A modern office with a high-density team, a server room and a full coffee setup can outstrip the allocation the base build assumed.
If it does, you are looking at an upgraded distribution board, possibly a DEWA load increase application, and supplementary cooling for the comms room. These are costly items that rarely appear in an early per sqft estimate. We check them at concept stage precisely because discovering them at week six rewrites the budget.
What a Turnkey Fit Out Quote Should Actually Include
A turnkey fit out company in Dubai should be able to hand you a quote where every line is legible. If the document is one page with a lump sum and a per sqft rate, you cannot tell what has been assumed, what has been excluded, or where the contingency sits.
Design and consultancy fees
Concept design, space planning, detailed drawings, 3D visuals, material boards and authority submission drawings. Ask whether revisions are capped and what triggers a variation. Ask who owns the drawings at handover.
Joinery, partitions and finishes
This is usually the largest single package and the one with the widest quality range. The quote should name the substrate, the veneer or laminate, the edge detail and the ironmongery brand. "Custom joinery" as a single line is not a specification. Partitions should be specified by type: single or double glazed, acoustic rated, framing finish. An acoustically rated partition and a plain glazed screen are not the same product, even when the drawing looks identical.
MEP, lighting and acoustics
Mechanical, electrical and plumbing, plus the lighting design and any acoustic treatment. Look for: modification of existing HVAC versus new equipment, sprinkler head relocation, small power and data point counts, emergency lighting, and whether testing and commissioning certificates are included. Acoustics deserve a named line. Open-plan floors with hard finishes and no absorption become unusable for calls, and retrofitting baffles later costs more than specifying them at design stage.
Furniture, fixtures and equipment
Many published per sqft benchmarks include construction and interior works but exclude furniture and specialist items (FCSI). Confirm explicitly whether desks, task chairs, soft seating, AV, signage and window treatments sit inside or outside your number. Lead times matter as much as price. Imported furniture on a long lead can strand a finished shell with nothing to sit in it.
Project management and authority approvals
Site supervision, programme management, QA inspections, snagging, authority liaison and handover documentation. On the 240 sqm Reges Events fit-out this layer kept the trades sequenced against a fixed opening date. It is a real cost and it should appear as one.
How to Choose an Office Interior Fit Out Company in Dubai
Most office interior fit out companies in Dubai can show you a render. Fewer can show you the same space built, on the date they promised, at the number they quoted.
Single point of accountability from concept to handover
Splitting design and build across two firms creates a gap. The designer specifies, the contractor prices, the variation arrives, and nobody owns the difference. One contract from concept through to handover removes the argument, because the same team carries the drawing and the cost.
ISO certified process for quality
Ask for certificate numbers, not logos. We work under ISO 9001 for quality management across every project, from concept through to handover. That process is what keeps design intent, procurement and site delivery aligned once a job has multiple trades running at once.
Portfolio depth in your sector and building type
A contractor who has delivered twenty cafés understands kitchen extract and service flow. One who has delivered twenty towers understands base-build coordination and landlord protocols. Look through our recent commercial and workplace projects for the building type closest to yours, then ask for the client's contact details. A firm confident in its delivery will give them.
Where Occupiers Can Save Without Cutting Corners
Reducing office fit out cost is rarely about cheaper materials. It is about sequencing, repetition and honesty at design stage.
Phasing the fit out around lease dates
If you hold a rent-free period, front-load the works that must happen in the empty space: MEP, partitions, ceilings, flooring. Phase secondary zones after occupation. Breakout areas, executive offices and additional meeting rooms can often follow in a second phase without disrupting the working floor. This spreads capital expenditure across two financial periods.
Standardising joinery and door details
Bespoke everything is expensive because every item is a one-off drawing, a one-off cut list and a one-off installation. Standardise the door leaf, the ironmongery set, the desk return and the storage module across the floor, then spend the saving on two or three high-impact moments: the reception desk, the boardroom wall, the café counter. Consistency reads as considered, not cheap.
Reusing existing MEP where the building allows it
If you are taking a floor that was previously occupied, survey before you strip. Ceiling grids, sprinkler layouts, VAV boxes and lighting tracks are often reusable if your layout respects the existing module. Designing your partition grid to align with the base-build ceiling grid can remove a significant chunk of MEP alteration. That discipline also protects the things that actually shape how good interior design improves the experience of the people using a space: light levels, air movement, acoustic comfort, rather than trading them away for a lower headline rate.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an office fit out take in Dubai?
Programme length depends on scope and jurisdiction more than floor size. Design and authority approvals run first, then site works, then furniture installation and snagging. Free zone projects with pre-qualification requirements and restricted working hours sit at the longer end of any comparable mainland project. Long-lead items such as imported furniture, feature lighting and specialist glazing often dictate the critical path rather than the construction itself, so confirm lead times before you fix an opening date.
Do I need Civil Defence approval for an office fit out?
For mainland Dubai projects, any works affecting fire detection, sprinkler layout, emergency lighting or escape routes require Dubai Civil Defence review as part of the approval process. Adding partitions or closed rooms to an open floor almost always triggers this. Free zone projects follow the equivalent process under their own authority, such as DDA, JAFZA or Trakhees (IR Interior).
What is the difference between Cat A and Cat B fit out?
Cat A is the landlord's base finish: raised floor, suspended ceiling, lighting, HVAC distribution and fire systems, delivered as an empty, usable shell. Cat B is the tenant's branded, functional office built on top of that: partitions, joinery, meeting rooms, finishes, data and furniture (A5Renova). Most occupier budgets are Cat B budgets.
Can a tenant fit out a free zone office without landlord sign-off?
No. Free zone landlords issue fit-out guidelines, require approved drawings, and usually restrict works to contractors registered with that authority. Starting without sign-off risks a stop-work notice, forfeiture of the fit-out deposit and an instruction to reinstate at your cost.
How much does furniture typically add to an office fit out budget?
It varies by grade and by how much is imported versus locally sourced, but it is rarely trivial, and many published per sqft benchmarks exclude it entirely (FCSI). Always confirm in writing whether FF&E sits inside or outside the quoted figure, and check lead times against your occupation date before you commit to it.
Tell us the floor, the emirate and the date you need the keys to work, and we will come back with a scoped, itemised number rather than a rate per square foot. Start your project with Lava.