Logo design and branding cost in Dubai: AED prices, VAT and trademark fees

How much does logo design cost in Dubai in 2026?

No official price list exists for logos in Dubai, so every figure below is what a studio chose to publish. The dirham is pegged at 3.6725 to the dollar: AED 5,000 is about $1,360 and AED 50,000 about $13,600.

Even one row spreads widely: a freelancer logo runs from AED 500 to 5,000, and the agency row starts at AED 10,000 in one source and AED 15,000 in two. Scope explains part of it, since StreetLevel prices whole identities and GLDS prices logos with extras. Compare what each quote contains before comparing totals.

What do you get at each price level?

GLDS, a Dubai studio, describes what each tier delivers. It is one studio’s view, not a standard.

A very cheap quote is usually a different product. GLDS warns that under AED 500 the designer is likely using templates or spending less than a day, and Confetti lists vector files and ownership as what a logo of AED 50–500 often leaves out.

How much does branding cost in Dubai compared with a logo?

A logo is one mark; branding is the system around it. StreetLevel’s tiers show the steps: a logo alone takes days, a starter identity two to four weeks, a studio identity with strategy and guidelines three to eight weeks, an agency rebrand two to six months. Scope, strategy, deliverables, revisions and who does the work drive the price. StreetLevel itself publishes a fixed AED 24,500, VAT included, for strategy, three concepts, guidelines and source files in ten working days.

VITON¹³ sells the steps separately, in US dollars: a logo from $53 AI-assisted or $73 human-led and a brand identity from $93 AI-assisted or $113 human-led. Strategy and naming are separate scopes, so compare scope lines, not just totals.

What does an Arabic and English logo add to the price?

GLDS puts a bilingual Arabic and English logo at AED 2,000–8,000 on top of the base price, since it needs separate typographic work, not a translation. GLDS and Confetti both say to plan Arabic from the start, because retrofitting costs more or needs extra design work.

Signage adds a rule. Khaleej Times reported in May 2026 that Dubai’s rules from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) and other city bodies put the Arabic above the English and allow one trade name per façade. A mark that cannot sit on two lines may meet that rule at the sign shop.

One limit on our side: VITON¹³ works in English, Russian, Spanish, French and Hindi, and neither the logo page nor the identity page lists an Arabic lockup. Put it in the brief so the estimate says who draws it, or buy that part from an Arabic type specialist.

Which UAE fees come on top of the design price?

Three costs sit outside the designer’s fee: VAT, trademark fees and, for owners based abroad, an agent. The table shows official figures read on 1 October 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; a UAE trademark attorney can confirm what applies to you.

Should the trade name be approved before you pay for a logo?

Usually yes. The Dubai government portal says DET manages registration and licensing of mainland companies and reserves trade names under specific rules; free zones such as DMCC publish their own. A logo drawn around a refused name must be redrawn.

DET’s own rules page could not be opened for this guide, so this is what DMCC, a free-zone authority, publishes on the UAE government site (2017 edition; read the current one). Names are transliterated phonetically, not translated. A name is refused if it contains an active local or global brand, resembles an active company in a similar activity, or starts with words such as International or Global. A short brand name can be added as an operating name.

1. Approve the trade name with your licensing authority.
2. Fix the licence activity, which the name must not contradict.
3. Finalise the logo and its Arabic partner.
4. Search, then file the trademark class by class; the ministry examines it against identical or similar marks.

Not legal advice: your licensing authority has the final word on names.

How do you compare logo and branding quotes in Dubai?

Send every provider the same brief: name and approval status, languages, where the mark will appear and which markets you will trade in. Then put each quote through the same eight questions.

1. Is 5% VAT included? Of three price pages, only StreetLevel says so for its own fee.
2. How many concepts and rounds, and what counts as a round? Confetti says unlimited revisions are not necessarily better value.
3. Is the Arabic lockup in the price?
4. Which files arrive: vectors, one-colour and reversed versions, colour values, editable sources?
5. Who draws the work? Confetti notes the senior person in the pitch may not be the one on your project.
6. Who owns the result, and from which payment?
7. Is trademark work included? Normally not.
8. What changes the price if scope or deadline moves?

Which files and rights must you own when the project ends?

• Vector masters for print and signage, plus PNG exports.
• Horizontal, stacked, icon, one-colour and reversed versions, plus the Arabic lockup if ordered.
• Colour and typeface specifications, naming each typeface’s licence.
• A written assignment of rights effective on final payment.
• A guidelines document a printer can follow.

Confetti notes that under UAE Federal Law No. 38 of 2021 copyright starts with the creator, so payment alone may not transfer it. Put the assignment in the contract and have a UAE lawyer check it.

Which route fits your stage, and when is an agency not worth it?

• Testing an idea, no investors: a freelancer logo at AED 1,000–5,000 with vectors and a written assignment.
• A trading company with a shopfront: a small-studio identity at AED 5,000–15,000, with an Arabic lockup if you need signage or serve Arabic speakers.
• Several markets, a regulated sector or investors: an agency; GLDS calls the international tier overkill for most small firms.
• Not yet: the trade name is unapproved, or nobody will apply the guidelines.