Fitting out a Dubai office costs about AED 250 to 500 per sq ft to take a Cat A space to a finished Cat B office at a standard finish, and AED 450 to 900 or more from shell and core, by published 2026 ranges. Those figures usually leave out furniture, AV, design fees, permit fees and 5% VAT. Priced all-in, a mid-specification office came to about AED 1,029 per sq ft in Q1 2026.
What are Cat A, Cat B and Cat A+ fit-out?
They describe how finished the office is when you get the keys. Dubai landlords use the terms in listings, but none of the free-zone fit-out manuals we opened defines "Cat A" or "Cat B": Dubai South's speaks of "shell & core" areas and "basic fit-outs", and JAFZA's lists what the landlord provides in a "semi-fitted" office (below). The definitions in the table are the ones Turner & Townsend uses to price its 2026 guide.
| Category | What you get | Who usually pays |
|---|---|---|
| Shell and core | The building frame and envelope with plant and services stopped at the edge of your floor. Exposed concrete floor and soffit inside. | Landlord builds the shell |
| Cat A | Raised access floors, suspended ceilings, basic painted walls, electrical distribution, lighting, air conditioning (fan coil units and ductwork), basic plumbing connections, fire detection and smoke alarms. | Usually the landlord or developer (West Gate Dubai) |
| Cat A+ | Cat A plus some Cat B elements put in by the landlord; branding and furniture left to the tenant. A newer term with no standard list. | Landlord, for the Cat A and Cat B items it adds |
| Cat B | The office you move into: partitions and doors, wall and floor finishes, upgraded ceilings, feature lighting, tea points and kitchens, joinery, built-in and loose furniture, branding, IT, AV and security, and upgrades to the Cat A services. | Tenant |
Definitions: Turner & Townsend, office fit-out cost guide 2026 (shell and core, Cat A, Cat B); West Gate Dubai, 24 January 2026 (Cat A+ and who pays). Dubai South, Tenant Fit-Out Manual v1.3 (January 2017).
What a free-zone landlord actually hands over. JAFZA's Fit-out Manual (August 2024) lists, for a semi-fitted office: flooring, ceiling and MEP systems; floor trunking, floor boxes and power sockets; ceiling lights and switches; emergency lighting in most cases; fan coil units and ducting; fire sprinklers and smoke detectors; and fibre to the network terminal. The tenant does the layout and finishes, extra AC units, changes to power, lighting and fire systems, fire extinguishers, and the telecom contract. That covers most of the Cat A list above, so in a semi-fitted unit you are pricing the Cat B work.
How much does office fit-out cost per sq ft in Dubai in 2026?
From a Cat A space, AED 250 to 500 per sq ft at a standard finish; from shell and core, AED 450 to 900 or more. The bands below are as each publisher states them, with its date.
| Starting point or finish band | AED per sq ft | What it covers | Published by |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cat A to Cat B, standard finish | 250 – 500 | Excludes 5% VAT and permit fees | West Gate Dubai (24 Jan 2026) |
| Shell and core to Cat B | 450 – 900+ | Excludes 5% VAT and permit fees | West Gate Dubai (24 Jan 2026) |
| High-end executive finishes | 1,200+ | Excludes 5% VAT and permit fees | West Gate Dubai (24 Jan 2026) |
| Budget: standard partitions, carpet tiles, basic lighting | 180 – 300 | Design, MEP, partitions, flooring, ceilings, standard approvals; excludes loose furniture and specialised IT | West Gate Dubai (Dec 2025) |
| Mid-range: glass partitions, acoustics, branded reception | 350 – 550 | As above | West Gate Dubai (Dec 2025) |
| Premium: custom joinery, stone, automation | 600 – 900+ | As above | West Gate Dubai (Dec 2025) |
| Basic or functional office | 350 – 550 | No exclusions stated | Rady Interior (Dec 2025) |
| Mid-range corporate | 550 – 900 | No exclusions stated | Rady Interior (Dec 2025) |
| Premium corporate | 900 – 1,200 | No exclusions stated | Rady Interior (Dec 2025) |
- Budget finish: AED per sq ft 180 to 300 (West Gate Dubai, Dec 2025)
- Cat A to Cat B: AED per sq ft 250 to 500 (West Gate Dubai, Jan 2026)
- Mid-range finish: AED per sq ft 350 to 550 (West Gate Dubai, Dec 2025)
- Shell to Cat B: AED per sq ft 450 to 900 (West Gate Dubai, Jan 2026)
- Premium finish: AED per sq ft 600 to 900 (West Gate Dubai, Dec 2025)
- All-in, low to high spec: AED per sq ft 776 to 1,296 (Turner & Townsend, Q1 2026)
What does an all-in fit-out cost, with furniture, AV and fees?
About AED 776 to 1,296 per sq ft for Dubai and Abu Dhabi in Q1 2026, from shell and core, by Turner & Townsend. It is the only published Dubai figure we found that splits the client-side costs out.
| Specification | Construction | Loose furniture | Audio-visual | Professional fees | Total (AED per sq ft) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Low | 531 | 93 | 51 | 101 | 776 |
| Medium | 663 | 139 | 93 | 134 | 1,029 |
| High | 853 | 167 | 107 | 169 | 1,296 |
Turner & Townsend, Global office fit-out cost report 2026, Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Q1 2026 base date, rounded to the dirham. One test fit of about 4,294 sq m over two floors, priced Cat A plus Cat B from shell and core. Construction includes security and structured cabling. Excludes all taxes, reinstatement, IT network racks, specialist security such as speed gates, generator works and move management.
Why these are higher than the contractor and broker bands: the test fit is a large corporate office starting from bare shell, with new services throughout, and it counts furniture, AV and consultants' fees. A smaller office taken from Cat A, with furniture bought separately, sits in the lower bands above. Read any figure with its starting point and its exclusions, or it means little.
What must an office fit-out quote itemise?
One line per element, with quantity, unit and rate, so it can be compared with another quote. Turner & Townsend's cost model uses these headings, and they are a good checklist for any Dubai office quote.
- Walls and doors: partitions (drywall or glazed, height to ceiling or slab to slab), doors and ironmongery, acoustic rating.
- Finishes: wall, floor and ceiling finishes by area, with the product named (carpet tile, vinyl, porcelain, timber, acoustic panels).
- Fixed joinery and equipment: reception desk, tea point, kitchen appliances, storage, signage.
- Services (MEP): air conditioning changes and controls, ventilation, electrical and lighting, fire alarm and sprinkler changes, water and drainage.
- IT and security: structured cabling points, access control, CCTV.
- Preliminaries, overhead and profit: site management, protection, insurance, waste, the contractor's margin.
- Client-direct items, priced or excluded in writing: loose furniture, audio-visual, design and consultant fees.
- Approvals: who applies to the landlord, the authority and Civil Defence, and whether the fees are in the price.
Then check what is outside every quote: 5% VAT, permit fees, IT network equipment, reinstatement at lease end and moving costs. Rady Interior's budget split is a useful sense-check of where the money goes: MEP 40 to 55%, joinery and furniture 20 to 30%, floors, ceilings and walls 10 to 15%, lighting and electrical 10 to 15%, IT 5 to 10%, approvals and fees 2 to 5% (December 2025).
Holding two or three quotes? Paste them into the free quote comparison tool to see the like-for-like total and the lines only one quote prices, or check one quote's lines with the quote checker. Your quotes stay in your browser. A worked example: how to compare office fit-out quotes.
What do fit-out approvals add to the cost?
The permit fee is usually small next to the works; the time is what costs. The DDA Fit-Out Permit, for Dubai Internet City, Media City and other DDA zones, is AED 0.90 per sq ft (minimum AED 200, maximum AED 10,000) plus AED 20 in transaction fees, and takes an estimated 2 working days. Dubai South's 2017 manual lists AED 15 per sq m, minimum AED 2,500. Dubai Municipality, DMCC and most other bodies do not publish a fit-out fee. The order of the approvals and who submits them is in fit-out approvals in Dubai, and who approves what in each zone is in our open dataset, fit-out approvals by jurisdiction.
Who can do the work
Fit-out is contracting work, so in Dubai the contractor must be registered and classified under Law No. 7 of 2025, including in free zones: see the Contractor Register. Whether you also need a designer or a design-build firm: fit-out contractor, interior designer or design-build. To get offers from licence-checked fit-out companies, send one request with the area, location and target date: get matched offers.
Questions
How much does office fit-out cost per sq ft in Dubai?
Published ranges run about AED 250 to 500 per sq ft to take a Cat A office to Cat B at a standard finish, and AED 450 to 900 or more from shell and core (West Gate Dubai, January 2026). Executive finishes go above AED 1,200 per sq ft.
What is the difference between Cat A and Cat B fit-out?
Cat A is the basic, usable shell: raised floors, suspended ceilings, painted walls, lighting, air conditioning, basic plumbing connections and fire detection. Cat B is the finished office you move into: partitions, finishes, kitchens and tea points, joinery, furniture, IT, AV and security (Turner & Townsend definitions, 2026).
What is Cat A+ fit-out?
A newer market term for a Cat A space that the landlord hands over with some Cat B elements already in, leaving branding and furniture to the tenant. There is no standard definition and no published cost band for it, so ask the landlord for the exact list.
Does a fit-out quote include furniture and VAT?
Often not. Contractor and broker ranges usually exclude loose furniture, specialised IT, permit fees and 5% VAT. Turner & Townsend prices furniture, AV and professional fees separately: about AED 93 to 167, 51 to 107 and 101 to 169 per sq ft respectively for Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
How much is a fit-out permit in Dubai?
It depends on the authority. The DDA Fit-Out Permit costs AED 0.90 per sq ft, minimum AED 200 and maximum AED 10,000, plus AED 20 in transaction fees. Dubai South's 2017 manual lists AED 15 per sq m, minimum AED 2,500. Dubai Municipality does not publish a fee for its decoration self permit.
Keep going
Sources
- Turner & Townsend: Global office fit-out cost report 2026, data (PDF): Dubai and Abu Dhabi construction, furniture, AV and fees in AED per sq ft, low, medium and high specification, opened 3 November 2026
- Turner & Townsend: Office fit-out cost guide 2026, methodology: shell and core, Cat A and Cat B definitions, test fit, Q1 2026 base date, inclusions and exclusions, opened 3 November 2026
- West Gate Dubai: Cat A vs Cat B fit-out in Dubai (24 January 2026): Cat A+, who pays, AED 250 to 500 and 450 to 900+ per sq ft, exclusions, opened 3 November 2026
- West Gate Dubai: Commercial fit-out costs in Dubai (10 December 2025, modified 17 December 2025): office bands AED 180 to 900+ per sq ft and what they include, opened 3 November 2026
- Rady Interior: Office fit-out cost in Dubai (11 December 2025, modified 22 December 2025): bands AED 350 to 1,500+ per sq ft and budget split by component, opened 3 November 2026
- Dubai Development Authority: Fit-Out Permit: requester, documents, 2 working days, AED 0.90 per sq ft (min AED 200, max AED 10,000), opened 3 November 2026
- Jafza: Fit-out Manual (August 2024), section 4.1: landlord provisions and tenant scope for a semi-fitted office, opened 3 November 2026
- Dubai South: Tenant Fit-Out Manual v1.3 (January 2017): fit-out works in shell and core areas, Fit-out Work Permit AED 15 per sq m (min AED 2,500), opened 3 November 2026
This guide is general information, not legal advice. Rules change and vary by community and authority: confirm with the authority or your consultant before you start work.