The verdict in three sentences
A trilingual Arabic, English and French corporate website for a Dubai group costs between AED 90,000 and AED 250,000 in 2026, depending on page count, translation volume and integrations. Arabic adds a 15 to 25% RTL premium (mirrored layout, fonts, testing) that belongs in the brief, not in the final QA surprise list. The real hidden cost is not the build but editorial updates in three languages, often AED 20,000 to AED 55,000 a year.
What a trilingual website costs in Dubai in 2026
For a 1,200-employee industrial group, the website serves export clients, investors, candidates and regulators at once. The ranges below are 2026 order-of-magnitude figures seen on the UAE market, excluding hosting.
| Scope | Pages per language | Budget (AED, excl. VAT) | Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Core corporate | 15 to 25 | 90,000 to 130,000 | 10 to 12 weeks |
| Extended corporate + news | 25 to 45 | 130,000 to 180,000 | 12 to 14 weeks |
| Corporate + careers + press room | 45 to 70 | 180,000 to 220,000 | 13 to 15 weeks |
| Multi-subsidiary group + integrations | 70+ | 220,000 to 250,000 | 14 to 16 weeks |
| Professional translation | per word | AED 0.30 to 0.60 | 2 to 4 weeks |
| Arabic RTL premium | on the front end | +15 to 25% | included |
For reference, Kolonell's 11/10/2026 price grid puts a Premium website at 2,000,000 to 3,500,000 FCFA (EUR 3,050 to 5,340) excluding translation; a multi-subsidiary project with integrations falls under custom applications (2.5M to 4M FCFA and above depending on complexity).
A 40-page-per-language site is about 32,000 source words. Translated into two languages, that is 64,000 words, or AED 19,000 to 38,000 in translation alone, the line item most often underestimated.
An architecture that holds up
The technical choice drives the cost of every update for five years.
| Choice | Budget option | Recommended option | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| CMS | WordPress + multilingual plugin | Headless CMS (Sanity, Strapi) | Approval workflow per language |
| Front end | Generic RTL theme | Next.js with native dir="rtl" | Clean mirrored layout |
| Arabic fonts | System font | Noto Kufi Arabic, IBM Plex Arabic | Readability and brand consistency |
| SEO | Folders without hreflang | /ar, /en, /fr + hreflang + x-default | Google serves the right language |
| Forms | Single English form | Localised forms + routing | Better qualified export leads |
| Performance | Unoptimised images | WebP/AVIF, CDN | LCP under 2.5 s on mobile |
RTL is not just right-aligned text. Margins, directional icons, carousels, tables and breadcrumbs must be mirrored, while numbers and brand names stay left to right. An RTL audit on 10 to 15 representative templates prevents most regressions.
On SEO, each page must declare its equivalents via hreflang, with one sitemap per language. Without it, Google may show the English version to a Saudi buyer searching in Arabic.
Editorial update budget
A trilingual site lives on press releases, job ads and annual reports. Plan a separate yearly budget:
| Yearly item | Typical volume | Estimated cost (AED) |
|---|---|---|
| Translated news | 24 articles of 500 words | 7,000 to 15,000 |
| Job ads | 30 postings | 3,000 to 6,000 |
| Technical maintenance | 12 months | 12,000 to 30,000 |
| Hosting and CDN | 12 months | 4,000 to 10,000 |
| Annual report update | once | 8,000 to 20,000 |
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Mini case study
Omar, CIO of an industrial group in Dubai, scopes a 40-page-per-language site. Build: AED 150,000 including the RTL premium. Translation of 64,000 words at AED 0.45: AED 28,800. Launch budget: AED 178,800. His previous site was rebuilt three times in eight years for lack of a suitable CMS (about AED 70,000 each time). A headless setup with per-language workflow avoids at least one full rebuild, an estimated AED 70,000 saving over five years, and cuts publishing a trilingual news item from 3 days to 1.
FAQ
Do we need to translate the whole site into Arabic?
Not necessarily. Many groups translate 60 to 70% of pages (corporate, products, contact) and keep detailed financial documents in English, cutting translation by AED 8,000 to 12,000.
Is machine translation enough?
Not for a corporate site: it is a first draft, but professional review is still required. Budget at least AED 0.20 per word for serious post-editing versus AED 0.30 to 0.60 for full translation.
How long does a trilingual launch take?
Between 10 and 16 weeks depending on scope. Translation runs in parallel with development, provided source copy is signed off before week 5.
Does RTL hurt performance?
Not if it is designed in from day one. A single stylesheet with logical properties is enough, and optimised Arabic fonts weigh under 120 KB.
Which CMS suits a multi-level approval committee?
A headless CMS supports draft, review and approval per language, with history. Budget AED 8,000 to 20,000 to configure that workflow upfront.
Let's scope your project. Send us your sitemap, target languages and timeline: we price build, RTL and translation line by line. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
