The verdict in three sentences
For a Dubai holding that must publish in English, Arabic and French, a realistic budget sits between USD 25,000 and 70,000 excl. VAT in 2026. Arabic is not just one more language: RTL (right-to-left) layout adds 15 to 25 % to development, and Arabic typography needs testing on every template. The real governance issue is the approval workflow: who proofreads the Arabic, who publishes, and how fast.
Where the budget goes
A trilingual site costs more than a bilingual one for three reasons: mirrored templates for RTL, three times more content to produce and approve, and per-language testing. Here is the typical breakdown.
| Item | 40-page holding site | 80-page holding site | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| UX/UI design (LTR + RTL) | USD 5,000 to 7,000 | USD 7,000 to 11,000 | Mirrored mock-ups for Arabic |
| Front-end development | USD 8,500 to 12,500 | USD 14,000 to 23,000 | Includes 15 to 25 % RTL premium |
| CMS with roles and workflow | USD 4,000 to 5,500 | USD 6,000 to 9,000 | Editor, language reviewer, publisher |
| Translation (AR + FR) | USD 3,500 to 6,000 | USD 7,000 to 13,000 | USD 0.10 to 0.20 per word per language |
| Multilingual SEO (hreflang, URLs) | USD 1,500 to 2,000 | USD 2,000 to 3,500 | One URL per language, cross-tagging |
| Testing and launch | USD 2,500 to 3,000 | USD 3,000 to 6,000 | Tests in 3 languages, 4 screen sizes |
| Total excl. VAT (2026 order of magnitude) | USD 25,000 to 36,000 | USD 39,000 to 70,000 | UAE VAT 5 % on top |
Translation is often underestimated. An 80-page site holds about 30,000 words in English: at USD 0.15 per word for Arabic and USD 0.13 for French, you already reach USD 8,400.
RTL: where the premium hides
Going Arabic is not just translating text. Everything with a horizontal direction must be flipped and tested.
| Element | What changes in Arabic | Indicative effort |
|---|---|---|
| Layout | Columns, menus and margins mirrored (dir="rtl") | 3 to 5 days |
| Typography | Dedicated Arabic font (Noto Kufi, IBM Plex Arabic), taller line height | 1 to 2 days |
| Directional icons | Arrows, carousels, breadcrumbs reversed | 1 to 2 days |
| Numbers and dates | Western or Eastern Arabic numerals, Hijri calendar option | 0.5 to 1 day |
| Forms | Alignment, validation, mixed EN/AR fields | 1 to 2 days |
| Mixed content | Latin brand names inside Arabic text (bidi) | 1 to 3 days of testing |
With CSS logical properties (margin-inline-start instead of margin-left) from day one, the premium stays close to 15 %. Retrofitting Arabic onto an existing site pushes it towards 30 to 40 %.
The approval workflow
In a holding, corporate communications, legal and sometimes the board must approve before publication. A CMS with roles (editor, language reviewer, approver, publisher) tracks every step. Set target publishing times: 48 h for news, 5 working days for a corporate page. Without a named in-house Arabic reviewer, Arabic pages quickly fall 2 to 3 weeks behind.
Mini case study
Omar, marketing director of a Dubai holding (6 subsidiaries in logistics and real estate, 2,200 staff), plans a 60-page site in EN, AR and FR. Selected quote: USD 46,000 excl. VAT, including USD 9,000 of translation for 22,000 words. Maintenance: USD 1,000 per month, i.e. USD 58,000 in year one.
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Today the team outsources every update to an agency case by case: about 40 jobs a year at USD 550, i.e. USD 22,000. With a self-managed CMS, he expects to bring that down to USD 4,500, saving USD 17,500 a year, which covers almost a third of the project in year one.
FAQ
What is the price of a trilingual EN, AR, FR corporate website in Dubai in 2026?
Budget USD 25,000 to 36,000 excl. VAT for 40 pages and USD 39,000 to 70,000 for 80 pages. Translation is 15 to 20 % of that total.
How much does Arabic translation cost?
Between USD 0.10 and 0.20 per word depending on technicality. Legal or financial content sits at the top of the range, and native proofreading adds USD 0.03 to 0.05 per word.
Can we use machine translation?
For a first draft, yes, cutting cost by 30 to 50 %. Human post-editing remains essential for corporate and legal pages.
Do we need one domain per language?
No. Subfolders (/en, /ar, /fr) on a single domain concentrate SEO authority and simplify hreflang. More than 80 % of multilingual groups use this setup.
What timeline should we expect?
Allow 3 to 5 months. Arabic translation and approval alone often take 3 to 4 weeks.
Let's scope your project. Tell us the number of pages, subsidiaries and the volume of content to translate, and we will cost your trilingual site between USD 25,000 and 70,000 with a 3 to 5 month plan. 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.
