Across the 766 Dubai apartment projects in our catalogue on 13 October 2026, the median starting price is AED 691,000 (USD 188,200) for a studio, AED 1,222,000 (USD 332,700) for one bedroom, AED 1.9 million (USD 517,100) for two and AED 3.5 million (USD 952,000) for three. The bedroom count sets the order of magnitude and the area decides the rest: the same one-bedroom starts at a median of AED 862,000 in International City Phase 2 and AED 2.3 million in Business Bay.
What do a studio, one, two and three bedroom apartment cost?
Each figure on this page is computed from our catalogue of Dubai projects, snapshot of 13 October 2026, counting apartment projects still on sale with a listed price. A starting price is the lowest price a project lists for a home of that size, so it shows where your search begins. What buyers actually paid is on our page on Dubai property prices.
The middle half of starting prices for each size, with the median, the usual size of the smallest home and the median price per square foot:
| Size | Projects | Middle half of starting prices (AED) | Median (AED) | Smallest home, median (sq ft) | Median AED per sq ft |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | 369 | 598,000 to 831,000 | 691,000 | 400 | 1,757 |
| One bedroom | 618 | 1,000,000 to 1,778,000 | 1,222,000 | 737 | 1,722 |
| Two bedrooms | 563 | 1,500,000 to 2,713,000 | 1,898,888 | 1,162 | 1,679 |
| Three bedrooms | 298 | 2,383,000 to 5,060,000 | 3,496,209 | 1,748 | 2,001 |
Price per square foot barely moves from a studio to a two-bedroom, AED 1,757 against AED 1,679, so up to two bedrooms the price climbs with the floor area and the rate stays about level. At three bedrooms the median rate is AED 2,001. The three-bedrooms in Business Bay, Nad Al Sheba and Dubai Islands, 73 of the 298 projects, sit between AED 2,457 and AED 4,231 a foot, and they pull that median up.
Every dirham figure converts at AED 3.6725 to the US dollar, the fixed rate of the Central Bank of the UAE (rate sheet of 1 June 2026). The middle half in USD runs from USD 162,900 to 226,200 for a studio, USD 272,300 to 484,200 for one bedroom, USD 408,400 to 738,600 for two and USD 649,000 to 1,377,700 for three.
What does each size cost in the main areas?
These are the fifteen areas with the most apartment projects on sale in our catalogue of 13 October 2026. Each cell is the median starting price in AED thousand, with the number of projects in brackets. A blank cell means fewer than five projects.
| Area | Projects | Studio | One bedroom | Two bedrooms | Three bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 80 | 701 (62) | 1,110 (69) | 1,651 (60) | 2,224 (18) |
| Dubai Islands | 71 | 2,005 (62) | 2,771 (52) | 4,257 (48) | |
| Dubai South | 59 | 650 (39) | 1,000 (39) | 1,350 (43) | 1,745 (11) |
| Dubai Land Residence Complex | 50 | 650 (41) | 979 (43) | 1,470 (44) | 1,800 (17) |
| Business Bay | 31 | 1,235 (12) | 2,321 (16) | 3,334 (23) | 7,773 (18) |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 27 | 776 (18) | 1,217 (24) | 1,783 (21) | 2,597 (6) |
| Majan | 25 | 689 (11) | 1,100 (23) | 1,610 (21) | 3,255 (5) |
| Jumeirah Garden City | 24 | 1,098 (18) | 1,674 (22) | 2,600 (19) | |
| Al Furjan | 23 | 1,200 (19) | 1,811 (19) | 2,500 (17) | |
| International City Phase 2 | 21 | 546 (18) | 862 (19) | 1,360 (12) | |
| Dubai Industrial City | 16 | 591 (14) | 878 (13) | 1,443 (9) | |
| Meydan | 16 | 1,100 (9) | 1,802 (11) | 2,901 (10) | 4,040 (5) |
| Al Jaddaf | 13 | 838 (6) | 1,325 (10) | 2,038 (10) | |
| Nad Al Sheba | 13 | 1,250 (7) | 2,082 (9) | 3,200 (9) | 4,950 (7) |
| Mohammed Bin Rashid City | 13 | 1,385 (12) | 2,100 (9) |
The spread between areas is wider than the spread between sizes. A one-bedroom starts at a median of AED 862,000 (USD 234,800) in International City Phase 2 and AED 2,321,000 (USD 632,000) in Business Bay, 2.7 times as much for the same number of rooms. A two-bedroom in Dubai South at AED 1,350,000 (USD 367,600) costs less than a one-bedroom in Dubai Islands at AED 2,005,000 (USD 546,000).
Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, the Palm Jumeirah and Dubai Hills Estate are outside the table. Our catalogue holds between one and five priced apartment projects in each, too few for a median to mean anything. Their pages list what is available now: Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Business Bay, Dubai Hills and the Palm Jumeirah. For a studio, studios in Dubai gathers them in one place.
What is the price per square foot, and why do two areas differ?
Price per square foot is the yardstick that sets a studio beside a three-bedroom. Across these fifteen areas the median rate runs from AED 1,252 to AED 3,281, and across all sizes and areas in our catalogue it is AED 1,758 (USD 479).
| Area | All sizes (AED per sq ft) | One bedroom | Three bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nad Al Sheba | 3,281 | 2,325 | 3,615 |
| Business Bay | 2,952 | 3,063 | 4,231 |
| Dubai Islands | 2,434 | 2,527 | 2,457 |
| Jumeirah Garden City | 2,326 | 2,355 | |
| Meydan | 2,150 | 2,213 | |
| Al Jaddaf | 2,042 | 1,983 | |
| Mohammed Bin Rashid City | 2,001 | 1,969 | |
| Jumeirah Village Triangle | 1,904 | 1,894 | 1,755 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | 1,565 | 1,574 | 1,455 |
| Al Furjan | 1,537 | 1,567 | 1,427 |
| Dubai Industrial City | 1,466 | 1,380 | |
| Majan | 1,403 | 1,442 | |
| Dubai South | 1,380 | 1,358 | 1,285 |
| Dubai Land Residence Complex | 1,356 | 1,329 | 1,212 |
| International City Phase 2 | 1,252 | 1,195 |
The top of the table is central, on the water or inside a large masterplan: Nad Al Sheba, Business Bay, Dubai Islands. The bottom is outer inland communities: Dubai South, Dubai Land Residence Complex, International City Phase 2. Business Bay's median rate is 2.1 times Dubai South's.
Size behaves differently from one area to the next. In Business Bay a three-bedroom carries a rate 38% above a one-bedroom's, and in Nad Al Sheba 55% above. In Jumeirah Village Circle it carries a rate 8% below, and in Dubai South 5% below. A rate quoted for one size therefore does not carry over to another, and two homes are compared at the same bedroom count.
Does a ready apartment cost more than an off-plan one?
Inside one area it costs more in total, and its rate per foot depends on the size. Jumeirah Village Circle is the one area in our catalogue with at least five ready and five off-plan projects at the same sizes. A ready one-bedroom has a median starting price of AED 1,299,000 (USD 353,700) across 11 projects, against AED 1,102,000 (USD 300,200) across 58 off-plan, which is 18% more. For two bedrooms the ready median is AED 1,842,000 (USD 501,600) across 10 projects against AED 1,642,000 (USD 447,100) across 50 off-plan, 12% more. Per foot, the ready one-bedroom is 9% dearer and the ready two-bedroom 10% cheaper.
Set against the whole city, ready projects show a median of AED 1,533 a foot and off-plan projects AED 1,766, a gap of 13%. That figure mixes areas, which is why the comparison worth making is the one inside a single area. Our pages on off-plan apartments and new-build apartments show both kinds of stock.
What does a budget buy?
The table gives the share of projects in our catalogue whose starting price for the size is at or under the budget.
| Budget | Studio | One bedroom | Two bedrooms | Three bedrooms |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AED 1,000,000 (USD 272,300) | 86% | 25% | 1% | 0% |
| AED 1,500,000 (USD 408,400) | 98% | 64% | 25% | 1% |
| AED 2,000,000 (USD 544,600) | 99% | 84% | 54% | 16% |
| AED 3,000,000 (USD 816,900) | 99% | 97% | 82% | 43% |
At AED 1 million a studio is on sale in most projects, and a one-bedroom in one project in four. In Dubai South, Dubai Land Residence Complex, International City Phase 2 and Dubai Industrial City the median one-bedroom is at or under that line, and our collection of homes under AED 1 million lists them. At AED 2 million a two-bedroom is on sale in about half of projects, and in eight of the fifteen areas the median two-bedroom sits within it. A three-bedroom reaches the median at AED 3 million in five areas: Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai South, Dubai Land Residence Complex, Jumeirah Village Triangle and Al Furjan.
A budget covers the price and what goes on top of it. The costs at purchase are set out on the cost of buying property in Dubai, and our purchase costs calculator adds them to any price you enter. For the full range of apartments, start from apartments for sale in Dubai.
How does the price move while the building goes up?
The price of a unit is paid in stages, and the stages are where projects differ most. In our catalogue 553 off-plan apartment projects publish a payment plan with a booking share and a handover share: the median booking payment is 15% and the median handover payment 40%. In 193 projects half or more falls due at handover, and 88 carry part of the price beyond it. Dubai off-plan payment plans explains each stage, and new releases with their handover dates are on launches.
The price list moves one unit at a time. Between our catalogue of 8 October and that of 13 October 2026, 503 of the 12,968 available units listed in both changed price, 292 up and 211 down, which is under 4% of units in five days. Two units are best compared on the same day.
How do I compare two units fairly?
Divide each price by its size and compare the rates. Take two one-bedroom apartments in the same project, one at AED 1,350,000 (USD 367,600) for 720 sq ft and the other at AED 1,500,000 (USD 408,400) for 840 sq ft. The first costs AED 1,875 a foot and the second AED 1,786. The second is AED 150,000 dearer for 120 sq ft more, which is AED 1,250 for each added foot, so the larger unit is the better rate.
Three more points settle the rest:
- The unit of area. A square metre is 10.7639 square feet, so AED 18,000 per square metre is AED 1,672 per square foot. Ask also whether the size quoted is the internal area or includes the balcony.
- The floor band and view. Within a project, a higher floor and an open view carry their own premium, so read the floor beside the price.
- The schedule. Two units at one price differ if one asks 40% at handover and the other 60%.
Our pages on one-bedroom and two-bedroom apartments list units in these sizes.