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By: Entasher

Digital Marketing Agency  Costs in the UAE (2025):  Dubai, Abu Dhabi & Project  vs. Retainer Fees

The Cost of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency in Dubai (2025)

The Cost of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency in UAE (2025): Retainers, Projects & What Drives Price

The Cost of Hiring a Digital Marketing Agency in UAE (2025)

If you’re buying digital marketing in the UAE, you’ll see a wide spread of pricing. The spread reflects the outcomes you’re after, the seniority of the team, and the complexity of your market—especially in Dubai’s fast-moving verticals. Below you’ll find fair ranges, the levers that move the numbers, and a simple way to turn proposals into a clean comparison so you can choose confidently.

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UAE Pricing at a Glance (2025)

Retainers fund ongoing growth: planning, channel execution, content, and measurement. Projects fund finite outcomes: a launch, migration, or rebuild. Hybrids do both—keep a steady base and add sprints when needed.

CategoryTypical RangeWhat it usually covers
Monthly RetainerEntry → Growth → Enterprise (by scope)Strategy cadence, SEO/SEM, paid social operations, content plan, dashboards
Project-BasedScoped to deliverable & timelineLaunch campaigns, site/app launches, audits, migrations, creative sprints
HybridRetainer + add-on projectsStable base with seasonal or product spikes

Detailed Price Bands — UAE (with Dubai notes)

Use these ranges to set expectations internally. In Dubai, you’ll often see the upper end due to senior talent density and competition.

Service ModelTypical Range (UAE)Snapshot of inclusions
Small Retainer$2,000 – $4,000 / monthSEO fundamentals, light paid ads, monthly reporting, content starter
Growth Retainer$5,000 – $9,000 / monthMulti-channel (SEO/SEM/Paid Social), 1–2 campaigns/mo, dashboards, CRO support
Enterprise Retainer$10,000 – $15,000+ / monthDedicated squad, strategy, creative, CRO, advanced measurement, multi-market
Website Revamp Project$8,000 – $25,000IA, UX/UI, copy, SEO migration, analytics, QA, CMS build
Product Launch Campaign$12,000 – $35,000Creative toolkit, media plan/buy, landing hub, tracking, dashboards
Audit & Roadmap$5,000 – $8,000SEO/SEM/social/analytics audit with a prioritised 90-day plan

Service-Specific Pricing (UAE)

These bands help you benchmark common components. In Dubai, expect the upper end due to senior talent and demand.

Digital Marketing ServiceTypical Range (UAE)What’s Included (snapshot)
SEO Monthly Program$1,500 – $5,000 / moTech fixes, content plan, on-page, link strategy, reporting (pages & keywords agreed)
Performance Marketing Management$1,800 – $6,000 / mo (excl. media)Search + social ads ops, budgets, creatives rotation, scripts, weekly optimisation
Social Media Management$1,200 – $4,500 / moMonthly calendar, copy & design, community moderation (hours/SLA defined)
Content Production Pack$1,500 – $8,000 / packPhoto/video set, motion graphics, long/short copy variations, thumbnails
Influencer Campaign Management$2,000 – $7,000 (mgmt fee)Shortlisting, outreach, contracting, briefing, tracking; creator fees billed separately
Marketing Automation / CRM Setup$3,000 – $12,000 (project)Platform setup, pipelines, email/SMS workflows, lead scoring, handover training
Analytics & Tracking Implementation$1,200 – $4,000 (project)GA4/CM360 stack, pixels, server-side (if needed), dashboards, QA
CRO Sprint$2,000 – $6,000 (2–4 weeks)Heuristic review, test plan, variant design/dev, A/B setup, results readout
Landing Page (Design + Dev)$1,500 – $5,000 / pageUX copy, design system fit, build, analytics & form integration, QA
Email Marketing Program$1,000 – $3,500 / moList hygiene, segmentation, 4–8 sends/mo, templates, automation touches, reporting

What retainers actually include

A strong retainer reads like a rhythm: quarterly direction, monthly plans, weekly execution. Search and paid social do the heavy lifting; content and conversion make the lift visible. Reporting isn’t a PDF—it’s a dashboard that explains where results come from and what you’ll try next.

When projects make more sense

Choose projects when the outcome is finite—a migration, a launch, a rebuild, an analytics overhaul. Many UAE brands keep a steady retainer and add project sprints for spikes around product drops, peak retail, or new market entries.

What really drives price

Scope & outcomes. Full-funnel work (strategy → creative → media → CRO) costs more than single-channel execution. Seniority. Leads and strategists add cost but cut waste and time-to-impact. Industry & compliance. Luxury, real estate, healthcare, and finance need experienced teams and more testing budget. Location. Dubai commands a premium for speed, polish, and sector expertise.

How to hire the right UAE agency

Lead with outcomes. Shortlist vendors from the UAE directory and, if city matters, say it—ask for live experience in your specific sector. Issue one RFQ and require the same sections from every provider: scope, team & seniority, timelines, KPIs, reporting, and commercials with media/tooling separated. Reading three or four proposals side by side makes the decision obvious.

Copy-paste RFQ brief (UAE)

Business Objective: Lead generation for <industry> in UAE (primary: Dubai/Abu Dhabi).
KPIs: Qualified leads/month, CPL, ROAS, CTR, CVR, CAC, pipeline value.
Channels: SEO, SEM, Paid Social (Meta, TikTok, LinkedIn), Landing Pages, Analytics.
Audience: ICP + geos + languages (EN/AR).
Budget: Media + services (separate).
Deliverables: Strategy, monthly plan, creatives, tracking, dashboards, reporting cadence.
Timeline: Kickoff → first wins → 90-day outcomes.
Requirements: Sector case studies, team seniority, references.
Submission: Please respond via Entasher RFQ with a comparable structure.

Timelines that set expectations

Weeks 1–4: foundations and first campaigns live; by the end of month one you should see directional signals. Months 2–3: optimisation and scale—creative/keyword expansion, CRO sprints, budget rebalancing, and a reporting cadence that explains what’s improving and why.

Jump to each country’s directory (service pages only):

CountryService PageCapital
United Arab Emirates/ae/s/digital-marketing-agenciesAbu Dhabi
Saudi Arabia/sa/s/digital-marketing-agenciesRiyadh
Qatar/qaDoha
Kuwait/kwKuwait City
Bahrain/bhManama
Oman/omMuscat
Jordan/joAmman
Lebanon/lbBeirut
Egypt/eg/s/digital-marketing-agenciesCairo

FAQs

How do I choose the right retainer size?

Start from outcomes and channels. If you need multi-market, multi-channel execution with creative and CRO, a Growth or Enterprise retainer is realistic. Otherwise, pilot with a Small retainer + add sprints.

What should be separated from service fees?

Always separate media spend, third-party tools, and content production out-of-scope items. Ask agencies to show assumptions clearly.

How many proposals do I need to compare fairly?

Three to four is the sweet spot. Make sure each follows the same structure so you can compare scope, seniority, and reporting apples-to-apples.

Where can I submit one RFQ and get multiple offers?

Use Entasher.com to submit a single RFQ and receive several proposals from verified providers in the UAE: https://entasher.com/Tender/Create

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