Short answer: UAE businesses hire Indian developers because the cost is a fraction of local hiring and the working day is almost the same: India is only 1½ hours ahead of the UAE. With Infovion, a dedicated developer costs about AED 3,300–6,600 a month and hourly work about AED 45–90, with Arabic and English apps, AED pricing and 5% VAT invoices built in.
Costs in AED
| What | Infovion's price |
|---|---|
| Hourly development | AED 45 – 90 |
| Dedicated full-time developer | AED 3,300 – 6,600 a month |
| Web app or MVP, fixed price | AED 11,000 – 55,000 |
| Maintenance (AMC) | From AED 550 a month |
The dirham is pegged to the US dollar, so these are exact conversions of our USD prices. Compare with hiring locally, where visa, health insurance and end-of-service gratuity (21 days' basic pay per year for the first five years under Federal Decree-Law No. 33 of 2021) sit on top of salary.
The time difference works in your favour
- India is 1½ hours ahead of the UAE all year; neither country changes its clocks.
- A 9 am – 10 pm IST team is available 7:30 am – 8:30 pm UAE time.
- Pune and Mumbai are about three hours' flight from Dubai for a workshop.
What UAE businesses typically outsource
- Customer apps and booking systems for clinics, salons, gyms, car services and real estate.
- Trading and distribution software: orders, stock across warehouses, delivery tracking and VAT invoices.
- Retail and jewellery systems priced in AED with karat-based billing.
- Internal tools that replace spreadsheets and WhatsApp groups: approvals, field service, HR requests.
- Maintenance of an app built by a local agency that has moved on.
What UAE apps need
- Arabic and English: right-to-left layouts, Arabic fonts, mirrored icons, bilingual content.
- VAT: 5% tax invoices with your TRN, in AED.
- Payments: Network International, Telr, PayTabs or Stripe.
- E-invoicing: the UAE's system starts with businesses with revenue of AED 50 million or more from 1 January 2027, and other businesses in scope from 1 July 2027. Invoices go as structured data through an Accredited Service Provider; build for it now.
Data protection
Mainland companies fall under the Personal Data Protection Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 45 of 2021); DIFC and ADGM have their own data protection laws. A practical approach: keep hosting and databases in UAE cloud regions under your accounts, and give developers in India test data.
How to start
- Send a short brief on WhatsApp (+91 93091 93613) or email.
- A call the same week, at a time that suits you.
- A written scope and price in AED within two business days.
- A small first milestone, so you can judge the work.
More: software development for Dubai and the UAE. Our own jewellery software supports AED, Gulf karats and VAT: see jewellery software for the UAE and our UAE VAT on gold guide.
Sources: UAE Ministry of Finance: eInvoicing; Mondaq: end-of-service benefits in the UAE.
