The default choice — and why it's not always the right one
When UAE businesses decide to launch an online store, Shopify is usually the first name that comes up. It's well-marketed, it's established, and it's easy to get started. But "easy to start" and "best for your business" are very different things — especially when you look at the numbers over two or three years.
Shopify: the real cost for UAE businesses
- Basic plan: AED 143/month (~$39)
- Premium theme: AED 550–1,300 one-time
- Essential apps (reviews, upsells, abandoned cart, loyalty): AED 200–600/month
- Transaction fees: 0.5–2% per transaction on top of payment gateway fees
- Shopify Payments: Not available in the UAE — you'll use a third-party gateway and pay the additional transaction fee every time
A realistic UAE Shopify store costs AED 400–900/month once properly set up. Over three years: AED 14,400–32,400. And at the end of it, you own nothing — not the theme, not the checkout, not the platform logic.
The UAE-specific Shopify problem
- No Shopify Payments: UAE merchants cannot use Shopify's native payment processing, meaning you pay an additional transaction fee on every sale
- Limited Arabic RTL support: Proper Arabic language support requires a premium multilingual app or custom development
- Currency display: Showing prices in AED correctly across all apps and checkout requires additional configuration
- Local payment methods: Integrating UAE-specific payment options requires custom app development or expensive third-party solutions
What a custom e-commerce site looks like
A custom e-commerce store built by Webraft uses Next.js with a headless commerce architecture. This means:
- Full Arabic/English bilingual support built in from day one, with proper RTL layouts
- Native UAE payment gateway integration — PayTabs, Telr, HyperPay, or any gateway you prefer
- Zero transaction fees to a platform — you pay only the payment gateway's rate
- Performance scores of 95+ — your store loads in under 1 second, improving SEO and conversion
- Complete ownership — the code is yours, the hosting account is yours
When Shopify still makes sense
Shopify is genuinely the better choice if you need to launch in under two weeks, have zero technical resources, rely heavily on a specific Shopify app ecosystem, or have a very small monthly order volume where platform fees are negligible.
The three-year cost comparison
Shopify (realistic UAE setup): AED 14,400–32,400 over 3 years, plus transaction fees on every sale.
Webraft custom store: Development fee (flat rate) + AED 75–150/month hosting = significantly lower total, with no transaction fees to a platform.
The math becomes even more compelling as your order volume grows.
Talk to us before you commit
If you're weighing up Shopify vs a custom build for your UAE e-commerce project, we're happy to run the numbers with you based on your specific products, volume, and goals. Contact Webraft for a free consultation — no sales pressure, just an honest comparison.