Al Satwa vs Dubai Islands
Verdict: Al Satwa runs AED 2,331 per sqft against AED 2,492 for Dubai Islands, 7% cheaper, across 598 priced units, and both carry the same 50% cash load before handover.
At the median, Dubai Islands asks AED 2,492 per sqft against AED 2,331 in Al Satwa, 7% dearer per sqft. Half of Dubai Islands inventory sits between AED 2,139 and AED 2,962 per sqft, against AED 2,090 to AED 2,501 in Al Satwa.
Dubai Islands carries the larger pipeline: 187 tracked off-plan projects and 2,309 priced units, against 48 projects and 598 priced units in Al Satwa.
Payment plans sit level: the median plan on both sides asks 50% before keys, from 52 published plans in Al Satwa and 196 in Dubai Islands. On the median priced unit that is AED 899K due before handover in Al Satwa, against AED 1.70M in Dubai Islands.
Price per sqft, and the band around it
Dot is the median AED per sqft, bar is p25 to p75. Figures after each name are the median AED per sqft and the priced units.
- Dubai Islands2,492 2,309
- Al Satwa2,331 598
Dot is the median asking price per sqft, bar is the middle half of the priced inventory. Bases are 598 priced units in Al Satwa and 2,309 in Dubai Islands.
Side by side
| Metric | Al Satwa | Dubai Islands |
|---|---|---|
| Off-plan projects tracked | 48 | 187 |
| Priced units | 598 | 2,309 |
| Median AED per sqft | 2,331 | 2,492 |
| AED per sqft, p25 to p75 | 2,090 to 2,501 | 2,139 to 2,962 |
| Median asking price | AED 1.80M | AED 3.41M |
| Lowest starting price | AED 756K | AED 1.10M |
| Median paid before handover | 50% | 50% |
| Cash due before handover, median unit | AED 899K | AED 1.70M |
| Plans with a post-handover tail | 8% | 12% |
| Peak handover year | 2027 (21 projects) | 2027 (79 projects) |
| Active developers | 37 | 87 |
Every figure is computed by OffplanIndex over developer-published unit inventories and payment plans. Rows a community cannot answer are left out rather than filled in. Not investment advice.
Price
Al Satwa is the cheaper side per sqft, at AED 2,331 against AED 2,492 in Dubai Islands, so Dubai Islands is 7% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 1.80M for a median 757 sqft home in Al Satwa, against AED 3.41M for a median 1,391 sqft home in Dubai Islands.
Inventory is weighted differently. Al Satwa is dominated by 1 BR units, 323 priced records at a median AED 2,313 per sqft and AED 1.84M a unit. Dubai Islands leans to 2 BR units, 1,045 records at AED 2,490 per sqft and AED 3.37M a unit.
Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price is AED 756K in Al Satwa and AED 1.10M in Dubai Islands.
Supply and delivery
Al Satwa peaks in 2027, when 21 of its 48 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Dubai Islands peaks in 2027 with 79 of 187. Published handover dates move, so read them as developer intent rather than a delivered date.
Of the projects tracked, 16% in Al Satwa and 25% in Dubai Islands are listed as sold out or out of stock, which is the share of the pipeline no longer taking new bookings at listed prices.
37 developers are active in Al Satwa, led by Object 1, JAD Global, Holm Avenue. Dubai Islands has 87, led by Nakheel, Imtiaz, Ellington.
Go deeper
More comparisons
The full report: every community, every developer, ranked.
Al Satwa and Dubai Islands in context: price per sqft by community and developer, payment plan structures ranked by cash due before handover, the 2026 to 2029 delivery pipeline, and the CSV behind every table. PDF plus data, delivered instantly.
Source: OffplanIndex derived analytics, built 2026-10-02 from developer-published project facts and unit inventories aggregated from public portals (latest observation 2026-07-30). All statistics are computed by OffplanIndex; no third-party database is reproduced. See the methodology and data policy. Not investment advice.