Abu Dhabi vs Dubai
At the median, Dubai asks AED 2,021 per sqft against AED 1,981 in Abu Dhabi, 2% dearer per sqft. Half of the Dubai inventory we hold a price for sits between AED 1,608 and AED 2,649 per sqft, against AED 1,600 to AED 2,969 in Abu Dhabi.
The ticket runs the other way. Abu Dhabi is the cheaper square foot and the more expensive home: a median AED 4.58M against AED 1.91M, because the median unit there is 2,210 sqft against 916 sqft. Comparing headline prices between the two without normalising for floor area gets the direction of the gap backwards.
Dubai carries the larger book: 2,337 tracked off-plan projects and 42,490 priced unit records, against 269 projects and 1,757 for Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi asks for less cash before handover: the median plan takes 50% before keys across 398 published plans, against 60% across 3,315 plans in Dubai.
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.
Dot is the median asking price per sqft, bar is the middle half of the priced inventory. Bases are 1,757 priced units in Abu Dhabi and 42,490 in Dubai.
Side by side
| Metric | Abu Dhabi | Dubai |
|---|---|---|
| Off-plan projects tracked | 269 | 2,337 |
| Priced units | 1,757 | 42,490 |
| Median AED per sqft | 1,981 | 2,021 |
| AED per sqft, p25 to p75 | 1,600 to 2,969 | 1,608 to 2,649 |
| Median unit size, sqft | 2,210 | 916 |
| Median asking price | AED 4.58M | AED 1.91M |
| Lowest starting price | AED 340K | AED 310K |
| Median booking deposit | 10% | 20% |
| Median paid before handover | 50% | 60% |
| Plans with a post-handover tail | 6% | 17% |
| Peak handover year | 2029 (73 projects) | 2027 (750 projects) |
| Communities tracked | 28 | 135 |
| Developers building | 63 | 582 |
| Projects sold out or gone | 35% | 42% |
Every figure is computed by OffplanIndex over developer-published unit inventories and payment plans, and every row uses that emirate's own records. Two emirates with very different book sizes are still compared at the median, so a thin book moves on less evidence than a thick one. Not investment advice.
Price
Abu Dhabi is the cheaper square foot, AED 1,981 against AED 2,021 in Dubai, so Dubai is 2% dearer per sqft. On the typical unit that reads as AED 4.58M for a median 2,210 sqft home in Abu Dhabi, against AED 1.91M for a median 916 sqft home in Dubai. Part of that gap is product rather than location: the two are not selling the same mix of unit.
Abu Dhabi publishes mostly 2 BR units, 539 priced records at a median AED 2,181 per sqft and AED 3.67M a unit. Dubai leans to 1 BR units, 15,866 records at AED 1,916 per sqft and AED 1.50M a unit.
Entry pricing: the lowest published starting price anywhere in Abu Dhabi is AED 340K, against AED 310K in Dubai. That is a single listing on each side, so read it as what exists rather than as a level.
Terms
Across 398 published plans in Abu Dhabi, the median asks 10% on booking and 50% before handover, with 6% carrying instalments that run past the keys. Dubai publishes 3,315 plans: 20% on booking, 60% before handover and 17% with a post-handover tail.
The heavy end matters more than the median when the plan is the reason to buy. 45% of Abu Dhabi plans want 60% or more before keys, against 57% in Dubai. At the light end, 51% of Abu Dhabi plans and 41% of Dubai plans ask 50% or less.
Concentration
Al Reem Island carries 67 of Abu Dhabi's 269 tracked projects, 25% of the emirate, across 28 tracked communities. Jumeirah Village Circle carries 295 of Dubai's 2,337, 13%, across 135 communities. A concentrated emirate median is a project decision rather than a market signal: if the anchor scheme reprices, the emirate reprices with it.
On the supply side, Aldar is the largest builder in Abu Dhabi with 89 projects of 63 developers active, and Emaar leads Dubai with 331 of 582.
Largest in Abu Dhabi: Al Reem Island, Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, Masdar City, Hudayriyat Island. Largest in Dubai: Jumeirah Village Circle, Dubai Islands, Dubai South, Business Bay, Dubailand.
When and what is left
Abu Dhabi peaks in 2029, when 73 of its 269 tracked projects are scheduled to hand over. Dubai peaks in 2027 with 750 of 2,337. Published handover dates move, so read them as developer intent rather than as a delivered date.
35% of the Abu Dhabi projects tracked are listed as sold out or out of stock, against 42% in Dubai. A young book looks available because it launched recently, and an old one looks scarce because what did not sell has quietly stopped being listed, so this is a supply reading rather than a demand one.
Go deeper
More comparisons
The full report: every community, every developer, ranked.
Abu Dhabi and Dubai 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 2026-09-02 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.