Wix or Shopify vs a custom website in Dubai (2026)

The right choice depends on what the website has to do. Wix is fine for a simple brochure site you want to build and edit yourself, with payment-enabled plans from roughly USD 30 a month. Shopify is the strongest option for an online store, from USD 24 a month billed yearly plus card fees of 2.7% to 2.9% + AED 1 per sale in the UAE. A custom-built site makes most sense for service businesses in Dubai that need the site to generate, qualify and track enquiries, and it costs AED 2,000 to 10,000 up front at JR HQ. Here is the full comparison.

Side by side

	Wix	Shopify	Custom build
Best for	Simple brochure sites, DIY	Online stores	Service businesses and lead generation
Upfront cost	Your time	Your time, or a theme and setup	AED 2,000 to 10,000 at JR HQ
Monthly cost	Paid plans from about USD 18; payments from about USD 30 (billed yearly, varies by country)	USD 24 to 299 billed yearly (Basic to Advanced)	Hosting and care plan, from AED 750 a month at JR HQ
Fees on sales	Payment provider fees	2.7% to 2.9% + AED 1 per card payment, plus 0.6% to 2% if you use another gateway	Your payment provider’s fees only
Design freedom	Template-based	Theme-based, deep with code	Complete
Speed and SEO control	Limited by the platform	Good for stores	Complete
Who owns it	You rent it	You rent it	You own the code and accounts

Wix: fast and simple, with limits

Wix is quick to set up and easy to edit, which is why so many small businesses start there. Only the higher plans can take payments. The trade-offs appear as you grow: you work inside templates, performance and technical SEO are limited by the platform, and the site cannot move with you if you leave.

Shopify: the default for selling products

If you sell physical products online, Shopify is hard to beat. It handles catalogue, checkout, stock and shipping well, and its app store covers most needs. Watch the fees. In the UAE, Shopify’s online card rate is 2.9% + AED 1 on Basic, 2.8% + AED 1 on Grow and 2.7% + AED 1 on Advanced. If you use a local gateway instead of Shopify Payments, Shopify adds a transaction fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow and 0.6% on Advanced. On AED 50,000 of monthly sales through a third-party gateway on Basic, that extra 2% is AED 1,000 a month on top of the gateway’s own fees.

The fee stack, and how Shopify Payments changes it

This is the cost UAE owners most often miss. If you use a third-party gateway instead of Shopify Payments, you pay that gateway’s rate plus Shopify’s own transaction fee of 2% on Basic, 1% on Grow or 0.6% on Advanced. On a high-ticket product, those percentages stack into real money every month.

Shopify Payments is now available in the UAE, which removes the third-party fee, but not for everyone yet: it started on the Plus plan and opened to the Advanced plan on 26 August 2026. If you are on Basic, you are still paying a gateway rate plus 2%.

On a custom build the question does not arise. You connect Stripe or another processor directly and pay only that processor’s rate, with no platform fee layered on top.

Custom: built around enquiries

Most Dubai service businesses, such as consultancies, clinics, contractors, agencies and B2B firms, do not need a store. They need a site that turns visitors into enquiries and shows which channel produced them. A custom build lets you design every service page around one action, connect forms and WhatsApp to your CRM, and install tracking that ties enquiries back to campaigns.

At JR HQ, a 5 to 8 page business website with lead capture costs AED 2,000 to 5,000, and a lead generation site with service landing pages, CRM integration and conversion tracking costs AED 4,000 to 10,000. Most sites go live in four to six weeks, you get a CMS for everyday edits, and the code and accounts are in your name. See website pricing.

How to decide

• Choose Wix if you need a simple online presence this week, will build it yourself, and do not rely on the site for leads.
• Choose Shopify if most of your revenue will come from online product sales, and especially if you want something stable and consistent rather than a site you keep experimenting with. Shopify is also moving quickly on AI features of its own.
• Check your plan against Shopify Payments. On Basic in the UAE you still pay a gateway rate plus Shopify’s 2% third-party fee, which can outweigh the price difference between plans.
• Choose a custom build if your sales start with an enquiry, a call or a WhatsApp chat, and you want to know which marketing brings them in.
• Think in three-year costs. Monthly plans, apps and transaction fees add up; an owned site has a larger first bill and lower ongoing fees.

Frequently asked questions

Is Shopify Payments available in the UAE? Yes, but not on every plan. It launched for Plus merchants and opened to the Advanced plan on 26 August 2026, so Basic and Grow stores in the UAE still use a third-party gateway and pay Shopify’s extra transaction fee on top of it.

Is Wix good for SEO in Dubai? Wix covers the basics well enough for a small brochure site. If search is a main source of leads, a custom site gives you more control over speed, structure and technical SEO.

How much does a website cost in Dubai? DIY builders cost a monthly subscription plus your time. At JR HQ a business website costs AED 2,000 to 5,000 and a lead generation site costs AED 4,000 to 10,000.

Can I move from Wix to a custom site later? Yes. Content and images can be moved, and redirects protect the rankings you have built. Plan the move so old URLs point to the new ones.

Do I own a Wix or Shopify site? You own your content and domain, but the site itself runs on their platform and cannot be moved as it is. With a custom build, the code and hosting accounts are yours.

Sources

• Shopify plans, UAE card rates and third-party transaction fees: Shopify pricing (UAE)
• Wix plans and payment features: Wix premium plans
• Shopify Payments reaching the UAE Advanced plan on 26 August 2026: Shopify changelog and Shopify Payments for the United Arab Emirates
• All prices checked on 22 September 2026. Wix prices vary by country; check the vendor’s page before you buy.

Note: the AED 50,000 example is an illustration of the fee maths, not a client result. That 30% figure is from one engagement and depends on the offer, traffic and market; results vary from business to business.

If you want a website built to bring in enquiries, book a free strategy call.