Shopify in the UAE: Payments, Pricing, Shipping and Setup

Yes, Shopify works in the UAE. More than 27,000 live stores already run there, from local perfume houses to global fashion brands.

And the UAE has an advantage no other Gulf country has. Shopify Payments, Shopify's built-in checkout, is available to UAE companies.

That means cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay go live in a few clicks. You also skip the extra fee Shopify charges stores that use outside gateways.

By the end, you'll know what Shopify costs in the UAE, how to get paid, how to ship and what paperwork you need before launch day.

Does Shopify work in the UAE?

Yes. The UAE is a fully supported Shopify country. You pick the UAE as your store address, price in dirhams and sell to customers across all seven emirates.

The UAE market is one of the easiest in the world to sell online in. Internet use is near universal, shoppers spend more per head than in Saudi Arabia, and most of them pay by phone.

Here's what's different from a US or UK store:

• Payments. Shopify Payments works, but only for a UAE-licensed company with an AED bank account.
• BNPL. Tabby and Tamara are huge here, and they install as separate apps.
• Language. Most shoppers browse in English, but the law asks for Arabic product details, terms and invoices.
• Shipping. Local couriers connect through apps or aggregators, not Shopify's built-in carrier list.

None of these will slow you down for long. Most stores sort all four within a couple of weeks.

How much does Shopify cost in the UAE?

Shopify sets prices by region, and UAE stores pay less than US ones for Basic and Grow. Register your store under your UAE business so you get the UAE price.

	Basic	Grow	Advanced	Plus
Monthly price, annual billing	$24	$69	$299	From $2,300 (3-year term)
Monthly price, monthly billing	$32	$92	$399	$2,500 (1-year term)
Shopify Payments card rate	2.9% + AED 1	2.8% + AED 1	2.7% + AED 1	2.5% + AED 1
Fee on other gateways and BNPL (not COD)	2%	1%	0.6%	0.2%
Staff accounts	None	5	15	Unlimited
Live courier rates at checkout		Add-on (free on annual)

That puts Basic at about AED 88 a month on annual billing. Grow comes to about AED 253.

For most new stores, Basic is the right start. With Shopify Payments, Grow only trims the card rate by 0.1%, so the bigger reason to upgrade is BNPL volume, covered below.

Budget for a few extras too:

• A paid theme with right-to-left (RTL) support for Arabic: $150–$420 one-off.
• Apps for COD verification, reviews and translation: often free to start, then about $10–$70 a month each.
• A .ae domain, which some free zones ask for and shoppers trust.

Want every cost line, from agency fees to apps? See what a Dubai Shopify store costs.

Getting paid with Shopify Payments

Shopify Payments works in 41 countries. In the Gulf, the UAE is the only one on the list.

That's a real edge. Your checkout takes Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay from day one, and Shopify charges no extra transaction fee on those orders.

What you need to activate it

Shopify Payments accepts four entity types: Sole Establishment, Free Zone Sole Establishment, LLC and Free Zone LLC. Mainland and free zone companies both qualify.

You'll upload these in Settings > Payments:

• Your trade licence, plus a memorandum of association and bank proof for an LLC
• Your CRN (company registration number)
• The owner's passport and Emirates ID or residence visa
• An AED business account with an IBAN starting "AE"

Apple Pay, Google Pay and Shop Pay switch on automatically once you're approved.

What Shopify Payments costs per order

You pay one fee per card payment, and it gets cheaper on higher plans. The pricing table above shows the rate for each plan.

For example, take an AED 300 order on Shopify Basic. Here's how three payment routes compare, before 5% VAT on the fees:

So for a UAE company, Shopify Payments is almost always the cheapest card checkout. A cheaper gateway rate rarely beats it once Shopify's own fee lands on top.

The one place Shopify's fee still bites is BNPL. On annual billing, Grow costs $45 more a month than Basic, about AED 165.

Grow halves the fee on Tabby and Tamara orders from 2% to 1%. So Grow pays for itself at about AED 16,500 a month in BNPL sales. Its lower card rate brings that point down a little further.

Compare gateway costs with your own numbers

Enter your monthly sales, order count and card mix. Then switch plans to see where your break-even sits.

When you'd use another gateway

Some stores add a second gateway on top of Shopify Payments. The common reasons are a method Shopify Payments doesn't take, or a negotiated rate at high volume.

Popular UAE options include Telr, Ziina, Tap Payments, Checkout.com and Network International. Telr and Tap already accept Jaywan, the UAE's new domestic card scheme. Our guide to payments in the UAE compares each one.

Buy now, pay later: Tabby and Tamara

BNPL lets shoppers split a purchase into interest-free instalments. It's standard at UAE fashion, beauty and electronics checkouts, and it tends to lift order values.

Both main providers have free Shopify apps. You sign a merchant contract first, then add their widgets to product and cart pages so shoppers see the instalment price early.

A few things to know:

• Fees are per order and set by contract. Neither provider publishes merchant rates.
• Payouts differ. Tamara pays weekly, every Tuesday, and charges AED 25 on weekly payouts under AED 2,500.
• Shoppers are loyal to one app. Many UAE brands offer both, because each customer uses the one that holds their credit limit.

The setup steps are in our Tabby Shopify guide.

Cash on delivery on Shopify

The UAE is a card-first market, but new brands still need COD. Shoppers who don't know you yet often want to see the parcel before they pay.

For a new direct-to-consumer brand, plan on 15–30% of early orders choosing COD. That share drops as reviews and repeat customers build trust.

Turning it on takes a minute. Go to Settings > Payments > Manual payment methods and add Cash on Delivery. Shopify charges no transaction fee on it.

The work is in cutting refused deliveries. Here's what experienced sellers do:

• Use a COD form app with OTP. Releasit COD Form is the most popular, rated 4.9 from about 2,450 reviews and free up to 60 orders a month.
• Confirm by WhatsApp before dispatch. A quick message weeds out impulse orders.
• Charge a small COD fee, or give AED 5–10 off for paying by card or Apple Pay.
• Agree the remittance cycle in writing. Jeebly guarantees 7 days and Quiqup remits weekly.

Our cash on delivery guide has more ways to keep refusals low.

English and Arabic on your UAE store

Most UAE residents are expats, so English is the everyday language of online shopping. An English-first store is completely normal here.

That said, you still need some Arabic. The UAE's consumer rules ask for Arabic product information, contract terms and invoices. A bilingual store also wins Emiratis and Arab expats, a high-spending slice of buyers.

Pick a theme that handles both

Arabic reads right to left, so menus, galleries and carts must mirror. The Theme Store tags 24 paid themes as RTL, including Prestige, Impact and Symmetry.

Shopify also says its free Horizon-family themes support RTL. Publish Arabic in preview and check the header, menu, product gallery and cart on a phone before you commit.

Translate the store and the checkout

Add Arabic in Settings > Languages. Shopify's free Translate & Adapt app machine-translates up to two languages, including Arabic.

Here's the catch most sellers miss: Arabic isn't one of the 33 languages Shopify pre-translates in checkout. Translate the checkout text and order notifications yourself, or your Arabic shoppers hit English at the last step.

A few more habits pay off:

• Use subfolders such as /en-ae and /ar-ae through Shopify Markets. They keep your SEO on one domain.
• Have a native speaker edit titles and navigation. Machine Arabic often reads stiff.
• Use Western digits for prices, as UAE shoppers expect.

Our Arabic Shopify setup guide compares Translate & Adapt, Weglot and LangShop.

Shipping orders across the UAE

UAE shoppers expect next-day delivery in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, and same-day is common in Dubai. A next-day parcel usually costs about AED 12–25.

The main options are:

• Aramex, headquartered in Dubai, for metro speed and COD
• Quiqup, Jeebly and Careem Box for same-day and next-day in the big cities
• J&T Express and iMile for low-cost ecommerce parcels
• Emirates Post for remote areas and post-office pickup

Connecting them to Shopify takes a little planning:

• Official carrier apps are weak. The Aramex Shopify app is rated 1.7 out of 5.
• Aggregators and 3PLs are the easy route. Shipox and Locad connect several couriers in one dashboard.
• Live rates need the right plan. Carrier-calculated shipping comes with Advanced and Plus, as an add-on on Grow and not at all on Basic.
• On Basic, use flat rates. A free-shipping threshold, such as AED 150, keeps checkout simple.

Make the phone number required at checkout, because UAE couriers call or WhatsApp customers before delivery. Compare carriers in UAE courier companies for ecommerce.

Legal setup for a UAE Shopify store

Shopify is just the software. The legal side is the same as for any UAE online store, and it's quicker than most people expect.

1

Get a trade licence with an e-commerce activity

Free zone packages start at about AED 6,000 including a visa, and some zones issue a licence within 24 hours. Mainland licences suit shops and showrooms.

2

Open an AED business bank account

Shopify Payments pays out to an AE IBAN in your company's name. Apply the day your licence arrives, because banks are often the slowest step.

3

Register for corporate tax

Every licensed business registers on EmaraTax, even if it owes nothing. Late registration costs AED 10,000.

4

Register for VAT when you need to

Registration is mandatory above AED 375,000 of sales a year and voluntary from AED 187,500. Show prices including 5% VAT.

5

Publish the required store details

Show your legal name, licence number, issuing authority, all fees before checkout and your returns policy. Arabic terms and a dated Arabic invoice are required too.

Need help choosing a zone? Our UAE e-commerce licence guide walks through each route.

How to launch your Shopify store in the UAE

Here's the order that saves the most time. Start the slow steps, like the bank account and Arabic translation, on day one.

Our full Shopify GCC setup guide walks through each setting.

Shopify, marketplaces or both?

Shopify gives you your own brand, your customer list and full control of pricing. In the UAE, it's also the easiest platform to get paid on.

Amazon.ae and noon give you something different: millions of ready shoppers on day one, in exchange for a commission.

So which should you pick? Most UAE brands do both. They list best sellers on the marketplaces to prove demand, then move repeat buyers to their own store.

The full comparison is in Amazon vs Shopify in the GCC.

Notes for brands expanding to Saudi Arabia

• You can charge Saudi shoppers in SAR through Shopify Markets, with a 2% currency conversion fee.
• Domestic mada won't work through UAE Shopify Payments. Saudi cards are charged as Visa or Mastercard, so expect some declines.
• Ship from Dubai by land. Aramex and SMSA run GCC road networks into Riyadh.
• Add a Saudi store when sales grow. It runs on a local gateway with mada, priced in SAR. Our guide to Shopify in Saudi Arabia covers that setup.

Notes for foreign and Chinese brands

• Shopify Payments needs a UAE entity. A foreign store takes UAE cards through a cross-border gateway that settles abroad.
• A free zone company can be 100% foreign-owned, and some zones offer licences to non-residents.
• Parcels into Dubai up to AED 1,000 are duty-free since August 2026, though 5% VAT still applies.
• Marketplaces are the low-risk test. Amazon Global Selling and noon let you prove demand before you set up a company. See selling from China to the UAE.

Notes for larger brands

• Shopify Plus starts at $2,300 a month on a three-year term, with a 2.5% + AED 1 card rate and a 0.2% fee on BNPL.
• Expansion stores let you run separate UAE and Saudi stores, each with its own currency and gateway.
• Plus unlocks checkout customisation, which some Tabby and Tamara presentation features need. See Shopify Plus in the GCC.

Get help with your UAE Shopify store

Want a store that's built right first time? Arabic checkout, BNPL apps and courier setup are where most launches stall, and a local partner can save weeks.

Start with the payment gateways below. They were independently researched, and none paid to be listed.