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UAE Salary Benchmarks 2026

Basic-salary ranges for tech, consulting, finance, product, and data roles in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. All figures are monthly basic salary in AED — total package is typically 40-60% higher when allowances are added.

Basic salary ≠ total package. UAE salaries are quoted as basic — housing allowance (typically 20-30% of basic), transport, school fees, flights, and health insurance are on top. Use the Package Decoder to see your full package vs UK take-home.

Showing 24 of 24 roles

Software Engineer (mid)

TechnologyMid

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 20,000AED 30,000

£51,064 £76,596 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 18,000AED 27,000

£45,957 £68,936 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 0-10%

React, Node, Python. DIFC / Dubai Internet City tech companies.

Software Engineer (senior)

TechnologySenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 28,000AED 42,000

£71,489 £107,234 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 25,000AED 38,000

£63,830 £97,021 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 10-20%

Strong engineers with 5+ years.

Frontend Developer (senior)

TechnologySenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 22,000AED 35,000

£56,170 £89,362 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 20,000AED 32,000

£51,064 £81,702 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 5-15%

React / Vue. Slightly lower than backend equivalents.

DevOps / Platform Engineer

TechnologySenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 25,000AED 40,000

£63,830 £102,128 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 22,000AED 36,000

£56,170 £91,915 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 10-20%

Kubernetes, AWS / GCP. Strong demand in banking and telecoms.

Cybersecurity Engineer (senior)

TechnologySenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 28,000AED 45,000

£71,489 £114,894 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 26,000AED 42,000

£66,383 £107,234 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 10-20%

Government and defence demand in Abu Dhabi is very strong.

Engineering Manager

TechnologyDirector

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 40,000AED 60,000

£102,128 £153,191 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 35,000AED 55,000

£89,362 £140,426 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 30% of basic
Typical bonus: 15-25%

Leading teams of 6-15. Dubai premium vs Abu Dhabi.

CTO / VP Engineering

TechnologyVP/C-Suite

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 55,000AED 90,000

£140,426 £229,787 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 50,000AED 85,000

£127,660 £217,021 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 30% of basic
Typical bonus: 20-40%

Scale-ups and enterprise. Wide range based on company size.

Product Manager (mid)

ProductMid

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 22,000AED 32,000

£56,170 £81,702 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 18,000AED 28,000

£45,957 £71,489 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 10-20%

3-6 years experience. Fintech / e-commerce premium.

Senior Product Manager

ProductSenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 30,000AED 48,000

£76,596 £122,553 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 26,000AED 42,000

£66,383 £107,234 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 15-25%

6+ years. Strong demand in fintech, payments, and super-apps.

Head of Product / VP Product

ProductVP/C-Suite

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 45,000AED 70,000

£114,894 £178,723 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 40,000AED 65,000

£102,128 £165,957 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 30% of basic
Typical bonus: 20-35%

Significant equity possible in scale-up context.

Data Analyst (mid)

DataMid

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 18,000AED 27,000

£45,957 £68,936 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 16,000AED 24,000

£40,851 £61,277 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 20% of basic
Typical bonus: 5-10%

SQL, Tableau / Power BI. Finance and retail sectors.

Data Scientist (senior)

DataSenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 28,000AED 45,000

£71,489 £114,894 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 25,000AED 40,000

£63,830 £102,128 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 10-20%

Python, ML. Banking and government AI initiatives.

Data Engineer (senior)

DataSenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 28,000AED 43,000

£71,489 £109,787 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 25,000AED 38,000

£63,830 £97,021 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 10-20%

Spark, dbt, cloud warehouses.

ML Engineer (senior)

DataSenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 32,000AED 50,000

£81,702 £127,660 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 30,000AED 48,000

£76,596 £122,553 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 15-25%

Strong demand at G42 / Core42, ADNOC Digital, and tech scale-ups.

Head of Data / Chief Data Officer

DataDirector

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 45,000AED 70,000

£114,894 £178,723 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 40,000AED 65,000

£102,128 £165,957 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 30% of basic
Typical bonus: 20-35%

C-suite or Director level. Strong sovereign / energy demand.

Management Consultant (junior)

ConsultingJunior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 18,000AED 26,000

£45,957 £66,383 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 16,000AED 23,000

£40,851 £58,723 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 20% of basic
Typical bonus: 15-25%

Big 4, Big 3 regional offices. 2-4 years experience.

Management Consultant (manager)

ConsultingMid

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 30,000AED 46,000

£76,596 £117,447 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 27,000AED 42,000

£68,936 £107,234 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 20-30%

Leading workstreams. 5-8 years.

Senior Manager / Principal

ConsultingSenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 42,000AED 65,000

£107,234 £165,957 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 38,000AED 58,000

£97,021 £148,085 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 25-35%

MBB / Big 4 SM-level or boutique director.

Partner / Director (Consulting)

ConsultingVP/C-Suite

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 60,000AED 120,000

£153,191 £306,383 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 55,000AED 110,000

£140,426 £280,851 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 30% of basic
Typical bonus: 30-60%

Significant profit share / equity. Wide range by firm.

Financial Analyst (mid)

FinanceMid

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 20,000AED 30,000

£51,064 £76,596 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 18,000AED 27,000

£45,957 £68,936 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 20% of basic
Typical bonus: 15-25%

IBD / asset management / corporate finance. 3-5 years.

Investment Banking Associate

FinanceMid

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 30,000AED 48,000

£76,596 £122,553 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 28,000AED 44,000

£71,489 £112,340 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 50-100%

DIFC banks. Bonus is the lion's share at this level.

VP Investment Banking

FinanceSenior

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 45,000AED 72,000

£114,894 £183,830 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 42,000AED 68,000

£107,234 £173,617 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 25% of basic
Typical bonus: 75-150%

DIFC / ADGM. Bonus enormous in a good year.

Finance Manager / FP&A Manager

FinanceMid

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 25,000AED 38,000

£63,830 £97,021 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 22,000AED 34,000

£56,170 £86,809 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 20% of basic
Typical bonus: 10-20%

Corporate finance / FP&A. Strong across all sectors.

CFO (mid-size company)

FinanceVP/C-Suite

Dubai · monthly basic

AED 50,000AED 100,000

£127,660 £255,319 /yr

Abu Dhabi · monthly basic

AED 45,000AED 90,000

£114,894 £229,787 /yr

Typical housing allowance: 30% of basic
Typical bonus: 20-50%

Very wide range. Big-company CFOs at the top of the range.

Got an offer? Run the numbers.

The Package Decoder takes your full UAE offer (basic + allowances + benefits) and compares it to your UK net pay. See whether the headline figure is the genuine win it looks like.

Aggregated from public salary surveys, recruiter databases, and Landed user reports. Updated for 2026. Treat as guidance — actual offers depend on company, function, and negotiation.