Cheapest studio rent in Dubai by area
The cheapest studio in Dubai on registered contracts is in Al Warsan First at AED 2,583 a month, which is AED 30,996 over twelve months. The most expensive studio line in the register is Downtown Dubai at AED 6,023, so the whole studio market of the city fits into a band of AED 3,440 a month. This page ranks every area the register holds a studio group for, cheapest first.
Studios are the one unit type that is not derived from floor area. They are filed as their own property type in the tenancy register, which makes this ranking the most solid of all our rent tables. It rests on 7,990 registered new studio contracts across 24 areas. Two of the 26 areas we track, Zabeel and Dubai Creek Harbour, have no studio line at all and are therefore absent from the table rather than filled in with a guess.
All studio areas ranked, cheapest first
| Rank | Area | Registered contracts | 25th percentile | Median | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Al Warsan First | 596 | AED 2,416 | AED 2,583 | AED 2,833 |
| 2 | Muhaisanah Fourth | 84 | AED 2,666 | AED 2,916 | AED 3,490 |
| 3 | Arabian Ranches III und Dubailand | 222 | AED 2,916 | AED 3,166 | AED 3,500 |
| 4 | Dubai Sports City | 576 | AED 3,000 | AED 3,333 | AED 3,583 |
| 5 | Madinat Al Mataar | 343 | AED 3,083 | AED 3,333 | AED 3,583 |
| 6 | Nadd Hessa | 342 | AED 3,166 | AED 3,416 | AED 3,833 |
| 7 | Me'Aisem First | 469 | AED 2,916 | AED 3,500 | AED 3,833 |
| 8 | Al Furjan und Discovery Gardens | 395 | AED 3,333 | AED 3,666 | AED 4,000 |
| 9 | Jumeirah Village Circle | 752 | AED 3,333 | AED 3,750 | AED 4,166 |
| 10 | Arjan | 719 | AED 3,333 | AED 3,750 | AED 4,166 |
| 11 | Al Hebiah Fifth | 104 | AED 3,166 | AED 3,800 | AED 4,583 |
| 12 | Port Saeed | 39 | AED 3,166 | AED 3,833 | AED 4,583 |
| 13 | Arabian Ranches II, Rukan und Serena (Dubailand) | 45 | AED 3,333 | AED 3,916 | AED 4,333 |
| 14 | Al Nahda Second | 135 | AED 3,500 | AED 3,916 | AED 4,833 |
| 15 | Sobha Hartland (MBR City) | 1,210 | AED 3,583 | AED 4,083 | AED 5,416 |
| 16 | Mirdif | 30 | AED 3,666 | AED 4,083 | AED 4,166 |
| 17 | Jumeirah Lake Towers | 354 | AED 4,000 | AED 4,416 | AED 5,000 |
| 18 | Al Yelayiss 2 | 305 | AED 4,155 | AED 4,583 | AED 5,000 |
| 19 | Al Garhoud | 29 | AED 3,333 | AED 4,600 | AED 5,249 |
| 20 | The Greens und The Views | 50 | AED 4,333 | AED 4,626 | AED 5,000 |
| 21 | Dubai Marina | 172 | AED 4,416 | AED 5,000 | AED 5,833 |
| 22 | Business Bay | 733 | AED 4,500 | AED 5,000 | AED 5,666 |
| 23 | Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid | 196 | AED 4,200 | AED 5,416 | AED 6,000 |
| 24 | Downtown Dubai | 90 | AED 5,166 | AED 6,023 | AED 7,916 |
Read the top row like this: 596 registered new studio contracts in Al Warsan First, the middle one signed at AED 2,583 a month. A quarter of those contracts came in below AED 2,416 and a quarter above AED 2,833, so the middle half of the market there sits in a band barely AED 417 wide. That is a tight, well documented market, not a single lucky listing.
Some ranks are shared. Dubai Sports City and Madinat Al Mataar both land on AED 3,333, from 576 and 343 contracts. Jumeirah Village Circle and Arjan both land on AED 3,750, from 752 and 719 contracts. When two areas share a median, the contract count is what separates them: the bigger group is the more reliable number.
What the ranking does not say
Every row here is a median, never an average, and the reason is visible in the raw data. The Sobha Hartland studio group is the largest in the city with 1,210 contracts and a median of AED 4,083, yet its highest single registered studio contract is AED 194,791 a month. In Jumeirah Village Circle the top studio contract is AED 150,000 and in Me'Aisem First AED 155,833. Those are almost certainly serviced or unusual units filed under the studio type. An average would be dragged upwards by them; a median is not.
The same caution applies at the bottom end. The lowest registered studio contract in Al Warsan First is AED 1,000 a month, far under the median, and nobody should walk into a viewing expecting that number. The two percentile columns are the honest range: they describe the middle half of what was actually signed.
Asked against signed, studios only
Portals publish what landlords ask, the register records what tenants signed. For six areas our own reading of propertyfinder.ae listings covers the same studio class, so the two can be compared directly. They stay in separate columns because they are different measurements.
| Area | Contract median (contracts) | Asking median (listings) | Difference | Asking above contract |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubai Sports City | AED 3,333 (576) | AED 3,667 (76) | AED 334 | 10.0 percent |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | AED 3,750 (752) | AED 4,167 (76) | AED 417 | 11.1 percent |
| Arjan | AED 3,750 (719) | AED 4,083 (77) | AED 333 | 8.9 percent |
| Dubai Marina | AED 5,000 (172) | AED 5,833 (75) | AED 833 | 16.7 percent |
| Business Bay | AED 5,000 (733) | AED 5,833 (77) | AED 833 | 16.7 percent |
| Downtown Dubai | AED 6,023 (90) | AED 7,875 (76) | AED 1,852 | 30.7 percent |
The gap is widest in Downtown Dubai at 30.7 percent, and that is exactly where the contract group is thinnest. Where the register holds hundreds of studio contracts, in Dubai Sports City, Arjan and Jumeirah Village Circle, the asking premium falls to between 8.9 and 11.1 percent. A useful rule follows from that: the more contracts behind the median, the less room there is between the listing and the signature.
What the next bedroom costs in the same area
A studio is only the right answer if the step up is expensive. In several areas it is not. The table below puts the studio median next to the one bedroom median of the same area, both from registered new contracts, and shows the monthly difference. It also carries the annual figure, because Dubai leases are quoted per year and that is the number on the cheque.
| Area | Studio per month | Studio per year | 1 bedroom per month | Step up per month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Al Warsan First | AED 2,583 | AED 30,996 | AED 3,666 | AED 1,083 |
| Muhaisanah Fourth | AED 2,916 | AED 34,992 | AED 4,166 | AED 1,250 |
| Arabian Ranches III und Dubailand | AED 3,166 | AED 37,992 | AED 4,416 | AED 1,250 |
| Dubai Sports City | AED 3,333 | AED 39,996 | AED 4,972 | AED 1,639 |
| Madinat Al Mataar | AED 3,333 | AED 39,996 | AED 4,750 | AED 1,417 |
| Nadd Hessa | AED 3,416 | AED 40,992 | AED 4,750 | AED 1,334 |
| Me'Aisem First | AED 3,500 | AED 42,000 | AED 5,666 | AED 2,166 |
| Al Furjan und Discovery Gardens | AED 3,666 | AED 43,992 | AED 5,666 | AED 2,000 |
| Jumeirah Village Circle | AED 3,750 | AED 45,000 | AED 5,833 | AED 2,083 |
| Arjan | AED 3,750 | AED 45,000 | AED 5,796 | AED 2,046 |
| Al Hebiah Fifth | AED 3,800 | AED 45,600 | AED 4,833 | AED 1,033 |
| Port Saeed | AED 3,833 | AED 45,996 | AED 5,000 | AED 1,167 |
| Arabian Ranches II, Rukan und Serena (Dubailand) | AED 3,916 | AED 46,992 | AED 5,041 | AED 1,125 |
| Al Nahda Second | AED 3,916 | AED 46,992 | AED 4,416 | AED 500 |
| Sobha Hartland (MBR City) | AED 4,083 | AED 48,996 | AED 7,323 | AED 3,240 |
| Mirdif | AED 4,083 | AED 48,996 | AED 4,916 | AED 833 |
| Jumeirah Lake Towers | AED 4,416 | AED 52,992 | AED 6,666 | AED 2,250 |
| Al Yelayiss 2 | AED 4,583 | AED 54,996 | AED 6,666 | AED 2,083 |
| Al Garhoud | AED 4,600 | AED 55,200 | AED 5,416 | AED 816 |
| The Greens und The Views | AED 4,626 | AED 55,512 | AED 7,083 | AED 2,457 |
| Dubai Marina | AED 5,000 | AED 60,000 | AED 7,083 | AED 2,083 |
| Business Bay | AED 5,000 | AED 60,000 | AED 7,198 | AED 2,198 |
| Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid | AED 5,416 | AED 64,992 | AED 7,916 | AED 2,500 |
| Downtown Dubai | AED 6,023 | AED 72,276 | AED 9,166 | AED 3,143 |
The cheapest step up in the whole table is Al Nahda Second at AED 500 a month, followed by Al Garhoud at AED 816 and Mirdif at AED 833. At that distance the studio stops being the obvious choice. The widest gaps are Sobha Hartland at AED 3,240 and Downtown Dubai at AED 3,143, where the studio really is the only cheap way in.
What a studio costs on top of the rent
The monthly figure is not the sum that leaves the account when you move in. Ejari registration is AED 220 per contract, the DEWA deposit for an apartment AED 2,000, agency commission 5 percent of the annual rent and the landlord deposit on an unfurnished unit another 5 percent. On the cheapest studio in the table, with an annual rent of AED 30,996, those two five percent items alone come to a four figure sum. We work the whole first month through line by line on first month cost of renting in Dubai. For the larger sizes in the same areas, see the Dubai rent index by area.
One comparison worth making before you commit to the smallest unit: in Al Warsan First a one bedroom flat has a median of AED 3,666 a month from 533 contracts. That is AED 1,083 more than the studio in the same area, and it is the cheapest full bedroom anywhere in this data set.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest studio rent in Dubai?
AED 2,583 a month in Al Warsan First, the median of 596 registered new contracts as of September 2026. Over a year that is AED 30,996.
Which areas have studios under AED 3,500 a month?
On registered contracts as of September 2026: Al Warsan First, Muhaisanah Fourth, Arabian Ranches III and Dubailand, Dubai Sports City, Madinat Al Mataar, Nadd Hessa and Me'Aisem First. All seven have a studio median at or below AED 3,500.
Why is Downtown Dubai in a studio ranking at all?
Because the register holds a studio group there, 90 contracts with a median of AED 6,023. It is the most expensive line in the table and it marks the top of the range rather than a bargain.
Which studio market is the best documented?
Sobha Hartland in MBR City, with 1,210 registered studio contracts, followed by Jumeirah Village Circle with 752 and Arjan with 719.
Are these prices negotiable?
The percentile columns answer that better than a yes or no. Where the 25th and 75th percentile sit close together the market is tight, where they are far apart the same area contains very different flats.
Source: Dubai Land Department, Ejari tenancy contract register, as of September 2026. New contracts only, renewals and bulk contracts excluded. The figures are quoted with attribution and are not a DXB Radar survey. Asking rents: our own reading of propertyfinder.ae listings, September 2026.
When a studio turns up below these levels we post it with the area and the date on our Telegram channel t.me/dxbradar.