Why Is One Dubai Fit-Out Quote So Much Cheaper Than Another? How to Compare BOQs Before You Sign

You send the same brief to three fit-out companies in Dubai. One comes back at AED 650,000. Another at AED 780,000. A third comes back at AED 910,000.

It’s tempting to just go with the lowest number and move on. But that first quote isn’t necessarily the cheaper option; it might just be pricing less.

Fit-out quotations rarely price the same scope, even when they’re all responding to the same drawings. One contractor might include full MEP works while another marks half of it “by others.” One might spec branded joinery hardware; another leaves it as a provisional sum. On paper, these look like three competing offers. In reality, they’re three different projects wearing the same set of numbers. That is why comparing interior fit-out companies in Dubai on the headline price alone can be misleading. 

By the end of this article, you’ll know how to break down each quotation, spot what’s missing, and turn three very different-looking quotes into something you can actually compare line by line.

Why Can Two Dubai Fit-Out Quotes Be So Different?

Two contractors can look at the same drawings and still land AED 200,000 apart, and neither one has to be wrong. The gap usually comes down to what each contractor assumed, measured, specified, or quietly left out. Here’s where the differences actually come from.

Different scopes of work

Same drawing set, different read. One contractor treats ceiling rectification as part of the job; another assumes it’s already done. Neither is lying; they just interpreted the brief differently, and nobody flagged it before the quote went out.

Different quantities

One contractor measures 300 m² of flooring. Another comes back with 260 m² for the same space. That’s a real cost difference before materials or labour even enter the conversation, and it’s one of the easiest things to miss if you’re only comparing bottom-line totals.

Different material specifications

“Wood flooring” isn’t a specification; it’s a category. Two contractors can quote wildly different prices for “wood flooring” because one means an engineered oak veneer and the other means a laminate that looks similar in a sample book. To actually compare, you need brand, range, thickness, grade, finish, installation method, and warranty; all six, not just the one that sounds reassuring. This is also where value engineering in interior fit-out becomes useful: the aim should be to reduce cost intelligently without quietly downgrading the parts of the project that matter. 

MEP included vs. partially included

This is where a lot of the “hidden” cost sits. Check whether HVAC modifications, electrical, plumbing, lighting, data/ELV coordination, and fire alarm or firefighting interfaces are actually priced, or just assumed. MEP exclusions come up again and again as the reason one quote looks cheaper than it actually is.

Joinery quality and specification

Substrate, laminate or veneer, hardware, finish, manufacturing method, installation, and joinery pricing can swing hard depending on which of these a contractor has actually accounted for. A quote that just says “custom joinery” without breaking any of this down is telling you very little.

Approvals and third-party fees

Who’s actually responsible for authority or landlord approval fees: the contractor, or you? This is worth confirming upfront, because it’s a common place for costs to resurface later as “not included.”

Provisional sums and allowances

This one trips people up constantly: an allowance is not a fixed price. If a quote allocates AED 50,000 for a scope item, that’s a placeholder, not a guarantee. The final number could land well above or below it, and you won’t know which until the work’s actually priced.

Programme and site logistics

A restaurant or mall fit-out often comes with restricted access, night-only working hours, protection requirements, or a compressed timeline, and all of that adds cost. Two contractors pricing the same drawings can land on different numbers simply because one accounted for site logistics and the other didn’t.

What Should Be Included in a Fit-Out Quotation?

A fit-out quotation should clearly state the scope of work, quantities, material specifications, MEP services, joinery and furniture (where applicable), approval responsibilities, exclusions, programme, payment terms, warranty, and the variation procedure. It should also identify provisional sums, fees, taxes, and any client-supplied items, so you can actually compare competing quotations instead of guessing.

That’s the short answer. Here’s what it looks like in practice, broken into a checklist you can hold any quote against:

If a quote is missing more than two or three of these, that’s not necessarily a red flag on its own; but it does mean you’re not looking at a complete picture yet, and you should ask for one before comparing it against anything else.

What Is a BOQ in Interior Fit-Out?

A BOQ, or Bill of Quantities, is an itemised document that lists the work required for a fit-out, along with descriptions, units, quantities, and pricing for each line. It gives contractors a common basis for pricing, and gives you a way to compare scope and cost item by item, rather than just comparing two final totals.

What should a fit-out BOQ contain?

A proper BOQ breaks the project down into measurable, priceable line items rather than lumping everything into broad categories. Each item should carry a clear description, the unit of measurement (m², lm, number, lot), the quantity, and a rate. Materials should be specified by brand, grade, and finish; not just named generically. MEP works should be itemised system by system rather than bundled under one line. And joinery, furniture, and any provisional sums should each be broken out separately, so you can see exactly what’s fixed and what’s still an estimate.

The more granular the BOQ, the easier it is to compare it against a second contractor’s version, and the harder it is for either quote to hide scope inside a vague line item.

BOQ vs. lump-sum quotation

The difference comes down to how much you can actually see.

A lump-sum quote might just say:

AED 150,000 — Joinery

A proper BOQ breaks that same figure down into its parts:

Quantity × Specification × Unit Price × Installation Scope

The lump-sum version tells you what it costs. The BOQ tells you why. If a contractor can’t or won’t break a number down this way, that’s worth asking about before you sign anything.

How Do You Compare Two Fit-Out Contractors Fairly?

Comparing two quotes side by side isn’t enough; you need a method that gets past the totals and into what each number actually represents. Here’s how to do it properly, step by step.

Step 1: Confirm both contractors priced the same drawing revision

This sounds obvious, but it’s missed more often than you’d think. Drawings get revised mid-tender, and if one contractor priced Rev A while another priced Rev C, you’re not comparing quotes; you’re comparing two different projects. Check the revision number and date on every quote before you go any further. 

Step 2: Create a scope comparison matrix

Lay both quotes out side by side, package by package, so gaps are visible at a glance rather than buried in paragraphs of text:

Once it’s laid out like this, the “cheaper” quote often stops looking cheaper.

Step 3: Compare specifications, not just item names

“Joinery” on Contractor A’s quote and “joinery” on Contractor B’s quote can mean two completely different products. Match up the substrate, finish, hardware, and installation method for each line before assuming they’re equivalent. 

Step 4: Highlight every exclusion

Go through both quotes and mark every excluded item, no matter how small it looks. Exclusions are where costs quietly resurface later; usually once you’re already committed. 

Step 5: Identify allowances and provisional sums

Flag every line that’s an allowance rather than a fixed price. These are estimates, not commitments, and they need to be treated that way when you’re totalling up a realistic project cost. 

Step 6: Add omitted work back into the price

This is the step that actually changes the outcome. Once you know what’s excluded or under-allowed, add a realistic cost for that missing work back onto the original quote, and compare the adjusted totals, not the quoted ones. 

Quoted Price vs Evaluated Price

Contractor A quotes AED 720,000. But once you add back what’s missing- AED 95,000 in excluded and under-allowed items- the evaluated price comes to AED 815,000.

Contractor B quotes AED 790,000, which looks higher at first glance. But their quote only has around AED 10,000 in gaps, bringing their evaluated price to AED 800,000.

Once you adjust for what’s actually included, Contractor B is the cheaper option; even though their original number was higher. This is the comparison that matters, not the one on the cover page.

What Can Be Excluded From a Fit-Out Quote and What Must Be Clearly Declared?

Not every fit-out quote covers everything, and that’s not automatically a problem. Some items sit outside the contractor’s scope by default, and that’s normal. What matters is whether it’s stated clearly upfront or left for you to discover later.

Items that are commonly excluded include:

• Loose furniture
• IT equipment
• AV equipment
• Specialist kitchen equipment
• Landlord deposits
• Some authority fees
• Client-supplied fixtures
• Branding and signage
• Specialist equipment
• After-hours building charges

None of these being excluded should raise a red flag on its own; plenty of well-run projects have loose furniture or IT equipment procured separately, for good reason.

An exclusion isn’t automatically a problem. An undisclosed or misunderstood exclusion is.

That’s the distinction worth remembering going into any contractor conversation. Ask directly: what’s excluded, and who’s responsible for it? A contractor who answers that clearly is usually the one worth trusting with the rest of the project too.

How BOQs Differ for Offices, Retail Stores, and Restaurants 

An office BOQ checklist won’t cover what matters for a restaurant fit-out, and a retail checklist will miss half of what an office needs. Scope shifts by sector, and so should what you check.

Office fit-out quotations

For an office interior design and fit-out project, the quotation often lives or dies on details most people don’t think to ask about upfront. Check specifically for:

• Data/ELV
• Access control
• Acoustics
• Workstations
• Meeting-room systems
• HVAC zoning
• Lighting
• Fire/life-safety modifications

Retail fit-out quotations

A retail fit-out often comes with landlord and mall requirements that rarely show up in a standard BOQ template. Check:

• Shopfront
• Display joinery
• Signage
• Lighting
• Mall/landlord requirements
• Hoarding and site protection
• Access restrictions
• Storage
• Security coordination

Restaurant and café quotations

A restaurant fit-out in Dubai can carry more technical coordination risk than a typical office or retail project; kitchen and MEP interfaces alone can materially change the quotation. Check:

• Commercial kitchen interfaces
• Extraction and ventilation
• Drainage
• Plumbing
• Grease-management requirements
• Fire/life-safety systems
• Specialist lighting
• Acoustic treatment
• Banquette or custom seating
• Kitchen equipment responsibility

If a quote for a restaurant fit-out doesn’t mention extraction, grease management, or drainage by name, that’s usually a sign the contractor hasn’t priced the kitchen properly, and it’s worth asking about before anything else.

How Are Variations Charged During a Fit-Out?

Every fit-out project changes at least a little once work starts; a wall moves, a finish gets swapped, a landlord requirement shows up mid-build. What separates a smooth variation from a dispute is whether the process was agreed before it happened, not after.

The ideal workflow looks like this: a change is requested, the scope is identified, the price and time impact are issued, you approve it, a variation order is raised, and only then does work proceed. Skip any of those steps, and you’re left arguing about cost after the work’s already done, which is the worst possible time to negotiate.

Check these points before signing

Before you appoint a contractor, the variation procedure in the contract should already answer:

• Whether existing BOQ rates apply to new work
• How new items get priced if they’re not already in the BOQ
• How labour and material costs are calculated
• Whether the contractor applies a mark-up, and how much
• How additions and omissions are handled
• How VAT is treated on variations
• Who’s actually authorised to approve a variation
• What impact it has on the programme
• Whether written approval is required before work starts

Agree on this upfront. Chasing it down mid-project; once a wall’s already been moved or a finish already ordered is exactly when it costs you the most.

Red Flags in an Unusually Cheap Fit-Out Quote

A low number is only a good sign if it’s still a complete number. If a quote is missing the detail behind the price, that gap is usually where the real cost is hiding. Watch for:

• “As per site requirement” used instead of an actual specification
• Large lump sums with no quantity breakdown behind them
• MEP marked “by others” with no further clarification
• No material brands or grades listed anywhere
• Too many provisional sums, especially on major scope items
• No stated approvals responsibility
• No project programme included
• No variation procedure defined
• No warranty mentioned
• No exclusions section at all
• Unclear or unstated VAT treatment
• A large upfront payment paired with weak or vague milestone definitions

None of these single-handedly means a quote is bad. But if you’re seeing three or four of them together, the “cheap” quote probably isn’t cheap; it’s just incomplete, and the missing pieces will show up later as cost.

Before You Sign, Run This 10-Minute BOQ Check

By now you’ve gone through scope, specs, MEP, exclusions, and variations. Before you actually sign anything, run both quotes through this last check. It takes about ten minutes, and it’s the difference between comparing numbers and comparing projects.

Ask yourself:

1. Are both quotes based on the same drawings?
2. Do the quantities match?
3. Are the material specifications the same?
4. Is the MEP scope the same?
5. Is the joinery scope the same?
6. Is the furniture scope the same?
7. Is approval responsibility assigned the same way?
8. Are exclusions clearly listed?
9. Are variations defined?
10. Are programme, payment, and warranty terms comparable?

If you can’t answer yes to all ten, don’t default to the cheaper-looking quote. Go back to both contractors, ask for what’s missing, and get real answers before you decide.

If you’re planning an office, retail or F&B project, our commercial fit-out solutions in Dubai cover the project from planning and design through execution and handover.

Have two fit-out quotations you can’t compare? Send us the scope, and we’ll help you understand the differences.