Quick Answer: Leasing a conventional office? Plan on 100 to 150 sq ft per head. Sales teams that spend most of the week out of the building can drop to 70 to 100. Serviced suites follow different logic because the pantry, reception and meeting rooms live outside your door, so at full capacity Jetset’s Business Bay suites work out to roughly 35 to 50 sq ft of desk space per person, and the shared floor covers the rest. If you’re hiring this year, add 10 to 20 per cent.
Why Square Footage Decides Your Budget
Rent follows floor area, not the view. Dubai prices office space per square foot, and Engel & Völkers Commercial puts the Business Bay average at about AED 151 per sq ft for the year to May 2026, so a bare 500 sq ft unit carries roughly AED 75,500 a year in base rent before a receptionist, DEWA, cleaning or fit-out are added.
Excess space is rent paid on empty floor, month after month. Skimp instead and each call needs a booked meeting room, which sends you looking for a bigger office inside a year.
Sq Ft per Person: The Benchmarks
The old rule of thumb gave every employee 250 sq ft. Today’s workspace guides land well under that, and the number moves with how people really work.
| Work style | Sq ft per person |
| Sales floor, call-heavy, high density | 70 to 100 |
| Standard open plan | 100 to 150 |
| Small private office | 90 to 150 |
| Consultants, lawyers, senior teams | 150 to 250 |
Half of the usual 100 sq ft rule is desk (50 sq ft). The other half pays for the pantry, meeting rooms and other shared areas. Hybrid teams shouldn’t size for total headcount at all. Size for a busy day instead: six of ten people in on a Tuesday means six seats, and the other four desks are rent you needn’t pay.
A Four-Step Way to Find Your Number
- Start by counting the seats you’ll need on your busiest day.
- Multiply that count by the sq ft that suits your work style.
- Leasing a bare unit? Add meeting space at 15 to 20 sq ft per seated person.
- Finish with a 10 to 20 per cent buffer for hires planned over the next twelve months.
Say a four-person marketing agency takes a bare unit. At 125 sq ft a head, 4 x 125 comes to 500 sq ft, and the growth buffer pushes that towards 550 or 600. Put the same agency in a serviced suite and the shared rooms already exist, so it only has to fit four desks.
What a Serviced Suite Does to the Maths
On a bare lease you buy the desks and the shared pantry, then fit the unit out and take on a receptionist, and the real cost ends up well beyond the rent. A serviced private office bundles furniture, fibre internet, reception, utilities and cleaning together under one fee.
Jetset Business Center costed both routes for one four-person team over twelve months. A conventional 500 sq ft Business Bay office comes to about AED 213,000 before VAT on its estimate, against about AED 65,000 for a Canal View suite, and the lease adds roughly AED 125,000 of year-one fit-out and furniture. The figures are indicative and meant for comparison, so ask for a current quote first. Still weighing districts? Read the guide to Business Bay vs Downtown vs DIFC office costs.
Office Space in Dubai at Jetset: Sizes by Team
Prime Tower’s whole 20th floor in Business Bay belongs to Jetset Business Center. Every suite arrives furnished and soundproofed, with your company name already on the door. All prices here are starting prices and exclude 5% VAT.
| Suite | Size | Team size | Monthly | Yearly |
| Inner Focus Office | 100 to 190 sq ft | 2 to 4 | AED 5,000 | AED 50,000 |
| Outer Canal View Suite | 150 to 220 sq ft | 3 to 5 | AED 6,500 | AED 65,000 |
| Premium Burj Khalifa Suite | 150 to 220 sq ft | 5 to 6 | AED 7,500 | AED 75,000 |
| Enterprise | Adjoining suites | Larger teams | Custom | Custom |
Read team size as the maximum. Four people fit a 190 sq ft suite, but with three the extra room will be obvious. Exact floor areas vary, which is why you should ask for the measurement of any suite that’s free. Rent covers the Ejari certificate, a receptionist, IT support and two complimentary meeting-room hours each day. The private offices page has the full detail, and every plan sits on the pricing page.
Check Your Visa Headcount Too
Don’t assume desks and visas line up, because they aren’t the same count. Jetset registers every suite on the Ejari at a standard 10 sqm, which generally supports around 4 to 5 employment visas, though the authorities have to approve it. Need more than that? Check with the company formation team before you sign, since a suite with room for all your desks can still fall short on visas.
Conclusion
Work from the busiest-day seat count, apply the sq ft that matches how your team works, and leave a buffer for growth. That number tells you whether a 100 sq ft inner suite or a 220 sq ft corner suite fits. Because a serviced office means sizing only the desk zone, the monthly bill stays predictable. Searching for office space in Dubai? Book a tour of the 20th floor at Prime Tower, or send your team size on WhatsApp and the team will match you to a suite.
Frequently Asked Questions
(1) How many sq ft per person do I need in a private office in Dubai?
In a standard layout, expect 100 to 150 sq ft per person. Serviced offices alter the sum: the building provides the shared rooms, so your suite only has to hold the desk zone.
(2) How big an office do I need for five people?
Five people on a bare lease usually need 500 to 750 sq ft. A serviced suite designed for five or six, at 150 to 220 sq ft, covers it, with Jetset’s Premium Burj Khalifa Suite as one example.
(3) How much does an office for rent in Business Bay cost for a small team?
Engel & Völkers puts bare Business Bay space at about AED 151 per sq ft up to May 2026. Jetset’s serviced private offices start at AED 5,000 a month before VAT, and that fee already includes the furniture, internet, receptionist and utilities.
(4) Is 50 sq ft per person enough?
Fifty sq ft is the practical floor for a desk zone, and it only works if meeting rooms, a pantry and reception are shared. A team that sits there all day with nothing shared will find it tight.
(5) Can I upgrade if my team grows?
Yes. Jetset doesn’t tie you to a long contract, and a renewal is the moment to resize; once you pass six people, adjoining suites are the route.
