UAE
When an influencer is worth the money in the UAE and the GCC
The GCC now has about 263,000 influencers, and businesses are spending more on them each year. This article sets out what the evidence says about results, which sectors suit influencers, how to choose them, what they cost in the UAE and how to pay them.
This article is for a business owner or marketing lead who is thinking about using influencers for the first time, or using them differently. You may have a new product line to launch, or your marketing may be producing the same results as last year.
My view is that influencers have a place in a marketing plan. The price of an influencer only matters in relation to the demand and the sales they create, and many businesses agree a fee without any way of measuring either.
Why the GCC has 263,000 influencers
Qoruz, a company that tracks influencers and sells influencer marketing services, counted about 150,000 influencers in the GCC in 2023 and about 263,000 in 2025, counting the year up to its November report. It counts creators with more than 1,000 followers who earn money from their content. Lifestyle and travel was the largest group at about 58,000, followed by fashion and beauty at about 53,000 and food at about 32,000.
Influencers in the GCC
Creators with more than 1,000 followers who earn from their content, all six GCC countries
Show the figures as a table
| Year | Influencers |
|---|---|
| 2023 | about 150,000 |
| 2024 | about 220,000 |
| 2025, to November | about 263,000 |
Almost everyone here is on social media. DataReportal's 2026 figures show 12.5 million social media accounts in the UAE, more than the population of 11.4 million. The UAE has also invested in creators. Creators HQ opened in Dubai in January 2025, and by September 2026 more than 14,000 creators had applied and 5,000 had been approved. Since 31 January 2026 anyone in the UAE who publishes promotional content needs an Advertiser Permit from the UAE Media Council, with the permit number shown on their account.
Who can be reached on each platform in the UAE
Adults that adverts on each platform can reach, in millions, against a population of 11.4 million
Show the figures as a table
| Platform | Advertising reach |
|---|---|
| TikTok | 12.5 million |
| 9.70 million | |
| YouTube | 8.37 million |
| 8.05 million | |
| Snapchat | 5.13 million |
In my view the rise in numbers has reduced the value of the average influencer. Across the region there is now a great deal of quantity and much less quality. Only a handful of influencers in the Middle East are widely known, and in my opinion the best known of them are overpriced for what most businesses can measure in return.
What the evidence says about results
The best independent evidence comes from the UK. The IPA, the UK body for advertising agencies, studied 220 influencer campaigns from 144 brands in 28 markets in 2025. In the short term, influencer campaigns returned about the same as the average of all channels. Over the long term they did better than paid social by a wide margin.
Return on investment, influencers against other channels
IPA return index for UK campaigns, where 100 is the average of all channels in the short term
Show the figures as a table
| Measure | Index |
|---|---|
| Influencers, short term | 99 |
| All channels, short term | 100 |
| Influencers, long term | 151 |
| Paid social, long term | 77 |
The UK samples were small, 59 campaigns for the short term and 18 for the long term, and results varied widely. The IPA found the difference came from how well the influencer suited the brand and from the quality of the content. The amount spent made little difference.
A 2025 review in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science combined 135 experiments with more than 44,000 consumers. Influencers worked best for new products and for products people need to try to judge, such as skincare and restaurants. They drew more engagement than celebrities and did as well as celebrities on intention to buy. The authors found celebrities still did better for luxury and high-status products. These were experiments, so they measured intention to buy and did not measure sales.
What I learned from a footwear pop-up
Through my own experience, the hardest part of influencer marketing is linking the fee to sales. I ran a pop-up for a footwear business that specialised in unique trainers, one-off pairs and high-end luxury shoes. I used two influencers, one of them a specialist in trainers. They cost a lot of money, and I could not tie what they delivered to the sales the pop-up made.
That is the main lesson I would pass on. Agree how the result will be measured before you agree the fee, and pay part of the fee on that result.
When an influencer is the right choice
In my experience influencers are most useful when you need to reach the market quickly, when you want something to spread, or when you have an offer with limited time or limited stock. The Dubai chocolate bar is the best known recent example of something spreading. A food creator opened a bar from Fix Dessert Chocolatier on TikTok in December 2023, the video passed 122 million views, and Deliveroo named the bar its top-trending item worldwide in 2024.
They also suit places people visit, such as restaurants, cafes and attractions, and low to medium priced products where a customer is choosing between similar options. Research supports this. A 2025 review of 251 studies in 27 countries, also in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, found influencers had more effect on products people experience or use to express themselves, such as fashion and beauty, than on functional products.
| Fit | Sectors | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Strong | Restaurants and cafes, attractions and hotels, fashion, footwear, beauty, travel, food and other low to medium priced consumer products | The product is visual, the decision is quick, and creators already cover these subjects in large numbers |
| Strong with a specialist | Cars, watches, luxury goods | Use a creator known for that subject. For the most exclusive products, a well-known name can still carry more weight |
| Use with care | Property, education, high-value home goods | A creator can build awareness, and a sales team or adviser has to close the sale |
| Avoid | Medical and health care, insurance, banking and other financial products | Trust and regulation weigh heavily, claims often need approval, and the buyer needs detailed proof |
The evidence on medical products is a warning. A study of 982 Instagram and TikTok posts about medical screening tests, published in JAMA Network Open in 2025, found that 68% came from accounts with a financial interest and only 15% mentioned any harms.
How to choose the right influencer
Many businesses choose influencers by follower count, and I think this is the wrong place to start. Followers can be bought, and a large following says nothing about whether those people are relevant to you. HypeAuditor, which sells influencer analytics, found 36% of the influencers it studied in 2022 were affected by fake followers or engagement, rising to close to 60% for accounts with more than one million followers. One post that goes viral can also make an account look stronger than it is.
I would start with the subject. A creator known for cars, fashion or watches, whose followers come to them for that subject, is worth more to you than one who promotes products across many sectors. A 2024 review of 53 studies in Psychology and Marketing found that a creator's credibility, expertise and fit with the product did most to shape how people felt about what they promoted. In the UAE I would also look at UAE national creators who specialise in a subject. In my view, people of all nationalities here place a high level of trust in UAE nationals, so when one puts their name to a product in their subject, it carries more weight.
Look at how the creator treats products. Someone who tries and tests things, and says when a product is not good, is easier to believe than someone whose every post is positive. A 2026 study in the Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science found that influencers who tell their followers what not to buy are trusted more. Their followers were also less likely to assume their positive posts had been paid for.
The creator also becomes an extension of your brand. A 2025 review of 251 studies in 27 countries found that when an influencer and a brand fit well, people liked the brand more and were more likely to buy from it. Check that the creator's values, audience and behaviour match yours and those of your core customers.
Before you agree anything, read the creator's past posts and the comments under them, because what they do reflects on the brands they promote. In a YouGov survey of 18 markets in 2023, 40% of people in the UAE said they would lose trust in a brand, and be less likely to buy from it, if an influencer linked to it behaved badly or broke the law.
Then check the facts behind the profile. Ask for screenshots of their audience by country, age and gender, compare their engagement with their follower count, look at whether past brands came back to them, and check their Advertiser Permit number.
What influencers cost and how to pay them
There is no independent rate card for the UAE. The ranges below come from Tikit, a Dubai influencer agency, which does not publish how it calculated them. Treat them as a starting point for a conversation.
What an Instagram post costs in the UAE
Fee range per post by creator size, in AED
Show the figures as a table
| Creator size and followers | Fee per Instagram post |
|---|---|
| Nano, under 10,000 | AED 500 to 2,000 |
| Micro, 10,000 to 50,000 | AED 2,000 to 8,000 |
| Macro, 100,000 to 1 million | AED 10,000 to 50,000 |
| Mega, over 1 million | AED 50,000 to 80,000 and above |
Yamammi, another Dubai agency, prices a group of ten micro creators at AED 15,000 to 30,000.
With so many creators in the market, there is room to negotiate. I would pay a base fee for the creative work, plus a performance fee for each sale, booking or lead the creator brings through their own code or link. That pays the creator for the content they make and ties the rest of the money to the result.
On my estimate, a first test for a small or mid-sized business would cost AED 20,000 to 40,000. That covers eight to twelve micro creators, plus AED 5,000 to 10,000 to run the best posts as paid ads, before any agency fee.
How I would run and measure a first campaign
Write down one goal before you contact anyone, such as selling 300 units of a new range in six weeks or booking 150 tables for a new restaurant in its first month. Set the cost per sale you would accept, using what your other channels cost you now. Then check your reviews, because people who see a creator's post will look at them before they buy. Reviews carry more weight with UAE customers than what a brand says about itself, as I set out in my article on brand trust in the UAE.
Give each creator one message and one action for the viewer, and let them make the content in their own style. Brief them four to six weeks before the season or launch, and run the campaign over at least four weeks so you can compare creators. Agree that you can use the content in your own ads for three to six months, and run the best two or three posts as paid ads from the creator's account. Meta calls these partnership ads and TikTok calls them Spark Ads. In Meta's own analysis of 20 tests in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, campaigns where partnership ads made up at least 30% of the ads used had a 45% lower median cost for each extra purchase. That is Meta's data about its own product, so test it on your account.
Codes and links miss people who saw the post and bought later in store. To capture them, compare sales in a period or area where the campaign ran with one where it did not. Danone used this method for its HiPRO TikTok campaign and measured 7.1% higher sales in the areas exposed to it. Check your results again three and six months later, because the IPA found much of the return from influencers arrives over the long term. My guide to measuring your marketing sets out how to compare channels on cost per sale.
Where to start
- Write one goal for the campaign and the cost per sale you would accept.
- Shortlist 15 specialist creators in your subject, and ask each for their audience data and permit number.
- Read their past posts and comments, and drop anyone whose content or history does not fit your brand.
- Choose eight to twelve, agree a base fee plus a performance fee, and give each one a code and link.
- Run the best posts as paid ads, and compare the cost per sale with your other channels.
An influencer becomes an extension of your brand, so check what they post and how their audience responds before you agree a fee.
Five takeaways
- The GCC had about 263,000 influencers in 2025, up from about 150,000 in 2023, on Qoruz's count.
- Across 220 campaigns, the IPA found that results depended on how well the influencer suited the brand and on the quality of the content.
- Influencers suit new products, limited offers and places people visit, and I would avoid them for medical, insurance and banking products.
- Choose specialists by engagement, fit and history, and never by follower count alone.
- Pay a base fee plus a performance fee, and track each creator's sales through their own code and link.
Frequently asked questions
Five questions business owners ask about influencer marketing in the UAE.
How much does an influencer cost in Dubai?
Tikit, a Dubai agency, quotes about AED 500 to 2,000 for an Instagram post by a creator with under 10,000 followers, and AED 2,000 to 8,000 for one with 10,000 to 50,000. Creators with 100,000 to one million followers charge about AED 10,000 to 50,000 a post. These are agency estimates, and with so many creators in the market there is room to negotiate.
Do influencers need a licence in the UAE?
Yes. Since 31 January 2026 anyone who publishes promotional content on social media in the UAE needs an Advertiser Permit from the UAE Media Council, and the permit number must appear on their account. People promoting their own business from their own account are exempt, as are under-18s doing educational, sports, cultural or awareness content.
Are micro-influencers better than big influencers?
They usually get more engagement for each follower, and several specialists in one subject often reach more of the right people than one famous account. Research published in 2025 found that accounts with more than one million followers did more to raise intention to buy. Start with a group of micro creators and add a larger one once you know which message works.
Which industries suit influencer marketing?
Restaurants, attractions, fashion, footwear, beauty, travel and other low to medium priced consumer products suit it best. Cars, watches and luxury goods work with a specialist creator. I would avoid influencers for medical services, insurance and banking.
How should I pay an influencer?
Pay a base fee for the content, plus a performance fee for each sale, booking or lead tracked through the creator's own code or link. Agree how the result will be measured before you agree the fee. Compare the cost per sale with your other channels at the end of the campaign.
Sources. Qoruz figures via Business Wire, 7 November 2025. DataReportal, Digital 2026 United Arab Emirates, November 2025. Campaign Middle East, 15 January 2025. and Khaleej Times, 30 September 2026, for Creators HQ. Gulf News, 22 October 2025. and What's On, 21 January 2026, for the UAE Media Council Advertiser Permit. IPA, Influencer database, 8 October 2025. Barari, Eisend and Jain, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2025. Pan, Blut, Ghiassaleh and Lee, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2025. Nickel and others, JAMA Network Open, 27 February 2025, via the University of Sydney. HypeAuditor, State of Influencer Marketing 2023, via Mediaweek. Han and Balabanis, Psychology and Marketing, 2024. Penttinen, Ciuchita and Pedersen, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 2026, via Hanken School of Economics. YouGov, When influencers stumble, 9 June 2023, survey of 18 markets in March 2023. Smithsonian Magazine, 4 April 2025, for the Dubai chocolate bar. Tikit, Influencer marketing cost in UAE 2026, May 2026. Yamammi, Micro-influencers in Dubai, October 2026. Meta partnership ads white paper via PPC Land, 7 October 2026. Circana, HiPRO case study. Agency fee ranges and platform data come from companies that sell those services.
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