What is the fair way to compare airport and billboard costs in Dubai?
Convert every quote to the same unit: cost per thousand impressions (CPM) on the same audience, using media cost only, with production and 5% VAT shown as separate lines on both sides (AdQuick CPMs also exclude them). Then check what each vendor counts as an impression, because airports and roads measure it differently. This article gives no city billboard prices, as we hold no verified source for them. It shows how to test the quotes you receive.
Why headline prices mislead
A single price for an airport site and a single price for a billboard describe different things. An airport quote may cover an exclusive static wrap, a share of a digital loop, or a programmatic buy priced per thousand impressions. For a roadside quote, ask whether you buy a face, a package or a share of time.
Comparing the two totals tells you nothing about value. Compare cost per thousand relevant impressions, and only after the vendors confirm what they count.
Published figures are third-party estimates
JCDecaux holds the exclusive advertising concession at Dubai International Airport (DXB), extended in 2018 for 10 years to 2028, and it does not publish a rate card. The only public price indications are aggregator estimates, which are not JCDecaux rates and exclude production and 5% VAT.
The AdQuick Dubai DOOH guide (4 May 2026) gives these ranges:
- Programmatic digital screens: AED 120-350 CPM
- Takeovers: AED 75,000-250,000 per placement, with a 4-week minimum
- Campaigns: AED 75,000-400,000
Treat them as a sanity check on a quote, not a budget. We have no comparable sourced figure for city billboards, so ask for written quotes instead of relying on rules of thumb.
The formula and a worked example
CPM is media cost divided by impressions, multiplied by 1,000. Use media cost only, and add production and VAT in a separate line so the comparison stays honest.
For illustration only, not a market rate: suppose Site A quotes AED 20,000 for 400,000 impressions, and Site B quotes AED 15,000 for 200,000 impressions.
- Site A: 20,000 / 400,000 x 1,000 = AED 50 CPM
- Site B: 15,000 / 200,000 x 1,000 = AED 75 CPM
Site B has the lower total and the higher CPM. The totals alone would have pointed the wrong way. The next step is to ask whether both vendors counted impressions the same way.
What to compare, side by side
The table below lists the criteria that matter. The airport column uses facts from JCDecaux and AdQuick sources; the street column lists questions, since answers depend on the site and vendor.
| Criterion | Dubai airport (DXB) | City billboard |
|---|---|---|
| Audience | Passengers by terminal: Terminal 3 serves Emirates, Terminal 1 other international airlines, Terminal 2 flydubai | Ask the vendor who passes the face and how they know |
| Dwell time | Ask the vendor for dwell time by site; DXB sites sit in different zones (T3 arrivals exit, baggage exit, premium check-in, lounge entrances) | Ask for approach speed and visible time |
| Measurement | Installation photographs, digital play reports and Atlas tracking | Ask which traffic source and method sit behind the count |
| Buying unit | Exclusive site, share of a digital loop, or per thousand impressions via JCDecaux Play+ | Ask whether you buy a face, a share of time or a package |
| Cost items | Media rate, production and installation, plus 5% VAT | Ask for media, production, installation and VAT separately |
| Minimum term | 4 weeks for takeovers in the AdQuick estimates | Ask for the minimum term in writing |
What counts as an impression
Vendors do not all define an impression the same way. A passenger who walks past a screen, a passenger who dwells in a queue beneath it, and a driver who passes a face at speed are different exposures. A count built on footfall or traffic volume is an opportunity to see, not proof that someone looked.
Ask each vendor three things: the data source, whether the count covers all passers-by or only your target audience, and whether the figure is per day, per week or per campaign.
Dwell time and audience mix
Dwell time can change how much creative a site can carry, so ask each vendor for it by site. Audience mix matters just as much. India is DXB's largest market, with 11.9 million passengers in 2025, while Terminal 3 reaches long-haul and transfer passengers on the Emirates network, including First and Business Class travellers. For a road site, ask who the audience is and how the vendor knows. Match the audience to your buyer, not to the biggest number.
Plan on current traffic, not last year's total
DXB handled a record 95.2 million passengers in 2025, up 3.1% (Dubai Media Office, 11 February 2026). Civil flights were then suspended on 28 February 2026 during the regional conflict and reopened in stages from 2 March. The first half of 2026 totalled 31.5 million passengers, down 31.3% (Dubai Media Office, 26 August 2026).
Recovery is under way but incomplete. By September, capacity had returned to 84% of the pre-conflict level and passengers to 78%, and some European and Asian carriers are still restoring flights in October and November 2026. Dubai Airports' CEO told Reuters on 10 September 2026 that about 70 million passengers are expected in 2026, and 100 million by the end of 2027.
Those are forecasts, not guarantees. Ask the airport vendor for impressions based on current monthly traffic, and ask the street vendor whether their traffic counts pre-date the disruption. An old count inflates the audience and understates the true CPM on either side.
What to ask each vendor for
Request the same items in writing from both:
- The full quote with media, production, installation and 5% VAT as separate lines
- The impression figure, its source, its date and its counting method
- The exact dates, minimum term and share of display (exclusive or shared)
- The proof of delivery you will receive, and when
- The approval steps for your artwork
Then rebuild each quote as CPM on one audience definition and decide. For the DXB side of that comparison, see the Dubai airport advertising page.
Last reviewed 23 October 2026. If you want your DXB quote laid out line by line so it can sit next to a billboard quote, contact AirportBranding.
