Before comparing prices, fix six things: the number of visits, what one visit includes, how many units the price covers, the gas and parts policy, the after-hours rate, and whether VAT is included.
Why the same words carry different prices
Take the figures one Dubai price guide prints for AC maintenance on three of its own pages. Its services overview lists AED 150-4509 without saying what that buys, its maintenance guide puts a single split visit at AED 150-350+ a visit7, and its contract guide puts a year of cover for most apartments at AED 450-2,500 a year2.
Show the data as a table
| Item | Low | High | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview, unit not stated | 150 | 450 | Bestimate, AC services in Dubai guide |
| One visit, one split unit | 150 | 350+ | Bestimate, AC maintenance Dubai cost guide |
| One year, whole apartment | 450 | 2,500 | Bestimate, AC AMC Dubai price guide |
Sources: Bestimate, AC services in Dubai guide; Bestimate, AC maintenance Dubai cost guide; Bestimate, AC AMC Dubai price guide. Industry figures are published ranges, not quotes.
Each figure measures something different: a visit, a year, or something unstated. A quote in the low hundreds of dirhams could sit at the top of one bar or the bottom of another, and only the scope tells you which.
The six questions
- How many visits a year? Plans run 2-4 scheduled visits a year3. Two visits and four visits are different products.
- What is in one visit? A standard visit includes filter washing, drain flushing and general checks4. Ask whether a chemical coil clean is included once a year or quoted separately.
- How many units does the price cover? Get the indoor and outdoor unit count written on the quote.
- What is the gas and parts policy? Often excluded: gas recharges, spare parts, duct cleaning and after-hours call-outs5. Where a parts discount of 10-20% off parts6 is offered, ask what two or three typical parts cost.
- What does a breakdown outside working hours cost? Ask for the response time and the charge. Published premiums run AED 100-30011.
- Is VAT included? The UAE rate is 5%1. See VAT on AC maintenance.
Two claims to check carefully
"Free gas top-up every year." The price guide notes that AC refrigerant should not need routine refilling in a sealed system8. A plan built around yearly top-ups is a plan that expects the leak to stay, which the gas refill guide explains.
"Duct cleaning included." Ask what that means in practice. Published duct cleaning prices for an apartment run AED 350-1,20010 in one guide and AED 800-1,20012 from a Dubai provider, so a contract that adds a real duct clean at no extra cost should come with a written scope.
Put the quotes in one table
Write the six answers for each company into a table before you look at the prices again. Quotes that looked far apart may turn out to be close once unit count and visit count match, and a quote that still stands out is usually a different job.
Then check the total against published ranges for your home size with the AMC calculator. A quote well under the range is worth a question: find out which of the six answers is different.
Run an AC company yourself? The same six answers make a strong price page, and a website for your AC company is a good place to publish them.