Emaar vs DAMAC: product, locations and payment plans (2026)

Emaar and DAMAC are the two developers Dubai buyers compare most often. Both register thousands of sales with the Dubai Land Department each year, both build whole communities as well as towers, and both sell off-plan on staged payment plans.

This guide sets them side by side on the things that decide a purchase: where each one builds, what kind of homes it sells, how its payment plans are shaped and what each company publishes about itself. It does not pick a winner. The right choice depends on the community, the home and the schedule you can pay.

The project tables come from our project data and change as we add projects. For the wider market, see our guide to the top developers in Dubai.

Emaar builds mainly inside its own large master plans and runs malls and hotels alongside. DAMAC builds its own communities in Dubailand plus branded towers in central and waterfront districts.

Full profiles and every project are on our Emaar Properties and DAMAC Properties pages.

Emaar is a Dubai developer incorporated in 1997 and listed on the Dubai Financial Market, best known for Burj Khalifa, The Dubai Mall and Downtown Dubai. DAMAC Properties was formed in 2002 as the property development arm of the DAMAC Group of Companies.

Emaar. The group develops homes, owns and runs shopping malls, and operates hotels and leisure assets. Its UAE build-to-sell business is Emaar Development. The company states that it has delivered more than 130,900 residential units in Dubai and other markets since 2002. Outside the UAE it lists projects in Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon.

DAMAC. DAMAC Properties set up after freehold ownership opened to expatriate buyers in Dubai. It builds master communities and residential towers. The company announced its first master development, the 42 million sq ft DAMAC Hills, in 2013, and its second, the 55 million sq ft DAMAC Hills 2, in 2014. It reports more than 50,000 units delivered.

Both register large volumes of sales with the Dubai Land Department every month. Emaar's sales are larger by value; DAMAC's are slightly more numerous.

Emaar's results for the nine months to 30 September 2026, published on 5 November, report group property sales of AED 34.7 billion, of which AED 26.2 billion came from Emaar Development in the UAE. Emaar launched 14 projects in those nine months and handed over more than 4,800 homes in the UAE. Our news story on the results has the detail.

Sales volume tells you how active a developer is. It does not tell you how a particular building will be finished or run, so treat it as background, not as a reason to buy.

Emaar's off-plan projects sit inside about ten of its own master communities, from the golf communities of Emaar South to the waterfront at Dubai Creek Harbour. Half of DAMAC's projects are in its own communities in Dubailand; most of the rest are towers in Business Bay and on the water.

Emaar's communities

• Emaar South, 15 projects. Golf-course apartments and townhouses near Al Maktoum International Airport. See living in Emaar South.
• Dubai Creek Harbour, 13 projects. Waterfront apartment towers beside Ras Al Khor. See living in Dubai Creek Harbour.
• Dubai Hills Estate, 12 projects. Apartments around the park and golf course, plus villas at Park Gate. See living in Dubai Hills Estate.
• The Valley, 9 projects. Townhouses and villas on the Dubai to Al Ain Road. See living in The Valley.
• Rashid Yachts & Marina, 7 projects. Apartments around the marina at Port Rashid.
• Grand Polo Club & Resort, 6 projects. Villas and townhouses around polo fields in Dubai Investments Park. See living in Grand Polo Club.
• The Heights Country Club, 4 projects. Villas in a country-club setting.
• Emaar Beachfront at Dubai Harbour, 3 projects. Beachfront towers. See living in Dubai Harbour.
• The Oasis, 2 projects, and Expo Living in Dubai South, 2 projects.

DAMAC's communities

• DAMAC Lagoons, 6 projects. Townhouses, villas and apartments around lagoons in Dubailand. See our DAMAC Lagoons guide.
• DAMAC Hills and DAMAC Hills 2, 3 projects each. The company's first two master developments, also in Dubailand.
• DAMAC Islands, 3 projects. Island-themed townhouses and villas. See our DAMAC Islands guide.
• DAMAC Riverside, 2 projects, in Dubai Investments Park.
• Towers. Six projects in Business Bay, DAMAC Bay at Dubai Harbour, two towers in Dubai Maritime City and two on Sheikh Zayed Road.

Where they overlap

The two meet in only a few places. Both have towers at Dubai Harbour: Emaar Beachfront and DAMAC Bay. Both have a project in Business Bay. Both have a project on Al Marjan Island in Ras Al Khaimah: Address Residences Al Marjan Island and Shoreline by DAMAC. Outside these, choosing between them usually means choosing between two different parts of the city.

Both sell the full range from apartments to villas. Emaar's list leans to apartments and townhouses inside its master plans; DAMAC's leans to apartments and branded towers, with townhouses and villas in its Dubailand communities.

Apartments. 50 of Emaar's 78 projects include apartments, most of them in Dubai Creek Harbour, Dubai Hills Estate, Emaar South and Rashid Yachts & Marina. 21 of DAMAC's 30 include apartments, from Dubailand mid-rise buildings to towers in Business Bay and Dubai Harbour.

Townhouses and villas. 37 Emaar projects include townhouses and 18 include villas, in Emaar South, The Valley, Grand Polo Club & Resort, The Heights Country Club and The Oasis. For DAMAC the figures are nine and five, in DAMAC Lagoons, DAMAC Islands, DAMAC Hills 2 and DAMAC Riverside. Our townhouses and villas pages list every developer.

Branded residences. 12 Emaar projects carry a brand, all from Emaar's own hotel businesses: Address, Vida and Palace. Examples include Address Residences Zabeel and Palace Residences Hillside. 10 DAMAC projects carry a partner brand, such as Couture by Cavalli and Canal Heights de GRISOGONO. Our branded residences guide explains what a brand does and does not add.

Commercial. DAMAC's list includes offices at Piazza Roma in DAMAC Lagoons and units in DAMAC District. We do not list an Emaar commercial project. See our commercial page for offices and shops from all developers.

Starting prices depend far more on the community and the home type than on the developer. On 7 November 2026, the lowest published starting price in our Emaar files was about AED 1.26 million, at Golf Fields in Emaar South. In our DAMAC files it was about AED 680,000, at Sorrento in DAMAC Lagoons.

At the top, both reach well into eight figures: villas at The Oasis for Emaar and branded towers in Business Bay for DAMAC. The tables below show today's starting price for every open project, so use them rather than these dated figures. To search by budget across all developers, start from projects under AED 1 million or AED 1 million to 2 million.

Most Emaar schedules ask for 80% of the price before handover and 20% at handover. In our files, 26 of the 28 Emaar projects with a published schedule follow that shape, and 25 of them split it the same way: 10% on booking, 70% during construction and 20% on handover.

The usual shape: 10/70/20. The 70% during construction is normally split into several instalments tied to dates or to construction progress. Grove Ridge, Creek Bay and Salva all use it. The 80/20 plans page lists every project with this split.

Dated instalments. Vindera at The Valley shows the date-based version: a 10% down payment, then seven further 10% instalments roughly every six months, with the last three tied to 40%, 60% and 80% construction, and 20% at 100% construction.

Two 90/10 plans. Avarra by Palace in Business Bay is 10% on booking, 80% during construction and 10% on handover. Farm Grove 2 is 90% during construction and 10% on handover.

What this means for you. With 80% due before the keys, you need most of the price in cash over the build. A mortgage can only cover the handover balance. If you need a lighter load during construction, compare the schedules in the table below before you choose a unit.

DAMAC schedules vary more from project to project. Of the 14 DAMAC projects with a published schedule in our files, six pay 60% before handover and 40% at handover, three pay 70/30, two pay 75/25, two pay 50/50 and one pays 20/80.

• 60/40. The most common shape, used at Canal Crown, DAMAC Bay by Cavalli, Chelsea Residences and DAMAC District. Valencia at DAMAC Lagoons splits it as 5% on booking, 55% during construction and 40% on handover. See the 60/40 plans page.
• 70/30. Safa Gate and Lagoon Views are 20% on booking, 50% during construction and 30% on handover. DAMAC Riverside Views is 10%, 60% and 30%. See the 70/30 plans page.
• 75/25. DAMAC Islands 2 and Maui ask for 75% during construction and 25% on handover.
• 50/50. Sorrento and DAMAC Bay 2 by Cavalli split the price evenly. See the 50/50 plans page.
• 20/80. Harbour Lights in Dubai Maritime City asks for 20% during construction and 80% on handover.

What this means for you. A plan with 40% or more at handover lightens the load during construction. It also means a large payment on one date, which you fund from savings, a sale or a mortgage. Banks cap lending on off-plan property, so read our off-plan mortgage guide before you rely on one, and try the numbers in the mortgage calculator.

On the same price, an 80/20 plan asks for more before handover and a 60/40 plan leaves more for handover. On an AED 2,000,000 home, an 80/20 plan means AED 1,600,000 before the keys and AED 400,000 at handover; a 60/40 plan means AED 1,200,000 before and AED 800,000 at handover.

Neither style is cheaper; the price is the same. The difference is when the money leaves your account. Run your own figures in the payment plan calculator, and read our guide to off-plan payment plans in the UAE for how each structure works.

These are the Emaar projects we list, newest first. Ask us for today's prices and availability on any of them.

These are the DAMAC projects we list, newest first.

Start with the community, the home and the schedule, then check the project itself. The developer's name narrows the list but does not make the decision.

1. Pick the place first. Most of the time the two developers are not selling in the same area. Decide whether you want, for example, a golf community near the new airport, a waterfront tower or a lagoon community in Dubailand.
2. Match the home type. Townhouse buyers have more choice in Emaar communities on our list; buyers looking for a branded tower in Business Bay will find more from DAMAC.
3. Line up the cash. Write down what each schedule asks for before handover and at handover, and check you can pay both.
4. Compare like with like. Use the price per square foot, the floor, the view, the handover date and the service charge estimate, not only the starting price.
5. Check the project. Confirm the project's registration, escrow account and construction progress in the Dubai REST app. The steps are in how to check an off-plan project and developer.
6. Add the costs. Budget for the 4% Dubai Land Department fee and other fees; see the true cost of buying off-plan.

If you are buying for a Golden Visa, the test is the property's value, not the developer. Our Golden Visa guide explains how a registered off-plan purchase is counted.

• Master developer. The company that plans a whole community, its roads, parks and shared facilities. Emaar and DAMAC are both master developers of their own communities.
• Payment plan shape. The share of the price paid before handover against the share paid at handover, written as 80/20, 60/40 and so on.
• Branded residence. A home in a building that carries a hotel or design brand, often with services from that brand.
• Oqood. The Dubai Land Department's interim register for off-plan sales. Registration is when the 4% fee is paid.
• Escrow account. The project bank account that buyers' payments go into, released to the developer as construction progresses.

Compare the full lists on the Emaar and DAMAC pages, or see how both sit among Dubai's other developers in the top developers in Dubai. If you already have a shortlist, tell us the projects and your budget and we will send today's prices, plans and availability for each.