Agency is charging for "UI design" separately from coding — what exactly am I paying for, and how do I compare quotes?

From a technical standpoint, UI delivery isn't a PDF; it's design tokens and a component library built in vector design tools. The developer pulls exact pixel padding, font weights, and hex codes straight from that file. Without it, the dev just wings the layout, and you end up with an inconsistent mess.

When comparing quotes, ask the agency these 4 questions: 1) How many unique screens will be designed? 2) Is an Arabic right-to-left (RTL) variant included? 3) How many revision rounds do we get? 4) Will the raw source design files be handed over at the end?

We went through the exact same thing for a wholesale medical portal in Dubai. We paid 22,000 AED for UI/UX and 40,000 AED for development. Design felt crazy expensive at first, but during prototyping we scrapped and reworked 8 entire screens. If we had only caught those issues during coding, we would've burned at least 15,000 AED fixing it.

Ask the 35,000 AED lump-sum agency this right away: "Will you provide a clickable prototype for our sign-off before writing any code?" If they say "you'll see it directly in the staging environment," drop that proposal immediately.

There are plenty of agencies out there charging 19,000 AED only to lightly reskin a $50 theme and pass it off as custom UI. Definitely ask to see their previous B2B portfolio and make them walk you through a case study built from scratch.

ui definitely needs to be billed separately, that's standard.. and but 19k aed is real money make sure u clarify if that's just figma mockups or if user testing is included too.

edit: typed from phone, sorry for typos.

In B2B wholesale food, will your clients mostly order from their phones or desktop accounting screens? Is the UI scoped as mobile-first, and is that distinction specified in the proposal?

Correct. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

Correct me if Im wrong.

Thanks, that was the answer I was looking for.

Thanks for writing this, thats the right way. Mistakes made on the UI user interface design side are usually reversible but expensive.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

I agree. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

You're right. The cheapest quote is usually the least thought-out one.

Just leaving this note, it might be useful.

Quick summary for newcomers: When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

If you have questions, write them; I'll answer as best I can.

Noted, thanks. When making a decision, first look at what data you have on hand.

If I were you, I'd go this route.

We need to take it step by step. The system lives on after delivery; maintenance is a separate line item.

Processes without records never improve, because you don't know what to fix. I mean of course it varies if your situation is different.

There's a common mistake people make when doing this. If scope grows, either time or budget must grow. There is no third option.

If it's your first time, start small; scaling comes later.

We need to make a distinction here. Everything goes well for the first three months; problems arise in the fourth.

I'm also curious if anyone does it differently.

this is exactly what we experienced. honestly the real issue isn't the number but what it's based on.

correct me if I'm wrong.