This list gives you 25 creators across six niches, including what it costs to book them, their engagement rate, and the one thing to check before you send a brief.
Written by
Influencer Expert
Reviewed by
Founder & Creative Director
9 min read · Last updated
The biggest influencers in Dubai and the UAE by followers:
Joelle Mardinian (21M)
Supercar Blondie (17.3M)
Karen Wazen (7.8M)
Azza Zarour (6M)
Mo Vlogs (5.7M)
However, followers don't measure attention. Supercar Blondie has fewer followers than Joelle Mardinian, but gets about twice the engagement per post.
Booking one of these top names costs AED 15,000 to 75,000 (USD 4,090 to 20,440) per reel!
| Creator | Followers | Booking tier |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion and beauty influencers | ||
| Joelle Mardinian | 21M | Mega |
| Karen Wazen | 7.8M | Mega |
| Huda Kattan | 5.6M | Mega |
| Taim Al Falasi | 4.5M | Mega |
| Mona Kattan | 3.8M | Mega |
| Hadia Ghaleb | 2.7M | Mega |
| Marie Momar | 105K | Mid-tier |
| Food bloggers | ||
| Hubert Sepidnam | 2.7M | Mega |
| Hamidreza Ebtekar | 919K | Macro |
| Mohamed Azharudeen | 831K | Macro |
| Arezoo Muslemi | 470K | Mid-tier |
| Where My Food At | 93K | Micro |
| Comedy creators | ||
| Sara Karrit | 2.8M | Mega |
| Denisa Alexe | 1.6M | Mega |
| Alaa Abu Harb | 2.3M | Mega |
| Elena El Sabbagh | 1.3M | Mega |
| Fitness influencers | ||
| Shaima Hormillosa | 2.9M | Mega |
| Coach Meddy | 2M | Mega |
| Mousa Esmaeilpour | 2.2M | Mega |
| Family influencers | ||
| Azza Zarour | 6M | Mega |
| Khalid Al Ameri | 3.2M | Mega |
| Virdah Javed Khan | 1M | Mega |
| Luxury and lifestyle influencers | ||
| Supercar Blondie | 17.3M | Mega |
| Mo Vlogs | 5.7M | Mega |
| Anas Bukhash | 4.3M | Mega |
Follower counts and engagement rates checked October 2026. Price bands from Yamammi's published rate card, never a creator's personal fee.
This is the deepest niche on the list, and the one with the most conflicts. Five of the seven creators own a beauty, fragrance, eyewear or swimwear business, so check yours isn't a rival before you brief.
TV host and beauty entrepreneur with the biggest personal account here. Founded Joelle Group: salons, clinics and Joelle Paris cosmetics.
Best for: Fashion, jewelry and lifestyle launches
Watch out: Owns salons, clinics and a cosmetics line.
Fashion, red carpets and family life, plus 5.2M on TikTok. Founded Karen Wazen Eyewear.
Best for: Fashion houses, accessories and premium retail
Watch out: Owns an eyewear brand.
Makeup, products and her Huda Hotline podcast. Her Huda Beauty brand account adds 56M more.
Best for: Non-competing brands that want launch-day attention
Watch out: Owns Huda Beauty. Check brand safety after her August 2025 TikTok backlash.
Emirati creator posting travel, food and lifestyle. Hosts The Taim Show.
Best for: Government-adjacent, banking and heritage briefs that ask for Emirati talent
Co-founded Huda Beauty, now runs KAYALI fragrance in 30 countries. Posts beauty, wellness and business.
Best for: Beauty retail and wellness brands
Watch out: Owns the fragrance brand KAYALI.
Egyptian creator and Forbes Middle East 30 Under 30. Travel, beauty and modest fashion.
Best for: Modest fashion and travel brands
Watch out: Owns a swimwear label and a PR agency.
The bookable pick in this section. Three of her reels can cost the same as one macro reel.
Best for: Brands that want fashion and beauty reach without a mega bill
Food creators get judged on one thing: did tables fill? These five run from the biggest food account in the city down to a micro page a new cafe can book this month.
Restaurant reviews from fine dining to street food, with address and phone in every post. Reviewed food in 40+ countries.
Best for: Restaurant groups, delivery apps and tourism boards
Dubai food finds. His NMA advertiser number is right in his bio.
Best for: Brands that want license status visible up front
Malayali food vlogger posting mostly in Malayalam. 489K more on YouTube.
Best for: Brands that want to reach Malayali families in the UAE
Watch out: Runs his own fragrance brand.
Known as Zuzu: food, travel and things to do in Dubai. Real reach at a mid-tier fee.
Best for: Restaurants that want reach at mid-tier rates
Run by Dubai couple Kimberly Dsouza and Denver Britto, from matcha cafes to fine dining. Frankly, a new cafe doesn't need 3 million people looking at its croissant.
Best for: New cafe and restaurant openings
Comedians sell your product inside their own sketch, so you give up script control. Brief them on the product and the no-go topics, then let them write. Never force your own script.
Lebanese Afrobeats choreographer who went viral dancing with her family. 1.8M more on YouTube.
Best for: Family-friendly brands that want upbeat, low-risk content
Viral for her character Ellena. Sketches, stand-up and live comedy nights in Dubai.
Best for: Venues and events that want a live feel
Watch out: Crowd work is unscripted. Agree no-go topics in writing.
Comedy skits with family and friends for Arab and Western viewers. Booked through the agency Reach.
Best for: Mass-market consumer brands
Comedy creator with TikTok MENA's Best Comedy Creator award, 2022 and 2025.
Best for: Brands that want award-winning comedy at the lower end of the mega band
Fitness creators earn their fee when they bring people into a class. Judge them on sign-ups, since likes don't pay a studio's rent.
Certified fitness coach posting fitness, fashion and lifestyle. Strong pull with the UAE's Filipino community.
Best for: Sportswear, supplements and brands targeting the UAE's Filipino community
Celebrity trainer posting football and fitness. Permit number in his bio.
Best for: Sportswear and supplement brands
Watch out: Sells his own coaching, so gyms and fitness apps may clash.
Training and fitness content. One of the five highest engagement rates on this list.
Best for: Nutrition, supplements and training gear
Family creators reach the person who buys for the whole household. Big accounts get attention, and small ones can surprise you. That makes them a natural fit for malls, schools, food and kids' brands.
Actress, singer and former MBC 3 presenter. Entertainment, fashion and family, plus 3.3M on YouTube.
Best for: Brands that want entertainment and family life in one creator
Emirati former CNN presenter posting in English on culture and comedy. 6.4M on YouTube, double his Instagram.
Best for: Government-adjacent and banking briefs that need an Emirati voice in English
Motherhood, home cooking and family life, cooked and filmed at home in Dubai.
Best for: Baby, grocery and home brands
The numbers in this niche are big. The brand-safety check should be just as thorough.
Cars, EVs and supercars. Even bigger off Instagram: 22.4M on YouTube, 20.4M on TikTok.
Best for: Car brands, EV launches and luxury tech
Watch out: Co-owns the SBX Cars auction platform.
Daily vlogs, supercars and Dubai lifestyle. 11.9M on YouTube, plus an Arabic account with 1.1M.
Best for: Premium brands, once the audience fit is confirmed
Watch out: Named in 2024 scam claims, which he denied. Check fit first.
Hosts ABtalks on YouTube and Netflix: long interviews on mental health and identity, in English and Arabic.
Best for: Brands that want depth over a product shot
Watch out: Co-owns the influencer agency Bukhash Brothers and the Buka clothing line.
Influencers in Dubai charge by follower tier, from AED 300 (USD 80) for a nano creator to AED 75,000 (USD 20,440) for the biggest names.
The tier sets the band. Where a creator lands inside it depends on niche, engagement and how fast you need them.
Here is the published rate card for one Instagram reel.
Tier | Followers | Cost per Instagram reel |
|---|---|---|
Nano | 1K to 10K | AED 300 to 1,500 (USD 80 to 410) |
Micro | 10K to 100K | AED 1,500 to 5,000 (USD 410 to 1,360) |
Mid-tier | 100K to 500K | AED 5,000 to 15,000 (USD 1,360 to 4,090) |
Macro | 500K to 1M | AED 15,000 to 45,000 (USD 4,090 to 12,260) |
Mega | 1M to 3M | AED 15,000 to 45,000 (USD 4,090 to 12,260) |
Mega | 3M+ | AED 25,000 to 75,000 (USD 6,810 to 20,440) |
Stories, carousels and TikTok videos price differently. The full breakdown is in our guide to influencer rates in the UAE. If micro fits your budget, start with micro influencers in Dubai.
Most brands shortlist by fame. Then the walls show up.
Engagement drops as follower counts climb. Creators' own 30-day Instagram Insights show nano accounts at 4.32%, micro at 2.55%, mid-tier at 1.56% and macro at 1.07%. Mega accounts sit around 0.4% (Yamammi 2026 Rate Report, creator Instagram Insights).
Twenty of the 25 names on this list are mega, so they get the fewest likes and comments per follower.
Booking speed depends on access. A big creator already on an agency's roster can confirm fast. A cold DM from a brand they've never heard of can sit unread while your launch date gets closer.
Across 350 creator contracts we signed from August 2025 to August 2026, about 80% were micro and nano. That's what influencer marketing campaigns look like once the brief meets the budget. Fame sells the pitch deck. Smaller creators sell the product.
Booking an influencer in Dubai takes five checks. Skip one and it costs you money.
Check the permit. Every paid post needs an NMA advertiser permit. If it's missing, the brand pays up to AED 50,000 (USD 13,620) per post. Look for the permit number in the creator's bio.
Check for conflicts. Nine creators on this list own brands in beauty, fragrance, eyewear, swimwear, cars or fitness. A rival brand will get a polite no, or worse, a yes.
Find the right door. Some creators are signed to agencies, so a cold DM won't get a reply. Others answer their own inbox within a day.
Agree usage rights before you pay. The reel price covers the post on the creator's page. Running it as an ad adds 30 to 50%.
Time it right. Rates rise 20 to 30% during Ramadan, and the best creators fill up first. Brief early.
Every creator on this list is based in Dubai and posted in the last 30 days. Follower counts and engagement rates were checked in October 2026. We left out banned, legally disputed and controversy-driven accounts, because a buyer's shortlist has no room for them.
The Emirati label comes from each creator's own bio and content. Price bands come from our published rate card, and tier engagement averages from our 2026 rate report. Nobody here paid to be listed, and inclusion doesn't mean a creator works with us.
You find influencers in Dubai by starting on Instagram, searching niche hashtags and checking who local brands already tag. Discovery databases help once you need filters, but they list thousands of accounts with no vetting. About 45% of UAE Instagram influencers show fake or bot engagement (HypeAuditor 2025). Ask for Insights screenshots before you pay.
The top 10 most popular UAE-based influencers on our list, by Instagram followers, start with Joelle Mardinian (21M), Supercar Blondie (17.3M) and Karen Wazen (7.8M). Azza Zarour (6M), Mo Vlogs (5.7M) and Huda Kattan (5.6M) follow, then Taim Al Falasi (4.5M), Anas Bukhash (4.3M), Mona Kattan (3.8M) and Khalid Al Ameri (3.2M).
Influencers in the UAE do need a license for paid posts. That means a trade license plus the NMA advertiser permit. The permit is free for the first 3 years, then AED 1,000 (USD 270) a year. Our NMA advertiser permit page explains how to get one.
An influencer with 50,000 followers in Dubai makes AED 1,500 to 5,000 per Instagram reel, the micro tier. Package deals cost less per post. Ten micro creators posting one reel each typically cost AED 10,000 to 25,000 (USD 2,720 to 6,810) in total. Usage rights for ads add 30 to 50%.
You can book a famous Dubai influencer directly, and many brands do. You'll handle the contract, usage rights and permit check yourself. Agencies charge 15 to 30% of total spend or a flat project fee. In return, they negotiate inside the tier band and catch the permit and conflict problems before they cost you.
Get a shortlist
Famous is easy to find. Bookable at the right price is our job. Send us your brief and we'll shortlist creators in your niche and budget within 48 hours.
