Which UAE Free Zone Is Cheapest? A Cost Comparison

The headline "licence from AED X" figure that free zones advertise is one component of four. To compare zones honestly, you need the full stack: the licence and registration fees (the advertised number, usually a zero-visa package); the visa block (establishment card, entry permit, medical, Emirates ID and residence visa fees for each visa, where cheap headline packages grow); the office component (most cheap packages include a shared flexi-desk or none); and renewal (the annual fee from year two).

Every free zone bundles these differently, which is why two "AED 5,000" packages can produce first-year totals thousands of dirhams apart. The only comparison that means anything is the all-in first-year cost at your visa count, next to the all-in renewal cost.

The number that sells the package is the first-year price. The number that determines what your company actually costs is the renewal. Free zones compete hardest on year one: launch promotions, discounted registration, bundled extras. Some carry the discount into renewal; others reset to a higher standard tariff from year two. A zone that costs AED 1,000 less in year one but AED 2,000 more at each renewal is the expensive option for any business that intends to exist in three years.

When you request a quote, ask for two figures in writing: the all-in first-year total for your visa count, and the all-in renewal total for the same configuration. Any zone or agent reluctant to put the renewal number in writing is telling you something. Keep the comparison honest across zones: identical visa count, identical office type, identical activity set.

Add one residence visa and the leaderboard reshuffles, because zones price the visa block very differently. In the northern emirates, the pattern holds: reported visa-inclusive packages at Ajman NuVentures start around AED 10,800, keeping it among the cheapest routes to a licence plus a residence visa in the UAE.

Inside Dubai, the reshuffle is more visible. On licence-only prices, Meydan (~AED 12,500) undercuts most of the Dubai field. But once one visa is included, 2026 comparisons consistently report IFZA coming in below Meydan, with a direct comparison putting the year-one saving at roughly AED 2,500 to 3,000 for a one-visa setup, because Meydan prices its visa and immigration block higher. Reported one-visa totals for Meydan vary widely between sources, which is itself the lesson: the cheapest Dubai zone without a visa and the cheapest Dubai zone with a visa are not necessarily the same zone.

The general rule: never extrapolate a visa-inclusive total from a licence-only price. Ask each shortlisted zone for the all-in figure at your exact visa count, and compare those.

If your requirement is "cheapest, but it must say Dubai", the shortlist is short: Meydan Free Zone (reported from ~AED 12,500 licence-only) and IFZA (reported from ~AED 10,900 to 12,900 depending on package, and often the cheaper Dubai option once a visa is included). That is roughly two to two and a half times the northern emirate entry prices.

What the premium buys is real but intangible: a Dubai trade licence and address, which can matter for client perception, certain banking relationships, and founders who will actually live in Dubai. What it does not buy is any difference in ownership rights, profit repatriation or the legal character of the company.

A useful test: write down who specifically needs to see "Dubai" on your licence. If the answer is nobody concretely, the northern emirates save you AED 6,000 to 8,000 in year one. If it is your banking partner or enterprise clients, the Dubai premium may be worth it. Either way, the provider who handles the setup matters as much as the zone: compare UAE company formation providers before you commit.

The figures in this comparison are package prices reported for 2026 by multiple independent UAE setup-cost comparisons and pricing indexes, cross-checked in August 2026. We present them as ranges with a tilde, because free zone pricing is promotional: packages vary by visa quota, activity and current offers, and zones reprice during the year. Where reported prices diverged materially between sources (as with UAQ FTZ), we say so rather than pick a number.

Before any decision, obtain the current all-in first-year and renewal price for your exact configuration, in writing, directly from the free zone or its official channel. This page will be reviewed and updated as reported pricing moves.

For the full picture of what a UAE company costs beyond the licence, see our UAE company formation cost breakdown, and to choose who handles the setup, compare the providers in our UAE company formation guide.