UAE Free Zone Cost Comparison 2026
Last updated: 10 June 2026 · all-in prices verified in writing before filing.
The cheapest all-in UAE free-zone company licence in 2026 is Ajman NuVentures Centre at AED 4,888 (zero visas), or about AED 10,800 with one residence visa. The median zero-visa all-in cost across the nine UAE free zones is AED 6,000, ranging to AED 35,484 (DMCC).
How to compare UAE free zone prices properly: always compare the all-in, first-year cost at your visa count — licence, registration, service fees and the residence-visa block together — never the advertised “from” price. This comparison (the Formenzo Cost Index) does exactly that for all 9 UAE free zones: at 0–1 visas Ajman NuVentures (AED 4,888) is the cheapest; at 1 visa in Dubai, IFZA (AED 17,615 all-in) beats Meydan (AED 24,450). Every figure is confirmed in writing and locked 14 days. See the cheapest-zone leaderboard → · Crypto/Web3 licence → · Free-zone corporate tax →
The 10 cheapest UAE free zones in 2026 (ranked by verified all-in price)
1. Ajman NuVentures Centre — AED 4,888 (cheapest overall)
Emirate: Ajman · zero-visa all-in AED 4,888 · one-visa all-in ~AED 10,800. Best for trading, e-commerce and consultancy on the tightest budget. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
2. Fujairah Creative City — AED 4,900
Emirate: Fujairah · zero-visa all-in AED 4,900. Best for media, creative and freelance work; a flexi-desk is included. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
3. SRTIP — AED 5,500
Emirate: Sharjah · zero-visa all-in AED 5,500. Best for tech, research and innovation, a short drive from Dubai. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
4. SPC Free Zone — AED 5,750
Emirate: Sharjah · zero-visa all-in AED 5,750. Best for services, with one of the widest activity lists in the UAE. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
5. RAKEZ — AED 6,000
Emirate: Ras Al Khaimah · zero-visa all-in AED 6,000. Best for trading, industrial and warehousing businesses. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
6. Masdar City — AED 7,000
Emirate: Abu Dhabi · zero-visa all-in AED 7,000. Best for tech, clean energy and innovation in Abu Dhabi. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
7. Meydan Free Zone — AED 12,500
Emirate: Dubai · zero-visa all-in AED 12,500. The cheapest Dubai address, with a strong banking reputation. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
8. IFZA — AED 12,900
Emirate: Dubai · zero-visa all-in AED 12,900. Dubai's most popular flexible zone; fast setup and a strong all-rounder. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
9. DMCC — AED 35,484
Emirate: Dubai · a premium bundled package (licence + workspace + visa allowance); the most expensive of the nine. Includes the government/authority licence + registration + Formenzo’s setup fee, with no hidden charges.
How much does it cost to set up a company in a UAE free zone?
Setting up a UAE free-zone company costs between AED 4,888 and AED 35,484 all-in for 2026, depending on the zone and visa count. The cheapest licence is Ajman NuVentures Centre at AED 4,888 with zero visas; a typical Dubai setup runs AED 12,500–17,615; DMCC, the premium tier in JLT, is AED 35,484. The total is built from four components: the authority licence fee, registration, the service fee, and a residence-visa block of roughly AED 4,700–11,950 per visa depending on the zone (entry permit, medical and Emirates ID included). Quotes advertised as “from AED 5,750” usually exclude visas and registration — always ask for the all-in figure in writing. The table below lists every zone’s verified all-in price.
UAE free zone vs mainland: which is cheaper?
A UAE free-zone licence is far cheaper to start — from AED 4,888 all-in, versus roughly AED 15,000+ for a mainland trade licence. Both give 100% foreign ownership for most activities and 0% personal income tax; mainland lets you trade directly in the local UAE market, while a free zone is the lower-cost choice for online, consulting and trading businesses.
| Factor | Free zone | Mainland |
|---|---|---|
| Starting cost | from AED 4,888 | ~AED 15,000+ |
| Foreign ownership | 100% | 100% (most activities) |
| Local UAE market | via a distributor/agent | direct |
| Office | flexi-desk often included | physical office often required |
Cheapest free zone in each emirate
Cheapest free zone in Dubai: Meydan Free Zone at AED 12,500 all-in (zero visas), followed by IFZA at AED 12,900.
Cheapest free zone in Sharjah: SRTIP at AED 5,500 all-in, followed by SPC Free Zone at AED 5,750.
Cheapest free zone in Abu Dhabi: Masdar City at AED 7,000 all-in.
Cheapest free zone in Ajman: Ajman NuVentures Centre at AED 4,888 — the cheapest in the UAE overall.
Cheapest UAE free zone by business activity
- E-commerce / online: Ajman NuVentures (AED 4,888) — low-cost with a broad activity list.
- Trading / general trading: RAKEZ (AED 6,000) or Ajman — strong for import and re-export.
- Consulting / services: Ajman (AED 4,888) or SPC Free Zone (AED 5,750).
- Media / creative / freelance: Fujairah Creative City (AED 4,900), flexi-desk included.
- Tech / software: SRTIP (AED 5,500) or Masdar City (AED 7,000).
📊 See the full analysis — our UAE Free Zone Cost Report 2026 (original data) → · Best UAE free zone for tech startups (under AED 15k) →
Published 3 June 2026 · Updated 10 June 2026 · By Formenzo (FZE)
Setting up a company in a UAE free zone starts from AED 4,888 all-in in 2026, with a median starting price of about AED 6,000. The cheapest is Ajman NuVentures Centre at AED 4,888; eight of the nine zones fall between AED 4,888 and AED 12,900, while DMCC — Dubai's flagship zone — is the premium exception, with bundled packages from AED 35,484. This index ranks all 9 UAE free zones Formenzo tracks by their all-in starting price — every figure includes the government/authority fee, the service fee and the residence-visa block.
UAE free zones ranked by all-in price (2026)
| Rank | Free zone | Emirate | From (all-in) | Packages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |  Ajman NuVentures Centre · cheapest | Ajman | AED 4,888 | 77 |
| #2 |  Fujairah Creative City | Fujairah | AED 4,900 | 5 |
| #3 |  SRTIP | Sharjah | AED 5,500 | 60 |
| #4 |  SPC Free Zone | Sharjah | AED 5,750 | 2 |
| #5 |  RAKEZ | Ras Al Khaimah | AED 6,000 | — |
| #6 |  Masdar City Free Zone | Abu Dhabi | AED 7,000 | 4 |
| #7 |  Meydan Free Zone | Dubai | AED 12,500 | 2 |
| #8 | IFZA | Dubai | AED 12,900 | 10 |
| #9 |  DMCC · premium · bundled | Dubai | AED 35,484 | 7 |
Key UAE free-zone cost statistics (2026)
Open data (CC-BY 4.0): JSON · CSV · 60 exact price answers · embeddable widget
Across the nine UAE free zones Formenzo tracks, the all-in cost of a zero-visa company licence ranges from AED 4,888 (Ajman NuVentures Centre, the cheapest) to AED 35,484 (DMCC, the premium exception), with a median of AED 6,000. Six of the nine zones cost AED 7,000 or less for a zero-visa licence, and eight of the nine are under AED 13,000. Adding a first residence visa raises the all-in cost by an average of about AED 7,900 — from AED 4,715 (IFZA) to AED 11,950 (Meydan) — because the first visa includes the one-time immigration establishment card and e-channel registration. The cheapest all-in one-visa UAE free-zone company is AED 10,800 (Ajman). Typical time to licence is 3–8 working days.
Computed from real all-in catalogue prices across all 9 zones (2026). Zero-visa range AED 4,888–35,484; one-visa range AED 10,800–24,450 (DMCC priced as bundled packages). Every figure confirmed in writing before filing.
What is the cheapest UAE free zone in 2026?
The cheapest UAE free-zone company licence is Ajman NuVentures Centre at AED 4,888 all-in, followed by Fujairah Creative City (AED 4,900) and SRTIP in Sharjah (AED 5,500). All three are well below the 9-zone median of about AED 6,000. These starting prices are for a licence with no residence visa; adding visas increases the total (see the visa breakdown below).
How much does it cost to set up a company in Dubai?
Among Dubai free zones, the cheapest all-in starting price is Meydan Free Zone at AED 12,500, followed by IFZA (AED 12,900); DMCC, Dubai's flagship zone, is the premium option with bundled packages from AED 35,484. Dubai free zones generally start higher than the northern emirates and Sharjah — a Dubai licence typically begins around AED 12,500+, versus under AED 6,000 in Ajman, Fujairah or Sharjah.
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Cheapest free zone in each emirate
| Emirate | Cheapest free zone | From (all-in) |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | Meydan Free Zone | AED 12,500 |
| Abu Dhabi | Masdar City Free Zone | AED 7,000 |
| Sharjah | SRTIP | AED 5,500 |
| Ajman | Ajman NuVentures Centre | AED 4,888 |
| Ras Al Khaimah | RAKEZ | AED 6,000 |
| Fujairah | Fujairah Creative City | AED 4,900 |
How much do residence visas add to the cost?
Free-zone pricing rises with the number of residence visas you include. Below is the all-in cost by visa count for three zones that publish clear visa tiers. Several zones (DMCC, Meydan) use flexible-visa packages priced individually rather than fixed tiers.
| Free zone | 0 visas | 1 visa | 2 visas | 3 visas |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ajman NuVentures Centre | AED 4,888 | AED 10,800 | AED 16,200 | AED 20,700 |
| SRTIP | AED 5,500 | AED 12,500 | AED 17,795 | AED 26,035 |
| IFZA | AED 12,900 | AED 17,615 | AED 24,080 | AED 30,545 |
Why are Dubai free zones more expensive?
Dubai free zones (Meydan, IFZA, DMCC) command a premium for the Dubai address, prestige and ecosystem — Meydan and IFZA start around AED 12,500–12,900, while DMCC's bundled packages (licence + workspace + visa allowance) start at AED 35,484. Free zones in Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah offer the same 100% foreign ownership and 0% personal income tax, with licences starting under AED 6,000, which is why cost-sensitive founders often choose them.
What is a UAE free zone?
A UAE free zone is a designated economic area where a foreign founder can register a company with 100% foreign ownership, 0% personal income tax and full profit repatriation — with no local Emirati partner or sponsor required. There are more than 40 free zones across the UAE’s seven emirates, each run by its own authority with its own licence types, permitted activities and pricing. A free-zone company can hold contracts, invoice clients worldwide, open a UAE corporate bank account and sponsor residence visas for its owners and staff. Free zones differ from a mainland licence, which is regulated by each emirate’s Department of Economic Development. Under the UAE’s 2023 corporate tax, qualifying free-zone businesses can still benefit from a 0% rate on qualifying income. Formenzo compares nine of the most popular free zones for company formation, with all-in prices starting from AED 4,888.
What does an “all-in” free-zone price include?
An all-in price is the real one-time cost to get your licence and be operational — not a teaser “from” figure that leaves out fees you cannot avoid. It covers three things: the government or free-zone authority licence and registration fee; the company-setup service (trade-name reservation, application filing and a bank-account introduction); and your residence-visa block — the entry permit, medical test, Emirates ID and visa stamping for each visa you take. Many providers advertise only the bare licence and add visas, establishment cards and processing later, so two quotes for the same zone can differ by thousands of dirhams. On Formenzo every figure is genuinely all-in for the visa count you choose, confirmed in writing and locked for 14 days before any filing, with annual renewal quoted separately and shared upfront.
How we calculate these prices
Every figure is an all-in indicative price: the government/free-zone authority fee, Formenzo's service fee, and the residence-visa block where included. Prices are sourced from current free-zone packages and verified before publication; we confirm your exact figure in writing and lock it for 14 days before any filing. Figures are in UAE dirham (AED) and were last verified in June 2026. UAE free zones offer 100% foreign ownership and 0% personal income tax.
Sources & verification
Every figure is cross-checked against each free zone’s official authority and UAE government sources before we confirm it in writing. Primary sources include the UAE Government Portal and the UAE Ministry of Economy, plus the official free-zone authorities: DMCC, IFZA, Meydan Free Zone, RAKEZ, SPC Free Zone, SRTIP, Masdar City Free Zone and Fujairah Creative City. Prices are indicative and updated as authorities revise their fees.
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Compare UAE free zones →FAQ
Q: What is the cheapest free zone in the UAE?
Ajman NuVentures Centre, from AED 4,888 all-in (2026).
Q: What is the cheapest free zone in Dubai?
Meydan Free Zone, from AED 12,500 all-in. DMCC, the flagship zone, is premium with bundled packages from AED 35,484.
Q: How long does it take to get a UAE free-zone licence?
Typically 3 to 8 working days, depending on the zone.
Q: Are these the final prices?
They are all-in indicative figures (authority fee + service fee + visa block). We confirm the exact price in writing and lock it for 14 days before filing.