UAE Free Zone Setup Cost: What You Are Actually Paying For

Two quotes for the same business can differ by a factor of three. Neither consultant is overcharging. They are quoting different things, and the differences sit in places the headline number does not show. We price free zone company formation in UAE against the actual facility and visa count, not against a package headline.

This article is not a price list. It explains what the price is made of, so you can compare two quotes and see which one is real.

The Five Things That Set Your Price

Your activity, and how many you want. Zones bundle activities into groups. Meydan’s standard licence covers up to three activity groups, and adding beyond that costs more. Two activities that sound similar can sit in different groups.

Your licence category. Commercial, professional, service and industrial licences are priced differently. RAKEZ names professional, service and other categories separately for exactly this reason.

Your facility. This is the biggest lever. A flexi-desk or shared workstation is the cheapest option and is included in many packages. A serviced office, a standard office, a warehouse and a land plot each step the price up substantially. RAKEZ runs facilities from coworking desks through to industrial space, and the licence sits on top of whichever you choose.

Your visa allocation. Visas are not free and they are not unlimited. Your facility usually determines how many you can hold. Each visa carries its own chain of costs: entry permit, status change, medical test and Emirates ID.

Your zone and emirate. Northern Emirates zones price below central Dubai zones for a comparable setup. Location on a licence still means something to some clients. That premium is a real trade-off, not a rip-off.

What Is Usually Inside a Package

Most published free zone packages include the trade licence and the certificate of incorporation. They also cover the memorandum or articles, a flexi-desk or shared workstation, and the immigration establishment card. Meydan includes a flexi-desk as standard, so no separate office lease is needed to register there. Check the facility rules of any zone you shortlist, because they differ.

That set gets you a registered company. It does not get you a working one.

What Sits Outside the Package

Five lines are commonly quoted separately, and they are where a cheap package becomes a normal-priced one.

Visa costs, per person. Often quoted as an add-on rather than included. Meydan prices investor and employee visas separately from the licence, alongside the establishment card and medical and Emirates ID assistance.

Bank account opening. No zone can guarantee this. Banks run their own checks, and most business accounts carry a minimum balance requirement that ties up working capital.

Document attestation and translation. Foreign shareholder documents often need attestation in the home country, then legal translation. Both are charged externally and neither is in the package.

Accounting and audit. Some zones need audited financial statements at renewal. Bookkeeping is needed anyway once corporate tax filing applies.

Corporate tax and VAT compliance. Registration is free. The work behind the filings is not, and it recurs annually.

Year Two Is the Number That Matters

Setup is a one-off. Renewal is forever.

Year two brings the licence fee, the facility fee, the establishment card and each visa round again. It usually costs less than year one because incorporation items do not repeat, but it does not fall away. Some zones offer multi-year licences at a discount, and Meydan advertises up to 15% off for longer terms.

Compare two quotes on year one plus year two together. A package that wins on setup and loses on renewal is a worse deal over three years. Most companies hold their licence far longer than that. Our guide on UAE free zone licence renewal covers what that cycle involves.

Where Cheap Packages Get Expensive

Four patterns repeat.

A visa allocation that runs out. The cheapest facility often carries the smallest visa quota. Hiring a third person means upgrading the facility mid-year, at a price nobody quoted you.

Activities added later. Every added activity means amending the licence and paying for it. Listing everything at the start is cheaper than being accurate later.

A zone your bank is slow with. Some zone and bank combinations move faster than others. Weeks of delay opening an account has a cost that never appears on a quote.

An address that undersells you. For a business invoicing large corporate clients, the licence address is part of the pitch. That matters for some businesses and not at all for others, and only you can judge which you are.

If you are shopping purely on price, our guide to the cheapest business licence in Dubai covers that angle directly.

How to Compare Two Quotes Properly

Put both quotes on one sheet, with a row for each of these. Licence category. Number of activity groups. Facility type. Visa allocation included. Visa cost per person. Establishment card. Renewal fee for year two. And what is explicitly excluded.

Most of the mystery disappears at that point. Quotes that looked wildly different usually turn out to price different facilities and different visa counts. The one that looked expensive is often the one that included what you actually need.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to set up a free zone company in Dubai?

There is no single figure. Your licence category and number of activity groups set the total. So do your facility, your visa count and the zone itself. Fix those and the number stops moving.

What is the cheapest free zone in the UAE?

Northern Emirates zones generally price below central Dubai zones for a comparable setup. The cheapest headline is not always the cheapest over three years, because visa allocation and renewal terms differ.

What are the hidden costs of a free zone company?

Visas priced per person, bank account minimum balances, and document attestation and translation. Also accounting and audit where the zone needs it, and tax compliance work. None of these are hidden by design, but they sit outside most package headlines.

Is a free zone cheaper than mainland?

Usually in year one, because a flexi-desk replaces a leased office and there is no chamber registration or market fee. The comparison changes if you later need mainland market access or a larger visa quota.

This article explains what drives free zone setup pricing. Package contents and fees change by zone, activity and facility. Treat any quoted figure as a starting point, not a price. Ask our team for a priced comparison, or begin your free zone company registration in Dubai with us.