Free zone licence costs zone by zone: the 2026 market table
Every free zone sets its own fees and publishes entry-level packages — usually a zero-visa licence with a shared flexi-desk. The table below shows typical published from-prices for the most commonly chosen zones. These are the zones’ own headline figures for their cheapest package; adding visa quotas, a dedicated desk or an office raises the price at every zone.
| Free zone (emirate) | Typical published from-price (licence, zero-visa) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SHAMS — Sharjah Media City | from ~AED 5,750 / year | Among the cheapest published packages in the UAE; media and general trading activities |
| SRTIP — Sharjah Research & Tech Park | from ~AED 5,500 / year | Low-cost entry packages; tech and consultancy focus |
| Ajman Free Zone | from ~AED 6,000 / year | Budget packages, e-commerce friendly |
| RAKEZ — Ras Al Khaimah | from ~AED 6,000 / year | Wide activity list; industrial and commercial options |
| Fujairah Creative City | from ~AED 6,500 / year | Media and consultancy licences |
| SPC Free Zone — Sharjah | from ~AED 6,875 / year | Fast issuance; publishing and general activities |
| Dubai South | from ~AED 12,000 / year | Logistics and aviation cluster near Al Maktoum airport |
| Meydan Free Zone — Dubai | from ~AED 12,500 / year | Dubai address at a mid-range price; popular with consultants |
| IFZA — Dubai | from ~AED 12,900 / year | One of Dubai’s most-marketed zones; broker discounts common |
| JAFZA — Jebel Ali, Dubai | from ~AED 15,000+ / year | Trading and logistics heavyweight; port access |
| DMCC — Dubai | from ~AED 20,000+ / year | Premium commodities and trading hub; audit required |
| DAFZA — Dubai Airport Free Zone | from ~AED 20,000+ / year | Premium airport-side zone |
Market-typical published from-prices for entry-level (zero-visa) packages, last verified July 2026. Official fees are set by the respective free zone and change with promotions, activity type and visa quota — treat these as orientation, not quotes. For comparison: Sky Sigma’s flat all-in Year-1 estimate for a free zone company is AED 16,000, which includes the advisory fee, Corporate Tax registration support, a VAT assessment and your first 3 months of bookkeeping, with all zone and government fees passed through at cost.
The hidden first-year extras: budget roughly AED 12,000 beyond the licence
The from-price buys the licence. It rarely buys everything a working company needs in year one. The items below are what typically turns an AED 6,000 sticker into an AED 18,000 first year — each set and charged by the free zone or the relevant authority, not by your consultant:
- Establishment card / immigration file — commonly AED 2,000–6,000 depending on the zone, and required before any visa can be processed
- Residence visa per person — typically AED 3,500–6,500 all-in per visa (entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID, stamping)
- E-channel or immigration deposit — some zones require a registration fee or refundable deposit of AED 1,000–5,000
- Office upgrade — the zero-visa price usually means a shared flexi-desk; a dedicated desk or small office adds AED 5,000–15,000+
- Corporate bank account support — account opening itself is free, but expect document attestation and sometimes minimum-balance requirements
- Corporate Tax registration — mandatory for every UAE company including free zone entities; registering late carries a fixed AED 10,000 penalty
- Accounting from day one — free zone companies must keep proper books, and several zones (DMCC among them) require an annual audit
What "cheapest free zone in the UAE" actually gets you
The cheapest published licences in the UAE cluster in the northern emirates — SHAMS, SRTIP, Ajman and RAKEZ all advertise packages between roughly AED 5,500 and 6,500 a year. Those prices are real, and for a solo consultant with no visa needs and no Dubai-address requirement, they can be exactly right.
But cheapest-licence and cheapest-company are different questions. A zone that is AED 6,000 cheaper on the licence can cost that back in a single banking rejection, an activity list that does not match what you actually do, or a visa package priced above market. The honest comparison is total first-year cost for your specific activity, visa count and banking needs — which is why we quote that number, not the licence line.
How Sky Sigma prices setup — flat AED 16,000, everything on the table
Most setup quotes in the market are licence-only numbers with the extras discovered later. Sky Sigma publishes one number instead: a flat all-in Year-1 estimate of AED 16,000 for a free zone company and AED 21,000 for mainland. That covers our advisory fee, zone selection and application support, Corporate Tax registration support, a VAT assessment, and your first three months of bookkeeping — the compliance layer a company legally needs the moment it exists. Third-party costs such as visas and office products are passed through at cost, with every receipt visible to you.
Sky Sigma is an independent private accounting firm and FTA-Approved Tax Agent based in Dubai. We are not a government entity, a free zone authority, or a registrar, and we are not affiliated with the FTA, the Ministry of Finance or any UAE authority. We advise, prepare and support — your company is registered with the relevant free zone and the authorities in your name, with our team guiding every step.
Free zone or mainland? The 60-second version
A free zone company offers 100% foreign ownership, fast setup and lower entry cost, but restricts direct onshore UAE trade (you generally need a distributor or a branch to sell into the mainland market). A mainland licence costs more up front — our flat Year-1 estimate is AED 21,000 versus 16,000 — but trades anywhere in the UAE and can take government contracts. Tax-wise both must register for Corporate Tax; free zone entities can access the 0% rate only as a Qualifying Free Zone Person on qualifying income, which is a set of conditions, not an automatic holiday. If most of your customers are inside the UAE, look hard at mainland; if they are abroad or online, a free zone usually wins on cost.
Five checks before you sign with any zone or consultant
Whoever you set up with — including us — run these checks first:
- Get the total first-year number in writing: licence + establishment card + visas + office + compliance, not just the licence line
- Check the activity wording matches what you will actually invoice for — banks reject mismatches
- Ask which costs are the zone’s official fees (at cost, receipt visible) and which are the consultant’s margin
- Confirm Corporate Tax registration is handled inside the deadline — the late-registration penalty is a fixed AED 10,000
- Ask what happens in year two: renewal fees, audit requirements, and whether your books will be filing-ready