Free zone company setup in Dubai and the UAE from $7,000
A free-zone company in Dubai or another emirate is 100% yours, costs from $7,000 with its license and is licensed in 1 to 5 working days: we pick the zone with you and register it.
Three ways to set up a company in the UAE
- Free zonefrom $7,000license in 1 to 5 working days
- Mainlandfrom $8,000license in 1 to 2 weeks
- Offshorefrom $3,000registered in 3 to 7 working days
What a Dubai free zone is and what a company there gives you
A district with its own authority
A free zone is a district with its own authority, which registers companies, issues their licenses and sponsors their visas under its own rules. Most are built around a trade: commodities in DMCC, finance in DIFC, air cargo in DAFZA.
100% foreign-owned, profit taken out in full
The foreign owner holds the whole company, with no local partner, and takes capital and profit out of the country in full. Goods brought into the zone carry no customs duty until they cross to the mainland.
Where the company sells, and its desk
The company sells abroad and to other free-zone companies, and reaches mainland customers through a distributor, a branch or a permit. Its office can be a flexi-desk, a shared desk rented from the zone, and its residence visas come with the license package.
Three forms a zone registers
Zones register three forms: the FZE with one shareholder, the FZCO with two or more, and the branch of a company that already exists.
Dubai has more than 20 free zones and the UAE more than 40.
Dubai free zones side by side: nine zones and their fees
The fee is what the zone itself charges for a license for one year.
| Free zone | License from, a year | Desk and visas | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meydan | AED 12,500 | Flexi-desk in the fee, up to 6 visas | Consultants and online businesses |
| IFZA free zone | about AED 12,500 | Flexi-desk, 3 activities on a license | Consulting, trading and holding companies |
| Dubai South Free Zone | AED 12,500 | Flexi-desk in the fee, 5 activity groups | Logistics and e-commerce by Al Maktoum airport |
| DWTC Free Zone | AED 12,000, AED 525 for a business address and AED 2,000 to register | Co-working address, up to 6 visas with a private office | Consultants, event companies, family offices |
| DAFZA | from AED 15,000 | A desk or an office at Dubai International | Air freight: electronics, pharma, aviation |
| JAFZA free zone | from AED 5,000, and AED 5,000 to register | A leased office, warehouse or plot at Jebel Ali port | Importers, re-exporters and manufacturers |
| DMCC free zone | AED 35,484 | Flexi-desk in the package, license in 7 to 14 working days | Commodity traders and crypto companies |
| DIFC | $12,000, and $8,000 to incorporate | An office in the financial centre | Funds, fintech and holding companies under common law |
| Dubai CommerCity | quoted by the zone | Offices, warehouses and fulfilment centres beside Dubai International | Online shops and cross-border sellers |
What clients write about Legarithm
4.8 on Google from 26 reviews.
We had long been looking for someone to register a company in the UAE and help with the account. With Legarithm it went as it should: a clear process, help with the documents, no red tape.
Everything is well coordinated and clear. Half an hour of the first meeting was more useful than two weeks of trying to work it out myself.
Free zones outside Dubai: thirteen zones by license fee
Sorted by the license fee, lowest first.
| Free zone | Emirate | License from, a year | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fujairah free zone | Fujairah | AED 3,999 at Creative City | Media and services at the lowest fee, and a port on the east coast |
| Ajman NuVentures | Ajman | AED 4,888 | E-commerce and services at a low fee |
| Ajman Media City | Ajman | AED 4,999 | Media, marketing and freelancers |
| Umm Al Quwain Free Zone | Umm Al Quwain | AED 5,500 | Consulting and holding with no visa |
| Ajman Free Zone | Ajman | AED 5,555 | Online shops and traders |
| SPC Free Zone | Sharjah | AED 5,750 | E-commerce and publishing, license in one day |
| Shams free zone | Sharjah | AED 5,760 | Freelancers, media and creative work, up to 50 visas |
| RAKEZ free zone | Ras Al Khaimah | AED 6,000 | Consultants, traders and manufacturers |
| Masdar City Free Zone | Abu Dhabi | AED 7,000 | Clean technology, AI and research |
| KEZAD | Abu Dhabi | AED 9,450 with a workstation | Industry, logistics and trade by Khalifa Port |
| Hamriyah | Sharjah | AED 11,000 | Heavy industry and trading at a deep-water port |
| ADGM | Abu Dhabi | $5,500, or $1,900 for a holding SPV | Funds, family offices and holding companies |
| SAIF Zone | Sharjah | quoted by the zone | Air cargo, trading and warehouses beside Sharjah airport |
Which free zone suits which business
Meydan or IFZA: a Dubai address, a flexi-desk in place of an office and a license from AED 12,500 a year. For a lower fee, Creative City in Fujairah at AED 3,999 a year, or the two Ajman zones under AED 5,000.
Dubai South or DAFZA when the goods fly: each stands beside an airport. Ajman Free Zone and SPC license e-commerce from AED 5,555 and AED 5,750. The three routes for an online shop are compared in e-commerce license in Dubai.
RAKEZ, SAIF Zone in Sharjah or Hamriyah: warehouses and plots inside the zone, with an airport or a port next door.
DIFC in Dubai or ADGM in Abu Dhabi: financial centres under common law, each with its own courts and its own regulator. A family office that needs no financial regulator takes DWTC Free Zone, where the license costs AED 24,000.
DMCC in Jumeirah Lakes Towers: AED 31,000 for a package of its Crypto, Gaming or AI centre, AED 35,484 for other activities. An exchange, a broker or a custodian of virtual assets adds VARA's license.
What a free-zone company costs with us
Our prices are before VAT. The zone bills its own yearly fee again at each renewal.
Free-zone company with its license
from $7,000Get a quote- Residence visa, each
- from AED 3,000
- Accounting with the tax returns, a month
- from $350
- Permit to trade in mainland Dubai, DET's fee for six months
- AED 5,000
- Establishment card and Emirates ID
- in your quote
- Bank account application
- in your quote
What a Dubai free zone visa costs, and the desk it needs
from AED 3,000A residence visa with us
A residence visa through a free-zone company costs from AED 3,000 with us, in Dubai and in the other emirates. Every license package sets how many visas the company can hold. A package with none, such as RAKEZ at AED 6,000 or Shams at AED 5,760, licenses a company whose owner lives elsewhere.
from AED 2,000The establishment card and the medical test
The first visa needs two more lines: the establishment card, which is the company's immigration file, and the medical test with the Emirates ID. Meydan prices them from AED 2,000 and from AED 2,250. The same two lines at the other Dubai zones are in Dubai free zone license and visa fees, zone by zone.
2 yearsOne trip, and the visa is issued
You come to the UAE once, for the test and the fingerprints, and the visa is issued for 2 years. How the owner, the staff and the family apply is on residence visas in the UAE.
Up to 6Visas on one Meydan license
A RAKEZ package with one visa costs AED 12,000, and one Meydan license takes up to 6 visas. The first visas come with the flexi-desk. More people need more space: a private office, or a warehouse for goods, which RAKEZ and Hamriyah lease inside the zone.
Business setup in a Dubai free zone, step by step
- day 11
Zone and activities
We match the zone and the activities on the license to what you sell, where your buyers are and the visas you want.
- day 1 or 22
Name and application
We reserve the trade name and fill in the zone's application. You upload passports in your account.
- 1 to 2 days3
Signature and fees
You sign the memorandum of association and the desk lease online, and we pay the zone's fees.
- 1 to 5 working days4
License
The zone issues the license and the certificate of incorporation. We register the company with the Federal Tax Authority.
- after the license5
Visas and bank account
The establishment card and the visas take 1 to 3 weeks. A bank opens the account in 2 to 4 weeks from a complete application. From the first month we keep the books and file the returns: accounting services in Dubai and the UAE.
Corporate tax in a free zone: who keeps the 0% rate
0% and 9%Ordinary tax or a qualifying free zone person
A free-zone company pays UAE corporate tax like any company: 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above. A Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP) is taxed another way: 0% on its qualifying income and 9% on everything else. Qualifying income comes from sales to other free-zone companies or from a listed activity such as manufacturing, logistics or holding shares.
6 conditionsThe law's conditions for the 0% rate
- Adequate substance in the zone: staff, premises and spending that match the business
- Qualifying income
- Other income within 5% of revenue or AED 5 million, whichever is lower
- Audited financial statements every year
- Arm's-length prices with related parties, with the transfer-pricing file
- No election of the standard rates by the company
5 yearsAt ordinary rates after one missed condition
A company that misses one condition is taxed at the ordinary rates for 5 years: that year and the next four. We register each company for tax within 3 months of incorporation and file its return. The rules in full are in corporate tax in the UAE.
Documents for a free-zone company
Documents
Each owner and manager
- Passport copy
- Photo on a white background
- Proof of address from the last 3 months
- UAE visa or entry stamp, when you are in the country
From the company
- Three trade names, in order of preference
- The activities for the license
- A short business plan, for the zones that ask for one
- A declaration of the beneficial owners (UBO)
You send them in your account. We check each document the day it arrives and tell you what is missing.
See the platformQuestions about free zone company setup in Dubai and the UAE
Which Dubai free zone is best?
For a consultancy or an agency, Meydan or IFZA: a Dubai address and a flexi-desk from AED 12,500 a year. Goods that fly go through Dubai South or DAFZA, each beside an airport, and commodity or crypto companies take DMCC. Our guide to the best free zone in the UAE for each kind of business weighs 22 zones by fee, first visa and time to the license.
What are the requirements to qualify as a free zone person in the UAE?
Adequate substance in the zone, qualifying income, other income within 5% of revenue or AED 5 million, audited accounts, arm's-length dealings with related parties and no election of the standard rates. A Qualifying Free Zone Person then pays 0% on its qualifying income. Our guide Qualifying Free Zone Person: the six conditions takes them one by one.
Can a free-zone company do business on the mainland?
Yes, through a mainland distributor or a branch. In Dubai a free-zone company with a Dubai Unified License also takes a mainland operating permit from DET for AED 5,000 for six months.
How long does free-zone company setup take?
1 to 5 working days for the license at zones such as Meydan, RAKEZ and Shams, and 7 to 14 working days at DMCC. Visas follow in 1 to 3 weeks and the bank account in 2 to 4. The license types and the yearly renewal: trade license in Dubai.
FZE or FZCO: what is the difference?
The number of owners. An FZE has one shareholder and an FZCO two or more, and a foreign company can register a branch in the zone under its own name.
Can a free-zone company open a bank account in the UAE?
Yes. We prepare the application with the license, the memorandum and proof of what the business does. The banks and their minimum balances are on business bank account in the UAE.
Get a quote for your UAE company
Book a 30-minute call about your company
Your consultant Vladyslav Babaiev Opens in a new tab Business Setup Specialist
- We email you the Google Meet link.
- 30 minutes, free, no obligation to order.
- After the call we email you the checklist of documents for your country.
We reply by the end of the next working day with the cost and the dates for your case. The first call is free and confidential.
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Videos about a company in the UAE
The film shows your first months with Legarithm in 74 seconds. The short videos open on YouTube.
1:43After registration: bank, taxes, free zone Opens on YouTube
2:44Structure, banking and tax residency Opens on YouTube
1:16When to set up a UAE company Opens on YouTubeUpdated 19 October 2026. Reviewed by Vladyslav Drapii, Founder.
