UAE Free Zone Fees 2026: DMCC, JAFZA, ADGM, RAKEZ

Every UAE free zone publishes its fees in a different shape, so the headline numbers cannot be compared directly. DMCC lists separate lines, and its standard licence is AED 20,285 a year. JAFZA prices the licence by type, from AED 5,000. ADGM charges US$5,800 to register and US$5,300 a year for a non-financial company. Meydan's published licence starts at AED 12,500 a year with a flexi-desk and three activity groups. RAKEZ publishes packages of AED 6,000 and AED 14,000; the AED 6,000 page is written for UAE-based entrepreneurs. The IFZA page cited here lists the types of fee without amounts and refers readers to its Professional Partners.

This guide puts the authorities' own figures in one table, says what each number includes, and says what none of them include. Visas, the workspace lease, VAT and the bank account sit on top of the licence in every zone, and they decide the real first-year bill more than the licence fee does.

Last verified 2 October 2026 on each authority's own pages, listed under Sources, which carry no common date. The table shows the date or version the source itself states. Free zones change their schedules without notice, and DMCC says so on its own page.

Choosing a UAE free zone? We read the fee pages against your activity, visas and office needs, and give you one comparable first-year number. UAE free zone company → · Book a paid 30-minute consultation (USD 99, credited to the project)

What each free zone publishes for a company licence

Free zone	Published figure	What it covers	Source and date
DMCC	Application AED 1,035 (once), registration AED 9,020 (once), articles of association AED 2,020 (once), licence AED 20,285 (annual), establishment card AED 1,825 (annual)	Standard pricing; the licence fee changes with extra activities	DMCC Schedule of Charges, no version date shown
DMCC	Basic Biz Package AED 35,484; Jump Start Package with standard flexi-desk AED 43,780	One-year packages, one time, inclusive of VAT and Knowledge and Innovation Dirhams	DMCC Schedule of Charges
JAFZA	Licence AED 5,000 (trading, industrial, service), AED 5,500 (national industries), AED 15,000 (general trading, logistics), AED 30,000 (holding); AED 8,500 (trading, industrial) or AED 9,000 (national industries) for two groups; a third row at AED 12,000 (industrial) and AED 12,500 (national industries) with no group or activity count shown	Licence fee by type. One group includes 7 activities and two groups 12, up to 17 in either case, at AED 500 for each activity above the included number. A leased facility is required for every company	JAFZA new company formation guide
ADGM	US$5,800 initial and US$5,300 annual renewal for non-financial activities (Category B); US$2,800 and US$2,300 for retail (Category C); US$17,000 and US$16,500 for financial (Category A)	Name reservation, incorporation application, commercial licence, business activity and data protection fees	ADGM Registration Authority, Overview of Fees, January 2025
RAKEZ	Biz Starter AED 6,000; business set-up package AED 14,000	Biz Starter: coworking membership, up to 50 shareholders and 10 activities; the page is written for UAE-based entrepreneurs and lists no residence visa. The AED 14,000 package includes a trade licence and a UAE residence visa, and RAKEZ states that non-residents can start businesses in the UAE	RAKEZ package pages, no date shown
Meydan	AED 12,500 per year; Fawri instant licence from AED 15,000	Trade licence, up to three business activity groups and a flexi-desk	Meydan offer page; cost breakdown updated 30 June 2026
IFZA	no amounts on the page cited	The page lists licence issuance, registration, annual licence and visa fees without figures and refers readers to an IFZA Professional Partner	IFZA, Company Formation in Dubai: Everything You Need to Know, page modified 23 April 2026

Time and capital as the authorities state them

Free zone	Time to a licence	Share capital
DMCC	2 to 3 weeks, fully digital (DMCC article of 12 February 2026)	The same article says the standard for a credible Dubai free zone company is typically AED 50,000, refundable or usable for business expenses after setup. The schedule lists a share capital deposit service fee of AED 2,120
JAFZA	the guide states no time for a new company	the guide states no minimum
ADGM	the Registration Authority's expected timeframe is 10 business days once all requirements are met	the FAQ page cited gives no capital figure
RAKEZ	the Biz Starter page promises a business in 24 hours	no capital figure on the pages
Meydan	24 hours for a standard application, under 60 minutes for an eligible Fawri application	no paid-up capital required
IFZA	not stated on the page cited	the page states no paid-up share capital requirement

What the numbers leave out

Visas. Meydan's AED 12,500 licence excludes the residence visa, the medical test and Emirates ID. DMCC's schedule lists a new employment visa from outside the country at AED 2,972.5 for two years and AED 2,237 for one year. Meydan lists an employment visa at AED 3,500 and an investor or partner visa at about AED 4,000. RAKEZ's AED 14,000 package includes one residence visa and adds up to three more at AED 4,000 each.
Workspace. DMCC's article says a physical office is a prerequisite for setting up a business in Dubai. Its flexi-desk is AED 16,000 to 19,000 at the start of the tenancy, and a serviced desk AED 22,000 to 35,000. Meydan includes a flexi-desk in the licence. ADGM requires every legal entity to keep a registered office address in ADGM and to pay the lease registration fee. JAFZA states that every company formation requires a leased facility, and the guide quotes no price.
Added activities. JAFZA charges AED 500 for each activity above the included number, which is 7 on one group and 12 on two groups, up to 17. Meydan charges AED 1,000 for each activity beyond three, and DMCC says its licence fee may vary with additional activities.
VAT. DMCC's packages include VAT and the AED 20 Knowledge and Innovation Dirham fee, and its standard lines are stated before them.
Bank account, accounting, Corporate Tax registration. None of the fee pages price these as part of a licence. Every free zone company registers for UAE Corporate Tax, including one that expects the 0% rate as a Qualifying Free Zone Person. For a company formed on or after 1 March 2024 the application is due within three months of formation (FTA Decision No. 3 of 2024), and the FTA has stated that a late application carries an administrative penalty of AED 10,000. The bank is the longest step in practice: see UAE business bank account.

A first licence year on the published lines

The arithmetic below adds only lines from the table. Workspace, visas, VAT and any capital deposit come on top where the zone requires them, so each sum covers the published lines only. The inclusions differ, so the rows do not rank the zones.

Free zone	Published lines added up	Not in the figure
DMCC, standard pricing	AED 34,185 (application, registration, articles, licence, establishment card); AED 50,185 to 53,185 with the flexi-desk at AED 16,000 to 19,000	visas, VAT, the share capital deposit (typically AED 50,000, refundable). DMCC's own article puts the first year at AED 35,000 to 50,000 for licence, registration and a flexi-desk
DMCC, Basic Biz Package	AED 35,484	workspace beyond the package, visas
JAFZA, service licence	AED 5,000	the leased facility every company needs (no price in the guide), visas, registration items
ADGM, non-financial (Category B)	US$5,800, about AED 21,300 at the schedule's rate of 3.6725	registered office lease
RAKEZ, Biz Starter	AED 6,000 for UAE-based entrepreneurs, with coworking membership and no visa listed	visas, VAT registration and other services
RAKEZ, set-up package	AED 14,000 with one residence visa	additional visas, activities beyond the package
Meydan, standard licence	AED 12,500 with a flexi-desk	the residence visa, medical test and Emirates ID, establishment card, extra activities

Choosing between them on the facts above

A financial or regulated activity. ADGM's schedule splits fees by category and requires an application to the FSRA first for Category A financial entities. The free zone vs mainland guide covers regulated financial activities and the Corporate Tax conditions.
Goods, a warehouse or a logistics operation. JAFZA prices the licence by type, with logistics and general trading at AED 15,000, and requires a facility.
A digital business with one or two people. Meydan's licence includes a flexi-desk, RAKEZ's packages include coworking access, and DMCC's Jump Start Package includes a standard flexi-desk. DMCC also lists Crypto Centre, Gaming Centre and AI Centre packages at AED 31,000, on terms and conditions.
A zone with no published tariff. The IFZA page cited carries no amounts and refers readers to a Professional Partner, so ask for a quote itemised against the lines in the table.

Free zone status does not remove UAE Corporate Tax: registration is required for every free zone company, and the 0% rate applies only to Qualifying Income of a Qualifying Free Zone Person that meets its conditions. The conditions are in the free zone vs mainland guide and in our Corporate Tax memo.

What INNOVA does and what it costs

INNOVA reads the free zone's fee page against the activity, the visa count and the office, builds one first-year budget with the government lines apart from ours, and prepares the licence and bank files. In the UAE the work runs together with licensed local specialists under one plan. The fee is fixed once we have scoped the task, and the published "from" prices are on INNOVA pricing. Free zone fees, visa fees, workspace leases and bank charges are separate lines in the quote.

UAE free zone company · UAE corporate banking · Free zone vs mainland

Download: the fee table

The table above as a printable file, with the source and verification date for each row: uae-free-zone-fees-2026.csv. Last verified 2 October 2026.

FAQ

How much does a DMCC licence cost?

DMCC's Schedule of Charges lists standard pricing of AED 1,035 for the application, AED 9,020 for registration, AED 2,020 for the articles of association, AED 20,285 a year for the licence and AED 1,825 a year for the establishment card. Its one-year Basic Biz Package is AED 35,484 inclusive of VAT and the Knowledge and Innovation Dirham fees.

How much does an ADGM company licence cost?

For a non-financial company, ADGM's Registration Authority lists US$5,800 in total at registration and US$5,300 at each annual renewal. A retail company pays US$2,800 and US$2,300. Every legal entity also keeps a registered office in ADGM and pays the lease registration fee.

Which UAE free zone is the cheapest?

The lowest published licence figure is JAFZA's AED 5,000 for a trading, industrial or service licence, and RAKEZ's Biz Starter at AED 6,000. These figures cover different things: JAFZA requires a leased facility on top, and RAKEZ's AED 6,000 Biz Starter is written for UAE-based entrepreneurs and lists no visa. The AED 14,000 RAKEZ package is the one that includes a residence visa, and RAKEZ states on its page that non-residents can start businesses in the UAE. The first-year total depends on visas, workspace and activities, so compare the itemised lines.

Does IFZA publish its prices?

The IFZA page cited here (Company Formation in Dubai: Everything You Need to Know, modified 23 April 2026) lists the types of fee, which are licence issuance, registration, annual licence and visas, without amounts. It refers readers to an IFZA Professional Partner and states that no paid-up share capital is required.

Are visas included in a free zone licence?

Only where the package says so. RAKEZ's AED 14,000 package includes one residence visa, and its AED 6,000 Biz Starter lists none. Meydan's AED 12,500 licence excludes the residence visa, the medical test and Emirates ID. DMCC lists visas as separate lines in its schedule.

Does a free zone company have to register for Corporate Tax?

Yes. The FTA's Decision No. 3 of 2024 includes free zone persons among the juridical persons that register, also those that expect the 0% rate as a Qualifying Free Zone Person. For a company formed on or after 1 March 2024 the application is due within three months of incorporation, establishment or recognition. The FTA has stated that a late application carries an administrative penalty of AED 10,000.

Can a free zone company open a UAE bank account easily?

A free zone licence does not decide the bank's answer. The bank reviews the owners, the source of funds, the activity and the substance of the company. See the guide on UAE business bank accounts for what banks ask.

Next steps

Tell us the activity, how many people need visas and whether you need a physical desk. We return the free zones that fit and a first-year budget with every line sourced. UAE free zone company → · Contact us

Sources (checked 2 October 2026):

DMCC, Schedule of Charges: dmcc.ae/members/support/schedule-charges
DMCC, How much does it cost to set up a company in Dubai? (12 February 2026; setup time, physical office, share capital, first-year total): dmcc.ae/blog/dubai-freezone-company-setup-cost
JAFZA, New company formation: jafza.ae/resource-centre/guides/new-company-formation
ADGM Registration Authority, Overview of Fees 2025 (version January 2025): assets.adgm.com, Schedule of Fees 2025
ADGM, Setting up with ADGM, frequently asked questions: adgm.com/faqs/setting-up
RAKEZ, Biz Starter Package and Business Setup package pages: rakez.com/en/promotions/biz-starter-package, rakez.com/en/promotions/sme-business-setup
Meydan Free Zone, Dubai trade licence offer; Meydan Free Zone company setup cost breakdown (updated 30 June 2026): meydanfz.ae
IFZA, Company Formation in Dubai: Everything You Need to Know (page modified 23 April 2026): ifza.com/en/industry-analysis/company-formation-in-dubai/
Federal Tax Authority, decision on specified timeframes for Corporate Tax registration (news of 27 February 2024), and notice on registering by 30 June 2024: tax.gov.ae. Decision No. 3 of 2024, Article 3 (three months from incorporation, establishment or recognition, a Free Zone Person included): tax.gov.ae/Datafolder/Files/Legislation/FTA%20Decision%20No.%203%20of%202024%20on%20Registration%20Timeline%20for%20Corporate%20Tax%20-%20For%20publishing.pdf

For information only; checked against the authorities' own pages on 2 October 2026. Fees change without notice, and promotional packages carry terms and conditions. An authority confirms the final charge in its quotation and invoice.

This material is for general information only and does not constitute legal or tax advice. Accurate as of the publication date.

UAE Free Zone Fees Compared in 2026: DMCC, JAFZA, ADGM, RAKEZ, Meydan and IFZA