Cheapest UAE Free Zone in 2026: Real Prices Compared

Key takeaways

• Ajman Free Zone (ANCFZ) publishes the lowest verified starting price of any UAE free zone at AED 4,888 for a zero-visa business licence package, covering the licence, unlimited shareholders and up to 10 activities.
• Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone (UAQ FTZ) publishes a package at AED 4,949 that already includes one UAE residency visa, medical testing and Emirates ID processing, so it can work out cheaper than Ajman once a visa is factored in.
• RAKEZ and Meydan Free Zone publish tiered packages starting near AED 6,000 and AED 12,500, where the final price depends on visa count, office type and licence duration.
• SHAMS and IFZA don't publish one fixed starting price; both run an online calculator or take the enquiry through a consultant, so their real cost only appears once you specify activity, visas and package.
• A headline licence price rarely equals the full first-year cost, because visas, medical tests, Emirates ID and office or desk fees are usually billed on top of the base licence rather than folded into it.
• The cheapest free zone to enter isn't automatically the cheapest to run, since audit rules, renewal fees and visa quotas per office type differ by free zone regardless of the entry price.

What is the cheapest free zone to set up a company in the UAE right now?

Based on prices published directly by the free zones themselves, Ajman Free Zone's zero-visa package at AED 4,888 is the lowest fixed starting price we could verify in September 2026, with Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone close behind at AED 4,949 for a package that already bundles in one visa. SHAMS and IFZA, both commonly named in "cheapest" lists, don't publish a flat number at all: each prices through a calculator or a direct quote, so any figure attributed to them online is an estimate.

Accurate as of September 2026. Free zones change packages often, so treat this table as a starting point, not a quote.

What do these starting prices actually include, and what do they leave out?

Every published starting price covers the trade licence itself and, in most cases, a lease or desk agreement the free zone requires you to hold. What it usually doesn't cover, unless the package says so explicitly like UAQ FTZ's, is the visa: medical testing, Emirates ID typing, the immigration establishment card and the visa stamping fee are typically billed as separate line items once you ask for a visa allocation.

This is why a package that looks pricier on the surface, such as UAQ FTZ's AED 4,949 against Ajman's AED 4,888, can end up cheaper once you need even one visa, because Ajman's zero-visa price excludes the cost of adding one. What's bundled matters more than the headline number.

What do visas add to the total cost?

A first visa typically adds several thousand dirhams on top of the base licence once you count the visa fee, medical test, Emirates ID and establishment card together, though the breakdown differs by free zone. Meydan Free Zone, for example, publishes an investor visa fee from AED 4,000, an employee visa from AED 3,500, a one-time immigration establishment card from AED 2,000, and medical and Emirates ID assistance from AED 2,250, putting a first investor visa at roughly AED 7,850 on top of its licence fee.

Other free zones price the same components differently, and some, like UAQ FTZ, fold one visa into the headline price instead of billing it separately. Ask any free zone for the visa cost broken into fee, medical, Emirates ID and establishment card before comparing packages, because a bundled number hides which of these you're actually paying for.

How do you choose between these free zones if price alone isn't enough?

Price is one input, not the deciding factor, once you weigh in what your business activity is allowed to do, how many visas your office type unlocks, and whether the zone requires an annual audit regardless of your company's size. A consulting business with no employees beyond the owner can reasonably prioritise the cheapest entry price; one planning to hire five people in year one needs to check the visa quota per office type first.

For a like-for-like comparison instead of headline prices that hide different inclusions:

1. Fix the same business activity across every free zone compared, since some charge more for certain activity categories.
2. Ask each for the same visa count, with the visa fee, medical test, Emirates ID and establishment card listed separately.
3. Confirm the office or desk type included, since a flexi desk and a dedicated office carry different visa quotas and renewal costs.
4. Get the quote in writing, including the second-year renewal cost, since a low first-year price sometimes hides a higher renewal fee.

What costs come after the first year, regardless of which free zone you pick?

Every free zone company faces annual licence renewal, immigration card renewal and either a lease or desk renewal, and these ongoing costs matter more to total cost of ownership than the entry price does. On top of that, every UAE business, whatever it paid to set up, has to register for corporate tax with the Federal Tax Authority; whether it then owes anything depends on its taxable income crossing the AED 375,000 threshold under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022, not on which free zone issued its licence. Some free zones, including DMCC, also require audited financial statements every year regardless of company size, a recurring cost a cheaper zone without that rule doesn't carry.

If you'd rather see all of this laid out for your company instead of estimating it yourself, the free UAE compliance calendar turns a few questions into a personalised list of its renewal, visa, VAT and corporate tax dates, as a PDF and calendar file.

AED 4,888: the lowest free zone business licence starting price we could verify directly from a free zone's own website, published by Ajman Free Zone (ANCFZ) for its zero-visa package. Source: ancfz.ae, checked September 2026.

What most guides don't tell you

• A "cheapest free zone" ranking built from formation-agent sites, rather than the free zones' own pages, often mixes reseller markups into the number, so the price you're quoted can sit well above what the free zone itself charges for the same package.
• Some free zones price a multi-year licence lower per year than a one-year term, so the cheapest headline figure sometimes assumes one year when three would save more over time.
• A zero-visa package looks cheapest until you need a bank account, since some banks want at least one visa holder tied to the company before opening a corporate account, which then forces the visa cost you thought you'd avoided.
• SHAMS and IFZA aren't necessarily pricier for skipping a fixed number; they just need a calculator run or a quote before comparison is meaningful.

Which deadlines apply to your company once you've chosen a free zone?

Whichever free zone you pick, you'll be tracking licence renewal, visa expiry, corporate tax registration and VAT registration if turnover crosses the threshold, each on that zone's own clock. The free UAE compliance calendar lists these dates for your company once you answer a few questions, as a PDF and calendar file.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up a company in the UAE as a foreigner? Choose a licensing authority (a specific free zone or a mainland authority), pick a legal form and business activity, reserve a trade name, submit the application with your passport and the authority's required documents, and pay the licence fee. A UAE national partner generally isn't required for either route.

Mainland vs free zone company in Dubai, which one is better for my business? A mainland company can invoice UAE-based customers directly and bid for government contracts; a free zone company's standard licence covers trading within its own zone and internationally, usually through a distributor or dual licence for mainland sales. The better fit depends on who you sell to, not on price alone.

How much does it cost to open a company in Dubai, all in, including visas? This depends on mainland versus free zone, the activity, the number of visas and the office type, so there's no single verified all-in figure. Get a written quote itemising the licence fee, establishment card, per-visa costs and office or Ejari cost for your setup.

Can I own 100% of a mainland company in the UAE now? Yes, for most business activities, following Federal Decree-Law No. 32 of 2021. A short list of activities with strategic impact sits outside this reform and still needs Cabinet-level approval.

Which business activities still need a local Emirati partner or agent? Activities the Cabinet designates as having strategic impact, such as defence and some security-related work, still require government-level approval rather than the standard 100% ownership route. Separately, some professional and civil licences work through a Local Service Agent, a UAE national paid a fixed fee with no shares or profit share, purely to handle government liaison.

About Qawi · Qawi is a corporate services firm licensed in the Sharjah Media City (SHAMS) free zone, handling company formation, visas and PRO, bookkeeping, VAT and corporate tax for UAE businesses. Guides are researched from FTA, Ministry of Finance and free zone sources. Qawi on LinkedIn

Sources

• Ajman Free Zone (ANCFZ) packages and offers
• Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone, UAE business setup licence and visa package
• RAKEZ, company setup pricing
• Meydan Free Zone
• SHAMS, Sharjah Media City free zone business setup
• IFZA, business setup
• Full foreign ownership of commercial companies, U.AE
• Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022 on the Taxation of Corporations and Businesses, Ministry of Finance

Last checked: 29 September 2026. General information, not tax or legal advice for your specific situation.