The cheapest free zone package is rarely the cheapest company to run. A headline price usually buys a licence and a desk for the first year. The residence visa, the immigration file behind it and the second-year renewal are where the totals drift apart, so price the company you will run for its first three years, not the advertised number.
This guide lists the costs that sit outside most packages and the questions that bring them out. We do not quote package prices, because they change often and depend on your activity. Where we give an amount, it is an official fee or threshold, as of October 2026.
What does a headline package usually include?
Most packages cover the licence, the company's registration documents and a registered address, usually a flexi-desk or co-working access. Some include one residence visa. Many do not.
Free zones are fairly open about this if you read past the banner. Meydan Free Zone's site says its visa services are priced separately from the trade licence, and that its standard licence includes up to three activity groups and a flexi-desk. DMCC's package page describes one flexi-desk option as eligible for one residence visa and another as eligible for three. The detail sits in each package's terms, so ask for them before you pay.
The costs that arrive after you sign
| Cost | When it appears | What drives it |
|---|---|---|
| Establishment card | Before your first visa | Issue fee, then renewal |
| Visa allocation | Before your first visa, in some free zones | Number of visas |
| Per-visa costs | For every person you sponsor | Whether they are inside the UAE, speed of service |
| Office upgrade | When you need more visas | Visas allowed per desk or office size |
| Extra activities | At setup or later | Number of activity groups, outside approvals |
| Renewal | Year two onwards | Discounts ending, insurance and audit requirements |
The establishment card is your company's immigration file. Without it, the company cannot sponsor anyone, including you. Some free zones present it as a one-time immigration card fee, and Meydan Free Zone also lists a visa allocation charge for the first investor visa.
Visas: where most of the gap comes from
Without visas, the comparison is mostly one licence against another. The gap widens when you sponsor yourself, a partner, staff or family. For each person, expect:
- an entry permit, or a change of status if they are already in the UAE
- a medical fitness test, for anyone aged 18 or over
- an Emirates ID: ICP charges residents AED 100 for each year of validity, plus a service fee, as of October 2026
- health insurance, which Dubai requires employers to provide for employees and sponsors to provide for dependants
- service, typing and courier charges
Quotes bundle these differently. SPC Free Zone's own calculator, for instance, says its visa fee includes the medical test and Emirates ID, lists change of status as an extra for people already in the country, and says health insurance is not included. Line up the same items before you compare.
Count your own visa honestly. If you already have residence through an employer or family member, a licence without visas may be enough at first; Meydan Free Zone, for example, lets you add visas only when the business needs them. Our guide to the UAE residence visa process explains each per-visa step.
Share capital, deposits and bank balances
Free zones set their own share capital rules, and capital can decide visa eligibility. Meydan Free Zone's FAQs say you are eligible for an investor or partner visa if you have invested AED 50,000 or more in share capital, as of October 2026. Declaring a capital figure is one thing. Proving it, if a free zone, bank or visa route asks, means having the money in an account.
Long-term visas set much higher bars. The Green Visa investor route needs a cash contribution of at least AED 1 million to the company, and GDRFA Dubai's Golden Visa investor route needs a share of company assets worth at least AED 2 million.
Deposits and guarantees are easy to miss. ICP's fee table, for example, includes a financial guarantee for each family member an investor sponsors. Ask the free zone which deposits apply to you and how they are refunded.
Banks set their own minimum balances and account fees, and they read your activity list closely. Meydan Free Zone warns that general trading is classed as high-risk and that combining it with unrelated activities may complicate opening a corporate account. Our guide to opening a corporate bank account covers what banks check.
Year two: what renewal really costs
Many first-year offers are discounts that end. Several of DMCC's packages offer 50% off the second year's renewal fees, which is a time-limited discount, not a lower price. Others fix the price instead: DMCC's Prime Plus package promises a price freeze on licence renewal, and RAKEZ's SME package page says the same renewal price is guaranteed. Get the renewal price for years two and three in writing.
Renewal can also bring requirements that were not there at setup. DMCC's renewal guidelines, for instance, ask for workmen's compensation insurance for active employees and third-party liability insurance for physical units. If you plan to rely on the 0% corporate tax rate for qualifying free zone income, budget for audited financial statements every year, which that regime requires. Our guide to qualifying free zone income explains the conditions. This is general information, not tax advice.
Missing the renewal date costs more than the fee. DMCC says penalties apply after expiry and that the licence may be terminated, and every visa the company sponsors depends on that licence.
How to compare two quotes
Say two founders run a small consultancy and both need residence. Package A has the lower headline price, but its flexi-desk allows one visa. Package B costs more and allows three. Once you add the second founder's visa and the office upgrade Package A needs, the order can flip.
Ask each free zone the same questions:
- How many visas does the package allow, and what does each extra visa cost?
- Is the establishment card included, and how often is it renewed?
- Does the visa price include the medical test, Emirates ID, insurance and change of status?
- How many activities are included, and do any need an outside approval?
- What will the renewal cost in years two and three?
- What do you need at renewal: a lease, insurance, audited accounts?
Then build a three-year total for each. Our setup cost estimator gives you a starting point, and our guide to what a Dubai company really costs explains each line. To weigh the zones themselves, read how to choose a UAE free zone or browse our free zone guides.
Common mistakes
- Comparing first-year prices only. The renewal is the price you pay every year after.
- Buying a desk with too few visas. Count founders, staff and replacements for the next two years.
- Choosing activities for price. Your activities affect your bank account and visas, not just the licence fee.
- Forgetting family. Each dependant adds the same per-visa costs.
- Missing the renewal date. Penalties are the smaller problem; frozen visas are the bigger one.
If you have two quotes in front of you and want a second opinion, our business setup team can line them up item by item.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Is a zero-visa free zone licence cheaper overall?
Do I have to deposit my share capital in a bank?
What happens if I renew my free zone licence late?
Why do two free zones quote such different visa prices?
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