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The cheapest free zone in UAE on official prices is a tie at AED 3,999 with no visa: SRTIP, the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park, with its SPARK Starter licence, and Creative City Fujairah with a Media Package on an offer page of its own site. If you need a residence visa, KEZAD in Abu Dhabi is cheapest at AED 9,450 for one year with one visa, VAT included. A no-visa licence and a one-visa package are different products, so we rank them separately below.
What is the cheapest free zone licence in the UAE with no visa?
These are the lowest official starting prices for a licence without a visa, lowest first. Every price is for one year unless the zone says otherwise.
| Rank | Free zone | Emirate | Price | What it includes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SRTIP, SPARK Starter | Sharjah | AED 3,999 | Licence and lease, co-working, 1 shareholder, up to 3 activities. Limited time |
| 1 | Creative City, Media Package | Fujairah | AED 3,999 | Flexi desk, up to 10 activities and 10 shareholders. Offer page; confirm it still applies |
| 3 | Ajman NuVentures, Zero Visa | Ajman | from AED 4,888 | Licence, lease, up to 10 activities, unlimited shareholders. Term not stated |
| 4 | Ajman Media City, Business Club | Ajman | AED 4,999 | Licence, co-working lease, up to 10 activities and 10 shareholders |
| 4 | SPC Free Zone, E-Publishing | Sharjah | AED 4,999 | Licence and lease, online publishing activities only |
| 6 | UAQ Free Trade Zone, UAQ LYTE | Umm Al Quwain | AED 5,500 | Licence, co-working, remote formation |
| 7 | SPC Free Zone, Publishing / E-commerce | Sharjah | AED 5,750 | Licence, co-working lease, up to 5 activities |
| 8 | Shams, Media Package | Sharjah | AED 5,760 | LLC licence, flexi desk, up to 5 media activities, VAT included |
| 9 | RAKEZ, Biz Starter | Ras Al Khaimah | AED 6,000 | Licence, coworking membership, up to 10 activities, up to 50 shareholders |
| 10 | Innovation City, Idea | Ras Al Khaimah | from AED 6,600 | Licence, lease and shared desk, 10 activities |
| 11 | Masdar City Free Zone, Startup | Abu Dhabi | AED 7,000 plus VAT | Licence and registration, up to 2 activities, no office |
Source: each free zone's own package page, checked . Links to each page are in the sources list below. The Creative City offer page has an address ending in "packages_old" and different tier names from its setup page, so ask the zone whether the price still holds.
Ajman Free Zone is missing because it publishes no package price. Setup agencies list its no-visa packages at about AED 5,555 to AED 5,565 (published prices of 3 agencies, checked ), with the establishment card and a co-working or flexi desk included. That would place it mid-table, but it is the agencies' figure, not the zone's.
What is the cheapest free zone package with a visa?
A visa changes the order. Northern emirates still lead, but Abu Dhabi's KEZAD moves to the top.
| Rank | Free zone | Price | Visas | What the visa part covers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | KEZAD, start-up package | AED 9,450 incl. VAT | 1 | Visa allocation. Residence fee AED 1,500 and establishment card AED 1,000 are separate |
| 2 | Creative City, Elite Package | AED 9,999 | 1 | Establishment card and e-channel registration, on the same offer page |
| 3 | Ajman NuVentures, Visa All Inclusive | from AED 10,800 | From 1 | Establishment card, entry permit, status change, medical, Emirates ID and residence visa |
| 4 | SRTIP, SPARK Starter with 1 visa | AED 10,990 | 1 | Security approval, immigration card, e-channel, entry permit and Emirates ID. Medical not ticked |
| 5 | RAKEZ, Instant Licence Lite | AED 12,000 | 1 | One residence visa, coworking, up to 5 activities |
| 6 | UAQ FTZ, UAQ START | AED 12,500 | 1 | Investor visa, Emirates ID, medical, basic medical insurance, e-channel and establishment card |
| 7 | Ajman Media City, Visionary | AED 12,999 | 1 | Establishment card, security approval, medical, Emirates ID, status change and e-channel |
| 8 | SPC Free Zone, Publishing / E-commerce with 1 visa | AED 13,165 | 1 | Investor visa with Emirates ID, medical, establishment card and e-channel. Health insurance extra |
| 9 | Innovation City, Seed | from AED 13,200 | 1 | One visa, capped at 1, with a shared desk |
| 10 | RAKEZ, All Inclusive | AED 14,000 | 1 | Residence visa, Emirates ID, medical, immigration file and shared workstation |
Source: the same free zone package pages, checked . UAQ FTZ's own blog quotes a higher UAQ START price than its promotion page, so confirm it.
Look at the right-hand column before the price. KEZAD is cheapest, but its package buys the right to a visa, and you pay the residence and card fees on top. UAQ START and Ajman Media City's Visionary bundle most of the visa chain. The gap between them is smaller than the table suggests.
Masdar City's Innovation package, at AED 12,000 plus VAT with a quota of 2 visas and a flexi desk, is another option if you need two people. The visa fees are extra there too.
What costs come on top of the cheapest package?
A starting price covers what the zone sells. These follow once you sponsor a visa, even in the cheapest zone.
- Federal fees. ICP charges AED 100 a year for the residence permit plus application and smart service fees, and AED 100 per year of residence for the Emirates ID. A change of status inside the UAE is AED 500.
- Establishment card. From AED 640 at SPC to AED 1,825 a year at DMCC, when not bundled.
- E-channel. AED 2,280 at SPC and AED 2,600 at Masdar City when not bundled.
- Health insurance. SPC says plans start from AED 450 a month and are not in its packages.
- Share capital. UAQ FTZ sets a minimum of AED 300,000 but says no proof is needed. SAIF Zone asks AED 150,000 for an FZE or FZC.
Our free zone hidden costs page lists more of these. The cost calculator adds the published per-visa fees where zones print them.
What do you give up with the cheapest options?
Low cost business setup in UAE nearly always comes with limits. Check these before you pay.
- Narrow activities. SPC's E-Publishing licence covers online publishing only. The Shams Media Package covers media activities. SRTIP's Starter allows 3 activities.
- Promotions end. SRTIP marks its SPARK prices limited time. RAKEZ shows an older lower Biz Starter price on a past blog, a sign that offers change.
- One shareholder. SRTIP Starter allows one. Innovation City Seed allows two. If you have partners, the cheapest tier may not fit.
- Co-working only. A co-working seat rarely carries more than one or two visas. Growing past that means a new package or an office.
- No VAT designation. If you store and move goods, a VAT designated zone such as Ajman Free Zone, UAQ FTZ, SAIF Zone, RAKEZ's industrial zones or Hamriyah may cost more to enter but less to run.
Which is the cheapest free zone in each emirate?
- Dubai: Meydan and Expo City start at AED 12,500 with no visa. See cheapest free zone in Dubai.
- Sharjah: SRTIP, SPC and Shams fill the top of the no-visa table. See cheapest free zone in Sharjah.
- Abu Dhabi: KEZAD with a visa, Masdar City without. See cheapest free zone in Abu Dhabi.
- Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah: covered in the tables above and on the Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Ras Al Khaimah hubs.
- Fujairah: Creative City's offer page starts at AED 3,999 with no visa. FFZA's new site prints no prices; its old archived list started a flexi desk at AED 18,000 a year. See Fujairah free zones.
Ask for the lowest price that fits
Tell us your activity and visas in the form on this page. We pass it to the zones that license that activity, or to a licensed setup partner, and you get their current packages back. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com is an independent directory, not one of these zones, and a partner may pay us when you sign. The ranking above uses published prices only.
Where to get a written quote
Once you know which zone you want, you can search the setup consultants we list by area, service or Google score and ask for a written quote to check against the prices here.
Sources
- SRTIP SPARK packages: https://lp.srtip.ae/start-your-business/
- Creative City offer packages: https://creativecity.gov.ae/packages_old/
- Ajman NuVentures packages and offers: https://ancfz.ae/packages-and-offers/
- Ajman Media City Business Club and Visionary packages: https://amc.gov.ae/business-club-package and https://amc.gov.ae/visionary-package
- SPC Free Zone packages and fees: https://www.spcfz.ae/pay-as-you-go/
- UAQ FTZ UAQ START promotion: https://promotion.uaqftz.com/uaq-start/
- Shams packages: https://shamsfz.ae/business-setup/packages/
- RAKEZ Biz Starter, Instant Licence and All Inclusive: https://rakez.com/en/promotions/biz-starter-package , https://rakez.com/en/promotions/instant-licence and https://rakez.com/en/promotions/sme-business-setup
- Innovation City packages: https://innovationcity.com/packages
- Masdar City Free Zone licence and registration: https://masdarcityfreezone.com/explore/license-and-registration
- KEZAD start-up packages: https://www.kezadgroup.com/en/business-facilities/free-zone-business-setup-solutions
- RAK ICC registry fee (agency pages): https://www.vjmglobal.com/feeds/blog/rakicc-offshore-company-registration-fee-us-businesses and https://binderr.com/marketplace/ae/rak-icc-offshore-company-formation
- ICP visa and Emirates ID fees: https://icp.gov.ae/en/services-details/?serviceid=64afe3c1035448005bd52e64
