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DMCC vs Jafza is not a fight between a cheap zone and a dear one. It is a package zone against a build-it-yourself zone. DMCC sells its Basic Biz Package at AED 35,484 a year, with flexi desk options and eligibility for 1 visa. Jafza free zone licences start from AED 5,000, but that is the licence line only, and every Jafza company must hold a lease. DMCC suits commodity traders and service firms happy at a desk in JLT. Jafza suits businesses that store, move or make goods at Jebel Ali.
DMCC and Jafza side by side
| DMCC | Jafza | |
|---|---|---|
| Published starting figure | AED 35,484, Basic Biz Package, 1 year | From AED 5,000, licence line only |
| What the start includes | Licence, flexi desk options, 1 visa eligibility | Licence; lease and visas extra |
| Agency first-year range | AED 35,000 to AED 46,780 | AED 40,000 to AED 60,000 |
| Visa quota | Published by office type | Not published |
| Share capital | AED 50,000 in DMCC's cost guide | No minimum for FZE or FZCO |
| Space | Flexi desk, co-working, serviced office, office | Workstations up to warehouses, land, showrooms |
| Licence types | Service, Trading, Commercial, Industrial | Trading, Service, Industrial, Logistics |
| Setup time | 2 to 3 weeks | 3 to 14 business days after documents |
| Licence term | 2, 3 or 5 years if eligible | 1 year, renewed with an active lease |
| Companies in the zone | Over 26,000 | 11,000+ |
From dmcc.ae and jafza.ae, with the agency row from 2 agencies for each zone, checked .
First-year cost: a package against parts
DMCC prints six packages with their contents. Basic Biz at AED 35,484 is for individual shareholders and holds up to 3 activities from one group. Jump Start at AED 43,780 includes a standard flexi desk and one residency visa, with room for 3. DMCC also breaks a setup into fee lines: a one-time registration fee of AED 9,020, a licence fee of AED 10,000 to AED 50,000 a year depending on activity, and the establishment card at AED 1,825 a year.
Jafza publishes parts instead. The licence starts at AED 5,000 for a year. Warehouses start at AED 400 per sq m. A Normal one-year employment entry permit is AED 2,378. The rest comes from Jafza's cost calculator, so there is no headline package to compare.
That is why agency totals help here. Agencies publish DMCC first-year prices of AED 35,000 to AED 46,780, from a Basic Biz desk with no visa at the low end to government costs with 1 visa and the card at the top. For Jafza they publish AED 40,000 to AED 60,000 for a desk or workstation with 1 visa, and one says it can run higher (2 agencies each, checked ). On those figures, a one-visa desk start costs about the same or more at Jafza.
Visas
DMCC links visas to space and says so in public: a flexi desk carries up to 3 visas, a serviced office 4 or 5, and a physical office 1 visa per 9 sq m. A partner or investor visa runs 3 years and needs at least 50 shares worth AED 50,000. The fee sits in DMCC's schedule of charges: AED 2,972.50 for a new 2 year employment visa applied from outside the UAE, before medical and Emirates ID.
Jafza publishes the entry permit fee but not the quota. Its guide lists AED 2,378 for Normal one-year service, with dearer two-year, urgent and VIP options. A second Jafza guide shows different figures, so get the current fee in writing. Read free zone visa cost for the steps after the permit.
Space and what you can do there
This is the real dividing line. DMCC offices come as flexi desks, co-working seats, serviced offices and offices in its towers. Jafza leases co-working stations and offices too, but also showrooms, retail units, warehouses, land plots, workers' residence and custom-built facilities. Jafza calls itself the largest customs bonded zone in the Middle East, which counts if goods are stored before re-export.
If your stock sits in a warehouse at Jebel Ali, DMCC cannot give you that. If you trade on paper and need a desk, Jafza's lease rule adds cost you may not need.
Licences and company forms
DMCC lists more than 1,000 activities across 20 sectors and runs its own Crypto, Gaming and AI Centre packages at AED 31,000. Company forms include a free zone company, branches and a Company Limited by Guarantee for family offices and associations.
Jafza tiers its trading and service licences by activity count, from up to 7 activities on Type 1 to unlimited on Trading Type 3. Company forms are the FZE, the FZCO with 2 to 50 shareholders, branches, public listed companies and an offshore company.
Capital, renewal and banks
DMCC's cost guide lists AED 50,000 of share capital. Jafza has no minimum, as long as the capital fits the activities.
DMCC lets eligible firms take 2, 3 or 5 year terms, and the Prime Plus package freezes the renewal price. Jafza licences last one year and renew on the portal, but only with an active lease. Jafza's Renew License guide says renewal follows the same fee table as a new licence, so a one-group Trading licence renews at AED 5,000, with a AED 1,000 fine if you are late. DMCC publishes no general renewal table.
DMCC offers 0% instalments through Wio Bank on its packages, and Prime Plus includes free bank account opening. Jafza makes no banking promise on the pages we read. See our corporate bank account notes.
Choose DMCC if
- You trade commodities or run a service firm from a desk
- You want a package price with its contents listed
- You need to know your visa count before you choose space
- You work in crypto, gaming or AI and want DMCC's own centre
Choose Jafza if
- You need a warehouse, showroom or land plot at Jebel Ali
- You store goods in a bonded zone before re-export
- You want no minimum share capital
- You want an offshore company or a public listed company form
The full zone pages are DMCC and Jafza. For trading activities across zones, read best free zone for trading or the general trading license in Dubai guide. Every Dubai option sits on the Dubai free zones hub.
Ask DMCC and Jafza in one go
Fill in the form on this page with your goods or services, the space you need and your visa count. UAEFreeZoneDirectory.com runs independently of DMCC, Jafza and DP World. We forward your details to each zone or a licensed setup partner, and they price your first year for you.
Sources
- https://dmcc.ae/business/business-setup-packages : package prices and inclusions, instalments
- https://dmcc.ae/blog/dubai-freezone-company-setup-cost : fee lines, share capital, setup time
- https://dmcc.ae/blog/the-4-types-of-dubai-free-zone-visas-at-dmcc?hsLang=en : visa quota by office, partner visa rule
- https://www.jafza.ae/business-setup/business-license/ : licence fee, licence tiers, renewal
- https://www.jafza.ae/business-setup/company-formation/ : company forms, share capital, setup time
- https://www.jafza.ae/ : space types, warehouse rent, bonded zone
- https://www.jafza.ae/resources/guides/apply-for-employment-visa-entry-permit : entry permit fees
- https://www.jafza.ae/resource-centre/guides/renew-license/ : renewal fee table and late fine
- https://dmcc.ae/members/support/schedule-charges : DMCC employment visa fee
- https://www.vjmglobal.com/feeds/blog/dmcc-company-formation-cost-uae, https://avyanco.com/dmcc-free-zone-cost/, https://www.vjmglobal.com/feeds/blog/jafza-business-setup-cost-uae and https://emirabiz.com/jebel-ali-free-zone-company-setup : agency ranges
