Free Zone Comparison
An independent comparison of Dubai's three most-searched free zones for international founders. Every numerical and regulatory claim is sourced from a UAE government portal or the free-zone authority itself.
If you want the cheapest, fastest digital setup for a service or e-commerce business in Dubai: IFZA in Dubai Silicon Oasis or Meydan Free Zone near Downtown Dubai. Both publish setup costs starting around AED 11,900 to AED 12,500 and accept multi-activity licences. If you need a premium address in Jumeirah Lakes Towers, deep ecosystem support for commodities, gold, crypto, gaming or media, and you can absorb a higher entry fee: DMCC, which publishes packages from AED 35,484. All three give you 100% foreign ownership, no UAE personal income tax, and access to the 0% UAE Corporate Tax rate on Qualifying Income — but only if you meet the Qualifying Free Zone Person conditions in Article 18 of Federal Decree-Law 47 of 2022 and Cabinet Decision 100 of 2023.
| Criterion | IFZA | DMCC | Meydan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Authority status | Operates from Dubai Silicon Oasis area | Government of Dubai Authority | Established under Ruler's Decree No. 5 of 2009 |
| Founded | Not publicly stated on ifza.com | 2002 | 2009 |
| Companies registered | Not publicly stated | 26,000+ from 180 countries | 83,000+ community connections |
| Location in Dubai | Dubai Silicon Oasis (southeast) | JLT + Uptown Dubai (central) | Near Downtown / Business Bay |
| Starting fee (1 visa, 1 yr) | AED 11,900* | AED 35,484 | AED 12,500 |
| Licensed activities | 800+ | 1,000+ | 2,500+ |
| Min. share capital | Not specified on official pages | AED 50,000 + AED 10,000 per shareholder | Not specified on official pages |
| Turnaround | Not formally published | Not on overview page | 24 hours standard, 60 min Fawri |
| Foundster supports | Yes | No (refer to dmcc.ae) | Yes |
* AED 11,900 is Foundster's published IFZA package as a no-markup IFZA Professional Partner. IFZA itself does not publish a fixed starting price on ifza.com.
A UAE free zone is a designated commercial area governed by its own free-zone authority rather than by the emirate-level Department of Economy and Tourism. The UAE Government Portal lists 40 free zones across the UAE, of which 21 are in Dubai, including DMCC, Dubai Silicon Oasis (where IFZA operates) and Meydan. [Source: u.ae]
Free zones offer three structural advantages over the mainland:
Each free-zone authority issues its own licences, sets its own fees, and approves its own activity list. Share capital requirements vary widely: DMCC requires AED 50,000 per company plus AED 10,000 per shareholder, while Dubai Airport Free Zone permits FZ Co. formation with a minimum share capital of AED 1,000. [Source: u.ae]
DMCC stands for Dubai Multi Commodities Centre. It was established in 2002 with the mission of positioning Dubai as a global commodity-trading and enterprise gateway. DMCC describes itself as "a Government of Dubai Authority" — operating under the direct oversight of the Government of Dubai. It has 26,000+ member companies from 180 countries, employing more than 90,000 people, and accounts for roughly 15% of all foreign direct investment in Dubai. DMCC has been voted the number one free zone on the planet for nine consecutive years. [Source: dmcc.ae/about]
DMCC operates two flagship developments in Dubai: Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), a high-density commercial district near Dubai Marina; and Uptown Dubai, including the recently delivered Uptown Tower. Together these accommodate more than 100,000 working professionals.
DMCC has built specialised "ecosystems" for sectors where it has built scale:
If your business sits inside one of these specialised ecosystems, DMCC offers regulators (e.g., DMCC Tradeflow for commodity-backed financing), networking, and conferences that other free zones do not match.
DMCC publishes "all-inclusive business setup packages starting from AED 35,484". [Source: dmcc.ae/business] The minimum share capital for a DMCC company is AED 50,000 plus AED 10,000 per shareholder. [Source: u.ae]
DMCC's visa quota mechanism, dedicated office tier costs, and per-license-type breakdowns are not published on the public pages of dmcc.ae. They are quoted to the prospective member directly through DMCC's authorised partners or the DMCC member portal.
IFZA stands for International Free Zone Authority. The IFZA headquarters is at IFZA Business Park, Building A2, Dubai Silicon Oasis. [Source: ifza.com/en/about] IFZA describes itself as "the most dynamic Free Zone Community in the UAE" and operates through a network of Professional Partners — formation agents who package and resell IFZA licences to international clients.
Transparency note: IFZA does not publish its founding year, parent operating entity, or its formal regulatory relationship to Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority on its public website. We omit unverified historical claims and recommend contacting IFZA directly for corporate background.
IFZA offers two licence types — Commercial and Professional. [Source: ifza.com] Within these you can choose from over 800 activities including General Trading, E-commerce, Food & Beverage, IT services, and consultancy. IFZA explicitly allows multiple activities to be combined under a single licence.
IFZA does not publish a fixed starting price on its official website. Package detail is provided through Professional Partners. As a no-markup IFZA Professional Partner, Foundster's published IFZA starting price is AED 11,900 for a 1-shareholder, 1-visa, 1-year configuration. [Source: Foundster pricing] Because Foundster takes commission from IFZA rather than marking up the customer price, this AED 11,900 is the same figure you would pay through any other no-markup IFZA Professional Partner.
The IFZA visa quota mechanism, Establishment Card cost, and renewal cost are not published on ifza.com — these are confirmed at the package selection stage with the Professional Partner.
Meydan Free Zone was established in 2009 under Ruler's Decree No. 5 by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. [Source: moet.gov.ae Meydan document] It is officially listed in the UAE Government Portal among the 21 Dubai free zones. Meydan operates a MoFA-approved LLC licence structure and is accredited by Dubai Chamber of Commerce. [Source: meydanfz.ae]
Meydan Free Zone permits business activities across 2,500+ categories spanning Administrative, Healthcare, Services, Agriculture, ICT, Arts, Maintenance, Trading, Education, Manufacturing, Transportation, F&B, Professional, Financial, and Real Estate sectors. Each Meydan licence comes with 3 activity groups included by default, and each additional activity costs AED 1,000. [Source: meydanfz.ae/cost-calculator]
Meydan Free Zone is built around a digital-first proposition:
Both options run fully remote — you do not need to be physically in the UAE to start the process.
Meydan publishes a starting price of AED 12,500 for a standard Dubai Company Formation licence. The Fawri express licence is published at AED 15,000. Multi-year licences are available for 1 to 6 years with multi-year discounts.
The Meydan licence includes by default:
If you sell to high-net-worth clients, family offices, banks, or trade commodity-derived products, a JLT or Uptown Dubai address gives you instant credibility. That is DMCC's specific advantage. If your clients are international SaaS users, e-commerce shoppers, or B2B service buyers who never physically visit your office, the address has near-zero weight — pick the cheapest viable zone.
If you are a single-activity consultancy (e.g., management consulting only, e-commerce only), all three work. If you want to cover several activities under one licence — e.g., consulting + e-commerce + drop-shipping + investments — IFZA's "multiple activities under one licence" framing or Meydan's "3 activity groups + AED 1,000 each additional" approach are both more flexible than DMCC's typically more sector-bound packages.
If you have signed a contract that requires you to invoice from a UAE entity within the week, Meydan Fawri (60 minutes) or standard Meydan (24 hours) is the only option among these three that publishes that turnaround.
If your absolute starting budget for the licence is below AED 25,000, IFZA or Meydan are your options. DMCC at AED 35,484 starting (before visa, Emirates ID, and any office upgrade) is over the threshold. If budget is not the binding constraint, the question becomes one of fit (Q1–Q3) rather than cost.
Every Dubai free-zone company — whether IFZA, DMCC, Meydan, or any other — operates under the same federal regulatory framework once it is incorporated.
All three permit 100% foreign ownership of the company. There is no requirement for an Emirati partner.
Since financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023, all UAE companies — including free-zone companies — are subject to UAE Corporate Tax under Federal Decree-Law No. 47 of 2022. [Source: mof.gov.ae] The standard rate is 9% above the AED 375,000 threshold; 0% below it.
A free-zone company can pay 0% UAE Corporate Tax on its Qualifying Income if it is a Qualifying Free Zone Person (QFZP). The QFZP framework is built across four key documents:
The Federal Tax Authority publishes a comprehensive guide that consolidates these rules: the FTA Free Zone Persons Corporate Tax Guide (CTGFZP1, May 2024). [PDF]
To qualify as a QFZP, the company must (per Article 18 of FDL 47/2022 and Cabinet Decision 100/2023):
If a free-zone company fails QFZP conditions in any tax year, the entire company falls under the standard 9% rate above AED 375,000 — not a partial blend. Full treatment in our UAE Corporate Tax & QFZP guide.
The Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (DMTT) of 15% applies from 1 January 2025 but only to UAE constituent entities of multinational groups with consolidated revenue of EUR 750 million or more in at least two of the four prior fiscal years — the OECD Pillar Two threshold. Single-shareholder founder companies and most SMEs are not affected by DMTT.
A shareholder of any of the three free-zone companies is eligible for a UAE Investor Visa (typically 2-year renewable) issued by the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs (GDRFA) Dubai or the Federal Authority for Identity, Citizenship, Customs and Ports Security (ICP). The investor visa enables an Emirates ID, a UAE bank account, and personal residency in the UAE.
All three permit unrestricted repatriation of capital and profits, with no UAE withholding tax on outbound dividends.
Cost is not the only constraint. If you choose a free zone that does not match your activity, the operational and banking friction you create downstream will exceed the AED 20,000 you "saved" on the initial licence.
It is not. QFZP is a status the company must qualify for and document each year. Failing the substance test, deriving too much Non-Qualifying Income, or failing to file audited financial statements can flip the entire company from 0% to 9% with no partial relief.
DMTT only applies to UAE constituent entities of multinational groups above the EUR 750 million OECD Pillar Two consolidated revenue threshold. If your group has consolidated annual revenue below this threshold, DMTT is irrelevant to you.
A free-zone company can serve mainland UAE customers via a mainland branch (registered with DET), a distributor agreement with a mainland licensee, or B2B sales to other free-zone entities under QFZP-Qualifying Income rules. What it cannot do is directly invoice end-customer mainland B2C sales without one of these structures.
Foundster is a no-markup IFZA and Meydan formation provider. We do not currently offer DMCC company formation. If your decision criteria point to DMCC (commodities, JLT/Uptown address, sector-specific ecosystem), we recommend approaching DMCC directly via their official portal at dmcc.ae or working with a DMCC-authorised formation agent.
We focus on IFZA and Meydan because these zones serve the broadest population of internationally-mobile founders well: cost-conscious, multi-activity, fast turnaround, and fully digital setup.
Every fact in this comparison is sourced from a UAE government portal, free-zone authority website, or UAE Federal/Ministerial publication. Industry agency sites are not used.
Transparent freezone setup at official list prices.
QFZP, de-minimis, dual-licence: the structural decision in plain English.
9% headline rate, 0% QFZP, 15% DMTT — and the six conditions for 0%.
IFZA, Meydan and other Dubai freezones side by side.
