A business licence in the UAE costs from AED 4,499 a year through us, for a zero-visa free zone licence, which is below the AED 4,999 that Ajman Media City charges directly. On Dubai's mainland, the Department of Economy and Tourism's own figure for one foreign owner starts at AED 8,000 for a sole establishment and AED 14,000 for a limited liability company, plus 5% of the office rent. At the top of the range, DMCC's cheapest package is AED 35,484.
Those are the figures each authority publishes, read on 27 October 2026, next to our own prices. The licence is rarely the whole bill: visas, the office and a few registrations sit on top, and they are priced further down so you can add up your own.
Business licence costs at a glance
| Licence | The authority's own price | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| Ajman Media City, no visa | AED 4,999 | AED 4,499 |
| SPC Free Zone, no visa | AED 5,750 | AED 4,999 |
| SHAMS, media or e-commerce | AED 5,760 | from AED 5,750 |
| RAKEZ, Basic package | AED 6,000 | AED 6,000 |
| IFZA, Dubai | Not published | AED 12,900 |
| Meydan Free Zone, with company registration | AED 12,500 | Quoted |
| Dubai South Business Hub | AED 12,500 | Quoted |
| DMCC, Basic Biz Package | AED 35,484 | Quoted |
| Dubai mainland, Instant Licence (no office in year one) | AED 8,000 sole establishment, AED 14,000 LLC | Quoted in writing |
| Dubai mainland, normal licence with an office | AED 8,000 or AED 14,000, plus 5% of the rent | Quoted in writing |
The authority's price is what the zone or DET charges an applicant who goes to it directly. Ours are packages we sell. Where the table says quoted, we price it to your activity, visas and office, in writing, before anything is paid.
Dubai mainland: what DET charges
Dubai's Department of Economy and Tourism publishes its fees through its own estimator, the Business Set-Up Recommendations tool on Invest in Dubai, which its trade licence page names as the place for "detailed and updated fee information". We ran it on 27 October 2026 for one foreign owner and five activities: management consultancy, advertising design, general trading, software design and a restaurant. The activity did not change the fee. The legal form did.
| One foreign owner | Sole establishment | LLC, single owner |
|---|---|---|
| Instant Licence, virtual site in year one | AED 8,000 | AED 14,000 |
| Normal licence, before rent | AED 8,000 | AED 14,000 |
| Normal licence, office rent of AED 30,000 a year | AED 9,500 | AED 15,500 |
| Normal licence, office rent of AED 100,000 a year | AED 13,000 | AED 19,000 |
The tool calls these average fees. For a licence with a physical office it asks for the annual rent and adds 5% of it, which is why two identical companies in different buildings pay different licence fees. A sole establishment owned by a foreigner also needs a local service agent, the tool notes, and the agent's fee is a private agreement on top. A single-owner LLC needs a manager instead.
DET's Instant Licence is issued in five minutes for activities that need no outside approval. According to DET, it comes with a memorandum of association, a virtual site for the first year, Dubai Chamber membership for commercial activities, the GDRFA establishment card and a MOHRE establishment card with the option to employ three people.
For a business run from home in Dubai, DET's eTrader licence is a sole establishment at AED 1,070 with the Knowledge and Innovation fees, plus AED 300 Dubai Chamber membership. UAE and GCC nationals also have the Intelaq home licence at AED 1,070 and the Dubai SME licence, which the tool put at AED 6,070 for an LLC.
Some activities need another authority before DET will issue: a restaurant needs Dubai Municipality's food approvals, a clinic the health regulator. Those fees are separate, and our guides to food businesses and clinics set them out.
Free zones: each zone's own price
- Ajman Media City publishes four tiers: AED 4,999 with no visa, AED 12,999 with one residency visa (renewing at AED 8,999), AED 17,999 with two and AED 22,999 with three, each with up to 10 activities and co-working.
- SPC Free Zone starts at AED 5,750 with no visa and AED 13,175 with one, and sets no cap on visas per licence.
- SHAMS gives a media or e-commerce licence from AED 5,760.
- RAKEZ sells a Basic package at AED 6,000 for one shareholder and one activity, and charges AED 4,000 for each extra visa on its all-inclusive package.
- Meydan Free Zone lists a licence with company registration from AED 12,500, a visa allocation at AED 1,850 and an employment visa at AED 3,500.
- Dubai South Business Hub quotes its own licences from AED 12,500.
- IFZA does not publish a rate card; our IFZA package is AED 12,900.
DMCC, the most expensive of the well-known zones, publishes its whole price list. Its Basic Biz Package is AED 35,484 for a year and its Jump Start package with a flexi desk AED 43,780. Bought item by item, the licence alone is AED 20,285 a year, on top of AED 9,020 for registration, AED 1,035 for the application, AED 2,020 for the articles of association and AED 1,825 a year for the establishment card.
A free zone licence lets you trade inside the zone and outside the UAE; selling to customers on the mainland needs a mainland licence or a distributor. Mainland or free zone walks through that choice, and the free zone visa cost page compares what each zone charges per visa.
What the licence price leaves out
- Visas. Each person on the licence is a separate file. A two-year employment visa for a Dubai mainland hire from abroad costs at least AED 1,310 in government fees; the employment visa cost page has every line.
- The establishment card. GDRFA charges AED 200 to issue or renew one in Dubai; the Instant Licence includes it, and DMCC charges AED 1,825 a year.
- The office. A mainland normal licence needs a registered tenancy, and 5% of its rent goes into the licence fee. Free zone packages usually include a desk or co-working.
- Corporate tax registration, which every company needs whether or not it makes a profit. We register corporate tax and VAT for AED 600.
- A bank account. Our help opening one costs AED 1,000 for a standard activity and AED 2,000 for a higher-risk one.
- A local service agent, for a foreign-owned sole establishment on the mainland, at a fee agreed privately with the agent.
Three budgets, worked through
| You are | Cheapest route | Year one |
|---|---|---|
| A consultant or freelancer with no staff, selling outside the UAE | Our Ajman Media City zero-visa licence, plus corporate tax registration | AED 5,099 |
| A founder who needs their own residence visa | Ajman Media City's one-visa package, at the zone's own price | AED 12,999, renewing at AED 8,999 |
| A Dubai mainland LLC with a small office at AED 30,000 a year | DET normal licence for one foreign owner, plus the rent itself | AED 45,500 before visas |
The calculator at the top of this page prices our side for any zone and number of visas, and lists what the authorities will add. The full price sheet has every fee we charge on one page.
Which licence is cheapest
The lowest published price in the UAE is Ajman Media City's no-visa licence at AED 4,999, and we sell it for AED 4,499. In Dubai itself, the cheapest route for a foreign owner is DET's Instant Licence as a sole establishment at AED 8,000, plus the local service agent's fee, or as a single-owner LLC at AED 14,000 without one. A Dubai resident working from home can use the eTrader licence at AED 1,070 plus AED 300 for the Chamber, where the activity allows it.
Which licence suits a small business
- No staff and no UAE customers yet: a zero-visa free zone licence. It is the cheapest way to have a company, and it can add visas later.
- Customers on the mainland, or a shop or office in Dubai: a mainland licence. If the activity needs no outside approval, the Instant Licence avoids a lease in year one.
- You need your own residence visa: a free zone package with a visa, or a mainland company that sponsors you. Own visa in Dubai compares the routes.
- You live in Dubai and work from home: the eTrader licence, if your activity is on its list.
From price to licence
- Tell us the activity, the visas and where you will work, on WhatsApp or by phone.
- You get the authority's fee and ours as separate lines, in writing, before you pay anything.
- We file. DET issues an Instant Licence in five minutes and a normal licence in ten once the documents are in, by its own account; DMCC quotes two to three weeks from application to e-licence; other zones fall in between.
- Then the rest of the file: the establishment card, visas, the bank account and tax registration, through our PRO services.
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Business license cost: your questions
Questions we get asked about licence prices
On the mainland, DET's own estimator gives AED 8,000 for a sole establishment and AED 14,000 for a single-owner LLC, plus 5% of the office rent, for one foreign owner; its Instant Licence, with no office in year one, is AED 8,000 or AED 14,000. Dubai's free zones publish their own prices: Meydan from AED 12,500, Dubai South Business Hub from AED 12,500 and DMCC's Basic Biz Package at AED 35,484.
From AED 4,999 at Ajman Media City's own price, or AED 4,499 through us, for a free zone licence with no visa. SPC starts at AED 5,750, SHAMS at AED 5,760 and RAKEZ at AED 6,000. A licence with a visa starts at AED 12,999 in Ajman Media City.
Ajman Media City's no-visa licence, at AED 4,999 or AED 4,499 through us. For a Dubai resident working from home, DET's eTrader licence is AED 1,070 plus AED 300 Chamber membership.
DMCC's Basic Biz Package is AED 35,484 for a year, for one shareholder and up to three activities. On its standard price list the licence alone is AED 20,285 a year, with registration at AED 9,020 on top.
At the bottom end, yes: the cheapest free zones start at AED 4,999 against DET's AED 8,000. Dubai's own free zones are another matter: Meydan and Dubai South Business Hub start at AED 12,500, between DET's sole establishment and LLC fees, and only a mainland licence lets you sell directly to customers across the UAE.
Yes. DET's Instant Licence comes with a virtual site for the first year, and most free zone packages include a desk or co-working space. A mainland normal licence needs a registered tenancy.
Not in DET's estimator for the activities we tested on 27 October 2026: management consultancy, advertising design, general trading, software design and a restaurant all came out the same. The legal form and the rent changed it. Activities that need another authority's approval, such as food, health or education, add that authority's fees.
On the mainland, through the Invest in Dubai portal or an approved service centre: DET says a normal licence is issued in ten minutes and an Instant or eTrader licence in five, once the application is complete. In a free zone, through that zone. We can file either for you, with both fees in writing first.
Figures checked 27 October 2026. DET: its Business Set-Up Recommendations tool for one expat owner, and its trade licence service page for the Instant and eTrader licences. DMCC: its own cost guide. Ajman Media City, SPC, SHAMS, RAKEZ, Meydan and Dubai South Business Hub: each zone's own published prices, checked between 22 and 27 October 2026. Our prices are from our current price list.