Comparison
DAFZA vs JAFZA
Dubai Airport Free Zone against Jebel Ali Free Zone. The specifications side by side, what each actually costs, how banks receive them, and a straight answer about which suits which business.
Side by side
| Criterion | DAFZA | JAFZA |
|---|---|---|
| Emirate | Dubai | Dubai |
| Type | Free zone | Free zone |
| Location | Dubai International Airport | Jebel Ali Port |
| Licence issuance | 2–4 weeks | 2–4 weeks |
| Residence visas | By leased area | Scales with leased space — the highest ceilings in Dubai |
| Ownership | 100% foreign | 100% foreign |
| Premises | Offices and light-industrial units inside the airport perimeter | Warehouses, plots, offices, on-site staff accommodation |
| Commonly licensed | Logistics & warehousing, Trading & distribution, Aviation, Software & IT | Logistics & warehousing, Manufacturing & industrial, Trading & distribution, Shipping & maritime |
Timelines and quotas are indicative and revised by the authorities without notice.
Straight answer
Which one?
Air versus sea, and it is that simple. DAFZA is inside Dubai International, clears cargo in hours, and costs the most per square foot in the emirate — which is justified if your stock is expensive per kilogram. JAFZA is a sea port with warehousing at a fraction of the rate. Pharmaceuticals, electronics and jewellery: DAFZA. Volume freight: JAFZA.
What each actually costs
DAFZA
The highest per square foot in Dubai. Justified where stock is expensive per kilogram or time-critical; not otherwise.
JAFZA
Priced for cargo. Warehousing, plots and offices are at the premium end of UAE industrial space, and the value is in the port adjacency rather than the rate.
How banks receive them
DAFZA
Straightforward. The tenant profile is high-value trade and banks are comfortable with it.
JAFZA
Straightforward. JAFZA is long established and banks understand the trade flows of its tenants.
Who is based in each
DAFZA
Electronics and pharmaceutical distributors, aviation parts traders, jewellery and high-value goods handlers, and time-critical logistics operations.
Cargo clears into the free zone in hours rather than days, which is worth real money if your stock is expensive per kilogram — electronics, pharmaceuticals, aviation parts, jewellery.
JAFZA
Shipping lines, freight forwarders, distributors, manufacturers, oil and gas supply chain and the regional distribution arms of multinationals. Roughly 10,000 companies.
The oldest free zone in the UAE and still the one that matters if goods physically move. It sits inside the largest container port between Singapore and Rotterdam, connects to Al Maktoum airport, and can house your workforce on site. Nothing else in Dubai does all three.
Activities
Only DAFZA: Aviation, Healthcare & medical, Software & IT
Only JAFZA: Energy, oil & gas, Manufacturing & industrial, Shipping & maritime
Questions
DAFZA: The highest per square foot in Dubai. Justified where stock is expensive per kilogram or time-critical; not otherwise. JAFZA: Priced for cargo. Warehousing, plots and offices are at the premium end of UAE industrial space, and the value is in the port adjacency rather than the rate.
DAFZA — straightforward. The tenant profile is high-value trade and banks are comfortable with it. JAFZA — straightforward. JAFZA is long established and banks understand the trade flows of its tenants.
DAFZA hosts electronics and pharmaceutical distributors, aviation parts traders, jewellery and high-value goods handlers, and time-critical logistics operations. JAFZA hosts shipping lines, freight forwarders, distributors, manufacturers, oil and gas supply chain and the regional distribution arms of multinationals. Roughly 10,000 companies.