Comparison
IFZA vs SHAMS
International Free Zone Authority against Sharjah Media City. 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 | IFZA | SHAMS |
|---|---|---|
| Emirate | Dubai | Sharjah |
| Type | Free zone | Free zone |
| Location | Dubai Silicon Oasis | Al Messaned |
| Licence issuance | 3–5 days | 2–4 days |
| Residence visas | Packages from 0 up to around 6, priced in tiers | Up to around 6 depending on package |
| Ownership | 100% foreign | 100% foreign |
| Premises | Flexi-desk standard; offices available | Virtual and serviced desks |
| Commonly licensed | Consulting & professional services, Trading & distribution, Holding & SPVs, Software & IT | Media, creative & marketing, Consulting & professional services, Freelance & solo, Software & IT |
Timelines and quotas are indicative and revised by the authorities without notice.
Straight answer
Which one?
SHAMS is cheaper — meaningfully, not marginally — and issues faster. IFZA is in Dubai, which matters for client perception and for the bank. Both are sound licences. The question is whether your clients will ever notice the emirate on your invoice. Freelancers and small creative businesses: SHAMS. Anything institutional-facing: pay the difference for Dubai.
What each actually costs
IFZA
Clearly tiered and among the more competitive Dubai options. A service licence with one visa sits at the lower end of the AED 12,500–25,000 first-year band; adding visas moves it fastest.
SHAMS
Among the lowest genuine licence costs in the country, issued in days, with virtual and serviced desk options.
How banks receive them
IFZA
Generally fine. Well known enough that banks process the file without extra questions, though not with DMCC's ease.
SHAMS
The main trade-off. Some banks are slower with SHAMS files — not refusals, but weeks of additional questions. That delay is the real cost of the saving.
Who is based in each
IFZA
Consultancies, holding companies, general services and small trading businesses — tens of thousands of them, mostly under five people.
The volume answer for small consultancies, and a defensible one. Packages are clearly priced, issuance is genuinely quick, and the activity list is broad enough that most service businesses find themselves on it without contortion.
SHAMS
Media professionals, marketing consultants, IT freelancers, small agencies and a very large solo-practitioner population.
Among the cheapest genuine licences in the country, issued in days, with a media and services activity list broad enough to cover most creative and consulting work. For a solo practitioner it is very hard to beat on price.
Activities
Only IFZA: Holding & SPVs, Trading & distribution
Only SHAMS: Media, creative & marketing
Questions
IFZA: Clearly tiered and among the more competitive Dubai options. A service licence with one visa sits at the lower end of the AED 12,500–25,000 first-year band; adding visas moves it fastest. SHAMS: Among the lowest genuine licence costs in the country, issued in days, with virtual and serviced desk options.
IFZA — generally fine. Well known enough that banks process the file without extra questions, though not with DMCC's ease. SHAMS — the main trade-off. Some banks are slower with SHAMS files — not refusals, but weeks of additional questions. That delay is the real cost of the saving.
IFZA hosts consultancies, holding companies, general services and small trading businesses — tens of thousands of them, mostly under five people. SHAMS hosts media professionals, marketing consultants, IT freelancers, small agencies and a very large solo-practitioner population.