Comparison
RAKEZ vs IFZA
Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone against International Free Zone Authority. 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 | RAKEZ | IFZA |
|---|---|---|
| Emirate | Ras Al Khaimah | Dubai |
| Type | Free zone | Free zone |
| Location | Al Hamra / Al Ghail | Dubai Silicon Oasis |
| Licence issuance | 5–10 days | 3–5 days |
| Residence visas | From 1 on desk packages to unlimited on industrial land | Packages from 0 up to around 6, priced in tiers |
| Ownership | 100% foreign | 100% foreign |
| Premises | Desks, offices, warehouses, industrial land, labour accommodation | Flexi-desk standard; offices available |
| Commonly licensed | Manufacturing & industrial, Trading & distribution, Consulting & professional services, Logistics & warehousing | Consulting & professional services, Trading & distribution, Holding & SPVs, Software & IT |
Timelines and quotas are indicative and revised by the authorities without notice.
Straight answer
Which one?
RAKEZ is cheaper and vastly more flexible on physical space — the same authority licenses a solo consultant and a ceramics factory. IFZA is in Dubai and has the shorter commute to your clients. If you need warehousing, land or more than a handful of visas, RAKEZ wins on cost by a wide margin. If you need an office address people recognise and a bank that opens quickly, pay for Dubai.
What each actually costs
RAKEZ
Exceptionally broad. Desk packages compete with the cheapest zones while industrial land is the most competitive serious leasing in the country.
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.
How banks receive them
RAKEZ
Reasonable. RAKEZ is well known and better received than the smallest northern zones.
IFZA
Generally fine. Well known enough that banks process the file without extra questions, though not with DMCC's ease.
Who is based in each
RAKEZ
Manufacturers, industrial operations, construction materials, and a large population of service companies on desk packages.
Unusually broad — the same authority licenses a one-person consultancy and a ceramics factory, and does both competently. Industrial leasing here is the cheapest serious option in the UAE, which is why a good deal of regional manufacturing has quietly moved north.
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.
Activities
Only RAKEZ: Logistics & warehousing, Manufacturing & industrial
Only IFZA: Holding & SPVs, Software & IT
Questions
RAKEZ: Exceptionally broad. Desk packages compete with the cheapest zones while industrial land is the most competitive serious leasing in the country. 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.
RAKEZ — reasonable. RAKEZ is well known and better received than the smallest northern zones. IFZA — generally fine. Well known enough that banks process the file without extra questions, though not with DMCC's ease.
RAKEZ hosts manufacturers, industrial operations, construction materials, and a large population of service companies on desk packages. IFZA hosts consultancies, holding companies, general services and small trading businesses — tens of thousands of them, mostly under five people.