WeArrange
Jurisdictions Compare About
Begin
Business Bay at night, looking toward the Burj Khalifa

All seven emirates

Forty-odd places to put a company. Six of them are right for you.

Every free zone and mainland authority in the United Arab Emirates, what each one is actually good at, and the part the brochure leaves out.

7 emirates 40+ free zones 7 mainland authorities 3 offshore registries

Before the list

Read this first, or the list will mislead you.

People arrive at this decision from the wrong end. They compare annual licence fees across six zones, pick the cheapest, and discover in month four that the package caps them at two visas, that their bank has never heard of the authority, or that the activity they actually perform is not on their licence.

The order that works is the reverse. Decide who you invoice. That settles free zone against mainland, and it settles it before price is even discussed. Then decide how many people need residence visas, because quota follows leased floor area and the cheap packages run out fast. Then, and only then, compare fees among the zones that survive.

A free zone licence is cheaper because it is narrower. You are buying full foreign ownership, customs relief on re-export and a potential 0% tax position — and giving up the right to sell directly into the UAE domestic market. That trade is the entire product.

Two things are true across every jurisdiction below, and they are worth stating once rather than repeating forty times. Since the 2021 amendment to the Commercial Companies Law, full foreign ownership is available on the mainland for the large majority of activities — the old requirement for a 51% Emirati partner survives only on a short strategic-impact list. And corporate tax now applies everywhere: 9% on taxable profit above AED 375,000, for financial years starting on or after 1 June 2023. Free zones can still reach 0% on qualifying income, but that is a test to be passed, not a status conferred by the address.

All 40 authorities

Narrow it down.

Filter by what the business actually does. Every entry opens a page on that authority — what it is good at, what to watch, and the numbers as they stand today.

DMCCDubai Multi Commodities CentreDubaiFree zoneDIFCDubai International Financial CentreDubaiFree zoneJAFZAJebel Ali Free ZoneDubaiFree zoneDAFZADubai Airport Free ZoneDubaiFree zoneIFZAInternational Free Zone AuthorityDubaiFree zoneMeydanMeydan Free ZoneDubaiFree zoneDubai SouthDubai South (DWC)DubaiFree zoneDICDubai Internet CityDubaiFree zoneDMCDubai Media CityDubaiFree zoned3Dubai Design DistrictDubaiFree zoneDHCCDubai Healthcare CityDubaiFree zoneDWTCDWTC Free ZoneDubaiFree zoneDSODubai Silicon OasisDubaiFree zoneDMCDubai Maritime CityDubaiFree zoneDETDubai mainland — Department of Economy & TourismDubaiMainlandJAFZA OffshoreJAFZA Offshore companiesDubaiOffshoreADGMAbu Dhabi Global MarketAbu DhabiFree zoneKEZADKhalifa Economic Zones Abu DhabiAbu DhabiFree zoneMasdarMasdar City Free ZoneAbu DhabiFree zonetwofour54Abu Dhabi creative clusterAbu DhabiFree zoneADAFZAbu Dhabi Airports Free ZoneAbu DhabiFree zoneADDEDAbu Dhabi mainland — Department of Economic DevelopmentAbu DhabiMainlandHamriyahHamriyah Free ZoneSharjahFree zoneSAIF ZoneSharjah Airport International Free ZoneSharjahFree zoneSHAMSSharjah Media CitySharjahFree zoneSPCSharjah Publishing CitySharjahFree zoneSEDDSharjah mainland — Economic Development DepartmentSharjahMainlandAFZAjman Free ZoneAjmanFree zoneAMCFZAjman Media City Free ZoneAjmanFree zoneAjman DEDAjman mainland — Department of Economic DevelopmentAjmanMainlandAjman OffshoreAjman Offshore companiesAjmanOffshoreRAKEZRas Al Khaimah Economic ZoneRas Al KhaimahFree zoneRAK DAORAK Digital Assets OasisRas Al KhaimahFree zoneRAK ICCRAK International Corporate CentreRas Al KhaimahOffshoreRAK DEDRas Al Khaimah mainlandRas Al KhaimahMainlandFFZFujairah Free ZoneFujairahFree zoneCreative CityFujairah Creative CityFujairahFree zoneFujairah DEDFujairah mainlandFujairahMainlandUAQ FTZUmm Al Quwain Free Trade ZoneUmm Al QuwainFree zoneUAQ DEDUmm Al Quwain mainlandUmm Al QuwainMainland

By emirate

Each emirate has a different authority set, a different economic base and a different reason to choose it.

Business setup in DubaiBusiness setup in Abu DhabiBusiness setup in SharjahBusiness setup in AjmanBusiness setup in Ras Al KhaimahBusiness setup in FujairahBusiness setup in Umm Al Quwain
The Dubai skyline at night with the Burj Khalifa

Emirate of Dubai

Dubai

More than twenty free zones plus the mainland authority, and the only emirate most foreign founders have heard of. It is rarely the cheapest option and frequently the correct one — because banks, landlords, insurers and customers all already know what a Dubai licence is.

DMCCDubai Multi Commodities Centre Commodities, general trading, precious metals, tea, crypto. The largest free zone in the country by company count, in Jumeirah Lakes Towers. Expensive by free zone standards. Worth it almost entirely because compliance teams at UAE banks open DMCC files without flinching.
DIFCDubai International Financial Centre Banks, funds, asset managers, fintech, family offices, law firms. English common law, its own courts, and the DFSA as regulator. A financial free zone, not a cheap one. If you are not doing regulated activity you are paying for a courthouse you will never use.
JAFZAJebel Ali Free Zone Logistics, manufacturing, re-export, heavy trading. Sits inside Jebel Ali Port, with warehousing, plots and a separate offshore registry. The right answer when goods physically move. Overkill, and overpriced, when they do not.
DAFZADubai Airport Free Zone Aviation, electronics, pharmaceuticals, high-value and time-sensitive cargo. Attached to Dubai International. Premium rates for premium adjacency. Justified if your stock is expensive per kilo.
IFZAInternational Free Zone Authority Consultancy, holding companies, general services and trading. Based in Dubai Silicon Oasis, sold through a wide agent network. The default recommendation for a small consultancy, and usually a sound one. Read the visa allocation before you sign.
MeydanMeydan Free Zone E-commerce, digital services, agencies. Light on documentation, genuinely fast, and comfortable with a virtual office. Standard packages are thin on visas. Fine for a founder and one hire; awkward at five.
Dubai SouthDWC — Dubai World Central Logistics, aviation, e-commerce fulfilment. Around Al Maktoum International and the former Expo site. Long-horizon bet. Cheap land, real infrastructure, still filling up.
DDA zonesInternet City, Media City, d3, Knowledge Park, Studio City Sector clusters under the Dubai Development Authority — tech, media, design, education, production. You are buying the neighbours as much as the licence. For some businesses that is the point.
DHCCDubai Healthcare City Clinics, medical practitioners, pharmaceutical and healthcare services, with its own clinical regulator. Practitioner licensing runs in parallel with company licensing. Budget time for both.
DWTCDubai World Trade Centre Free Zone Events, exhibitions, and the route many virtual-asset businesses take toward VARA registration. Crypto activity here is a regulatory project, not a licence purchase. Plan for months.
DETDubai mainland — Department of Economy & Tourism Retail, food and beverage, contracting, professional services, government tenders. Anything sold directly to UAE customers. Full foreign ownership on most activities since 2021. Costs more once Ejari and tenancy are counted, and buys the whole market.
The Abu Dhabi skyline seen from the water

Emirate of Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi

The capital, roughly ninety minutes down the road, and where the country's institutional money is administered. It has been competing hard for the business Dubai used to win by default — and on holding structures, industrial land and regulated funds it is frequently winning.

ADGMAbu Dhabi Global Market Holding companies, SPVs, family offices, funds, fintech. English common law applied directly, its own courts, and the FSRA as regulator. The strongest holding-company jurisdiction in the UAE, and usually cheaper than DIFC for the same structure.
KEZADKhalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi Manufacturing, industrial, logistics and warehousing, on serviced land beside Khalifa Port. Where to go when Dubai's industrial land is either full or priced as though it were.
Masdar CityMasdar City Free Zone Clean technology, renewables, R&D, sustainability and energy transition businesses. Genuine cluster effects if you are in the sector. Little reason to be there if you are not.
twofour54Abu Dhabi creative cluster Film, television, gaming, publishing and content production, with studios and a well-used production rebate. The rebate is the reason most production companies are there. Check current terms before you build a budget on it.
ADAFZAbu Dhabi Airports Free Zone Aviation services, MRO, air cargo and time-critical logistics at Zayed International. Narrow by design. If you are not moving something through an aircraft, look elsewhere.
ADDEDAbu Dhabi mainland — Department of Economic Development Contracting, retail, professional services, and any business bidding for Abu Dhabi government work. Government procurement here is large and real. It is also the reason to be on the mainland rather than in a zone.
The Sharjah skyline across Khalid Lagoon

Emirate of Sharjah

Sharjah

Adjacent to Dubai, materially cheaper, and frequently overlooked by people who assume the border matters more than it does. Your staff can live in Dubai and work here. Your goods clear through the same national customs.

HamriyahHamriyah Free Zone Heavy industry, oil and gas services, petrochemicals, steel and fabrication. Has its own port and deep-water berths. Industrial land at a fraction of Dubai rates. Not a place to run a consultancy from.
SAIF ZoneSharjah Airport International Free Zone Trading, light manufacturing, warehousing and distribution, next to Sharjah International Airport. Long established and well run. A sensible middle ground between price and credibility.
SHAMSSharjah Media City Media, marketing, design, consultancy and freelancers. Among the lowest licence costs anywhere in the UAE. Cheap and quick. Some banks are slower with SHAMS files, which is the trade you are making.
SPCSharjah Publishing City Publishing, printing, media and a surprisingly broad list of service activities. Fast issuance, unusually flexible. Offers a dual-licence route into Sharjah mainland, which few zones do. Worth asking about.
SEDDSharjah mainland — Economic Development Department Retail, trading and services sold into the local market, at lower establishment cost than Dubai mainland. Sharjah is dry. If your business involves alcohol licensing, this is not the emirate.
The Jebel Jais mountain range above Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah

Ras Al Khaimah

An hour north of Dubai, with the country's most competitive industrial leasing and one of its cleanest offshore registries. Increasingly the answer for manufacturers who costed Dubai and stopped.

RAKEZRas Al Khaimah Economic Zone Industrial parks, manufacturing, warehousing, land plots, and low-cost SME packages for services and trading. Genuinely broad — it serves a one-person consultancy and a ceramics factory from the same authority.
RAK DAORAK Digital Assets Oasis Virtual assets, Web3, DAOs and digital-asset businesses that are not doing regulated financial activity. Purpose-built and unusually clear on what it will and will not licence. Banking remains the hard part.
RAK ICCRAK International Corporate Centre Offshore and international business companies. Holding structures, asset protection, property ownership through a corporate vehicle. Not a free zone. No premises, no visas, no UAE trading. A legal shell, and a well-regarded one.
Fujairah city with the container port beyond

Fujairah

Fujairah

The only emirate on the Gulf of Oman. Ships reach it without entering the Strait of Hormuz, which is not a geographical footnote — it is the entire commercial logic of the place and the reason it handles the bunkering trade it does.

FFZFujairah Free Zone Bunkering, oil storage and blending, shipping services, and trading that benefits from Indian Ocean access. A specialist port economy. If you are in it, you already know. If you are not, there are easier places.
Creative CityFujairah Creative City Media, consultancy, IT and freelance professionals, with low-cost packages and no physical presence requirement. One of the original remote-friendly zones. Cheap, workable, and unglamorous.

Ajman & Umm Al Quwain

The smallest two

The cheapest places in the country to hold a valid licence. Nobody will be impressed by the address, and for a freelancer, a small trader or a dormant holding company that is a perfectly rational thing not to pay for.

Ajman Free Zone
Trading, light manufacturing and services, adjacent to Ajman Port. Long established, low cost, straightforward.
Ajman Media City
Media, e-commerce and consultancy. Among the lowest annual licence fees in the UAE, issued quickly.
UAQ FTZ
Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone. Micro-businesses, trading and services, with some of the cheapest packages available anywhere.
The catch
Bank compliance teams see fewer of these files and take longer over them. Budget extra weeks, not extra money.

A separate thing entirely

Offshore is not a cheap free zone.

The word gets used loosely and it costs people money. An offshore company — RAK ICC, JAFZA Offshore, Ajman Offshore — is a legal vehicle for holding things. Shares in other companies. Property, where the land department permits it. Intellectual property. Ships.

It cannot trade inside the UAE. It cannot lease premises. It cannot sponsor a single residence visa, including yours. If somebody has offered you an offshore company as a way of living in Dubai, they have either misunderstood or they are hoping you will.

Used correctly it is elegant: an offshore holding entity above one or more operating companies, keeping the shareholding clean and the operating businesses separable. Used as a substitute for a real licence it is a dead end you pay annually for.

RAK ICC
The most widely recognised UAE offshore registry. Modern companies regulations, familiar to international counsel and to banks.
JAFZA Offshore
The only UAE offshore vehicle permitted to hold Dubai freehold property directly in a number of developments. That is its distinguishing feature.
What none of them do
Visas, premises, domestic trade, or a VAT registration.

Still ambiguous?

That is the normal state of affairs at this point. The questionnaire on the home page narrows it to three in about ninety seconds, and costs nothing.