A free UAE company setup cost calculator that adds up each free zone's own prices, an agency's fee and the extras for years 1 to 3, with the cost to close and your corporate tax.
5.0(1 rating)Pick how many residence visas you need, what your company will do and who sets it up, to see what each UAE free zone costs in years 1, 2 and 3. Then check a quote you got, see what closing the company costs, and work out your corporate tax.
How many residence visas?
What will the company do?
Who sets it up?
My rule of thumbWhen I lived in Dubai and ran my business there, my company was in IFZA, and I set it up with GenZone. I'd recommend both. For IFZA with one visa, I'd expect about $8,000 to $10,000 in year 1 through an agency, before health insurance and accounting. If an agency asks $20,000 or more for that, I'd walk away: real prices are hard to find, and many agencies use that. Work only with an agency that shows you what it pays the free zone and what it adds on top.
Visit GenZoneWhat else you pay
What each free zone costs
What closing the company costs
In my experience, closing a Dubai company is very expensive: over $2,000, mostly $2,500 to $3,000, depending on how much accounting is left.Sources (3)
GenZone, what it costs to close a Dubai company (August 13, 2026)Read on Sep 28, 2026Companies House, fees (updated September 25, 2026)Read on Sep 28, 2026Wyoming Secretary of State, business feesRead on Sep 28, 2026Your corporate tax
Sources (9)
The Official Platform of the UAE Government (u.ae), corporate taxRead on Sep 28, 2026Federal Tax Authority, small business reliefRead on Sep 28, 2026UAE Ministry of Finance, small business relief extended to December 31, 2029 (August 7, 2026)Read on Sep 28, 2026Federal Tax Authority, free zone person bulletinRead on Sep 28, 2026UAE Ministry of Finance, Ministerial Decision No. 229 of 2025 on qualifying and excluded activitiesRead on Sep 28, 2026UAE Ministry of Finance, Ministerial Decision No. 84 of 2025 on audited financial statementsRead on Sep 28, 2026Federal Tax Authority, corporate tax general guideRead on Sep 28, 2026Federal Tax Authority, corporate tax registrationRead on Sep 28, 2026The Official Platform of the UAE Government (u.ae), taxationRead on Sep 27, 2026This free UAE company setup cost calculator shows what a free zone company really costs, with the visas you need, through an agency or on your own.
It splits every price into its lines: the free zone's own, the agency's fee, and what else you pay, such as health insurance and accounting. You see years 1, 2 and 3, what closing costs, and your corporate tax.
Here's what a UAE free zone company costs, why most people use an agency, and how corporate tax works now.
What is a UAE company setup cost calculator?
A UAE company setup cost calculator adds up what it costs to form a free zone company and keep it: the license, the desk that comes with it, each residence visa, the cards and registrations a company with visas needs, and the agency's fee.
Free zones price these in different ways. One sells an all-inclusive package, another charges per visa allocation every year, another sells a yearly package with a visa inside. This calculator puts them on the same footing.
What does a UAE free zone company cost?
With one residence visa for you, year 1 runs from AED 13,935 at Shams to AED 45,001.40 at DMCC in the free zones' own fees. Through an agency, add its fee on top:
- Emirate
- Sharjah
- Year 1, the zone's fees
- AED 13,935
- With GenZone's fee
- AED 23,116
- Emirate
- Ras Al Khaimah
- Year 1, the zone's fees
- AED 14,000
- With GenZone's fee
- AED 23,181
- Emirate
- Sharjah
- Year 1, the zone's fees
- AED 14,300
- With GenZone's fee
- AED 23,481
- Emirate
- Dubai
- Year 1, the zone's fees
- AED 20,350
- With GenZone's fee
- AED 29,531
- Emirate
- Dubai
- Year 1, the zone's fees
- AED 23,880
- With GenZone's fee
- AED 33,061
- Emirate
- Dubai
- Year 1, the zone's fees
- AED 45,001.40
- With GenZone's fee
- AED 54,182.40
Without a visa, a license for e-commerce, media or publishing starts at AED 5,760 in Sharjah.
Many creators and founders have moved to Dubai or run their business there. IFZA, in Dubai Silicon Oasis, is the one I used when I lived in Dubai and ran my business there, and the one I recommend. It doesn't publish its prices: it sells only through partners, so its lines here are theirs.
Why most people use an agency
Most people don't pay the free zone directly. They use an agency, because the setup, the visa steps and the bank accounts are hard to do alone.
The agency adds its own fee on top of the free zone's, and some charge far more than others. GenZone, the agency I used, publishes its lines: $2,500 (about AED 9,181) once, and $500 (about AED 1,836) for help opening your company and personal bank accounts. It also warns that many agencies charge a yearly "management fee" of $1,000 to $3,000 just to renew your license.
For IFZA with one visa, I'd expect about $8,000 to $10,000 in year 1 through an agency, before health insurance and accounting. The calculator comes to AED 33,061 (about $9,002) for that.
If an agency asks $20,000 or more for the same, I'd walk away: real prices are hard to find, and many agencies use that. Work only with an agency that shows you what it pays the free zone and what it adds on top. The calculator's quote check does that sum for you.
Year 2 and year 3
The license renews every year, but a residence visa runs for 2 years, so the visa's cost comes back in year 3, not year 2. For me, year 2 was about $5,000.
Here's how each free zone renews:
- IFZA – the license renews at AED 14,900 with one visa, and GenZone puts renewals at AED 15,000 to 17,000 a year
- RAKEZ – guarantees the same renewal price as its package
- Shams – promises a fixed renewal cost for the lifetime of the business
- Meydan Free Zone – charges the license, the desk, each visa allocation and the immigration card again every year
- DMCC – lists its own renewal packages, and the tool uses its Basic Flexi one
- SPC Free Zone – doesn't publish a license renewal price, so years 2 and 3 show as not published
With accounting, IFZA through an agency comes to AED 37,560 in year 1, AED 19,399 (about $5,282) in year 2 and AED 23,149 in year 3. Health insurance adds from AED 4,000 a year for each visa holder.
Bringing a partner or staff
Each extra visa can be for a partner, or for someone your company employs. In my experience it's one of the easiest ways to move someone to the UAE, and it's open to most nationalities.
It costs money, though: each visa adds its allocation, the visa processing and the medical, as the calculator shows. In Dubai, the employer pays each employee's health insurance.
Closing a Dubai company is expensive
You can't just stop renewing: the free zone adds fines, and your visa and bank files stay open. Closing properly means a liquidation audit, cancelling every visa, deregistering for tax and cancelling the license, over 3 to 4 weeks.
GenZone puts the government fees at about AED 8,555 with one visa, and AED 12,230 with its own fee to run it. In my experience it's over $2,000, mostly $2,500 to $3,000, depending on how much accounting is left.
That's far more than elsewhere. Companies House strikes off a UK company for £13 online, and a Wyoming LLC costs $60 to dissolve.
Corporate tax in the UAE isn't 0%
Your own income as a person isn't taxed in the UAE. A company is different: corporate tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it.
You can still reach 0%, depending on how you're set up and how much you earn:
- Profit up to AED 375,000 – taxed at 0%
- Small business relief – with revenue of AED 3 million or less in this and every earlier tax period, you can elect to be treated as having no taxable income, for tax periods ending by December 31, 2029
- A qualifying free zone company – 0% on qualifying income only, which covers manufacturing, trading qualifying commodities, holding shares, fund and wealth management, logistics and a few more, not sales to people such as courses or coaching
A qualifying free zone company also needs audited accounts, transfer pricing records and real substance in the free zone, and it can't use small business relief. Miss one condition and it pays 9% for that year and the next 4.
The accounting is new, too. Every company registers for corporate tax, files a return within 9 months of each year's end, even with nothing to pay, and keeps its records for 7 years. Registering late costs AED 10,000.
If you're comparing countries, the tax rates by country tool shows the UAE next to the rest, and the territorial tax map shows how your own country taxes income from abroad.
Why many Dubai founders also have a US LLC
Many founders with a Dubai company also run a US LLC. I had both, and for me the US LLC makes payments simpler: Stripe and PayPal are easier, Stripe takes American Express, card declines happen a bit less, and US customers trust a US company a little more. Stripe works in the UAE, but it isn't quite the same.
One part of that is on Stripe's own list: American Express works on Stripe accounts in every country except Brazil, Malaysia, Thailand and the UAE. Stripe's standard price for domestic cards is 2.9% + AED 1 in the UAE and 2.9% + 30¢ in the US.
The US LLC for non-residents checker shows whether US tax applies to your LLC, and company formation compared shows what one costs in each state.
What the calculator leaves out
A few costs depend on you:
- A bank's minimum balance – GenZone says Emirates NBD asks for an AED 15,000 minimum deposit, and WIO asks for none
- A bigger office – some free zones need one once you have many visas
- Audited accounts – a qualifying free zone company needs them every year
How to use the UAE company setup cost calculator
Your picks stay in this browser.
Who is the UAE company setup cost calculator for?
It's for founders and freelancers weighing a UAE company, and each of them has a next step:
- Company formation compared – anyone still choosing between the UAE, a US LLC, the UK, Estonia and more than 30 other places
- US LLC for non-residents checker – anyone adding a US LLC for payments
- Tax rates by country – anyone comparing corporate tax, income tax and VAT
- Tax breaks for new residents – anyone moving and looking for a special tax regime
- What is a global citizen? – anyone building a life across borders, in my own words
More money tools are on the free finance tools page. Or browse all my free tools.
UAE Company Setup Cost Calculator FAQs
Questions about what a UAE company costs? Here's what to know.
A UAE company setup cost calculator adds up what it costs to form a free zone company and keep it: the license, the desk, each residence visa, the agency's fee and what else you pay.
This one uses each free zone's own prices and shows years 1, 2 and 3.
For IFZA with one visa, the free zone and government fees come to AED 23,880 in year 1, and AED 33,061 (about $9,002) with GenZone's fee.
With accounting, it's AED 37,560, and health insurance adds from AED 4,000 a year for each visa holder.
I'd expect about $8,000 to $10,000 through an agency, before insurance and accounting.
In the free zones' own fees, Shams is the cheapest in year 1 with one visa, at AED 13,935.
Without a visa, an e-commerce, media or publishing license starts at AED 5,760 in Sharjah.
Not always: some free zones sell online, but IFZA sells only through its partners.
Most people use an agency, because the setup, the visa steps and the bank accounts are hard to do alone.
Work only with one that shows you what it pays the free zone and what it adds on top.
Year 2 is mostly the license renewal: AED 14,900 for IFZA with one visa, plus insurance and accounting.
The visa runs for 2 years, so its cost comes back in year 3.
For me, year 2 was about $5,000.
GenZone puts the government fees at about AED 8,555 with one visa, most of it the liquidation audit.
With an agency's fee, it's about AED 12,230.
In my experience it's mostly $2,500 to $3,000, depending on how much accounting is left.
Yes: corporate tax is 0% on taxable income up to AED 375,000 and 9% above it.
A qualifying free zone company pays 0% on its qualifying income only while it meets every condition, including real substance and audited accounts.
Yes, in three ways: profit up to AED 375,000, small business relief, or qualifying income as a qualifying free zone company.
Qualifying income is narrow: sales to people, such as courses or coaching, don't count.
With revenue of AED 3 million or less in this and every earlier tax period, a company can elect to be treated as having no taxable income.
It applies to tax periods ending by December 31, 2029, and a qualifying free zone company can't use it.
Yes: every company registers, files a return within 9 months of each year's end, and keeps its records for 7 years.
Registering late costs AED 10,000.
I did. I'm Navid Moazzez, and the UAE company setup cost calculator is one of my free tools on navid.me.
Read about me, or see my creator profile.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
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