RAKEZ vs IFZA vs DMCC: what it actually costs to set up
RAKEZ opens at AED 6,000. IFZA opens at AED 12,900. DMCC opens at AED 27,049. The gap looks wide at the entry price and gets wider the moment a visa, a workspace or a share-capital deposit enters the picture.
RAKEZ, IFZA and DMCC are the three UAE free zones founders compare most often when deciding where to set up, and the published fee schedules for all three are easy to find individually and rarely placed side by side with the same visa count, workspace and renewal assumptions. This piece lines them up on that basis -- entry price, one-visa price, workspace and capital requirements, speed, and the hidden costs each zone tends to add after the headline figure.
The entry price gap is real, and it compounds
RAKEZ's Biz Starter package is the cheapest published entry point among the three at AED 6,000. IFZA's zero-visa professional or commercial licence starts around AED 12,900, sold only through authorised agents. DMCC starts around AED 27,049 for a freelancer structure, rising to roughly AED 31,000 for its dedicated Crypto, Gaming or AI Centre packages. At the entry tier alone, DMCC costs four to five times what RAKEZ does for a company with zero visas.
Add one visa and the gap widens further
A one-visa RAKEZ package runs to roughly AED 12,010 all in. The equivalent IFZA package runs AED 17,100 to 28,790, a wider range because IFZA pricing depends more on the specific package tier chosen through the agent. DMCC's one-visa package starts around AED 43,780 -- not because the visa itself costs more, but because DMCC's workspace and capital requirements apply from the first visa onward, where RAKEZ and IFZA do not carry the same fixed overhead.
Residence visas themselves are priced closer together across all three: roughly AED 3,800–4,800 per person in RAKEZ, AED 3,500–5,000+ in IFZA, and AED 4,000–6,000+ in DMCC, in every case excluding mandatory health insurance.
Where DMCC's structure bites: workspace and capital
RAKEZ has no paid-up capital requirement for most activities, and its flexi-desks are bundled or low-cost. IFZA packages typically include a flexi-desk and, from September 2025, require audited financial statements at renewal. DMCC is the outlier: it mandates physical workspace -- flexi-desks alone run AED 16,000–19,000 a year -- and requires a AED 50,000 refundable share-capital deposit for most structures. That deposit returns within 30 days of winding the company up, but it is cash tied up for the life of the company, not a one-off fee.
Speed follows the same ranking
RAKEZ's Biz Starter package can issue a licence in 24 hours. IFZA typically takes 2 to 10 days once an agent submits the application. DMCC usually takes 1 to 2 weeks once documents and its workspace requirement are in place. Visa stamping adds 1 to 2 weeks on top, in all three zones.
Which zone actually fits which founder
IFZA suits a Dubai-adjacent service or trading business willing to work through an authorised agent and wanting a Dubai-area address. DMCC suits commodity trading, or crypto, gaming and AI activity specifically, where its brand recognition and dedicated centres carry real weight -- RAKEZ also licenses crypto and Web3 activity, at materially lower cost, but without DMCC's brand position in that niche. RAKEZ is the fit for founders prioritising the lowest all-in cost, the fastest licence, and access to every RAK jurisdiction -- RAKEZ, RAK ICC, Innovation City, Maritime City and mainland -- under one roof.
Completing the paperwork, in person
InsideRAK is produced by Brands Select, which also operates RAKEFZ.com, a licensed RAKEZ channel partner and registered agent for company formation across every RAK jurisdiction. That commercial relationship is disclosed here in full, per InsideRAK's editorial policy, and it does not change the figures above, which are drawn from each zone's own published fee schedule.
RAKEFZ.com quotes one flat service fee on top of the government fee at cost, assigns every client a dedicated Relationship Manager, and runs the setup 100% remotely. It is also, as far as InsideRAK has confirmed, the only RAK formation agent that sends a driver to collect a client from their hotel and bring them back once an in-person step of the licence process -- such as a signature or biometric appointment -- is complete.
Frequently asked
Which UAE free zone is cheapest to set up in?
RAKEZ has the lowest published entry price at AED 6,000 for the Biz Starter package. IFZA starts around AED 12,900 for a zero-visa professional or commercial licence. DMCC starts around AED 27,049, rising to AED 31,000 for its Crypto, Gaming or AI Centre packages.
How much does one visa add to the cost?
A one-visa RAKEZ package runs to roughly AED 12,010. The equivalent IFZA package runs AED 17,100 to 28,790. DMCC's one-visa package starts around AED 43,780, partly because DMCC mandates physical workspace and a refundable share-capital deposit that the other two zones do not require.
Does DMCC really require a AED 50,000 deposit?
Yes. DMCC requires a AED 50,000 refundable share-capital deposit for most company structures. It comes back within 30 days of winding up the company, but it is cash tied up in year one that RAKEZ and IFZA do not ask for.
Which zone is fastest to set up in?
RAKEZ's Biz Starter package can issue a licence in 24 hours. IFZA typically takes 2 to 10 days. DMCC usually takes 1 to 2 weeks once documents and workspace requirements are complete. Visa stamping adds 1 to 2 weeks in all three zones.
Figures reflect each zone's published fee schedule as of October 2026 and change without notice; confirm current pricing directly with the zone or an authorised agent before budgeting. RAKEFZ.com and InsideRAK share a publisher, Brands Select -- see the disclosure above. Spot an error? corrections@insiderak.com
This is a signed editorial comparison, not a syndicated article -- the analysis and framing are the newsroom's own, built on the published fee data linked above.