How much does it cost to open a business in Dubai in 2026: license, visa, office, estimate

How much does it cost to open a business in Dubai: briefly about the main thing

If you need one answer to the question “how much does a company cost in Dubai”, it sounds like this: the real first year budget for one founder with one visa is approximately from 25,000 to 35,000 AED in the economy class free zone (approximately 6,800-9,500 dollars at the peg rate of ~3.6725 per dollar). Anything that is advertised cheaper is, as a rule, the bare price of a license without a visa, office and mandatory fees.

It’s important to immediately separate the two numbers that marketing intentionally confuses:

• Dubai free zone license price - This is a payment for the very right to conduct activities. The basic package starts from 12,500-15,000 AED per year. This is the “admission ticket” and not the final cost.
• Real budget of the first year - license plus founder’s visa, flexi desk or office, bank account, health insurance and administrative fees. This is the amount you will actually spend.

Later in the article we will break down both numbers into items and give two ready-made estimates. In the meantime, remember the principle: “opening a company in the UAE price” is always a question with clarifications, and not just one figure from an advertisement. We discuss the basic mechanics of registration and structure selection in detail in the guide for company registration in the UAE.

What is the cost of a company in Dubai?

To understand how much a company in Dubai costs, you need to break down the estimate into individual items. There are few of them, but each is mandatory, and it is their amount that forms the real budget, and not the advertising price of the license.

• License (trade license). Main article. Commercial, professional or industrial - depending on the activity. In the free zone from ~12,500 AED, in the mainland ~15,000-25,000 AED.
• Registration and administrative fees. Issue of registration certificate, establishment card (company card for visas), e-channel. Usually frizzona are sewn into the package, but on mainland they are considered separately.
• Office or flexi desk. Legal address is required. In the free zone there is a flexi desk from ~5,000 AED, on the mainland there is a real office with Ejari registration.
• Founder visa. Resident visa + entry permit + medical test + Emirates ID + biometrics. Approximately 4,000-7,000 AED per person.
• Bank account and compliance. The account itself is formally free, but KYC/AML support and verification of the source of funds is a separate article.
• Medical insurance. A visa is required - from ~800-1,500 AED per year per person.

Add these lines up and you will get a estimate. Below we will analyze each separately.

Price of a free zone license in Dubai: what it depends on

The license is the heart of the estimate, and it is around it that all advertising “to open a company in the UAE, price from...” is built. The price of a Dubai free zone license depends on three factors: the zone itself, the type of activity and the number of visas allowed in the package.

Guidelines for 2026 for popular free zones in Dubai (approximately, without visas and office):

• Budget zones (IFZA, Meydan, SHAMS). Basic package from ~12,500-15,000 AED per year. They often come with a zero visa quota - visas must be purchased separately.
• Middle segment (RAKEZ, SPC and analogues). Approximately 15,000-25,000 AED, usually with 1-2 visas in the package.
• Premium zones (DMCC, DIFC, DAFZA). From ~25,000-50,000 AED and above, with the requirement of a dedicated office and high annual fees.

The main nuance is the visa quota. A cheap package for 12,500 AED often does not include a single visa, and once you add a founder’s visa, the total rises to 18,000-22,000 AED. Therefore, you need to compare zones not by the bare price of a license, but by the “license + N visas” package. How to choose a zone for a task and not overpay, we discuss in materials about free zones of the UAEandbest free zones in the UAE.

Mainland: DET license, Ejari office and when it is justified

Mainland is a company licensed by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET, formerly DED) and operates throughout the UAE domestic market without free zone restrictions. From 2021, 100% foreign ownership is available for most activities, so a local sponsoring partner is no longer required for shares.

But for the freedom to enter the local market you have to pay with a different estimate:

• DET license. Professional ~15,000-17,000 AED, commercial ~18,000-22,000 AED, industrial ~20,000-25,000 AED.
• Real office with Ejari. Unlike a free zone, mainland requires a physical office registered in the Ejari system. Flexi desk/coworking ~15,000-25,000 AED, a separate office is noticeably more expensive. Registration Ejari - ~220 AED plus a percentage of the rental.
• PRO services and approvals. State approvals by type of activity, PRO services - additional articles.

The result of the first year for mainland LLC is approximately 22,000-45,000 AED depending on the type of activity, office and number of visas. Mainland is justified if you work with local clients, open retail, a cafe, a clinic, or want to participate in government procurement. For online business, consulting and export trade, a free zone is often more profitable. Comparison of structures and step-by-step order - in the guide company registration in Dubai.

Founder visa: Emirates ID, medical test and how much it costs

Opening a company in itself does not give the right to live in the UAE - for this you need a resident visa. The founder's visa (investor/partner visa) is the second most important item in the budget after the license, and is often “forgotten” in advertising prices.

What does the cost of a founder’s visa consist of (approximately):

• Entry permit - starting document for changing status.
• Medical fitness test - ~300-700 AED.
• Emirates ID - resident certificate, ~370-1,200 AED depending on the validity period.
• Visa stamp and biometrics - final registration of residency status.

In total, a founder's visa for the corporate route costs approximately 4,000-7,000 AED per person (government fees, excluding license costs). If you apply for a visa not through your company, but through a real estate investment, separate DLD tariffs apply. For example, for a two-year real estate investor visa, a single state fee of about 10,200 AED is published, which already includes a medical test and Emirates ID.

The resident visa holder can then sponsor a family - spouse, children, parents - and each family member will have their own visa budget. This is important to consider if you are not moving alone.

Office and flexi-desk: legal address as a mandatory item

A company in the UAE must have a legal address - without it, neither a license nor a visa will be issued. But the requirements for the office in the free zone and mainland are different, and this greatly affects the estimate.

• Flexi desk in free zone - the most economical option: a workplace in the common space of the zone with the right to register a company. Approximately 5,000-10,000 AED per year. This is often enough for consulting, IT, and online trading.
• Smart office / dedicated workplace - ~7,500-15,000 AED, gives a large visa quota.
• Separate office - from ~25,000 AED and above, needed for staffing or zone requirements.
• Office on mainland with Ejari - a physical location is required. Coworking ~15,000-25,000 AED, separate office ~30,000-50,000 AED and above.

Key rule: the number of visas is tied to the area and type of address. A flexi desk usually gives 1-2 visas, and if you need 5-7 visas, you will have to take a larger office - and this is immediately another budget line. Therefore, you need to plan your office not “at the minimum”, but according to the actual number of resident visas that you will need.

Bank account and compliance: free, but not easy

A corporate account is a mandatory element of a work company, and one of the most underestimated risks of the estimate is hidden here. Formally, opening an account is free, but in fact it is an independent project.

What is important to understand:

• Enhanced compliance (KYC/AML). UAE banks carefully check the company structure, source of funds, actual activities and beneficiaries. This is not a formality, but a full check.
• Not every bank opens an account. For certain categories of clients, including a number of citizens of the Russian Federation, not all banks are ready to open an account, and selecting a bank is a separate task. Everything is strictly within the law, without circumventing sanctions.
• Account opening support. Preparing a package of documents and completing compliance is often included as a separate service - approximately 4,000-11,000 AED.
• Account maintenance. The minimum balance and service fees are ~1,200-3,600 AED per year, depending on the bank.

The main takeaway is that the invoice should not be considered a “free” line item. Allow time (from several weeks) and budget for compliance, otherwise the company will be registered, but will not be able to accept payments. Proper preparation of documents before submitting to the bank is what really saves both money and months.

Annual License Renewal: An Overlooked Cost

The most common mistake in planning is to consider only the start-up cost and forget that the company requires annual investments. A license in Dubai is issued for a year and is subject to mandatory renewal, otherwise the company will fall into default with fines.

Annual renewal guidelines:

• Frizone - license renewal is usually close to the cost of the first year without one-time registration fees: from ~12,500 AED and above depending on the zone and package.
• Mainland - license renewal approximately 16,000-26,000 AED, plus office and Ejari rental renewal.
• Founder visa - the resident visa is also extended (every 2 years for a standard one), with a repeat medical test and Emirates ID.
• Accounting and auditing. With the introduction of corporation tax, companies are required to keep records. Accounting support - from ~900 AED per month, audit - separately at the request of the zone.

Realistically, the second and subsequent years for an active free zone company with accounting costs approximately 25,000-40,000 AED. This needs to be included in the financial model right away: a business in Dubai is not a one-time expense for opening, but an annual cost of ownership.

Hidden costs and common mistakes in estimates

Most surprises in the budget are not force majeure, but predictable items that were simply not included at the start. We will analyze typical pitfalls so that your estimate coincides with reality.

• License price instead of the full budget. The most common mistake is to rely on the advertised 12,500 AED and not include a visa, office, insurance and bank. The actual budget is twice as high.
• Zero visa quota included in the package. Cheap packages often come without visas. The founder's visa must be purchased separately - purchase it immediately.
• Forgotten annual renewal. The company requires money every year, not just when it opens. Late license - fines.
• Underestimation of banking compliance. It can take weeks to open an account, and for some clients, they may even be completely refused by a particular bank. Without preparing documents, this will stall the entire launch.
• Ignoring accounting and corporate tax. From 2023, registration is mandatory. Accounting is a permanent item, not a one-time item.
• Minimum office. We saved on the flexi desk and received a limit of 1-2 visas. If you plan to have staff, you will have to pay more for the office.

The conclusion is simple: calculate the budget for 2 years in advance and according to the real number of visas, and not according to the advertising price of the license.

How to calculate an estimate correctly: an expert’s view

Over the years of practice, we see the same scenario: the client comes with the figure “license from 12,500”, and leaves with the understanding that the real budget for the first year is 25-35 thousand dirhams in the free zone and up to 45 thousand in the mainland. The difference is not the cheating of the zones, but the missing mandatory items. Therefore, we always calculate the estimate based on the task, and not on advertising: first we fix the type of activity, the number of visas and whether the local market is needed, and only then we select a zone for this profile.

The main fork is the free zone versus the mainland. For online business, consulting and export, a free zone with a flexi-desk is almost always more profitable. For retail, services to the population and work with the public sector, you need a mainland with a real office - and this is a deliberate overpayment for access to the market. And let’s keep the bank in mind: the account is formally free, but without a pre-prepared package of documents and an understanding of compliance, the launch can take months. A business in Dubai should be considered as a cost of ownership for years to come, and not as a one-time expense for opening.

Bottom line: the real cost of doing business in Dubai in 2026

Let's put it all together. The question “how much does it cost to open a business in Dubai” does not have one number for the answer, but has guidelines for 2026:

• Dubai free zone license price - from ~12,500-15,000 AED, but this is only an entrance ticket.
• Real budget of the first year (free zone economy) - approximately 25,000-35,000 AED with visa, office and bank.
• Mainland - approximately 22,000-45,000 AED due to DET license and mandatory office with Ejari.
• Annual renewal - pledge a comparable amount each year plus accounting.
• Taxes - 0% on personal income, 9% corporate income over AED 375,000, 5% VAT.

Opening a company in the UAE not only provides a business tool, but also a residence visa for the founder and family, access to the banking system and a tax environment without income tax. The main thing is to calculate the estimate for your task, and not according to the advertising price of the license. You should always check current government services and official rules on the UAE government portal u.ae, and the structure and procedure are in our guide to company registration in the UAE.

Taxes: 0% on personal income, 9% corporate, 5% VAT

The tax part directly affects the cost of ownership, so we will analyze it, without the myth “there are no taxes at all in Dubai.” There are taxes, they are just low and structured differently than in most other countries.

• Income tax for individuals - 0%. Salary, dividends of the founder, personal income are not taxed. This is the key reason for entrepreneurs moving.
• Corporate tax - 9%. Valid from June 2023 for profits over AED 375,000 per year. Profits up to this threshold are taxed at a rate of 0%. For free zones with “qualifying income”, subject to compliance with the conditions, the rate of 0% corporation tax remains.
• VAT (VAT) - 5%. Standard rate for goods and services, with a mandatory registration threshold for turnover.
• No capital gains or inheritance taxes for individuals.

Separately: from 2025, for large international groups with a turnover of 750 million euros or more, the global minimum tax Pillar Two (15%) applies - but this does not apply to small and medium-sized businesses. The main practical conclusion for the estimate: even with a 9% corporate tax and mandatory accounting, the UAE remains one of the most profitable jurisdictions - but you will have to keep records, and this line must be included.

Economy free zone estimate: one visa, flexi desk

Let's collect a real estimate for the first year for the most popular scenario: one founder, one visa, flexi-desk, budget free zone (IFZA, Meydan, SHAMS). All figures are approximate, in AED.

• License (basic package) - 12 500-15 000 AED
• Flexi desk / legal address - 5,000-7,000 AED (often included in the package)
• Founder visa (entry permit + medical test + Emirates ID + stamp) - 4,000-6,000 AED
• Establishment card / e-channel - ~1 500-2 500 AED
• Medical insurance - 800-1 500 AED
• Support for opening a bank account - 4,000-8,000 AED (if with support)

Total first year - approximately 25,000-35,000 AED (approximately $6,800-$9,500). If you open without a bank accompaniment and with a package where the visa is already included, you can stay closer to the lower limit. This is a answer to the question “how much does a company cost in Dubai” for online business, consulting or export trading. The second year without one-time fees is usually cheaper - around 20,000-30,000 AED plus accounting fees.

Mainland estimate: DET license, office, visa

Now a scenario for those who need the UAE domestic market: a company on the mainland under a DET license. The figures are indicative, in AED, for one founder with one visa.

• DET license (depending on the type of activity) - 15,000-22,000 AED
• Office with Ejari (coworking/flexi under mainland) - 15,000-25,000 AED
• Registration Ejari - ~220 AED + percentage of rental
• Founder visa - 4 000-7 000 AED
• Establishment card, approvals, PRO - 5 000-12 000 AED
• Medical insurance - 800-1 500 AED

Total for the first year - approximately 22,000-45,000 AED. The variation is large precisely because of the office: coworking and a separate room are different worlds in terms of price. Mainland should be chosen consciously: it is more expensive to maintain, but it opens up retail, services to the population, work with the public sector and local contractors without free zone intermediaries. If your model is a local market, this overpayment pays off; if you export online, it is often more profitable than a free zone.

Summary table: article - free zone - mainland

Let’s summarize all the items in the estimate into one table to visually compare how much it costs to open a business in Dubai in the free zone and on the mainland. All amounts are approximate, in AED, for the first year for one founder with one visa. The exact numbers depend on the specific zone, type of activity and number of visas.

The table shows the main thing: the price of a license is only a third to a half of the real estimate. The final budget is always calculated for a specific task: type of activity, number of visas, family relocation, need for a bank account. We make an exact calculation for your situation individually.