A UAE setup quotation is a stack of separate charges, not one fee. Understanding which line items are government-set and which are provider margin is what makes two quotations comparable.
Licence and registration fees
The licence fee is set by the issuing authority — a free zone authority or the emirate's department of economic development — and renews annually. Registration, name reservation, initial approval and notarisation of the memorandum are one-off first-year items.
Facility and establishment card
Every licence needs a registered address. A flexi-desk or shared desk is the cheapest option and caps your visa quota; a leased office or warehouse raises both cost and quota. An establishment card is required before you can apply for any employment visa.
Per-visa government charges
Each residence visa carries an entry permit or status change, medical fitness test, Emirates ID, and stamping charges, plus the investor or employee visa fee itself. These are collected at government rates and scale linearly with headcount.
Optional and recurring extras
Bank account assistance, PRO services, corporate tax and VAT registration, accounting, attestation, translation and courier charges are billed separately by most providers. Ask which of these are included before comparing two totals.
Optional and recurring extras
Bank account assistance, PRO services, corporate tax and VAT registration, accounting, attestation, translation and courier charges are billed separately by most providers. Ask which of these are included before comparing two totals.
Why year two costs more than year one
First-year prices across the UAE are discounted to win the mandate. From year two you pay the undiscounted licence renewal, the facility renewal, the establishment card renewal and, every two years, each residence visa again. A package that is AED 1,000 cheaper today and AED 4,000 more expensive every year afterwards is the more expensive package. Always take the year-two invoice in writing before paying year one — this calculator shows both years for that reason.
How cost differs by emirate and jurisdiction
Sharjah and Ajman free zones sit at the bottom of the market, Ras Al Khaimah's RAKEZ just above them, Dubai zones such as IFZA and Meydan in the middle, and DMCC or JAFZA at the top. Mainland licences in any emirate add a registered tenancy and, in Dubai, DET fees and Ejari. Offshore structures are the cheapest to hold but carry no residence visas at all, so they belong in a different comparison from the other two.
Tax registration is part of the real total
Corporate tax registration with the Federal Tax Authority is mandatory for every UAE company regardless of profit, with 9% payable on taxable profit above AED 375,000. VAT registration becomes mandatory above AED 375,000 of taxable supplies and is voluntary from AED 187,500. Neither is included in most headline licence prices, so both are modelled here as separate lines.