Dubai mainland: what DET actually charges
Mainland pricing is not one number. It is a license fee by activity category plus small fixed approvals, then the office lease and visa stack that most quotes hide.
| Mainland cost layer | Planning figure (AED) | Note |
|---|
| Trade name reservation | ~620 | Fixed DET filing layer. |
| Initial approval | ~120 | Fixed DET filing layer. |
| Professional license fee | ~7,500 | Service and consultancy activities. |
| Commercial license fee | ~10,000 | Trading and general commercial activities. |
| Tourism license fee | ~11,000 | Travel and tourism activities, plus sector approvals. |
| Industrial license fee | ~13,500 | Manufacturing, plus premises requirements. |
| Office lease and Ejari | Market dependent | Flexi-desk to full office. Drives visa quota. |
| Establishment card and immigration file | Per schedule | Required before hiring. |
Planning figures as of 2026, drawn from Dubai government fee schedules. Verify the live quote through Invest in Dubai before committing.
Free zone: published package pricing
Free zones publish package prices, which makes them the easiest layer to verify. These are real published examples, not estimates, and they show how visa allocation moves the number:
| Published example | Price (AED) | What it includes |
|---|
| IFZA license, zero visa | 12,900 | One-year business license, no visa allocation. 2025 published schedule. |
| IFZA license, 1 visa | 14,900 | One-year license with one visa allocation. |
| IFZA license, 2 visas | 16,900 | One-year license with two visa allocations. |
| IFZA license, 4+ visas | 20,900 | One-year license with four or more visa allocations. |
| SPC visa allocation | 1,600 per visa | Tiered allocation pricing, 1 to 50 visas. 2025 price list. |
| Meydan pay-as-you-go visa | 1,850 each | Allocation charge, up to 6 visas. |
| DIFC and ADGM structures | 45,000 to 180,000+ | Regulated and premium governance jurisdictions. Different cost class. |
Published free zone schedules as of the 2025 pricing cycle, shown as verified planning references. Zones amend pricing without notice, so confirm the current schedule with the zone before you sign.
The per-employee visa stack
Visas are where a cheap license becomes an expensive company. Every employee carries an issuance stack in year one and a renewal stack every cycle after.
- Visa issuance charge. As one published benchmark, AED 3,750 in a major free zone schedule.
- Medical testing and Emirates ID registration, per person.
- Mandatory health insurance, priced by age and coverage tier.
- MoHRE work permit layers for mainland employers, tiered by skill level.
- Wage Protection System payroll compliance each month.
- End-of-service benefit accrual, a real liability even though it is not an invoice.
If your first-year plan is heavier on hiring than on trading, read the EOR cost guide for the GCC before you buy visa allocations you may not use.
Recurring costs and tax obligations
UAE running costs are predictable if you model them upfront. Every license renews annually, every visa renews on its cycle, and two federal tax regimes now apply:
- Corporate tax at 9 percent on taxable income above AED 375,000, and 0 percent below. Qualifying free zone income can remain at 0 percent under Federal Tax Authority conditions.
- VAT at 5 percent, with mandatory registration once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000 per year.
- License, establishment card, lease, and insurance renewals on annual cycles.
- Accounting, corporate tax filing, and VAT return administration, typically retained monthly.
Route choice changes this stack. Compare structures in Free Zone vs Mainland, and weigh the UAE against Riyadh in Saudi vs UAE setup.
For a mainland launch executed end to end, use Incorporated UAE Mainland advisory.
Tax positions per the Federal Tax Authority and u.ae, as of 2026.
Sample year-one budgets, arithmetic included
Three common profiles, built from the published figures above so you can check the math. These are planning models, not quotes, as of 2026:
| Profile | Build-up | Year-one planning total (AED) |
|---|
| Solo consultant, free zone, no visa | Zero-visa license around 12,900, flexi-desk bundled, no immigration stack. Add incidentals and attestations. | 13,000 to 17,000 |
| Two-founder services firm, free zone, 2 visas | Two-visa license around 16,900, plus two visa stacks: issuance benchmark 3,750 each, then medical, Emirates ID, and insurance per person. | 28,000 to 38,000 |
| Five-person mainland trading company | Commercial license around 10,000 plus fixed approvals, office lease with Ejari sized for a five-visa quota, establishment card, and five full visa stacks. | 60,000 to 95,000+ |
Two habits keep these models honest. First, price the renewal year at the same time, because promotional first-year packages often step up at renewal. Second, ask every provider to separate license, government, facility, and visa lines, exactly as the tables on this page do. A quote that cannot be split into those four lines is hiding something in one of them.
Indicative arithmetic from published 2025 schedules and Dubai government fee data. Office lease ranges vary by district and facility class; confirm live quotes before budgeting.
FAQ
How much does business setup in Dubai cost?
As of 2026, published free zone license packages commonly start between AED 12,900 and AED 20,900 depending on visa allocation, and Dubai mainland license fees run roughly AED 7,500 to 13,500 by activity category before approvals, office, and visas. Realistic year-one totals sit between AED 18,000 and AED 95,000 or more.
What is the cheapest way to set up in Dubai?
A zero-visa free zone license is usually the lowest entry point, with published packages from around AED 12,900 as of 2026. It only stays cheap if a free zone actually fits your operating model, because restructuring to mainland later costs more than choosing correctly now.
Is a free zone cheaper than mainland?
At the license line, often yes. At the total cost line, not always. Free zone packages grow with visa allocation and facility requirements, while mainland adds office lease and approval layers. Compare full year-one and renewal stacks, not headline package prices.
What visa costs should I budget per employee?
Budget the visa issuance charge, medical testing, Emirates ID, and mandatory health insurance for each person. As one published benchmark, the standard visa issuance charge in a major free zone schedule is AED 3,750 as of the 2025 schedule, before medical, Emirates ID, and insurance.
Do UAE companies pay corporate tax?
Yes. UAE corporate tax applies at 9 percent on taxable income above AED 375,000, with 0 percent below that threshold, and qualifying free zone income can remain at 0 percent under Federal Tax Authority conditions. VAT registration applies once taxable supplies exceed AED 375,000 per year.
What renewal costs are usually missed?
License and establishment card renewals, per-employee visa renewals, mandatory insurance, office or flexi-desk renewal, and corporate tax and VAT filing administration. Model renewals before you sign, because year two is where thin quotes break.