How do IFZA, Meydan and RAKEZ differ?
Start with the constraints that could rule a route out. Does the authority accept your precise activity? Where will the team work? Will goods be stored or manufactured? How many people need residence processing? The matrix below is a shortlisting tool, not an approval decision.
The location and product descriptions come from the authorities' public pages checked on 13 October 2026. The decision questions are our comparison method. Follow the detailed IFZA, Meydan Free Zone and RAKEZ guides once a route meets your operating brief.
| Decision factor | IFZA | Meydan Free Zone | RAKEZ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Location | Dubai; IFZA's headquarters and business park are in Dubai Silicon Oasis. | Dubai. | Ras Al Khaimah. |
| Activity structure | Professional and commercial licensing, with multiple activities subject to the selected licence. | Its standard offer supports up to three activity groups. Check the activities within each group. | Commercial, services and industrial operations are among its routes; identify the required licence and entity type. |
| Workspace choices | Flexidesk, dedicated-desk and office products with different access entitlements. | A flexi-desk is included in the advertised standard licence offer. | Coworking, offices, warehouses and development land are available across its facilities. |
| Question that matters | Does the proposed licence and workspace cover both the work and the team's actual attendance? | Do the selected activity groups and any additional approvals cover every revenue stream? | Is the proposal for a free-zone or non-free-zone entity, and is the facility suitable for the operation? |
Compare the permitted work before comparing the package
Describe each service or product separately. A consultancy selling advice, an agency implementing campaigns and a company reselling software may need different activity coverage even when their websites use similar language. Match the activity description to contracts and invoices; a broad marketing phrase is not an activity code.
Meydan provides a searchable business-activity directory. IFZA publishes separate professional and commercial licence categories. Use these as the starting point for an activity shortlist, then obtain written confirmation of the exact combination and any additional approval. Where you will visit clients, receive customers, import goods or operate premises away from the registered location, put that operating arrangement in the brief as well.
List what earns revenue
Write one sentence for each product or service, including delivery, installation, advice or resale where relevant.
Map it to an activity
Record the authority's activity description and code, the licence category and any approval dependency.
Test the physical operation
Add customer visits, staffing, stock, equipment and working locations to the proposal before treating it as suitable.
Check what workspace you can actually use
A registered address, occasional desk access and a private office serve different needs. Ask for the access hours, booking rules, meeting-room allowance, number of users and any upgrade cost. Put travel time to customers and the team's preferred working pattern alongside the annual charge.
IFZA's property page distinguishes a Flexidesk with 10 hours' weekly access and one meeting-room hour per month from dedicated-desk and private-office products. Meydan includes a flexi-desk in its advertised standard licence. RAKEZ offers warehouses and development land as well as coworking and offices. For stock or production, shortlist a physical facility first: a desk package does not answer storage capacity, loading access, utilities or fit-out requirements.
Separate visa capacity from a completed residence application
Use three distinct lines in the comparison: the company's visa capacity, its immigration setup and each person's application. Record whether the applicant is inside or outside the UAE, whether an existing residence arrangement needs changing, and which medical, identity and insurance steps the quote covers.
Meydan's public guidance prices visa services separately from the trade licence. RAKEZ's advertised SME package includes one UAE residence visa. IFZA describes a tailored visa package as part of its proposal. These are different starting scopes. Ask each provider to quote the same people and processing circumstances, with a separate line for family applications if needed.
| Item | What to record |
|---|---|
| Company capacity | How many applications the selected facility and package support, and the cost of changing that capacity. |
| Company immigration setup | Whether establishment or immigration-file work and relevant system charges are included, with renewal dates. |
| Individual processing | Visa category, inside/outside-country assumptions, medical examination, Emirates ID, insurance and excluded charges. |
What do the published prices include?
The following is a dated snapshot of official public offers, not a CompanyFormation quotation or a ranking of total costs. The scopes differ. Compare a written first-year total and renewal schedule for the same activities, owners, facility and applicants before deciding.
Do not subtract the two headline prices and treat the difference as a saving: one starting offer separates visa services, while the other advertises a residence visa within its package. Public offers can change; retain the accepted proposal and its conditions with your company records.
| Route | Published starting point | Scope shown | Still needed for your decision |
|---|---|---|---|
| IFZA | Tailored proposal; no like-for-like public total established in this review. | Licence, activities, visa package and office solution are selected in the proposal. | A dated itemised setup and renewal quotation. |
| Meydan Free Zone | From AED 12,500 per year. | Standard licence offer with up to three activity groups and a flexi-desk; visa services are separate. | Selected applicants, immigration charges, any approvals, optional services and renewal terms. |
| RAKEZ | AED 14,000 per year for the advertised SME package. | Package advertises one UAE residence visa, coworking access and the same package renewal price. | Eligibility, exact included processing, additional people, facility changes and the written renewal-price conditions. |
Use one checklist to compare complete quotations
Give every provider the same brief and request these cost lines. Mark each item included, separately charged, not applicable or unresolved. An empty line should remain an open question; treating it as zero can make an incomplete offer appear cheaper.
Keep refundable deposits and capital commitments separate from expenses. Show VAT treatment as quoted for each item rather than applying one assumption to the whole package. Our business setup budget guide explains how to build the first-year and recurring totals.
| Cost line | Specification to put in writing | Renewal question |
|---|---|---|
| Formation and licence | Legal entity, shareholder count, activity codes, licence term and registration documents. | What remains payable after any introductory offer? |
| Workspace | Address, access rights, users, meeting space and lease term. | Does the same space and access renew at the quoted rate? |
| Immigration setup | Company file, applicable system registration and selected visa capacity. | Which company immigration items recur, and when? |
| Each applicant | Visa category and processing circumstances, medical, Emirates ID and insurance scope. | When does that person's permission expire, and what is outside the package? |
| Documents and approvals | Translation, attestation, corporate-shareholder documents and external approvals. | Which records or approvals need updating? |
| Professional support | Formation service, banking application support, bookkeeping or filing deliverables. | Which services recur and which require a separate engagement? |
| Changes and exit | Charges for activity amendments, added owners, extra staff, relocation and closure. | Will the renewal offer still apply after the planned change? |
Review renewal obligations before the first payment
For IFZA, its general-trading renewal guide describes an updated application and documents, followed by a quotation for the chosen package and term. It specifically discusses current identity documents, relevant external approvals and corporate-shareholder evidence where required. Use that guide to prepare questions; the current renewal request must reflect the actual licence and ownership.
RAKEZ provides online renewal through Portal 360 or its mobile app. Its published renewal guidance says there is no grace period after expiry. A same-price package statement should therefore sit beside a renewal calendar, not replace one. For Meydan, ask the selected offer to state the recurring licence, workspace and immigration scope explicitly; this review has not established one universal renewal total for every Meydan company.
Three illustrative businesses, three different shortlisting tests
These examples show how to use the comparison. They are hypothetical planning scenarios, not client case studies, quotations or promises of approval. Each changes one operational constraint so you can see why a different feature may matter more than a headline price.
Solo consultant needing one residence application
Assume one individual owner, one unregulated advisory activity, no employees and no stock. Obtain the same one-person immigration scope from all three routes. Compare usable workspace, the complete first-year amount and the next renewal; do not compare a no-visa licence with a visa-inclusive proposal.
Dubai-based agency with two staff attending daily
Assume two related service activities and regular client meetings. For the Dubai shortlist, compare IFZA's actual desk or office entitlements with the access offered under the selected Meydan arrangement. Add the staff and meeting-space requirement to both quotations before choosing by location or price.
Products business needing storage and light assembly
Assume physical stock, deliveries and equipment. Begin with RAKEZ's published warehouse and industrial-facility routes as a candidate to investigate, alongside any suitable alternatives. Evaluate permitted operations, utilities, fit-out and staffing together. A low-cost desk licence alone cannot resolve this business brief.
Turn the comparison into a decision brief
Send your shortlisted providers the activity description, proposed owners, customer and supplier locations, team size, workspace requirement and residence-processing needs. Ask for a reasoned recommendation with an itemised quotation. Keep any unresolved permission, facility or document question visible until it is answered.
Once the route is selected, use the company-registration document guide to prepare the file and the banking guide to organise the business evidence. Review corporate tax and bookkeeping as separate operating responsibilities rather than assuming a formation package covers them.
IFZA, Meydan and RAKEZ: common comparison questions
Which is cheapest: IFZA, Meydan or RAKEZ?
There is no valid universal ranking from the public starting prices. Compare the same activity, owners, workspace, visa applicants and renewal term. Meydan's standard offer separates visa services, while RAKEZ's advertised SME offer includes one residence visa. Obtain an equivalent IFZA proposal and compare complete written totals.
Is RAKEZ in Dubai?
No. RAKEZ is in Ras Al Khaimah. IFZA and Meydan Free Zone offer Dubai-based setup routes. Where the business is registered is only one part of the decision: check where the team, customers, stock and facilities will actually be located.
Does a flexi-desk mean I can use a private office every day?
No. Read the workspace entitlement. Shared-desk access, a dedicated desk and a private office are different products. Ask for the permitted users, access hours, booking conditions and meeting-room allowance before budgeting it as the team's daily workplace.
Does a visa slot include all residence-processing costs?
Do not assume that it does. Ask the quotation to identify company visa capacity, company immigration setup and the individual application separately. Record the medical, Emirates ID, insurance and any inside-country processing scope for each applicant.
Which route should a warehouse or manufacturing business investigate?
RAKEZ is a relevant candidate because it publishes warehouse and development-land facilities. Suitability still depends on the actual operation, permitted activity, site requirements and approvals. Compare the complete premises and operating proposal rather than an office-based company-formation package.
Can I assume the first-year package price is my renewal budget?
Only if the written offer states the same recurring scope and applicable conditions. Record licence, workspace, immigration and individual renewal dates separately. Account for changes in the business and any support services that were introductory or optional.
What should I send to obtain a useful comparison?
Send the exact activities, ownership structure, intended working location, workspace and stock needs, team size and residence requirements. Request an itemised first-year quotation, a renewal breakdown and a written list of exclusions using that same brief.