How much does it cost to set up a business in Dubai?
What actually drives the cost of a Dubai business setup, why a single sticker price is always misleading, and how to get your real, current number in under a minute.
Setups start from around AED 10,000 and climb from there. What moves your number is simple: how many visas you need, whether you are moving or staying remote, and how much of the admin you want handled for you.
For your exact figure, the cost calculator does it in under a minute. No form. No callback. No waiting.
Most "Dubai setup from AED X" ads quote one stripped-down line and bill you for the rest later. Here is what really sits in your number.
What drives the cost
A few things, and only a few:
- The licence. The core of it. What makes your company real and legal to operate. The price depends on your activity and whether you go mainland or free zone.
- A registered address. Every company needs one. A flexi desk covers it. It is a requirement, not an upsell, and we include it.
- Visas. Priced per person. Moving your family means a line for each one. Staying remote means you skip this entirely.
- Banking. Preparing your application properly and introducing you to the right banks. This is where most setups stall, so it is worth doing right.
- Accounting and tax. Optional, especially in year one. Add them when you want them, not before.
Moving or staying remote
Remote is cheaper. No residency, no visa, no desk. You get the company and the bank account, faster and for less.
Moving costs more because residency is real work: visa, medical, Emirates ID. Neither path is better. It comes down to whether you want to live here or just operate here. We will tell you which one fits, not which one bills higher.
The part most providers hide
Your licence renews every year. Your visas renew on their own cycle. These are real costs, and most agencies leave them off the first quote so the opening number looks small.
We put renewals in front of you before you start. A setup that looks cheap in year one and ambushes you at renewal was never cheap.
Why we will not print a price here
Costs in Dubai change. Government fees move, packages get repackaged, exchange rates shift. Any article quoting exact prices is wrong the moment one of those changes, and you would have no way of knowing.
So we keep the real, current numbers in the one place we actually keep updated: the calculator. That is always right. An article never is. Anyone showing you a fixed online price is either out of date or hoping you do not check.
Get your real number
The cost calculator gives you your exact figure based on the choices that actually move it, with nothing added on later. Prefer to ask a person? Speak to an advisor and you get the same honest number, first.