How Much Does It Really Cost To Set Up a Company In Meydan Free Zone? A Transparent Breakdown

You search "business setup cost Dubai" on Google and find vague numbers. Then you click through to another site and see a different figure. After a few more tabs, you're comparing packages that don't seem to include the same things and wondering which one is actually right. Wondering isn't something you experience with Meydan Free Zone.

The UAE has more than 40 free zones, each with its own fee structure, bundled packages, and fine print. In 2025, nearly 250,000 new companies were registered across the country, taking the total past 1.4 million active licenses. Free zones now account for 41% of all new business registrations, and SMEs make up more than 94% of companies operating in the UAE. That's a lot of founders comparing costs across jurisdictions, often without a clear baseline for what's actually included.

This guide breaks down Meydan Free Zone fees in full: what's included in the trade license, what's charged separately, and what other costs you could incur. The Meydan Free Zone cost calculator is a good starting point to see your costs, and this guide explains what's behind those numbers, so you can plan properly before you commit.

Meydan Free Zone Trade License Cost

The first layer is the trade license itself.

Company setup starts from AED 12,500 for a 0-visa allocation setup.

At this level, the setup includes:

• LLC-FZ trade license
• three business activity groups (under one license)
• lease agreement (so the setup has a compliant base from day one, without requiring a full office lease immediately)

This gives founders a clear and cost-efficient entry point, especially when the priority is to establish the company first and build the setup in stages.

The final cost then depends on how the business is structured from day one, including:

• visa allocation
• license duration
• the scale of the setup
• any additional operational requirements

In other words, AED 12,500 is the starting cost for the trade license itself, with flexibility to build from there based on the needs of the business.

Meydan Free Zone Trade License Type

The next factor that affects cost is the license route you choose.

• Regular/standard license: starts from AED 12,500
• Fawri license: starts from AED 15,000

The Regular license is better suited to founders who need more flexibility from the outset. It gives access to 2,500+ business activities and works well for SMEs, multi-shareholder setups, and businesses planning for a broader or growing structure.

Fawri is built for speed and simplicity. It gives access to 1,800+ business activities and is designed for one-person companies, where the same individual acts as the sole shareholder, manager, director, and UBO. That makes it especially suitable for freelancers and solopreneurs. The best part? Your trade license can be issued in under 60 minutes and includes one free amendment during the first year, giving you flexibility to update your license as your business evolves.

In simple terms, the difference is this: the regular route suits founders who need a broader activity pool and a more flexible structure at the outset, while Fawri suits solo founders who want a faster setup route.

Meydan Free Zone Trade License Duration

License duration affects your total cost and your cash flow.

Meydan Free Zone offers up to 15% off on multi-year setups.  

• Going for a one-year license? Lower commitment, more flexibility, slightly higher annualised cost. This works if you're testing the waters, expect your structure to evolve, or want to preserve working capital in year one. ‍
• Going for a multi-year one? Bigger upfront spend, better rate per year. This suits founders who already know the structure fits, want to lock in pricing, and prefer fewer renewal cycles to manage.

Use the business setup cost calculator to compare both options side by side.

Meydan Free Zone Visa Allocation and Setup Cost

Visa allocation is another factor that affects the final setup cost and one of the areas where Meydan Free Zone offers real flexibility.

Each license can be structured with up to six visa allocations, so founders can scale capacity based on how the business is being built. A solo founder keeping things lean will have a lighter entry cost. A founder planning for residency, dependants, or early hires can build that in from day one without needing a separate office lease to unlock a visa quota.

It's worth separating visa allocation from the cost of the actual visa itself:

• Visa allocation: AED 1,850
• Employment visa: AED 3,500
• Investor or partner visa: around AED 4,000
• Dependent visa: around AED 6,000 per person

For founders who want end-to-end support, mResidency handles the full visa journey, entry permit, medical, Emirates ID, and stamping through a single digital workflow.

So while the base license is the starting point, Meydan Free Zone makes it easy to layer in visa capacity as your needs grow.

Business Activities and What the Fee Covers

Another part of the cost founders should understand is that the license fee covers more than just company registration.

The setup includes up to three business activity groups under one license, which gives founders room to structure the business around more than one function from the outset.

That matters because the value of the setup is not only in the license itself but also in how much of the actual business model can sit under that one structure.

When the business evolves further, adding more activities is straightforward. Any activity added on top of the three included business activity groups is priced at AED 1,000 per additional business activity.

So the cost logic here is simple:

• up to three business activity groups are included under one license
• each additional business activity costs AED 1,000

This gives founders a setup that can start lean while still leaving room to expand the activity mix later without needing to rebuild the structure.

Meydan Free Zone Office and Workspace Costs

Office cost is one of the biggest assumptions founders bring into the setup conversation.

Each Meydan Free Zone license includes a Flexi Desk, which means zero office costs at the start. Founders have a workspace solution built into the setup from day one, keeping the entry point lighter for businesses that don't need a full physical office immediately.

When the business grows, the workspace can be upgraded at the Business Centre.  

• AED 3,500 per month for a dedicated desk
• AED 15,000 per year for a shared office
• AED 30,000 per year for a dedicated office

So the cost logic here is straightforward:

• Flexi-desk is included with every license, no additional cost
• No physical office required to get started
• Upgrade to a permanent workspace later when the business needs it

That gives founders a setup that starts lean while still leaving room to scale into a more permanent workspace over time.  

Add-On Service Costs at Meydan Free Zone

The base license fee covers the legal structure. For founders who want operational support beyond that, Meydan Plus offers add-on services, so you're not sourcing PRO agents, accountants, and compliance support separately.

mResidency - visa and residency support

• Medical Test and Emirates ID assistance: AED 2,250
• Dependent visa processing: AED 6,000

mAccounting - financial compliance

• VAT registration: AED 1,500
• Corporate tax starter package: AED 1,200
• Bookkeeping: AED 1,000 - AED 1,500 per month

mCore - getting started

• Bank account assistance: AED 1,500

mAssist - admin support

• PO Box: AED 1,700 per year
• Mail management: AED 750 per year  
• Meeting rooms, phone answering, and document translation are also available

These are optional. They are not required to get started, but are available when the business needs them.

What It Really Costs to Set Up a Company in Meydan Free Zone

The minimum entry point is AED 12,500, but the real cost depends on how much of the business needs to be operational from day one.

If the goal is simply to secure the company structure, the entry point stays low. If the founder also needs visa capacity, residency processing, additional business activities, workspace upgrades, or add-on support through Meydan Plus, the total increases accordingly.

So the most accurate answer is not one flat number. It is a pricing structure built around the business itself:

• AED 12,500 for the base trade license setup
• More if visa allocation is added
• More if residency processing is needed
• More if additional business activities or workspace upgrades are included
• More if operational support services are layered in

For most solo founders, the final number will sit above the base license cost once visa and support requirements are added. For small teams, the total rises further depending on visa needs, workspace setup, and the level of operational support required.

That is exactly why the Meydan Free Zone cost calculator is useful. It helps founders move beyond the headline starting fee and build a more accurate estimate based on license type, duration, shareholders, business activities, visas, and optional support services.

Use the cost calculator to get a tailored breakdown for your setup instantly.

In Conclusion

Setup costs at Meydan Free Zone are modular. The license is the foundation. Visas, residency, activities, workspace, and support services stack on top based on what the business actually needs. That's not a catch. That's how transparent pricing should work.

Most founders land somewhere between the base fee and a fully operational setup with visas and compliance in place. Where you land depends on how quickly you want to be up and running.

The fastest way to find out? Use the cost calculator for an instant estimate or book a consultation to talk through your setup with the team. ‍