Rankings
UAE & GCC Free Zone Rankings 2026
Ranked from verified data across 93 free zones. Updated as data is refreshed.
Top 10 cheapest — Year 1 cost
Sorted by minimum Year 1 all-in cost (license + registration). Visa costs additional.
BLZ
Muharraq / Hidd
Ras Al-Khair SEZ
Eastern Province
Khazaen
Al Batinah South / Muscat corridor
Dubai Industrial City
Dubai
QFC
Doha
RAK ICC
Ras Al Khaimah
Sohar Free Zone
Al Batinah North
ANCFZ
Ajman
Ajman Media City
Ajman
Ajman Free Zone
Ajman
Top 10 fastest setup
Sorted by total estimated setup time including license issuance. Banking time additional.
SAIFZ
Sharjah
ANCFZ
Ajman
Meydan Free Zone
Dubai
Dubai South Business Park
Dubai
SHAMS
Sharjah
Ajman Free Zone
Ajman
Ajman Media City
Ajman
RAKEZ
Ras Al Khaimah
Al Hamra Industrial Zone
Ras Al Khaimah
Al Nakheel Business Zone
Ras Al Khaimah
Top 10 easiest banking
Zones where corporate bank account opening is rated easiest based on verified reports.
Distribution across all 93 zones
Each tick is one zone. The leader for each criterion is highlighted — but ranking the top 10 hides the shape of the field. The rails below show where every zone sits, so you can see clusters, outliers, and how thin or wide the spread is.
BLZ: 99th percentile (AED 1,954) · Licence + registration, AED.
SAIFZ: 99th percentile (1 days) · Total estimated days from application to operational.
KEZAD Group: 99th percentile (600 visas) · Absolute maximum visa allocation. Values above 500 clipped to the right edge so the bulk of the distribution stays readable.
ADGM: Easy · Corporate bank account opening difficulty. Each cell is one zone.
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