# Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone or DIFC > Compare Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone and DIFC on the same rows: starting packages at each visa count, licence and residency-visa timelines, renewal, facilities and remote paperwork. Every figure is read from the two guide pages. - Canonical: https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/abu-dhabi-airports-vs-difc - Updated: 2026-09-04 - Publication: below the publication gate (No decision value beyond the activity name) - Method: https://dubaisetupindex.com/methodology ## Verdict No like-for-like starting price is published for Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone and DIFC, so the cost side of this comparison is open. Decide on activity fit, location and an itemised quote for your case. Read from the same published figures as the table. Activity eligibility, approvals and the full first year still decide the route. ## Side by side Package figures cover their stated inclusions only. Activity eligibility, the full first-year cost and renewal still need confirmation for your case. | Metric | Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone (Free zone) | DIFC (Free zone) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | From, no visa | Not published | Not published | | From, one visa | Not published | Not published | | From, two visas | Not published | Not published | | Lowest package price | Not published | Not published | | Licence issued in | Not published | 3–5 business days | | Residency visa in | Not published | Not published | | Renewal price | Not published | Not published | | Licence types | Aviation, Logistics, Trading | Non-regulated commercial, DFSA-regulated financial | | Facility options | Office, Warehouse, Aviation facilities | Office, Coworking within DIFC | | Visa options | Not published | Not published | | Remote paperwork | No | No | | Activity guides catalogued | Not published | Not published | Each figure comes from the same source as its guide page. ### Not published - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · From, no visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The legacy ADAFZ site returned 403. The current Abu Dhabi Airports free-zone page describes tailored facilities and a One Stop Shop, without a comparable 0/1/2-visa price. - DIFC · From, no visa: Checked 2026-10-09: A public handbook/fee schedule exists, but direct retrieval was rate-limited. No instant company-and-visa calculator was located; licence category, premises and immigration costs require a scoped quote. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The legacy ADAFZ site returned 403. The current Abu Dhabi Airports free-zone page describes tailored facilities and a One Stop Shop, without a comparable 0/1/2-visa price. - DIFC · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: A public handbook/fee schedule exists, but direct retrieval was rate-limited. No instant company-and-visa calculator was located; licence category, premises and immigration costs require a scoped quote. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: The legacy ADAFZ site returned 403. The current Abu Dhabi Airports free-zone page describes tailored facilities and a One Stop Shop, without a comparable 0/1/2-visa price. - DIFC · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: A public handbook/fee schedule exists, but direct retrieval was rate-limited. No instant company-and-visa calculator was located; licence category, premises and immigration costs require a scoped quote. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · Lowest package price: Checked 2026-10-09: The legacy ADAFZ site returned 403. The current Abu Dhabi Airports free-zone page describes tailored facilities and a One Stop Shop, without a comparable 0/1/2-visa price. - DIFC · Lowest package price: No comparable company package price is confirmed. Other published fees and products are listed separately. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · Licence issued in: No published company-formation or licence-issuance time was found. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - DIFC · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · Renewal price: No reusable public renewal tariff was found in this pass. - DIFC · Renewal price: No published renewal price, term or penalty was found. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - DIFC · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone. Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. - DIFC · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for DIFC (Dubai International Financial Centre). Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. ## Check before choosing ### Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/abu-dhabi-airports) ### DIFC Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the DIFC guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/difc) ## Frequently asked questions ### How are the prices compared? Only package prices at the same visa count and term are ranked against each other. A calculator output, a licence-only estimate or a product flagged as not like for like is shown in the table but never used to name a cheaper side. ### Which costs less on published figures, Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone or DIFC? No like-for-like starting price is published for Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone and DIFC, so the cost side of this comparison is open. Decide on activity fit, location and an itemised quote for your case. ## Related - [Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/abu-dhabi-airports) - [DIFC guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/difc) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone or DIFC (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/abu-dhabi-airports-vs-difc.json) ## Citation Required when quoting any figure from this page. Copy one of these verbatim — the link is not optional. Dubai Setup Index. “Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone or DIFC.” Updated 2026-09-04. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/abu-dhabi-airports-vs-difc [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/abu-dhabi-airports-vs-difc). “Abu Dhabi Airports Free Zone or DIFC.” Updated 2026-09-04. Licensed CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). Any use or transformation of the data carries: Source: Dubai Setup Index (dubaisetupindex.com), licensed CC BY 4.0. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/abu-dhabi-airports-vs-difc, updated 2026-09-04. Licensed CC BY 4.0: any use or transformation carries the attribution text, with its link and date. Quoting any figure from this record requires a resolvable link to url. Keep the figure's unit, what it covers (licence only, package, government fee) and the updated date with it. A starting price is not a total setup cost, and an unknown amount stays unknown. A figure sourced from a third party (Invest in Dubai, DET, a free zone authority or a partner's quote) keeps its source citation — the source named in the record, with its URL and checked date — alongside the licence attribution.