# ADGM or Dubai Media City > Compare ADGM and Dubai Media City 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/adgm-vs-dubai-media-city - Updated: 2026-09-04 - Method: https://dubaisetupindex.com/methodology ## Verdict Dubai Media City publishes the faster licence, 0–10 business days against 10 business days for ADGM. No like-for-like starting price is published for ADGM and Dubai Media City, so the cost side of this comparison is open. 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 | ADGM (Free zone) | Dubai Media City (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 | 10 business days | 0–10 business days (DDA states provisional approval within 10 working days.) | | Residency visa in | Not published | Not published | | Renewal price | USD 500 (Renewal quoted alongside Foundation initial fee) | Not published | | Licence types | Non-regulated, FSRA-regulated financial | Media, Advertising, Production-related | | Facility options | Office, Coworking within ADGM | Office, Studios, Campus facilities | | 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 - ADGM · From, no visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The old fees URL returned 404. Current setup FAQs and the 2025 fee schedule describe registration and licence categories, not complete 0/1/2-visa setup packages. - Dubai Media City · From, no visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The shared DDA registration/licensing source and authority homepage were checked. They provide individual registration fees, not a district-specific company-and-visa package. The available gratuity calculator is unrelated to setup costs; no public setup calculator was located in this pass. - ADGM · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The old fees URL returned 404. Current setup FAQs and the 2025 fee schedule describe registration and licence categories, not complete 0/1/2-visa setup packages. - Dubai Media City · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The shared DDA registration/licensing source and authority homepage were checked. They provide individual registration fees, not a district-specific company-and-visa package. The available gratuity calculator is unrelated to setup costs; no public setup calculator was located in this pass. - ADGM · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: The old fees URL returned 404. Current setup FAQs and the 2025 fee schedule describe registration and licence categories, not complete 0/1/2-visa setup packages. - Dubai Media City · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: The shared DDA registration/licensing source and authority homepage were checked. They provide individual registration fees, not a district-specific company-and-visa package. The available gratuity calculator is unrelated to setup costs; no public setup calculator was located in this pass. - ADGM · Lowest package price: No comparable company package price is confirmed. Other published fees and products are listed separately. - Dubai Media City · Lowest package price: No comparable company package price is confirmed. Other published fees and products are listed separately. - ADGM · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Dubai Media City · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Dubai Media City · Renewal price: No published renewal price, term or penalty was found. - ADGM · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Dubai Media City · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - ADGM · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for ADGM (Abu Dhabi Global Market). Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. - Dubai Media City · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Dubai Media City. Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. ## Check before choosing ### ADGM Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the ADGM guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/adgm) ### Dubai Media City Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Dubai Media City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-media-city) ## 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, ADGM or Dubai Media City? Dubai Media City publishes the faster licence, 0–10 business days against 10 business days for ADGM. No like-for-like starting price is published for ADGM and Dubai Media City, so the cost side of this comparison is open. ## Related - [ADGM guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/adgm) - [Dubai Media City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-media-city) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [ADGM or Dubai Media City (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/adgm-vs-dubai-media-city.json) ## Citation Required when quoting any figure from this page. Copy one of these verbatim — the link is not optional. Dubai Setup Index. “ADGM or Dubai Media City.” Updated 2026-09-04. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/adgm-vs-dubai-media-city [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/adgm-vs-dubai-media-city). “ADGM or Dubai Media City.” 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/adgm-vs-dubai-media-city, 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.