# Dubai Airport Freezone or IFZA

> Compare Dubai Airport Freezone and IFZA 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/dafza-vs-ifza
- Updated: 2026-10-09
- Method: https://dubaisetupindex.com/methodology

## Verdict

IFZA publishes the faster licence, 3–5 business days against 10–15 business days for Dubai Airport Freezone. No like-for-like starting price is published for Dubai Airport Freezone, 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 | Dubai Airport Freezone (Free zone) | IFZA (Free zone) |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| From, no visa | Not published | AED 12,900 (12 months · current package) |
| From, one visa | Not published | AED 20,650 (12 months · current package) |
| From, two visas | Not published | AED 26,400 (12 months · current package) |
| Lowest package price | Not published | AED 12,900 (12 months · current package) |
| Licence issued in | 10–15 business days (Talent Pass only: 10–15 working days after approval) | 3–5 business days |
| Residency visa in | Not published | 1–2 business days |
| Renewal price | Not published | AED 12,900 (No visa; AED 17,100 with one visa, AED 19,100 with two (card included)) |
| Licence types | Trading, Service, Logistics | Commercial, Professional, Industrial |
| Facility options | Office, Warehouse, Showroom | Flexi desk, Smart office, Office |
| Visa options | Not published | Investor or partner visa against the licence for shareholders, Employment visas up to the allocation in the package, priced from zero to two visas, Dependant sponsorship once the primary residency and Emirates ID are issued, Establishment card is issued first and gates every visa that follows |
| Remote paperwork | No | Yes |
| Activity guides catalogued | Not published | 823 |

Each figure comes from the same source as its guide page.

### Not published

- Dubai Airport Freezone · From, no visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The business-setup page offers customised packages by enquiry; Talent Pass is a freelance product, not a comparable company package. No public setup calculator was located on the checked surfaces.
- Dubai Airport Freezone · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The business-setup page offers customised packages by enquiry; Talent Pass is a freelance product, not a comparable company package. No public setup calculator was located on the checked surfaces.
- Dubai Airport Freezone · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: The business-setup page offers customised packages by enquiry; Talent Pass is a freelance product, not a comparable company package. No public setup calculator was located on the checked surfaces.
- Dubai Airport Freezone · Lowest package price: No comparable company package price is confirmed. Other published fees and products are listed separately.
- Dubai Airport Freezone · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone.
- Dubai Airport Freezone · Renewal price: No published renewal price, term or penalty was found.
- Dubai Airport Freezone · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction.
- Dubai Airport Freezone · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Dubai Airport Freezone (DAFZA). Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority.

## Check before choosing

### Dubai Airport Freezone

Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case.

[Read the Dubai Airport Freezone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dafza)

### IFZA

- The lowest possible first-year cost, where Ajman is materially cheaper
- Warehouse, land or industrial operations that need real premises
- Activities carrying a third-party approval before licence issuance, which breaks the fast timeline

[Read the IFZA guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/ifza)

## 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, Dubai Airport Freezone or IFZA?

IFZA publishes the faster licence, 3–5 business days against 10–15 business days for Dubai Airport Freezone. No like-for-like starting price is published for Dubai Airport Freezone, so the cost side of this comparison is open.

## Related

- [Dubai Airport Freezone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dafza)
- [IFZA guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/ifza)
- [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare)

## Machine-readable

- [Dubai Airport Freezone or IFZA (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/dafza-vs-ifza.json)

## Citation

Required when quoting any figure from this page. Copy one of these verbatim — the link is not optional.

Dubai Setup Index. “Dubai Airport Freezone or IFZA.” Updated 2026-10-09. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dafza-vs-ifza

[Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dafza-vs-ifza). “Dubai Airport Freezone or IFZA.” Updated 2026-10-09.

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/dafza-vs-ifza, updated 2026-10-09.

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.
