# Dubai Design District or Dubai Media City > Compare Dubai Design District 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/dubai-design-district-vs-dubai-media-city - 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 Dubai Design District and Dubai Media City, 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 | Dubai Design District (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 | 0–10 business days (DDA states provisional approval within 10 working days.) | 0–10 business days (DDA states provisional approval within 10 working days.) | | Residency visa in | Not published | Not published | | Renewal price | Not published | Not published | | Licence types | Design, Fashion, Creative services | Media, Advertising, Production-related | | Facility options | Office, Showroom, Studio | 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 - Dubai Design District · 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. - 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. - Dubai Design District · 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. - 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. - Dubai Design District · 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. - 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. - Dubai Design District · 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. - Dubai Design District · 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 Design District · Renewal price: No published renewal price, term or penalty was found. - Dubai Media City · Renewal price: No published renewal price, term or penalty was found. - Dubai Design District · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Dubai Media City · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Dubai Design District · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Dubai Design District (d3). 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 ### Dubai Design District Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Dubai Design District guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-design-district) ### 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, Dubai Design District or Dubai Media City? No like-for-like starting price is published for Dubai Design District and Dubai Media City, so the cost side of this comparison is open. Decide on activity fit, location and an itemised quote for your case. ## Related - [Dubai Design District guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-design-district) - [Dubai Media City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-media-city) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [Dubai Design District or Dubai Media City (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/dubai-design-district-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. “Dubai Design District or Dubai Media City.” Updated 2026-09-04. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-design-district-vs-dubai-media-city [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-design-district-vs-dubai-media-city). “Dubai Design District 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/dubai-design-district-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.