# Dubai Design District or Sharjah Media City > Compare Dubai Design District and Sharjah 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-shams - Updated: 2026-10-09 - 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 Sharjah 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) | Sharjah 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 | AED 6,875 (starting price) | | Licence issued in | 0–10 business days (DDA states provisional approval within 10 working days.) | Not published | | Residency visa in | Not published | Not published | | Renewal price | Not published | Not published | | Licence types | Design, Fashion, Creative services | Media, Freelance, Services, E-commerce | | Facility options | Office, Showroom, Studio | Flexi desk, Office | | Visa options | Not published | Not published | | Remote paperwork | No | Yes | | 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. - Sharjah Media City · From, no visa: Checked 2026-10-09: A multi-step cost calculator exists on startwith.shams.ae. In this browser test the dummy-data contact step did not advance or return a price, and the page displayed PHP warnings. AED 5,750 Media and AED 6,875 Standard are headline prices, not newly verified 0/1/2-visa totals. - 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. - Sharjah Media City · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: A multi-step cost calculator exists on startwith.shams.ae. In this browser test the dummy-data contact step did not advance or return a price, and the page displayed PHP warnings. AED 5,750 Media and AED 6,875 Standard are headline prices, not newly verified 0/1/2-visa totals. - 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. - Sharjah Media City · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: A multi-step cost calculator exists on startwith.shams.ae. In this browser test the dummy-data contact step did not advance or return a price, and the page displayed PHP warnings. AED 5,750 Media and AED 6,875 Standard are headline prices, not newly verified 0/1/2-visa totals. - Dubai Design District · Lowest package price: No comparable company package price is confirmed. Other published fees and products are listed separately. - Sharjah Media City · Licence issued in: No published company-formation or licence-issuance time was found. - Dubai Design District · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Sharjah 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. - Sharjah Media City · Renewal price: Marketing states a fixed lifetime renewal cost subject to terms, but no exact renewal total was found. - Dubai Design District · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Sharjah 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. - Sharjah Media City · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Sharjah Media City (Shams). 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) ### Sharjah Media City Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Sharjah Media City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/shams) ## 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 Sharjah Media City? No like-for-like starting price is published for Dubai Design District and Sharjah 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) - [Sharjah Media City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/shams) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [Dubai Design District or Sharjah Media City (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/dubai-design-district-vs-shams.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 Sharjah Media City.” Updated 2026-10-09. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-design-district-vs-shams [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-design-district-vs-shams). “Dubai Design District or Sharjah Media City.” 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/dubai-design-district-vs-shams, 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.