# Dubai Production City or Dubai mainland > Compare Dubai Production City with Dubai mainland for the same activity, facilities and visa needs. The mainland figure is an official licence estimate, so it sits beside the free-zone package in the table but is never ranked against it. - Canonical: https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-production-city-vs-dubai-mainland - Updated: 2026-09-05 - 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 Production 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 Production City (Free zone) | Dubai Mainland (Mainland) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | From, no visa | Not published | AED 14,000 (Licence only · plus 5% of rent) | | From, one visa | Not published | Priced by owners, not visas (Visa costs are separate) | | From, two visas | Not published | Priced by owners, not visas (Visa costs are separate) | | Lowest package price | Not published | AED 14,000 (Licence only · plus 5% of rent) | | 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 | Publishing, Print, Packaging, Media services | Commercial, Professional, Industrial | | Facility options | Office, Print and production facilities | Confirm the premises are suitable for the exact activity before signing a lease or paying for fit-out. Ejari registration alone does not establish activity approval., Ejari registration: DLD publishes AED 177.75 through the app/website and AED 220 through a trustee. Confirm company-tenant channel eligibility; rent, deposits and fit-out are separate., The trustee fee components total AED 219.75 with 5% VAT on the partner fee, while DLD prints AED 220. Confirm the payable amount. | | Visa options | Not published | Visa eligibility, quota, documents and fees have not been verified for your scenario; confirm separately from company licensing. | | Remote paperwork | No | Not published | | Activity guides catalogued | Not published | 2,327 | Each figure comes from the same source as its guide page. ### Not published - Dubai Production 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 Production 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 Production 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 Production City · Lowest package price: No comparable company package price is confirmed. Other published fees and products are listed separately. - Dubai Mainland · Licence issued in: An end-to-end formation timeline has not been verified for your activity and applicant profile. - Dubai Production City · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Dubai Mainland · Residency visa in: A complete owner-residency timeline still needs confirmation for the selected visa route, applicant status, medical and biometrics appointments. - Dubai Production City · Renewal price: No published renewal price, term or penalty was found. - Dubai Mainland · Renewal price: Renewal needs a current licence assessment, premises, membership and any permits or immigration renewals due that year. Historical fee schedules do not establish a current total. - Dubai Production City · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Dubai Mainland · Remote paperwork: Remote setup eligibility and any in-person steps depend on the activity and applicant; not verified here. - Dubai Production City · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Dubai Production City. Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. ## Check before choosing ### Dubai Production City Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Dubai Production City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-production-city) ### Dubai Mainland - Choosing a licence before defining the actual activity and operating requirements - Comparing a quoted package without its premises, visa and renewal assumptions [Read the Dubai Mainland guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/mainland) ## Frequently asked questions ### Can a free-zone package be set against the mainland licence estimate? The mainland column shows the official licence estimate, which excludes rent, visas and approvals, so it is never ranked against a free-zone package. Confirm the activity, premises and visa plan to get a like-for-like quote. ### Which costs less on published figures, Dubai Production City or Dubai Mainland? No like-for-like starting price is published for Dubai Production City, so the cost side of this comparison is open. Decide on activity fit, location and an itemised quote for your case. ## Related - [Dubai Production City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-production-city) - [Dubai Mainland guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/mainland) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [Dubai Production City or Dubai mainland (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/dubai-production-city-vs-dubai-mainland.json) ## Citation Required when quoting any figure from this page. Copy one of these verbatim — the link is not optional. Dubai Setup Index. “Dubai Production City or Dubai mainland.” Updated 2026-09-05. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-production-city-vs-dubai-mainland [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-production-city-vs-dubai-mainland). “Dubai Production City or Dubai mainland.” Updated 2026-09-05. 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-production-city-vs-dubai-mainland, updated 2026-09-05. 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.