# Dubai South Free Zone or Innovation City > Compare Dubai South Free Zone and Innovation 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-south-vs-rak-dao - Updated: 2026-10-09 - Method: https://dubaisetupindex.com/methodology ## Verdict Dubai South Free Zone publishes the faster licence, 1 business day against 5–10 business days for Innovation City. No like-for-like starting price is published for Dubai South Free Zone, 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 South Free Zone (Free zone) | Innovation City (Free zone) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | From, no visa | Not published | AED 6,600 (12 months · starting price) | | From, one visa | Not published | AED 13,200 (12 months · starting price) | | From, two visas | Not published | Not published | | Lowest package price | AED 12,500 (starting price) | AED 6,600 (12 months · starting price) | | Licence issued in | 1 business day (The official setup page claims licence issuance in one business day.) | 5–10 business days | | Residency visa in | Not published | Not published | | Renewal price | Not published | Not published | | Licence types | Aviation, Logistics, Trading, Services | Digital assets, Related tech | | Facility options | Office, Warehouse, Logistics plots | Office, Virtual options as offered | | 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 South Free Zone · From, no visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The current Business Hub cost-calculator route exists. Its contact/activity form requires acceptance of terms and data processing before continuing; no quote was submitted. The AED 1,500 instant-IBAN add-on is optional and must not enter baseline prices. - Dubai South Free Zone · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: The current Business Hub cost-calculator route exists. Its contact/activity form requires acceptance of terms and data processing before continuing; no quote was submitted. The AED 1,500 instant-IBAN add-on is optional and must not enter baseline prices. - Dubai South Free Zone · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: The current Business Hub cost-calculator route exists. Its contact/activity form requires acceptance of terms and data processing before continuing; no quote was submitted. The AED 1,500 instant-IBAN add-on is optional and must not enter baseline prices. - Innovation City · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: Start Estimate links to a contact form, not an instant calculator. Idea / Seed / Startup / Growth prices are public; Startup and Growth include only one visa despite a four-visa cap. The additional second visa price is unpublished. - Dubai South Free Zone · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Innovation City · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Dubai South Free Zone · Renewal price: Detailed public renewal pricing was not found. - Innovation City · Renewal price: No public renewal detail was found. - Dubai South Free Zone · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Innovation City · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Dubai South Free Zone · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Dubai South Free Zone. Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. - Innovation City · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Innovation City (formerly RAK DAO). Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. ## Check before choosing ### Dubai South Free Zone Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Dubai South Free Zone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-south) ### Innovation City Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Innovation City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/rak-dao) ## 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 South Free Zone or Innovation City? Dubai South Free Zone publishes the faster licence, 1 business day against 5–10 business days for Innovation City. No like-for-like starting price is published for Dubai South Free Zone, so the cost side of this comparison is open. ## Related - [Dubai South Free Zone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/dubai-south) - [Innovation City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/rak-dao) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [Dubai South Free Zone or Innovation City (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/dubai-south-vs-rak-dao.json) ## Citation Required when quoting any figure from this page. Copy one of these verbatim — the link is not optional. Dubai Setup Index. “Dubai South Free Zone or Innovation City.” Updated 2026-10-09. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-south-vs-rak-dao [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/dubai-south-vs-rak-dao). “Dubai South Free Zone or Innovation 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-south-vs-rak-dao, 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.