# Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Dubai mainland > Compare Expo City Dubai Free Zone 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/expo-city-dubai-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 Expo City Dubai Free Zone, 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 | Expo City Dubai Free Zone (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 | AED 12,520 (12 months · published package) | AED 14,000 (Licence only · plus 5% of rent) | | Licence issued in | 1 business day | Not published | | Residency visa in | Not published | Not published | | Renewal price | AED 10,000 | Not published | | Licence types | Commercial, Events, Innovation-related | Commercial, Professional, Industrial | | Facility options | Office, Event and campus 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 - Expo City Dubai Free Zone · From, no visa: A no-visa product is published, but it does not confirm included visas or is not a like-for-like package. It is listed under other published prices. - Expo City Dubai Free Zone · From, one visa: Checked 2026-10-09: Official Business Hub packages are published, but visa allocations do not establish paid visa issuance. No public instant setup calculator was located on the checked surfaces. - Expo City Dubai Free Zone · From, two visas: Checked 2026-10-09: Official Business Hub packages are published, but visa allocations do not establish paid visa issuance. No public instant setup calculator was located on the checked surfaces. - Dubai Mainland · Licence issued in: An end-to-end formation timeline has not been verified for your activity and applicant profile. - Expo City Dubai Free Zone · Residency visa in: Stage-level service times are published, but total elapsed setup time remains conditional on third-party approvals, document signing, payment, and lease completion. - 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 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. - Expo City Dubai Free Zone · 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. - Expo City Dubai Free Zone · Activity guides catalogued: We have not published authored activity guides for Expo City Dubai Free Zone. Confirm the selected licence line and approvals with the authority. ## Check before choosing ### Expo City Dubai Free Zone Confirm activity restrictions, premises and visa requirements for your case. [Read the Expo City Dubai Free Zone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/expo-city-dubai) ### 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, Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Dubai Mainland? No like-for-like starting price is published for Expo City Dubai Free Zone, so the cost side of this comparison is open. Decide on activity fit, location and an itemised quote for your case. ## Related - [Expo City Dubai Free Zone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/expo-city-dubai) - [Dubai Mainland guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/mainland) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Dubai mainland (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/expo-city-dubai-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. “Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Dubai mainland.” Updated 2026-09-05. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/expo-city-dubai-vs-dubai-mainland [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/expo-city-dubai-vs-dubai-mainland). “Expo City Dubai Free Zone 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/expo-city-dubai-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.