# Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Sharjah Media City > Compare Expo City Dubai Free Zone 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/expo-city-dubai-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 Expo City Dubai Free Zone 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 | Expo City Dubai Free Zone (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 | AED 12,520 (12 months · published package) | AED 6,875 (starting price) | | 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 | Media, Freelance, Services, E-commerce | | Facility options | Office, Event and campus facilities | 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 - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - 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. - Sharjah Media City · Licence issued in: No published company-formation or licence-issuance time was found. - 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. - Sharjah Media City · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Sharjah Media City · Renewal price: Marketing states a fixed lifetime renewal cost subject to terms, but no exact renewal total was found. - Expo City Dubai Free Zone · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - Sharjah Media City · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - 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. - 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 ### 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) ### 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, Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Sharjah Media City? No like-for-like starting price is published for Expo City Dubai Free Zone 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 - [Expo City Dubai Free Zone guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/expo-city-dubai) - [Sharjah Media City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/shams) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Sharjah Media City (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/expo-city-dubai-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. “Expo City Dubai Free Zone or Sharjah Media City.” Updated 2026-10-09. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/expo-city-dubai-vs-shams [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/expo-city-dubai-vs-shams). “Expo City Dubai Free Zone 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/expo-city-dubai-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.