# IFZA or Innovation City > Compare IFZA 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/ifza-vs-rak-dao - Updated: 2026-10-09 - Method: https://dubaisetupindex.com/methodology ## Verdict IFZA publishes the faster licence, 3–5 business days against 5–10 business days for Innovation City. IFZA and Innovation City both show starting figures, but they cover different scopes, so neither is the cheaper route on this evidence. 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 | IFZA (Free zone) | Innovation City (Free zone) | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | From, no visa | AED 12,900 (12 months · current package) | AED 6,600 (12 months · starting price) | | From, one visa | AED 20,650 (12 months · current package) | AED 13,200 (12 months · starting price) | | From, two visas | AED 26,400 (12 months · current package) | Not published | | Lowest package price | AED 12,900 (12 months · current package) | AED 6,600 (12 months · starting price) | | Licence issued in | 3–5 business days | 5–10 business days | | Residency visa in | 1–2 business days | Not published | | Renewal price | AED 12,900 (No visa; AED 17,100 with one visa, AED 19,100 with two (card included)) | Not published | | Licence types | Commercial, Professional, Industrial | Digital assets, Related tech | | Facility options | Flexi desk, Smart office, Office | Office, Virtual options as offered | | Visa options | Investor or partner visa against the licence for shareholders, Employment visas up to the allocation in the package, priced from zero to two visas, Dependant sponsorship once the primary residency and Emirates ID are issued, Establishment card is issued first and gates every visa that follows | Not published | | Remote paperwork | Yes | Yes | | Activity guides catalogued | 823 | Not published | Each figure comes from the same source as its guide page. ### Not published - 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. - Innovation City · Residency visa in: No published residency-visa processing time was found for this zone. - Innovation City · Renewal price: No public renewal detail was found. - Innovation City · Visa options: No visa options recorded for this jurisdiction. - 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 ### IFZA - The lowest possible first-year cost, where Ajman is materially cheaper - Warehouse, land or industrial operations that need real premises - Activities carrying a third-party approval before licence issuance, which breaks the fast timeline [Read the IFZA guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/ifza) ### 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, IFZA or Innovation City? IFZA publishes the faster licence, 3–5 business days against 5–10 business days for Innovation City. IFZA and Innovation City both show starting figures, but they cover different scopes, so neither is the cheaper route on this evidence. ## Related - [IFZA guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/ifza) - [Innovation City guide](https://dubaisetupindex.com/free-zones/rak-dao) - [All comparisons](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare) ## Machine-readable - [IFZA or Innovation City (JSON)](https://dubaisetupindex.com/data/comparisons/ifza-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. “IFZA or Innovation City.” Updated 2026-10-09. https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/ifza-vs-rak-dao [Dubai Setup Index](https://dubaisetupindex.com/compare/ifza-vs-rak-dao). “IFZA 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/ifza-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.