Holding company
5 UAE free zones publish licence types that fit holding company (our assessment); the lowest published package without stated conditions is AED 6,600 at INC.
Holding shares and assets of other companies; no operating activity. Examples: Holding company, Family office holding. Confirm your exact activity on each zone's official activity list.
Compare the 3 lowest published packages: INC vs MCFZ vs DHCC →
5 zones · lowest package first
Narrow to 4 or fewer, or tick “Compare” on up to 4 zones
4 of 5 publish a price for this view; the rest say “Not published” and will quote on request.
| Free zone | Lowest package | Licence fee from | Max visa quota | Min. office | Incorporation | Compare |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jafza DubaiMany facts confirmed on official sources; some not published. Checked 2026-10-24 | Not published | AED 5,000 | Not published | Flexi-desk | 3 days | |
| INC Ras Al KhaimahMany facts confirmed on official sources; some not published. Checked 2026-10-24 | AED 6,600 | AED 6,600 | 4 | Flexi-desk | 5 days | |
| MCFZ Abu DhabiMany facts confirmed on official sources; some not published. Checked 2026-10-24 | AED 7,000 | AED 7,000 | 3 | Virtual office | Not published | |
| DHCC DubaiMost facts confirmed on official sources. Checked 2026-10-24 | AED 16,550 | AED 15,000 | Not published | Flexi-desk | Not published | |
| DMCC DubaiMost facts confirmed on official sources. Checked 2026-10-24 | AED 31,000 | AED 20,285 | 3 | Flexi-desk | 10 days |
Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza)
Not published
Lowest package, year 1
VAT Designated Zone · General trading
Innovation City
AED 6,600
Lowest package, year 1
General trading · 4-visa package
Masdar City Free Zone
AED 7,000
Lowest package, year 1
3-visa package
Dubai Healthcare City
AED 16,550
Lowest package, year 1
General trading
Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC)
AED 31,000
Lowest package, year 1
General trading · 3-visa package
Verified on 2026-10-24 from assets.difc.com, dmcc.ae, innovationcity.com and 4 more official sources.
Prices are year-1 figures as published by each zone: the lowest package of any size, or the package closest to the set-up you pick under “Price shown for”. “Not published” means no official source states it. How we verify
What we can compare: official activity list published by 29 of 43 zones; package price: solo, no visa published by 17 of 43 zones; package price: founder + 1 visa published by 13 of 43 zones; package price: team, 3 visas published by 6 of 43 zones; any package price published by 17 of 43 zones; licence fee published by 30 of 43 zones. Full coverage table
Among zones whose licence types fit holding company in our assessment, Innovation City publishes the lowest package without stated conditions (AED 6,600, Idea), followed by MCFZ and DHCC. Packages include different things, so compare them line by line.
Approvals depend on your exact activity. Each zone's page lists the activities that zone says need another authority's approval.
Zones set how many activities a licence includes and whether trading and services can be combined; each zone page shows what the zone publishes on this. Ask the zone for its exact activity codes.