For business setup in Abu Dhabi vs Dubai, pick the emirate where your customers, your warehouse and your government buyers actually are, because a mainland licence is issued by one emirate and trading in the other usually needs a second licence or permit. Abu Dhabi mainland licences come from the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) through the TAMM portal, and they make most sense for firms selling to Abu Dhabi government entities, energy and industrial buyers. Dubai mainland licences come from the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) through Invest in Dubai, with instant and home-based options that suit consumer-facing and service businesses. Corporate tax is federal, so the rate is the same in both.
Every fee and rule below was read on official Abu Dhabi, Dubai, federal and free zone websites on 14 September 2026. Fees change often, so treat them as a dated snapshot.
Key takeaways
- An Abu Dhabi commercial economic licence on TAMM lists government fee lines that add up to AED 5,325 to AED 7,375 before rent, visas and any external approvals.
- Dubai’s Invest in Dubai portal issues a normal trade licence within 10 minutes once documents and approvals are complete, and an instant licence within five minutes for activities that need no external approval.
- Both emirates now have a formal route for free zone companies to trade on their mainland: AED 10,000 a year for a DET branch licence in Dubai, and a TAMM dual licence in Abu Dhabi with listed fees of AED 1,725.
- Abu Dhabi’s government procurement portal lets suppliers holding an Abu Dhabi DED licence self-register; everyone else must request registration through each government entity.
- ADGM and DIFC each run their own company law and registrar, and ADGM cut its non-financial registration fee from USD 10,000 to USD 5,500 in January 2025.
Who licenses what in each emirate
The names matter because setup quotes often use “DED” loosely for both emirates. In Dubai, mainland licences are issued by DET through Invest in Dubai. Abu Dhabi uses ADDED, and on 6 January 2025 the Abu Dhabi Media Office announced that ADDED had launched the Abu Dhabi Registration and Licensing Authority (ADRA) to oversee business registration across the emirate and “its non-financial economic free zones”, with one unified database.
| Item | Abu Dhabi | Dubai |
|---|---|---|
| Mainland licensing authority | ADDED, with ADRA as registrar | Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) |
| Online portal | TAMM (UAE PASS login) | Invest in Dubai |
| Lease registration system | Tawtheeq | Ejari, run by Dubai Land Department |
| Financial free zone | ADGM, Al Maryah Island | DIFC |
| Examples of other free zones | Masdar City Free Zone, KEZAD | DMCC, IFZA, Meydan |
| Free zone company trading on the mainland | Dual licence or branch licence via TAMM | DET branch licence or temporary permit |
One practical consequence: a consultant who knows Dubai paperwork well may not know TAMM’s service list, and the reverse is also true. Ask which portal your application will be filed on before you pay a deposit.
Business setup in Abu Dhabi on the mainland
TAMM’s “Issue Economic Licence – Commercial” service covers commercial, tourism, agricultural, artisanal and professional activities under your chosen legal form. It asks for a memorandum of association and an approved lease contract, and it states a service time of five working days, with steps that include approvals from other entities where needed and a beneficial owner declaration.
The cost lines TAMM lists for that service, as read on 14 September 2026, are:
- An organisational entities fee of AED 790, plus AED 100 for each activity beyond six.
- A Ministry of Economy fee of AED 2,500 and social contributions of AED 1,500.
- AED 315 for the establishment card from the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship (ICP).
- Abu Dhabi Chamber fees between AED 150 and AED 2,200 depending on category.
- Smaller lines of AED 10 for the economic register, AED 10 for licence issuance and AED 50 for notarising the company contract.
Added together, that is AED 5,325 at the lowest chamber category and AED 7,375 at the highest. TAMM also says costs are “varying as incurred”, and the page does not say which lines apply to which legal form, so a sole establishment may not pay every line. Rent is on top, and it is usually the biggest number. TAMM wants an approved lease, and Abu Dhabi registers lease contracts through Tawtheeq, operated by the emirate’s municipalities department.
TAMM also lists separate services for a Tajer Abu Dhabi licence and a Mobdea licence, both marked for Emiratis, and a freelancer licence open to expats and visitors. If your activity fits one of them, the cost profile changes, so check the activity list before comparing quotes.
Business setup in Dubai on the mainland
The Invest in Dubai trade licence service page describes three licence types. A normal licence needs a memorandum of association and a site lease contract. An instant licence covers a group of activities that need no external approvals, can include a virtual site for the first year, and bundles Dubai Chamber membership for commercial activities, a GDRFA establishment card and a Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation card with the option to employ three people. An eTrader licence is a sole establishment for home-based businesses at AED 1,070 plus AED 300 for Dubai Chamber membership.
DET does not publish one total for a normal licence. The page says fees vary by licence type and activity and sends applicants to its Business Set-Up Recommendations tool. For the lease, Dubai Land Department lists Ejari registration at AED 177.75 through its website or the Dubai REST app, or AED 220 at a trustee centre.
For a small Dubai services firm, the instant licence’s virtual site for year one lets a consultancy or marketing studio start billing before signing a commercial lease, although the lease question returns at renewal. ADDED’s licensing page also lists a virtual licence in Abu Dhabi, so ask about both before assuming either emirate needs an office on day one.
Free zones: ADGM and DIFC, then the rest
ADGM against DIFC for financial and holding structures
Both centres sit outside the ordinary mainland company regime. ADGM’s FAQ describes three independent authorities: the Registration Authority, the Financial Services Regulatory Authority and ADGM Courts. DIFC’s Registrar of Companies is established under DIFC Law No. 7 of 2018 and registers private companies, public companies and branches of foreign companies under DIFC’s own Companies Law.
On cost, ADGM’s announcement of 2 January 2025 cut the non-financial category’s initial registration from USD 10,000 to USD 5,500 and its annual renewal from USD 8,000 to USD 5,000. Retail fell to USD 2,500 and USD 2,000. Tech start-ups pay USD 1,500. A USD 300 data protection fee applies at registration and each renewal. ADGM’s FAQ also says companies must keep a physical office address in ADGM at all times. DIFC’s fee handbook could not be opened when this article was written, so we do not quote DIFC fees here; see our DIFC company setup page or ask DIFC for its current schedule.
Masdar City Free Zone’s published packages
Masdar City Free Zone prints its package prices on its own site. On 14 September 2026 its licence page listed a Startup package at AED 7,000 for up to two activities, covering licence and registration only, an Innovation package at AED 12,000 with two visa quota and a flexi desk, a Business One package at AED 17,500 with one visa, a flexi desk lite lease and the establishment card, and an Enterprise package at AED 27,000 with three visa quota. Extra activities cost AED 2,500 each, or AED 5,000 for special activities.
Read the small print twice. The same page says charges “are subject to 5% VAT” in one note and that rates are “inclusive of 5% VAT, except for lease” in another. It also lists a one-time eChannel registration of AED 2,600 and a refundable AED 2,500 visa deposit per employee. Ask for a written quote that settles the VAT point.
KEZAD and the Dubai zones
KEZAD’s own site says it offers both free zone and “Domestic Economic Zone” (mainland) facilities, with serviced land, warehouses and light industrial units at Khalifa Port, Al Ma’mourah, Musaffah and Al Ain. That pairing matters for a manufacturer that later wants onshore sales. On the Dubai side, Codeeo’s setup pages cover DMCC, IFZA and Meydan, and our guide to the Meydan free zone licence covers that zone’s dated fees and fit.
Selling to mainland customers from a free zone
This is where the two emirates now look similar on paper. Dubai’s Executive Council Resolution No. (11) of 2025, issued on 3 March 2025, lets DET authorise a free zone establishment to operate in the emirate through a branch licence, a branch based in the free zone that conducts activities in the emirate at AED 10,000 a year, or a temporary permit of up to six months at AED 5,000. It does not apply to financial establishments licensed in DIFC. Existing businesses had one year from the issue date to comply.
In Abu Dhabi, TAMM’s “Dual Licence and Branches” service lets an existing company open a branch or dual licence with the same legal form and activities as the parent. The documents include the free zone licence, a no objection certificate and a tenancy contract. The listed fees are AED 790 for up to six activities, AED 600 Abu Dhabi Chamber membership, AED 315 for the ICP establishment card and two AED 10 lines, so AED 1,725 in total. ADGM’s FAQ is direct about it: an ADGM entity that needs mainland operations must hold an Abu Dhabi DED licence.
One issue we often see is a free zone company invoicing mainland clients in the other emirate on the assumption that a UAE licence covers the whole country. Neither emirate’s scheme says that. Budget the second licence or permit from day one if your first customers are across the line.
Government contracts and where clients sit
If your plan depends on Abu Dhabi government work, the licence location affects the paperwork. The Abu Dhabi supplier registration page says suppliers with a valid Abu Dhabi DED licence can submit a self-registration request on the Abu Dhabi Government Procurement Gate. Suppliers without one, including international suppliers, must complete an “Entity Request” form and submit it to the specific government entity they want to work with.
For an IT integrator chasing three or four Abu Dhabi departments, that difference is one self-registration against a separate request to each entity. For a Dubai restaurant group, a JLT marketing agency or an e-commerce seller shipping from a Dubai warehouse, it is irrelevant, and Dubai’s instant licence is often the quicker start.
Which emirate fits which business
- An oil and gas services contractor or an IT firm targeting Abu Dhabi government departments should weigh the Abu Dhabi mainland first, because of the procurement portal route.
- A fintech or fund manager should compare ADGM and DIFC on regulator fit first, then on the published ADGM fees and a written DIFC quote.
- A manufacturer needing land near a port should look at KEZAD, which offers free zone and mainland facilities in the same group.
- A home-based Dubai founder selling online may qualify for a DET eTrader licence at AED 1,370 including Chamber membership, if the activity is on the eTrader list.
- A consultancy with clients in both emirates can hold a free zone licence and add a Dubai branch licence or an Abu Dhabi dual licence, and should price both before choosing.
For UK and European founders the emirate choice sits inside a bigger decision about residence and home-country tax, covered in our guide to setting up a UAE company from the UK or Europe.
What can go wrong
The most expensive mistake is choosing a cheap free zone package, then discovering the anchor client is a mainland entity in the other emirate. The fix costs AED 10,000 a year for a DET branch licence in Dubai, or AED 5,000 for a six-month permit, and a dual licence plus a tenancy contract in Abu Dhabi.
The second is a quote that lists “government fees” as one number. On TAMM you can see the Ministry of Economy fee, social contributions and chamber category separately, so ask your consultant to map their quote line by line against the TAMM or Invest in Dubai page for your activity.
The third is lease timing. A normal mainland licence in either emirate asks for a lease contract, registered in Tawtheeq or Ejari, and a lease signed before the activity is approved can leave you paying rent on premises the authority later rejects for that activity.
