IFZA vs RAKEZ

What the price gap actually buys

RAKEZ opens at AED 6,500; IFZA at AED 12,900 — roughly double for the entry licence. Yet both zones waive the office requirement on their starter tiers, both publish a catalogue of 2,000+ activities, and both issue fast (IFZA in 3–5 days, RAKEZ in 3–7). So the extra dirhams on IFZA do not buy more activities, more speed, or an office you would otherwise be forced to rent. They buy a Dubai address — in Dubai Silicon Oasis — and the reception a Dubai licence gets from banks and clients. RAKEZ, for its half-price licence, gives you a Ras Al Khaimah address and, on the same entry tiers, twice the visa headroom.

One caveat on the IFZA figure: its pricing is broker-driven, so the same licence is quoted at different numbers by different agents. Treat AED 12,900 as a floor, not a fixed price, and sanity-check any quote against our setup-cost calculator.

Where they actually differ

The activity catalogues are effectively a tie, and neither forces an office to start. The two lines that decide most cases are the visa quota (6 vs 3) and the emirate. RAKEZ also absorbed RAK FTZ, so it runs genuine factories and warehousing that IFZA, as a services-and-holding zone, simply does not offer.

Who each zone fits — and who it doesn't

IFZA fits consultants, agencies and holding companies that want a Dubai address and expect to deal with mainland clients and Dubai banks — the licence smooths introductions, and a team of three or fewer never feels the lower visa cap. It is the weaker choice if you need six visas from day one, run anything physical, or are watching every dirham.

RAKEZ fits founders who want the most visas per dirham, teams of four to six, and any business that touches warehousing, light manufacturing or trading with stock. It is the weaker choice if a Dubai address is part of your pitch, or if your target banks are picky — a northern-emirate licence can add a question or two at account opening, though established banks onboard RAKEZ companies routinely.

The verdict

Pick IFZA if a Dubai address earns its premium in your market — client-facing consultancies, agencies and holding structures with a small team and smoother banking as the priority.

Pick RAKEZ if you want to keep cash in the business: six visas at entry, half the licence cost, and the only one of the two that can house a factory or warehouse. On raw value per dirham, RAKEZ wins; on prestige and banking reception, IFZA does.