Meydan Free Zone

Who Meydan actually fits — and who it does not

Meydan suits a specific shape of business: a solo founder or small team selling services, consulting, digital work, e-commerce or holding IP, who wants a Dubai address and residence visas without renting space. From AED 12,500 you get a licence spanning the 1,500+ activity list, up to three visa allocations, and issuance in 2–4 days — fully remote. It is a natural step up for a trader or agency that has outgrown a Sharjah budget licence but does not need DMCC prestige.It fits poorly when you need physical space or scale. Meydan issues no warehouse, retail unit or dedicated office, so import-distribution, light manufacturing, logistics or a walk-in storefront belong in Jafza or another industrial zone, not here. Regulated finance, funds or a crypto exchange need DIFC or ADGM. And a company planning ten-plus staff visas will meet Meydan's ceiling early — covered below.

What AED 12,500 covers, and what sits beyond it

The headline is a licence price, not an all-in setup cost. The base fee buys the trade licence, the free-zone incorporation and your registered Dubai address. Several items founders assume are bundled are quoted separately, and they are where a AED 12,500 plan becomes a AED 20,000–30,000 first year once visas are added.Model the real number before committing — our setup-cost calculator adds the visa and card layers to the headline so you compare like for like.

No office, three visas — the substance ceiling

Two defaults define Meydan, and both cut two ways. Because no office is required, the licence is issued against a registered address rather than a leased desk — cheap and remote, but it gives you no physical presence, and banks increasingly ask remote-only companies for evidence of genuine operations before approving an account. The three-visa base quota is comfortable for a founder plus a hire or two, but scaling past it means moving to a larger Meydan package, not a small add-on.

Meydan vs IFZA — the near-twin decision

The honest comparison is not Meydan versus a Sharjah zone (SHAMS and SPC start near AED 5,750 but give a northern-emirate address); it is Meydan versus IFZA. Both are Dubai, both fully remote, both around the same money — Meydan from AED 12,500, IFZA from AED 12,900 — and both cap the entry package at three visas.The differences are texture, not tier. IFZA lists 2,000+ activities and sells almost entirely through registered agents, so your price and service depend on the partner you pick. Meydan lists 1,500+ and can be dealt with more directly, with a cleaner published renewal, but leans on à-la-carte add-ons (NOC letters, activity changes) that quietly lift the total. For a clean services or e-commerce company the pick usually comes down to which activity list carries your exact activity and which quoted all-in — visas included — is lower.