On this page 8 sections
- The four Sharjah free zones compared
- What a Sharjah free zone company setup costs, by component
- How a Sharjah free zone company setup works, step by step
- What a Sharjah free zone licence does not give you
- Opening a business bank account
- Sharjah against Dubai and Ajman on entry price
- What Sharjah zones do not publish
- Choosing between them
A Sharjah free zone company setup starts at AED 5,750. That is the lowest entry price published by any Sharjah free zone authority today, quoted by SPC Free Zone; SHAMS publishes AED 5,760, ten dirhams more. The other two large Sharjah zones, Hamriyah and SAIF Zone, publish no current price list: Hamriyah gives an indicative AED 11,000 in its FAQ, and SAIF Zone’s fee and rent tables sit in forms dated 2021. This page compares what each zone actually states, adds the government fees that sit on top of the licence, and marks every figure that is not published rather than filling the gap with a guess.
The four Sharjah free zones compared
Sharjah has four free zones that take foreign-owned company formation. They are not interchangeable: two publish prices and two do not, and the two that publish are aimed at small service and media businesses while the two that do not are industrial and logistics zones where pricing is quoted per plot or per warehouse.
| Zone | Lowest published entry | What that includes | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| SPC Free Zone (Sharjah Publishing City) | AED 5,750 zero visa; AED 13,175 with one visa (One Visa Package) | Licence with up to 5 activities, up to 100 shareholders, 100% foreign ownership | Publishing, media, trading, e-commerce, IT and consultancy; anyone wanting a dual licence for Sharjah mainland |
| SHAMS (Sharjah Media City) | AED 5,760 media package, 0 visas; standard package AED 6,885, VAT included | Licence with up to 5 cross-sector activities; LLC without a mandatory FZ suffix | Media and creative businesses, e-commerce, freelancers and first-time founders |
| Hamriyah Free Zone (HFZA) | AED 11,000 basic licence cost in its FAQ, indicative, on the site since at least 2019 | Not stated; office package prices are not published | Industrial, manufacturing, oil and gas and heavy logistics; land and warehouse tenants |
| SAIF Zone (Sharjah Airport International Free Zone) | AED 7,500 licence, in a form dated March 2021 | Licence only; the SAIF Office adds AED 15,000 rent and a AED 3,000 service charge (form dated July 2021) | Air-freight-dependent trading, light industry and distribution |
Rechecked on 4 October 2026: Hamriyah’s only published price is the indicative AED 11,000 in its FAQ, and SAIF Zone’s fee and rent tables sit in forms dated 2021, not on its web pages, so any other Hamriyah or SAIF figure you find is a third-party quote, not an official one. Ask the zone directly and get the number in writing before you compare it with the AED 5,750 above.
What a Sharjah free zone company setup costs, by component
The licence price is the part zones advertise. It is rarely the part that surprises people. The costs below are charged separately, and they are the reason a headline AED 5,750 turns into a first-year figure two to three times larger as soon as one residence visa is involved.
| Element | What it is | Indicative amount | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free zone licence | The trade licence itself, renewed annually | From AED 5,750 | spcfz.ae, checked 14 August 2026 |
| Establishment / e-channel registration | One-time immigration file that lets the company sponsor visas at all | AED 640 establishment card plus AED 2,280 e-channel, no deposit stated | SHAMS cost guide; SHAMS and SPC calculators, 3 October 2026 |
| Investor visa | Residence visa for an owner, typically 2 years | ~AED 2,200 | SHAMS cost guide, indicative mid-2026 |
| Employee visa | Residence visa for a hired employee | ~AED 3,700 | SHAMS cost guide, indicative mid-2026 |
| Medical fitness test | Mandatory screening before a residence visa is issued | ~AED 365 | SHAMS cost guide, indicative mid-2026 |
| Emirates ID | National identity card, required for every resident | ~AED 330 | SHAMS cost guide, indicative mid-2026 |
| Health insurance | Legally required for each visa holder | Not published by the zones; priced by the insurer | no published figure |
Neither the SHAMS nor the SPC cost calculator shows a refundable deposit: opening the immigration file costs an AED 640 establishment card plus AED 2,280 e-channel registration, and each visa also needs an AED 1,600 visa allocation at both zones, on top of the visa amounts above.
How a Sharjah free zone company setup works, step by step
- Choose the zone and the activity list. A Sharjah free zone company setup allows up to five activities on one licence at both SPC and SHAMS, and they may cross sectors. Decide this first, because adding activities later is a licence amendment.
- Reserve the company name. Names are checked against the register and against naming rules; religious references and the names of existing companies are refused.
- Submit passport copies and the application. For most entry packages the shareholders never need to be in the country at this stage.
- Pay the licence fee and receive the licence. This is the AED 5,750 (SPC) or AED 5,760 (SHAMS) step, and it is where fast-track promises apply.
- Open the immigration file. Only needed if you want visas; this is the e-channel or establishment card cost above.
- Apply for the entry permit, then convert it. The medical test and Emirates ID registration happen inside the country during this step.
- Open the corporate bank account. Budget several weeks. No zone and no agent can guarantee approval.
What a Sharjah free zone licence does not give you
These are the limits that cause the most expensive surprises, and no zone leads with them:
- A Sharjah free zone company setup does not let you trade freely on the UAE mainland. Selling directly to mainland customers needs a mainland distributor, a branch, or SPC’s dual licence route.
- It does not include a residence visa. Zero-visa packages are exactly that, and the visa route has to be bought separately.
- It does not guarantee a bank account. Banks assess the business, not the zone, and budget zones are commonly reported to attract more questions.
- It does not exempt you from corporate tax by itself. The 0% rate applies only to a qualifying free zone person meeting the conditions (see qualifying free zone person).
- It does not remove accounting duties. Corporate tax registration and bookkeeping apply regardless of the licence price.
Opening a business bank account
A bank account does not come with a Sharjah free zone licence: the bank opens it separately, after its own review of the company, its owners and the expected transactions. For a new small company, two common starting points are the RAKBANK business account, which costs AED 103.95 a month plus a required RAKvalue package from AED 51.45, with no minimum balance, and Wio Business, which costs AED 99 a month on the Essential plan, with no minimum balance (banks’ own fee schedules, checked October 2026). Sharjah-based InvestBank does not publish its business account fees online, so ask it for the current tariff. Compare all of them on our UAE business banks page.
Sharjah against Dubai and Ajman on entry price
| Emirate | Cheapest published licence | Zone | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sharjah | AED 5,750 (SPC), AED 5,760 (SHAMS) | SPC Free Zone, SHAMS | Low entry, five activities on one licence, Sharjah address |
| Ajman | AED 4,999 at Ajman Media City; Ajman Free Zone publishes no price | Ajman Free Zone, Ajman Media City | Marginally cheaper; smaller emirate, fewer banking options |
| Dubai | AED 12,500 at Meydan; IFZA publishes no price | Meydan, IFZA | Roughly double the entry price, bought for the Dubai address and banking perception |
Sharjah’s position is the middle one: it is not the cheapest emirate in the country, but it is the cheapest that still gives a five-activity licence and a mainland-access route through a dual licence. If price is the only criterion, compare all of them in the cheapest free zones in the UAE guide or run the numbers in the free zone comparison tool.
What Sharjah zones do not publish
Stating this openly is more useful than inventing it. As of 14 August 2026:
- Hamriyah and SAIF Zone publish no current price list: only an indicative AED 11,000 in the Hamriyah FAQ and 2021 forms at SAIF Zone (rechecked 4 October 2026).
- Renewal prices are not published by any of the four zones. Assume renewal is close to the first-year licence fee and confirm it in writing.
- Per-visa costs are no longer a gap at SPC: its cost calculator itemises AED 1,600 visa quota plus AED 2,895 investor visa or AED 4,065 employment visa processing.
- Office upgrade prices are quoted on request rather than listed.
Choosing between them
Take SPC Free Zone if you want the lowest published price with a documented dual licence path to Sharjah mainland work. Take SHAMS if your business is media or content led, or if you want the licence without a mandatory FZ suffix in the company name. Talk to Hamriyah or SAIF only if you need land, a warehouse or air-freight adjacency, and expect a bespoke quote rather than a package price. For a side-by-side across the whole country, use the UAE free zone comparison table, the UAE free zones dataset, or read mainland against free zone before committing. If you would rather hand the process over, see free zone company formation.
Other Sharjah free zones we cover: SRTIP.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Sharjah free zone company setup cost?
From AED 5,750 for a zero-visa licence at SPC Free Zone or AED 5,760 at SHAMS. The licence plus one visa allocation is AED 7,350 at SPC or AED 7,360 at SHAMS, before the establishment card, e-channel and the visa itself; SPC’s One Visa Package with all of these is AED 13,175. Add the establishment card, visa, medical test and Emirates ID and a realistic first year with one visa lands around AED 12,000 to AED 17,000.
Which is the cheapest free zone in Sharjah?
SPC Free Zone publishes the lowest entry price, AED 5,750, and SHAMS publishes AED 5,760, so on published prices they are ten dirhams apart. Hamriyah and SAIF Zone publish no current price list: Hamriyah gives an indicative AED 11,000 in its FAQ and SAIF Zone’s licence table, from AED 7,500, sits in a form dated 2021, so ask both for a written quote before ranking them.
How long does a Sharjah free zone company setup take?
The licence itself is usually issued in days rather than weeks once the name is approved and documents are submitted. The slow parts are the residence visa, which adds a medical test and Emirates ID registration inside the country, and the bank account, which commonly takes several weeks.
Does a Sharjah free zone licence include a residence visa?
No. Zero-visa packages contain no visa allocation, and even packages that include an allocation charge the visa itself separately, along with the one-time immigration file that lets the company sponsor anyone at all.
Can a Sharjah free zone company trade on the UAE mainland?
Not directly. Selling to mainland customers needs a mainland distributor, a branch, or a dual licence. SPC Free Zone publishes a dual licence route covering both free zone and Sharjah mainland operations.
Why do Hamriyah and SAIF Zone not publish a price list?
Both are industrial and logistics zones where the commercial unit is land, a warehouse or an office rather than a packaged licence, so pricing is quoted per requirement. Rechecked on 4 October 2026: Hamriyah shows only an indicative AED 11,000 basic licence cost in its FAQ, and SAIF Zone keeps its licence and rent tables inside forms dated 2021 rather than on its web pages.
How many activities can one Sharjah free zone licence hold?
Up to five at both SPC Free Zone and SHAMS, and they may cross sectors, so consultancy and e-commerce can sit on the same licence. Adding activities after issue is a licence amendment rather than a free change.
Is Sharjah cheaper than Dubai for a free zone company?
On entry price, yes. Sharjah publishes from AED 5,750 against roughly AED 12,500 for Dubai entry zones such as Meydan. Ajman Media City is marginally cheaper than Sharjah at AED 4,999 (Ajman Free Zone publishes no price), so Sharjah sits in the middle rather than at the bottom.
Official references used for context in this article.
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