How do I choose a company formation consultant in Dubai?
Judge them on the quote, not the sales call. A consultant worth using will put every line item in writing before you pay — licence fee, registration, immigration card, workspace, visa costs and their own fee, separated — and will tell you when a free zone is cheaper than mainland even though mainland pays them more.
Ask for the quote broken into line items
The single most useful thing you can ask for is a written breakdown. Most disappointment in this market comes from a headline price that quietly excluded the immigration card, the workspace requirement, or the visa costs you were always going to need.
A quote you can act on separates these:
- The licence fee itself, and which authority issues it
- Name reservation and initial approval
- Workspace — flexi-desk in a free zone, or a tenancy and Ejari registration on the mainland
- Establishment (immigration) card, which you need before any visa application
- Cost per visa, and how many the licence package actually allows
- The consultant's own service fee, stated separately from government charges
- Renewal cost in year two, which is often where the real number appears
Free zone or mainland is a business question, not a price question
Since the 2021 ownership reforms, full foreign ownership is available in both for most activities, so the old reason to default to a free zone has largely gone.
What still differs is where you can trade. A free zone company sells freely to customers outside the UAE and within its zone, but selling directly into the mainland market usually needs a local distributor or a branch. If your customers are UAE businesses and walk-in trade, mainland is often the honest answer even though it costs more to set up.
A consultant who asks who your customers are before recommending a structure is doing the job. One who leads with a zone name is selling a package.
Check what happens after the licence is issued
Formation is the easy part. The work that follows is banking, VAT registration if you cross the threshold, corporate tax registration, and renewals — and this is where a cheap setup becomes expensive.
Ask directly: who handles the bank application, what happens if the first bank declines, who reminds you about renewal, and does the licence sit in your name from day one. If any answer is vague, treat the whole quote as vague.
Where we sit
We are one of the firms doing this, so treat this page as informed rather than neutral. Our own setup service starts at AED 4,999, which covers the business licence setup itself — government fees are separate and quoted at cost, and steps beyond the licence are priced when we know what you need.
We publish that number because the itemising above is the point. If another firm gives you a clearer breakdown at a better price, take it.