How Much Does It Cost to Set Up in ADGM in 2026? Full Breakdown

When a founder asks us what it costs to set up in ADGM, the unhelpful honest answer is "it depends" — so this article does the work of making it depend on the right things. The published fee schedule was actually reduced in January 2025 and has not risen for 2026, which means the official numbers are knowable rather than mysterious. What varies is your licence category, whether you qualify for the tech startup route, how many visas you need and, above all, what you spend on office space. Below we itemise every line, then build a full sample year-one budget for a small firm so you can see how it adds up in practice.

Incorporation: the one-time cost

Setting up the entity itself carries a one-time incorporation fee of around USD 1,500. This is the cost of bringing the company into existence with the Registration Authority, and you pay it once. It is the same regardless of how big or small your operation will be, so it is a fixed entry ticket rather than a variable. We walk through the mechanics of that process in our guide to how to set up a company in ADGM in 2026.

The annual licence: this is where category matters

The recurring cost that does the most to your budget is the annual licence, and it is priced by category:

• Category A (financial): around USD 15,000 a year, for FSRA-regulated financial firms.
• Category B (non-financial): around USD 10,300 a year, for the broad mass of operating companies, consultancies and holding entities.
• Category C (retail): around USD 6,000 a year, for qualifying retail activities.

Most non-regulated businesses we work with sit in Category B, which is why it anchors the sample budget below. The category is driven by your activity, not your preference, so the first step in any costing is pinning down which one you genuinely fall into.

The tech startup option

If you qualify as a technology startup, the licensing route is cheaper and tiered to your stage. The seed-stage tech startup licence runs at around USD 1,000, rising to roughly USD 4,300 at the emergent stage as the business grows. There is a gate, though: you need a supporting letter, typically from Hub71, before you can take this route, so it is not simply a box you tick. For an eligible early-stage company the saving against a standard licence is substantial, and it usually comes with a more generous visa allowance too.

Data protection and visas

Two smaller lines round out the recurring picture. Data protection registration costs around USD 300 in year one and roughly USD 100 in each year after, a modest but mandatory item. Visas are the other variable: your allowance is tied to your space. A standard licence allows up to two visas per desk, a tech startup licence up to three per desk, and a private office is generally calculated at one visa per eight square metres. So your headcount plan and your office choice are linked — the space you take partly determines how many people you can sponsor.

The office: the line you actually control

Every figure so far is essentially fixed by the published schedule. The office is the line where your decisions move the total, sometimes by tens of thousands of dirhams a year. A non-regulated company can satisfy the registered-office rule with a single dedicated desk; an SPV needs no desk at all; an FSRA-regulated firm needs a private office. Once you know which applies, the remaining variable is location, and that is the lever. We break the workspace numbers down in detail in our guide to ADGM office costs for desks and private offices, and we cover the leanest possible address in our piece on the cheapest way to get an ADGM address.

A full sample year-one budget

Let us build a complete year-one budget for a realistic case: a small Category B consultancy with two founders who each need a desk. We will price the fixed lines once and then show the office line on Al Reem versus the Al Maryah core, because that is the only figure that really moves.

• Incorporation (one-time): around USD 1,500.
• Category B annual licence: around USD 10,300.
• Data protection (year one): around USD 300.
• Fixed subtotal: roughly USD 12,100 before office.

Now the office. Two dedicated desks on Al Maryah at around AED 3,500 each run to AED 7,000 a month, or AED 84,000 a year. The same two desks at MY Coworking on Al Reem at AED 1,200 each come to AED 2,400 a month, or AED 28,800 a year. That is a difference of roughly AED 55,000 in year one for an identical ADGM licence and an identical registered-office obligation. Put differently, the office choice alone can outweigh the entire fixed cost of setting up. The licence, the law and the regulator are the same on either island; only the rent decides the total.

Frequently asked questions

Did ADGM fees go up for 2026?

No. The published schedule was reduced in January 2025 and has not increased for 2026, so the official figures are stable. The variability in your total comes from your licence category, visa count and office choice rather than from any fee rise.

Which licence category will I fall into?

It depends on your activity. FSRA-regulated financial firms are Category A at around USD 15,000, the broad mass of non-financial operating and holding companies are Category B at around USD 10,300, and qualifying retail is Category C at around USD 6,000. Confirm your activity before assuming, because the category sets your largest recurring line.

Is the tech startup licence really that much cheaper?

For an eligible early-stage company, yes — roughly USD 1,000 at seed stage against around USD 10,300 for a standard Category B licence. The catch is that you need a supporting letter, typically from Hub71, before you can use the route, so eligibility and the letter come first.

What is the single biggest way to control my setup cost?

The office. The fixed fees are set by the published schedule, but the workspace line can swing by tens of thousands of dirhams a year depending on whether you take a desk or a private office and which island you take it on. Match the space to your entity type, then choose location on price.

Talk to MY Coworking

Want a year-one budget built for your exact licence category and headcount? Come and spend a day with us on Al Reem on a trial pass, and we will run the full numbers — fixed fees plus the office line — so you can see the real total before you commit.

We're on Al Reem Island — 2312 Addax Tower, City of Lights, Abu Dhabi. Email contact@mycoworking.ae to book a tour or get a same-day quote.