Türkiye vs the United Arab Emirates for a software or game company
The Emirates sell a 9% corporate rate, 0% on qualifying free zone income, no personal income tax and no withholding on dividends. For taking money out, it is the strongest position in this comparison. For putting money in, it offers nothing: no grants, no credits and no reimbursement of what a studio spends to grow.
The short verdict
01Where each one wins, 5 measures to 3
Where Türkiye wins
- Marketing, hosting and platform fees, refunded at 50% to 70%. The Emirates refund none of it.
- Development support, which the Emirates do not offer at all.
- The cost base, about 38% below, and rent roughly two thirds cheaper.
- A far larger domestic labour market for engineering and art.
Where the United Arab Emirates wins
- 9% corporate tax, and 0% on qualifying free zone income.
- No withholding tax on dividends, against Türkiye's 15%.
- No personal income tax, which changes what a senior hire costs for the same take-home pay.
- Residency that comes with the company, which matters to relocating founders.
02How do Türkiye and the United Arab Emirates compare, line by line?
Of 9 measures, Türkiye takes 5 and the United Arab Emirates takes 3, with 1 level. the United Arab Emirates is strongest on tax, so that group comes first. Every figure links to its source and carries the date we last checked it.
Tax
| Measure | Türkiye | the United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate tax on ordinary profit | 25%source | better for the company9% above AED 375,000, and 0% on qualifying free zone incomesource |
| Tax on income from software sold abroad | better for the company0% under the IT export regimeApplies to income earned from customers outside Türkiye.source | Taxed the same as any other profitsource |
| VAT, standard rate | 20%Exported services are outside the scope, so this rate matters less to an exporter than the headline suggests.source | 5%source |
| Withholding tax on dividends to a foreign parent | 15%A double tax treaty can reduce it.source | better for the company0%source |
What it costs to live there
| Measure | Türkiye | the United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living index | better for the company40.2Numbeo index, mid-2026.source | 55.6, 38% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Rent index | better for the company12.3source | 36.3, 195% higher than Türkiyesource |
| Local purchasing power index | 71.8Salaries buy less locally, which is the other side of a low cost base.source | better for staff113.4, 58% higher than Türkiyesource |
Public money
| Measure | Türkiye | the United Arab Emirates |
|---|---|---|
| Cash back on ads, hosting and platform fees | better for the company50% of what you spend, rising to 70% when the customers you are targeting are in one of the twenty countries on Türkiye's target listsource | Nothing comparablesource |
| Support for development costs | better for the companyYes, through two separate programmes: TÜBİTAK, which funds defined research projects, and teknopark status, which removes corporate tax on software developed inside a technology parkBoth are applied for separately from the export refund, and a company can hold them at the same time.source | No development funding schemesource |
03What is it like to run a company in the UAE?
Dubai is in the same time zone as Istanbul for part of the year and an hour ahead for the rest, and the flight is about four hours. Both are natural bases for MENA publishing. The difference is that the Emirates optimise what you keep and Türkiye optimises what you spend.
04What does the Turkish programme pay back, and what are the limits?
| What you spend it on | Programme item | Paid back | Annual cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ads and player acquisition | Digital product promotion: ads & marketing (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% to 70% | 50 000 000 ₺ ≈ $1,043,841 |
| App store and platform commissions | App store & platform commissions (up to 10 products/yr) | 50% | 20 000 000 ₺ ≈ $417,537 |
| Hosting and servers | Hosting costs | 50% | 5 000 000 ₺ ≈ $104,384 |
What Türkiye would pay back on your spending
Türkiye runs a government programme that refunds part of what a software company or game studio spends on reaching customers abroad. It covers advertising, app store and platform commissions, and hosting. The refund is paid in cash against invoices the company has already settled, so it does not depend on the company making a profit. The standard rate is 50%, and it rises to 70% when the customers being targeted are in one of the twenty countries on the Turkish Ministry of Trade's target list.
Put your own yearly figures in below. The rates and the annual caps come from the same file as our full calculator, and the total updates as you type.
05Questions we get asked
Is free zone status still 0%?
On qualifying income, yes, subject to the conditions for a qualifying free zone person. Income that does not qualify is taxed at 9%.
Which is better for MENA publishing?
The Emirates for market access, payments and Arabic-language talent. Türkiye for the cost of producing and promoting the game. Groups serving MENA often run both.
Does the 15% Turkish dividend tax undo the gains?
Only if you take everything out every year. On a company reinvesting in growth, the reimbursements usually run well ahead of the dividend cost. It is worth doing the arithmetic on your own numbers.
Where this comparison comes from
CyberScope Solutions is an Istanbul consultancy that manages Türkiye's IT export incentive claims for software companies and game studios. We build these comparisons because clients ask for them before deciding, and we keep the rows where the other country wins because a comparison nobody believes is worth nothing.
- Every figure is sourced. Each number links to the page it came from and carries the date we last checked it.
- These pages get rebuilt, not left. Rates and caps come from the same file as our calculator, so when one changes the page changes with it.
- You find out early if it is not for you. The first call is thirty minutes and we will say plainly if your spend pattern does not suit the programme.
Turn that number into money
Send us the rough shape of your spend. You get back what it is worth, what setting it up involves, and how fast the first claim can go in. Companies already operating here treat this as routine, and the six month window means the clock is running on invoices you have already paid.
- A reply from a person within one working day
- No mailing list, no drip sequence
- Thirty minutes, and you keep the numbers either way
Got it.
We will read it properly and reply within a working day. If you would rather get it over with now, pick a time that suits you.
Book a 30 minute call06Where these numbers come from
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/united-arab-emirates/corporate/taxes-on-corporate-income checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/blog/zero-percent-tax-on-it-exports/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/value-added-tax-vat-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/turkey/corporate/withholding-taxes checked 2026-08-20
- https://taxsummaries.pwc.com/quick-charts/withholding-tax-wht-rates checked 2026-08-20
- https://cyberscope.solutions/guides/ checked 2026-08-20
- https://www.numbeo.com/cost-of-living/rankings_by_country.jsp checked 2026-08-20