A free comparison of what it costs to form a company and keep it, in US states and abroad, with the services' real prices for year 1 and year 2.
5.0(1 rating)Pick where you want to form a company to see what the government charges to form it and keep it, and what the services that form it for you really cost in year 1 and year 2. Every price comes from the registry's or the service's own page.
Where do you want to form it?
Which state?
I'd pick Wyoming in most cases. If you plan to sell the company or raise money from investors, Delaware is good.
Prices are each registry's and each service's own, read on the date shown, and they change often. This isn't legal or tax advice: check what your company needs with the service or a licensed advisor.
This free tool compares where to form a company: what the government charges to form it and keep it each year, and what the services that do it for you really cost in year 1 and year 2.
Pick one of 42 places, from US states and the UK to Singapore, Japan and a Dubai free zone, to see its fees, what else you need, and the services that form it.
Here's how to read the costs, and what to watch for in year 2.
What does it cost to form a company abroad?
Two kinds of cost add up: the government's own fees, and a service's price if you don't file it yourself.
The fees to form a company are small in most places, like $100 in Wyoming, £100 in the UK and €50 in Ireland, and registering one in Romania is free. The yearly fees to keep it matter more, like Delaware's $400 LLC tax, California's $800 or Cyprus's €350 annual fee.
Which state should you pick for a US LLC?
I'd pick Wyoming in most cases: $100 to form it and $60 a year to keep it. If you plan to sell the company or raise money from investors, Delaware is good.
Nevada and Florida come up a lot too, since neither taxes personal income. For a foreign owner, that doesn't matter much.
My own LLC is a Wyoming LLC.
Year 1 and year 2 are different
A low first-year price can hide the real cost:
- Some plans include the state's fees in year 1 only, so year 2 costs more
- Some plans leave out the registered agent or the yearly filings, which a non-resident's LLC needs
- A one-time formation fee plus a monthly plan adds up differently from a yearly plan
That's why the tool shows both years for each plan, with the state's fees added.
Where do you need a local director?
Some countries want a director who lives there, so a founder abroad has to find one or hire a nominee. Of the places I've checked:
- Singapore – a director who's ordinarily resident in Singapore, and a company secretary within six months
- Malaysia – a director with a principal place of residence in Malaysia
- Australia – a director who normally lives in Australia
- Canada – for a federal corporation, resident Canadians as at least 25% of the directors, and at least one when there are fewer than four
- Ireland – a director who lives in the EEA, or a €25,000 bond instead
The tool lists what else each place needs under its fees, like Malta's minimum share capital or Thailand's Foreign Business License.
What about Malta?
I lived in Sliema and St Julian's for a short time in 2017, and I kept my company in another country, the US.
Banks in Malta can be a nightmare at times, and Malta isn't a place people go to start a business, outside gaming and finance. Many people I know keep their company abroad and use Malta as their home and tax residence, like I did. Some run a Maltese company instead.
Here's what the record shows about the banks:
- The grey list – the FATF put Malta under increased monitoring in June 2021 and took it off in June 2022
- Dollar payments – Bank of Valletta's US dollar correspondent, Raiffeisen Bank International, left on May 31, 2021, and the bank wrote that it had shed most of the risk outside its risk appetite (annual report 2020)
- Waiting for an account – in 2022 the Malta Chamber of SMEs said businesses were left hanging for months when they applied, and some were refused
Gaming is where Malta is known: the Malta Gaming Authority puts the sector at about 6.3% of the economy in 2025, with 302 licensed companies and about 15,000 people working in it (annual report 2025).
A Maltese company pays 35% corporate tax, but when it pays a dividend, the shareholder can claim back six-sevenths of the tax on trading profits. Since 2025 a Malta company can choose a final 15% instead, with no refunds.
If you keep your company abroad, watch one rule: Malta's Income Tax Act counts a company as resident in Malta when "the control and management of whose business are exercised in Malta". A foreign company you run from your desk in Sliema can become a Maltese tax resident.
For your own income, Malta's non-dom rule taxes income from abroad only when you bring it into Malta, and gains from abroad aren't taxed at all. There's a €5,000 minimum tax once your foreign income reaches €35,000 and part of it stays abroad. See the tax breaks for new residents.
What about Cyprus?
Cyprus raised its corporate tax from 12.5% to 15% in 2026. A Cyprus company pays a €350 annual fee each year, on top of its €20 annual return.
Cyprus has a non-dom regime for people who move there too, in the tax breaks for new residents.
What about Panama?
Panama taxes only income produced in Panama, and every company pays a $300 tasa única each year.
Panama's banks are strict too, and I think the Panama Papers are part of why. The FATF took Panama off its grey list in October 2023, but the EU still lists it as non-cooperative for tax purposes (February 2026 update).
What about Dubai?
A Dubai free zone company is a bigger step: it can come with a residency visa, and there's no personal income tax in the UAE.
Company profit isn't tax free, though. Corporate tax is 0% up to AED 375,000 of profit and 9% above it. A free zone company pays 0% only on its qualifying income, and only if it meets the conditions.
My rule of thumb from my own setup with GenZone: about $8,000 to $10,000 to start with the right free zone setup. If someone quotes you a lot more, they're likely overcharging you.
How to use the company formation comparison
Your picks stay in this browser.
Who is the company formation comparison for?
It's for founders and freelancers choosing where to form a company, and each of them has a next step:
- US LLC for non-residents checker – anyone forming a US LLC from abroad, to see the tax and the filings
- Tax rates by country – anyone comparing corporate tax, income tax and VAT
- Territorial tax map – anyone checking how their own country taxes income from abroad
- Tax breaks for new residents – anyone planning a move to a country with a special regime
- Business bank account finder – founders opening the company's account once it's formed
- What is a global citizen? – anyone building a life across borders, in my own words
More money tools are on the free finance tools page. Or browse all my free tools.
Company Formation FAQs
Questions about forming a company abroad? Here's what to know.
The state's own fee to form an LLC runs from $50 in New Mexico to $425 in Nevada among the states I've checked, and Wyoming charges $100.
A service adds its own price, and the yearly fees to keep the LLC matter more. The tool adds both.
Of the states I've checked, New Mexico has no yearly report or fee at all.
Texas has no franchise tax below $2,650,000 of revenue, though you still file a report each year, and Wyoming's annual report license tax starts at $60.
Delaware charges $400 a year and California $800.
GenZone puts a solo founder with 1 residency visa at about AED 34,900, or about $9,500, all in for the first year.
The license renewal is AED 15,000 to 17,000 a year after that.
Registering a private limited company online costs €265, after the €150 e-Residency card.
You also need a contact person or legal address in Estonia, about €200 to €400 a year from a licensed provider.
£100 to incorporate online at Companies House.
Keeping it costs £50 a year for the confirmation statement.
S$15 to reserve the name and S$300 to register the company with ACRA, then S$60 a year for the annual return.
You also need a director who's ordinarily resident in Singapore and a company secretary within six months.
The company pays 35% on its profit, but when it pays a dividend, the shareholder can claim back six-sevenths of the tax on trading profits.
Since 2025 a company can choose a final 15% instead, with no refunds.
Opening a company bank account in Malta can be slow: in 2022 the Malta Chamber of SMEs said businesses were left hanging for months, and some were refused.
When I lived in Malta in 2017, I kept my company in the US.
Some are. If you buy through them, I may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.
The order is the numbers: plans are sorted by what you pay in year 1.
I did. I'm Navid Moazzez, and the company formation comparison is one of my free tools on navid.me.
Read about me, or see my creator profile.
Navid Moazzez
AI business strategist & AI OS builder
Navid Moazzez helps creators and founders master AI and build their own AI Operating System (AI OS) to automate their business and life.
Navid.me is reader-supported. When you buy through links on this site, I may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more.
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