Search "UK company formation" and you'll see prices from £2.99 to £549 for what sounds like the same thing. One agent advertises formation "from £2.48". Another charges £400. A third says "£99.99, no hidden fees" — and then the renewals start.
Here's the uncomfortable truth of this industry: the headline price and the real price are two different numbers, and the gap is widest for non-residents, who need services UK residents can skip. This article breaks down every pound — government fees, agent fees, first-year costs, and the annual costs nobody advertises — so you can compare any offer, including ours, with open eyes.
Start Here: The Government Fees Nobody Can Discount
In February 2026, Companies House implemented its largest fee increase in over a decade, funding the new identity-verification and anti-fraud regime under the ECCT Act. The current statutory fees:
| Companies House fee | Before Feb 2026 | Now (2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Digital incorporation | £50 | £100 |
| Paper incorporation | £71 | £124 |
| Same-day incorporation | £78 | £156 |
| Confirmation statement (annual, digital) | £34 | £50 |
| Voluntary strike-off (closing) | £33 | £13 |
Two things follow from this table. First: any formation offer under £100 is not showing you the full price. The "£2.99 formation" means £2.99 plus the £100 government fee — which is legal to advertise, but easy to misread. Second: even shutting a company down costs money (though, oddly, it got cheaper).
One more invisible line: VAT. Agent service fees attract 20% VAT; the £100 Companies House fee does not. A "£299 +VAT" package is really £358.80 + £100 = £458.80. Always calculate the VAT-inclusive total before comparing.
What Non-Residents Must Add (That UK Residents Don't)
A UK resident can use their home address and verify themselves. As a non-resident, you need:
1. A UK registered office address — a legal requirement; your company cannot exist without one. Standalone virtual-office providers charge roughly £30–£100/year. Formation agents bundle it into packages — often "free" for year one (remember that phrase; we'll return to it).
2. A director's service address — keeps your personal address off the public register and gives officials a UK contact point. Typically £20–£50/year standalone.
3. Identity verification — mandatory for all new directors since 18 November 2025. If you have a biometric passport, the GOV.UK route is free but failure-prone for overseas applicants. The ACSP route (through a registered agent) accepts a wider range of documents — including many national ID cards — and is usually bundled into non-resident packages. (Full details in our ID card & ACSP guide.)
4. Mail scanning/forwarding — official mail arrives at your UK address; you live elsewhere. Digital scanning is often included with the registered office; physical international forwarding costs extra, typically per-item or ~£90–£100+/year for business correspondence.
What Formation Packages Actually Cost in 2026
Realistic market rates for non-resident packages, VAT and government fee included:
- Bare-bones formation (documents only, no addresses): ~£103–£130 all-in. Fine for UK residents; not workable for non-residents, who still need the addresses on top.
- Standard non-resident packages (formation + both addresses + verification): most of the market starts around £200 + the £100 fee and runs to roughly £460 all-in at the big-name agents. What's almost never included at any price: someone actually helping you open your payment accounts — at most you get a referral link to Wise or Revolut and an email wishing you luck.
- Full-service packages (everything above plus live help opening Wise, Stripe, Amazon, PayPal accounts): this category barely exists in the mainstream market, which is precisely why we built our packages around it — from £139 to £409 depending on how many accounts we open together. ([Compare packages here].)
The pattern to notice: the price differences between agents are rarely about the company formation itself — that part is identical everywhere. The differences are in what happens after: addresses, verification, mail, and above all, account-opening support. Price the "after," not the certificate.
The Hidden Fees: Where Cheap Gets Expensive
Trap 1: The year-two renewal surprise
The oldest trick in the book. "Free London address included!" — free for 12 months. Then the renewals arrive: registered office ~£39–£100+/year, service address ~£26–£50/year, business mail address ~£96+/year, "company secretary service" ~£150/year, confirmation statement filing service ~£75+ on top of the £50 government fee. Individually small; together they routinely exceed the original package price. Always ask for the year-two total in writing before you buy.
Trap 2: The unbundled essentials
Some agents quote low, then charge separately for things you assumed were included: share certificates, registers, the confirmation statement, "premium" support, document reissues. If the package list is vague, the checkout page won't be.
Trap 3: The account-opening consultants
Here's the sequence that costs people the most: buy a £103 formation → get rejected by Stripe → panic-Google → pay a "payment consultant" $150–$300 to fix what proper setup would have prevented. (Why those rejections happen: our [Stripe rejection guide].) The cheap formation didn't save money; it just moved the cost to a worse moment.
Trap 4: Ignoring the annual reality
A UK company is not a one-time purchase. It's a subscription with legal deadlines.
The Honest Annual Budget (Year 2 Onwards)
What keeping a non-resident UK Ltd compliant actually costs per year:
| Item | Realistic annual cost |
|---|---|
| Confirmation statement — government fee | £100 |
| Registered office renewal | £39–£120 |
| Director's service address renewal | £26–£60 |
| Filing/admin service (if agent files for you) | £0–£90 |
| Realistic compliance total | ~£300–£400/year with a full-service agent |
| Accountant for annual accounts (optional but wise once trading) | ~£300–£1,500+ depending on activity |
And the tax lines to know about (not fees, but budget items): Corporation Tax at 19% on profits up to £50,000 (25% above £250,000, tapered between); VAT registration becomes mandatory only once UK taxable turnover passes £90,000 in a rolling 12 months — below that it's optional. Dormant or low-activity companies pay little beyond the compliance basics.
We state our renewal band — around £300–£400/year — on our pricing page before you buy, because in our experience the renewal conversation is where you learn whether an agent was ever being straight with you.
The Real Total: Three Honest Scenarios
Scenario A — "Just the company" (testing an idea): ~£240–£460 first year all-in with a standard non-resident package; ~£300–£400/year after. No help with accounts; you're on your own with Stripe and Wise.
Scenario B — "Company + working payment stack" (actually launching): a full-service package at ~£140–£410 depending on scope, including live account-opening sessions — plus the same ~£300–£400/year maintenance. Usually cheaper than Scenario A + a rejection + a consultant.
Scenario C — "The £103 mirage": £103 formation + £60 addresses bought separately + $200 consultant after the Stripe rejection + surprise renewals ≈ more than Scenario B, spread across several unpleasant surprises.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the absolute minimum to start as a non-resident in 2026? Around £200–£250 all-in gets a legally complete setup (formation + fee + both addresses + verification). Below that, something you legally need is missing from the quote.
Why did prices go up in 2026? Companies House doubled the incorporation fee to £100 and raised the confirmation statement to £50 in February 2026 to fund identity verification and anti-fraud enforcement. Every agent's costs rose by the same amount on the same day.
Are "free first year" offers a scam? Not a scam — a pricing structure. The product is the renewal. Just get the year-two number in writing and compare that between agents.
Do I pay anything if the company earns nothing? Yes: the compliance basics (~£300–£400/year with an agent) apply regardless of revenue. A company that will sit unused for years is worth closing (£13) rather than maintaining.
Is the UK still cheap compared to other countries? Even after the 2026 increases — yes. Comparable setups in the US (with registered agent + EIN handling) or the EU typically cost the same or more, with slower timelines. The full comparison is in our [non-resident formation guide].
The Bottom Line
The real 2026 cost of a properly set-up, non-resident UK Ltd is roughly £200–£460 in year one depending on how much support you buy, and £300–£400 per year to keep it compliant. Every offer dramatically below those numbers is deferring the cost — to renewals, to add-ons, or to the consultant you'll hire after the first rejection email.
The most expensive company formation is the one you have to pay for twice.
👉 See our transparent pricing — every package shows the total price, what's included, the renewal band, and the part nobody else offers: live 1-on-1 sessions where we open your Wise, Stripe and Amazon accounts with you.
