Remote incorporation options
Most people should start as a sole proprietor in their own country (see incorporation costs by country); it is the cheapest, fastest and simplest way to invoice and pay tax. A company somewhere else only makes sense when a platform requires it (for example, Stripe or Paddle are not available at home), when clients insist on a US/UK/EU entity, or when the home regime is unusually costly.
Rule of thumb: a foreign company does not change where you pay tax. If you live and work in country X, X will usually tax the income (and may treat the foreign company as resident there). Get local advice before relying on any of these. All prices below are approximate, in USD, as of November 2026, and marked by confidence.
| Option | One-time cost | Yearly cost | Time | Who it suits | Caveats | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US LLC (Wyoming / New Mexico / Delaware) | $100 Wyoming filing (+ agent); Stripe Atlas $500 all-in (Delaware, state fees, tax ID, first-year agent) | $60 minimum Wyoming annual report or $400 Delaware LLC tax (due 1 June) + $50–$150 registered agent (Atlas: $100/yr after year 1) | 1–10 days | Non-US founders who need Stripe, US bank (Mercury), Amazon/Shopify apps | Must file IRS Form 5472/1120 yearly (penalty $25,000 per missed form, plus $25,000 if unfixed 90 days after notice); US bank needs KYC; may create a taxable presence at home | partial |
| UK private limited company | £100 (~$130) Companies House online | £50 confirmation statement + accounts + ~£300–£1,000 accountant; corporation tax 19–25% | 1 day | Anyone needing a GBP/EUR-friendly entity; Stripe UK | Needs a UK registered office address (~£50–£200/yr) and a UK-resident bank is hard without residency | verified |
| Estonia e-Residency + OÜ | e-Residency €150 application fee + company €265 state fee | Service provider €300–€1,200 (address, accounting) | 2–4 weeks | EU-facing digital businesses; founders anywhere | 0% tax only on retained profit (22% on distributions; a rise to 24% was planned for 2026, confirm on emta.ee); bank account often needs an EU fintech (Wise Business) | partial |
| Georgia Individual Entrepreneur (1%) | ~$10 registration | 1% tax on turnover up to GEL 500k (~$180k) | 1 day | Freelancers willing to move to Georgia (needs residence) | Must be a resident; foreign platform availability (Stripe) limited | estimated |
| UAE free-zone company (e.g. IFZA, Meydan) | $1,500–$4,000 licence | $1,500–$4,000 renewal + visa | 1–3 weeks | Higher-income operators relocating to the UAE | 9% corporate tax above AED 375k; real presence needed for bank; not a reference country | estimated |
| Singapore Pte Ltd | S$315 ACRA (~$235) + agent ~$1,000 | Nominee director $1,500–$3,000 + accounting | 1–3 days | Asia-facing businesses with real revenue | Needs a Singapore-resident director; bank onboarding is strict | estimated |
| Canadian federal corporation | C$200 ($145) online | C$12 annual return + accounting | 1 day | North-America-facing founders | Most provinces require 25% Canadian-resident directors (federal and BC, Ontario do not since 2021) | estimated |
Cheapest realistic paths
- Stay a sole proprietor at home and use Payoneer or Wise to receive USD/EUR. Works in almost all 50 reference countries. Cost: usually $0–$50.
- UK Ltd if a platform requires a company and your country lacks Stripe: ~$130 (£100) to form, ~$500/yr to maintain with a cheap accountant.
- US LLC via Stripe Atlas or a registered agent if you need Stripe, Paddle, Mercury or US app marketplaces: ~$500 to form via Atlas (Delaware), then ~$500–$900/yr ($400 Delaware LLC tax + $100 agent + help with the mandatory Form 5472 filing); a Wyoming LLC costs less ($60 annual report minimum).
What to check before choosing
- Does the platform accept a sole proprietor from your country? Check the platform rules and the payout rails in
data/countries.json. - Will your home country tax the foreign company anyway (permanent establishment / controlled foreign company rules)? Usually yes.
- Can you open a bank or fintech account for the entity without travelling? Mercury (US) and Wise Business (UK/EU) are the common answers; both reject some countries. Wise does not serve residents of Afghanistan, Belarus, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, DR Congo, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Libya, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Russia, Sudan, Syria, Yemen, Venezuela or occupied Ukrainian regions; Mercury's list was not confirmed.
- Total yearly cost versus expected profit: a $700/yr structure is pointless for a plan whose median income is $20/month.
Sources (checked November 2026): Companies House fees (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/companies-house-fees/companies-house-fees), Stripe Atlas (https://stripe.com/atlas), Wyoming SOS fee schedule (https://sos.wyo.gov/Business/Docs/BusinessFees.pdf), Delaware LLC annual tax (https://corp.delaware.gov/alt-entitytaxinstructions/), IRS Form 5472 instructions (https://www.irs.gov/instructions/i5472), Estonia e-Residency (https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/become-an-e-resident/, https://www.e-resident.gov.ee/start-a-company/), Wise unsupported countries (https://wise.com/help/articles/2978049/which-countries-and-us-states-can-i-open-a-business-account-in). "Verified" means the official one-time and yearly fees were confirmed on those pages; "partial" means some figures were confirmed and others (Delaware and New Mexico filing fees, agent and service-provider prices, Estonia's 2026 distribution rate) were not; "estimated" rows (Georgia, UAE, Singapore, Canada) could not be re-verified because the official pages were unreachable.