How Much Does It Cost to Incorporate a Company in Singapore?

One of the reasons Singapore consistently ranks among the easiest places in the world to start a business is how affordable and fast basic incorporation actually is. That said, the true cost of getting a company properly set up involves more than just the government filing fee, particularly once legal considerations beyond the bare paperwork come into play. This guide breaks down what incorporating a company in Singapore genuinely costs.

The Core Government Fees

Incorporating a private limited company through ACRA’s Bizfile portal involves two main government fees: a modest fee to reserve your company name, commonly around $15, and a separate fee to complete the incorporation itself, commonly in the region of $300 to $315. These figures are set by ACRA and apply regardless of which service provider, if any, you use to help with the process, since they are paid directly to the regulator rather than to a lawyer or corporate secretarial firm.

Minimum Capital Requirement

Singapore has a remarkably low minimum paid-up capital requirement, technically as little as one dollar, which means the capital contribution itself is not a meaningful barrier to incorporation. Most genuine businesses set a more realistic figure reflecting actual founder investment, but this is a business decision rather than a mandatory cost imposed by the incorporation process itself.

Corporate Secretarial Costs

Every Singapore company must appoint a qualified company secretary within six months of incorporation, and most companies, particularly in the early stages, engage a corporate secretarial firm for this rather than hiring someone in-house. Corporate secretarial packages, which often bundle the company secretary role together with registered address services and basic compliance support, typically start from a few hundred dollars a year for a straightforward, low-activity company, with costs scaling up for larger companies requiring more filings and support.

Registered Address Costs

If you do not have a suitable business address to use as your registered office, many corporate secretarial providers include a registered address as part of their package, or offer it as a modest standalone service, commonly a few hundred dollars a year.

Nominee Director Costs, If You Need One

Every Singapore company needs at least one director who is ordinarily resident in Singapore. If you are a foreign founder without a local co-founder or resident director available, nominee director services fill this requirement, though this is a meaningfully larger ongoing cost than the other administrative items, often running to a few thousand dollars a year, reflecting the personal liability and responsibility the nominee director takes on by lending their residency status to your company.

Legal Fees for a Straightforward Incorporation

For a simple company with a standard structure, adopting ACRA’s Model Constitution and involving one or two founders with a straightforward equity split, many founders complete incorporation without engaging a lawyer at all, using a corporate secretarial firm for the administrative filing instead. Where a lawyer is engaged for a straightforward incorporation, purely to review the process or provide light-touch guidance, fees are typically modest, often a few hundred dollars, since the underlying work is genuinely limited.

Legal Fees for a More Complex Incorporation

Costs rise meaningfully once your incorporation involves more than the basics. A customised constitution, needed where you plan multiple share classes for future investors or specific provisions around vesting and exit, requires proper drafting rather than adopting the standard template, and this can range from several hundred to a few thousand dollars depending on complexity. A founders’ or shareholders’ agreement, genuinely important the moment you have more than one founder, is a separate but related piece of legal work, commonly costing anywhere from around a thousand to several thousand dollars depending on how much negotiation and customisation is involved.

Trademark Registration Is a Separate Cost

If protecting your brand name or logo matters from the outset, trademark registration through the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore is an entirely separate process and cost from company incorporation, generally a few hundred dollars per class of goods or services if using pre-approved descriptions, plus any professional fees if you engage an agent or lawyer to help.

Ongoing Compliance Costs After Incorporation

Incorporation is not a one-time cost. Every Singapore company has ongoing obligations, including filing annual returns with ACRA and maintaining proper statutory registers, and most companies continue paying their corporate secretarial firm annually for this ongoing support rather than treating incorporation as a single upfront expense. Depending on your company’s activity, you may also need accounting and tax filing support, which is a separate, ongoing cost distinct from the legal and secretarial fees discussed here.

Remember GST on Top of Quoted Fees

Whether you engage a corporate secretarial firm, a lawyer, or both, remember that GST generally applies on top of professional fees quoted by a GST-registered service provider, which can meaningfully affect your total budget if you were only mentally accounting for the headline figure. When comparing quotes between providers, always confirm whether the figures given are inclusive or exclusive of GST, since this can otherwise make one quote look more competitive than it actually is once the full picture is considered.

A Realistic Total Cost Picture

For a simple, straightforward incorporation using a corporate secretarial firm rather than a lawyer, budget for the government fees of a few hundred dollars, plus a corporate secretarial package typically starting from a few hundred dollars for the first year. If you engage a lawyer for a founders’ agreement or a customised constitution, budget meaningfully more, potentially several thousand dollars in total, though this is a genuinely worthwhile investment for any company with more than one founder or plans to raise external investment.

Why Spending a Bit More Early Can Save Considerably Later

It is tempting to minimise upfront legal spend when a company is just starting out and cash is tight, but a poorly structured founders’ agreement, or the absence of one entirely, is one of the most common causes of expensive, damaging disputes later, once the company has real value at stake. The relatively modest cost of proper legal advice at incorporation is generally far cheaper than untangling a shareholder dispute, or a poorly drafted constitution, once real money and relationships are on the line.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need to pay for a lawyer if I am incorporating as a solo founder with no other shareholders?

Generally not for the incorporation itself, since a solo founder’s structure is usually simple enough to handle through a corporate secretarial firm alone, though it is still worth budgeting for legal advice once you bring on your first significant contract, hire, or investor.

Are there any government grants or subsidies that help cover incorporation costs in Singapore?

Various government schemes exist to support small business costs more broadly, though these generally focus on later-stage business support rather than the incorporation fee itself, so it is worth researching current schemes separately from your incorporation budget.

Does it cost more to incorporate a company with foreign shareholders compared to one with only Singapore-based shareholders?

The core government incorporation fees are the same regardless of shareholder nationality, though foreign shareholders sometimes require additional verification steps during the process, which can occasionally add modest administrative cost or time.

Is it cheaper to incorporate a sole proprietorship instead of a private limited company?

Yes, registering a sole proprietorship is generally simpler and cheaper than incorporating a private limited company, though it does not offer the same limited liability protection, which is an important trade-off to weigh beyond cost alone.

Do I need to budget separately for a corporate bank account when incorporating?

Most banks in Singapore do not charge a fee simply to open a basic corporate account, though some may require a minimum initial deposit or have separate charges for specific account features, so it is worth checking directly with your chosen bank as part of your post-incorporation planning.