How Much Does It Really Cost to Set Up a UK Company?

By Sharcross Agyemang, Founder & CEO of Novaen Corporate

You've seen the ads. "Register your UK company for just £12.99!" sounds great, right?

Here's what they don't tell you: that £12.99 gets you a PDF certificate and nothing else. No bank account. No domain. No email. No website. No registered office. No compliance.

By the time you've actually got a UK company that's ready to trade, that £12.99 has turned into £500, £1,500, or even £3,000+. And it's taken you 3 to 4 weeks of your time.

This guide breaks down the real cost of setting up a UK company. Every line item. No hidden fees. No surprises. And a clear comparison between doing it yourself and using a done-for-you service.

The True Cost of UK Company Formation

1. Company Registration

This is the part everyone advertises cheap.

| Route | Cost | What You Get | |---|---|---| | Companies House direct filing | £50 | Certificate of incorporation. That's it. | | Budget formation agent | £12.99-£49 | Same certificate, maybe some templates. Upsells at checkout. | | Full-service formation (Novaen) | Included in package | Certificate + everything else you need |

What budget formation agents don't tell you:

• The £12.99 price often doesn't include the £50 Companies House filing fee
• Adding a registered office address costs £50-£150/year extra
• Mail forwarding costs extra (£50-£200/year)
• Domain registration costs extra (£10-£30/year)
• Email setup costs extra (£5-£15/month)
• Website development costs extra (£500-£3,000+)
• Compliance filing costs extra (£40/year + your time)
• Banking facilitation is usually not offered at all

The £12.99 is the hook. The actual cost is 10x that.

2. Registered Office Address

Every UK company must have a registered office address in the UK. This is a legal requirement, not optional.

| Option | Cost | What You Get | |---|---|---| | Your home address | £0 | Your home on public record. Privacy concerns. | | Virtual office service | £50-£150/year | UK address, mail forwarding, privacy | | Premium London address | £150-£300/year | Prestigious address, mail handling | | Included in Novaen retainer | £0 extra | London address, maintained and renewed |

Why this matters: Your registered office address appears on the public Companies House register. If you use your home address, anyone can find it. If you're a non-UK resident, you can't use your home address anyway.

3. Business Banking

| Route | Cost | Notes | |---|---|---| | UK high street bank | £0-£30/month | Free options exist, but hard to get as non-resident | | Digital business account | One-time fee + low transaction fees | Best for international founders | | Formation service facilitation | Included | Novaen facilitates banking through partnerships |

Banking itself is often free or low-cost. The cost is in the time and hassle of getting approved, especially as a non-resident.

4. Domain Registration

| Option | Cost | |---|---| | .co.uk domain | £10-£20/year | | .com domain | £10-£30/year | | DNS configuration | Your time or included | | Novaen | Included in package |

5. Professional Email

| Option | Monthly Cost | Annual Cost | |---|---|---| | Google Workspace | £4-£6/month | £48-£72/year | | Microsoft 365 | £4-£6/month | £48-£72/year | | Basic email hosting | £2-£5/month | £24-£60/year | | Novaen | Included in retainer | £0 extra |

Why not use free email? Because name@gmail.com tells every client, bank, and partner that you haven't invested in your business. name@yourcompany.co.uk tells them you're serious.

6. Website

This is where the costs vary the most.

| Option | Cost | Quality | Time | |---|---|---|---| | DIY (Wix, Squarespace) | £15-£40/month | Decent if you have design skills | 1-3 weeks | | Freelancer | £500-£1,500 | Variable quality | 2-6 weeks | | Agency | £2,000-£10,000+ | High quality | 4-12 weeks | | Novaen (included) | £0 extra | Professional, conversion-focused | 2-3 days |

Your website is your first impression. It's what clients, banks, and partners see before they talk to you. The cheapest option is rarely the best option here.

7. Compliance

| Obligation | Annual Cost | |---|---| | Confirmation statement filing | £40/year | | Corporation Tax registration | £0 (free to register) | | Accounting | £300-£2,000+/year | | VAT returns (if registered) | £100-£500/year (accountant) | | Novaen compliance handling | Included in retainer |

Miss the confirmation statement and Companies House can strike off your company. That means your company no longer exists. All that setup work gone.

8. Your Time

This is the cost nobody puts in a spreadsheet.

| Task | DIY Time | |---|---| | Research and compare formation agents | 2-4 hours | | Complete and file registration | 1-2 hours | | Find and set up registered office | 2-3 hours | | Research and apply for banking | 5-15 hours (plus waiting) | | Register domain, configure DNS | 1-2 hours | | Set up professional email | 1-3 hours | | Build a website | 10-40+ hours | | Set up compliance calendar | 1-2 hours | | Register for Corporation Tax | 1 hour | | Total | 24-73+ hours |

If your time is worth £50/hour (and if you're starting a business, it should be worth at least that), that's £1,200-£3,650 of your time. If it's worth £100/hour, that's £2,400-£7,300.

Your time has a cost. Don't ignore it.

The Full Comparison: DIY vs. Novaen

DIY Route (Cheapest Possible)

| Item | Year 1 Cost | |---|---| | Company registration | £50 | | Registered office (budget) | £50-£150 | | Domain | £10-£30 | | Email hosting | £48-£72 | | Website (DIY builder) | £180-£480 | | Banking | £0 | | Compliance filing | £40 | | Subtotal | £378-£822 | | Your time (24-73 hours @ £50/hr) | £1,200-£3,650 | | True total | £1,578-£4,472 | | Time to launch | 3-4 weeks |

Novaen Establish Package

| Item | Year 1 Cost | |---|---| | Setup fee | £750 | | Monthly retainer | £95 x 12 = £1,140 | | Company registration | Included | | London registered office | Included | | Domain | Included | | Professional email | Included | | Single-page website | Included | | Banking facilitation | Included | | Compliance filing | Included | | True total | £1,890 | | Your time | One intake form, ~30 minutes | | Time to launch | 5 working days |

The Difference

| | DIY (budget) | Novaen Establish | |---|---|---| | Cash cost | £378-£822 | £1,890 | | Time cost | 24-73 hours | 30 minutes | | Time value (£50/hr) | £1,200-£3,650 | £25 | | True total cost | £1,578-£4,472 | £1,915 | | Website quality | DIY (basic) | Professional, custom | | Banking | On your own (harder for non-UK) | Facilitated through partnerships | | Compliance | On your own (risk of missing deadlines) | Handled for you | | Time to launch | 3-4 weeks | 5 days | | Ongoing support | None | Included in retainer |

When you account for your time, Novaen is roughly the same cost as doing it yourself (and sometimes cheaper). The difference is you get a professional website, facilitated banking, and ongoing compliance support, all delivered in 5 days instead of 4 weeks.

What About the Novaen Launch Package?

If you want a multi-page website, brand direction, SEO setup, and priority delivery:

| | Novaen Launch | |---|---| | Setup fee | £1,250 | | Monthly retainer | £145 x 12 = £1,740 | | Year 1 total | £2,990 | | What you get | Everything in Establish + 5-page website, brand colour and typography direction, contact forms, basic SEO, priority 3-day delivery, WhatsApp support | | Time to launch | 3 working days | | Your time | 30 minutes |

Compared to DIY with a freelancer website (£500-£1,500) plus all the other costs, Novaen Launch is competitive on cost and dramatically faster.

Hidden Costs to Watch Out For

Whether you go DIY or use a service, watch for these:

Budget formation agent upsells. The headline price is £12.99. By checkout, you've added a registered office (£50), mail forwarding (£100), printed documents (£20), and VAT (£10). You're at £192.99 and you still don't have banking, a website, or email.

Domain renewal surprises. Some registrars offer £1 domains for the first year, then charge £40/year to renew. Always check renewal pricing.

Email deliverability costs. Setting up email without SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records means your emails go to spam. Fixing this costs time or money.

Compliance penalties. Miss your confirmation statement and Companies House charges £40-£100 in penalties. Get struck off and you lose your company entirely, including any associated domain names and assets.

Accountant costs. If you don't use a service that handles compliance, you'll need an accountant. The cheapest online accountants charge £300-£600/year. A good local accountant charges £800-£2,000+/year.

Banking rejection costs. If you apply to a UK bank and get rejected, that rejection is on your record. Multiple rejections make future applications harder.

The Bottom Line

The cost of forming a UK company depends entirely on what you need:

If you only need a certificate: £50 from Companies House. Done. But you don't have a business, you have a piece of paper.

If you need a trading-ready business: Registration, banking, domain, email, website, and compliance. DIY will cost you £378-£822 in cash and 24-73 hours of your time. Novaen will cost you £1,890 and 30 minutes of your time.

If you value your time at all, the done-for-you route makes financial sense. And you get a better website, easier banking, and ongoing compliance support.

Ready to Launch?

Novaen Corporate handles your entire UK business setup in one process, one payment, one team. Under 7 days.

• Company registration with Companies House
• London registered office address
• Custom domain and professional email
• Professional website
• Business banking facilitation
• Annual compliance filing

Book your free consultation at novaencorporate.com/contact

This guide was last updated in August 2026. Prices and thresholds may change. This article is for informational purposes and does not constitute financial advice.