Doing business in Singapore, planned by people who've done it.
Setting up a company here, hiring your first person, or both. Within one business day you get a free written plan: the steps, what each costs, and the licensed firm that fits your case.
What are you trying to do?
- A different fit for every company
- Real prices on every page
- We’ve done it ourselves
- 1
You answer three questions
On this page, right now. You see a likely route, a cost range and a timeline before you give us anything.
- 2
A person writes your plan within a business day
One of us reads your answers and writes it: the structure, the steps with costs and timelines, what you can skip, and the firm we'd use for each, with what that firm pays us.
- 3
We introduce you to the firm that fits
When you say go, we send one introduction with your plan attached, so the firm starts from what we know. From there the firm does the work and is your contact.
The numbers, before the call.
Public list prices from the providers we compare, checked September 2026. Your assessment turns a range into a figure.
| Item | Typical range | What moves it |
|---|---|---|
| Setting up | ||
| Government fee to incorporate | S$315 | Fixed. Name reservation S$15 plus registration S$300. |
| Foreign founder, year one | S$2,300 to 7,500 | Self-serve with three months of nominee director at the low end. Managed provider with director, secretary, accounting and immigration at the top. |
| Singapore-resident founder, year one | S$700 to 2,500 | No nominee director needed. Corporate secretary and address are the main cost. |
| Employment Pass application | S$400 to 2,500 + S$330 | Professional fee depends on how much COMPASS work the case needs. S$330 is the government fee. |
| Corporate bank account | S$0 to open, 1 to 8 weeks | Fintech accounts open in days. Traditional banks take four to eight weeks for foreign-owned companies. |
| Hiring | ||
| One employee via employer of record | US$400 to 700 per month | Platform fee on top of salary and employer CPF. Only for citizens and PRs. |
| Employer CPF contribution | 17% of wages | For employees aged 55 and below, on wages up to S$8,000 a month (2026). Lower rates above 55. |
| Ongoing | ||
| Nominee director, per year | S$1,500 to 5,000 | Some providers add a refundable deposit. Falls away once a resident director is in place. |
| Corporate secretary and address, per year | S$500 to 1,500 | Mandatory. The cheapest tier is fine for a simple company. |
| Accounting and tax, small company, per year | S$900 to 3,000 | Transaction volume and whether payroll and GST are included. |
Setting upShow 5 items
- Government fee to incorporateS$315
Fixed. Name reservation S$15 plus registration S$300.
- Foreign founder, year oneS$2,300 to 7,500
Self-serve with three months of nominee director at the low end. Managed provider with director, secretary, accounting and immigration at the top.
- Singapore-resident founder, year oneS$700 to 2,500
No nominee director needed. Corporate secretary and address are the main cost.
- Employment Pass applicationS$400 to 2,500 + S$330
Professional fee depends on how much COMPASS work the case needs. S$330 is the government fee.
- Corporate bank accountS$0 to open, 1 to 8 weeks
Fintech accounts open in days. Traditional banks take four to eight weeks for foreign-owned companies.
HiringShow 2 items
- One employee via employer of recordUS$400 to 700 per month
Platform fee on top of salary and employer CPF. Only for citizens and PRs.
- Employer CPF contribution17% of wages
For employees aged 55 and below, on wages up to S$8,000 a month (2026). Lower rates above 55.
OngoingShow 3 items
- Nominee director, per yearS$1,500 to 5,000
Some providers add a refundable deposit. Falls away once a resident director is in place.
- Corporate secretary and address, per yearS$500 to 1,500
Mandatory. The cheapest tier is fine for a simple company.
- Accounting and tax, small company, per yearS$900 to 3,000
Transaction volume and whether payroll and GST are included.
Ranges cover the self-serve platforms and managed firms we compare. Government fees from ACRA and MOM. If a provider quotes you outside these ranges, ask why.
Get your exact numberStart a company. Hire people.
Keep it running.
Every provider sells one of these. We cover all three, send you to the right one, and stay when you move from one to the next.
StartSet up a company
"I need a Singapore entity."
Incorporation, nominee director, corporate secretary, work passes and the bank account that takes longer than anyone admits.
- Incorporation for foreigners
- Nominee director
- Employment Pass
- Bank account
- Freelancers and solo founders
HireHire in Singapore
"I need people here, entity or not."
Employer of record for your first hires, payroll and CPF once you have an entity, and an honest read on when to switch.
How it works
RunRun your company
"I'm here. Keep me compliant."
Accounting, tax, GST and annual filings, with a provider that answers the phone.
How it worksEvery company needs a different firm. We find the one that fits yours.
Licensed firms do the filings, the payroll and the bank forms. We plan the order, work out which firm fits each part, and introduce you. From the introduction, the firm is your contact.
We have nothing to sell you.
Every firm ranks its own product first. We have no product, so when you don't need something yet, your plan says so, including the things we would be paid for.
The firm pays us. Your price stays the same.
The firm you go ahead with pays us a share of its fee. You pay its normal price, the same as going direct. Your plan names the firm and what it pays us, because a recommendation is only worth something if you can see that.
Every company gets a different fit.
A founder who needs a nominee director and a pass, a subsidiary that needs payroll from day one, a first hire without a company: each is a different firm. We work with several licensed firms and platforms, and your plan says which one fits and why.
Who does the work: licensed corporate services firms, self-serve incorporation platforms, employer-of-record platforms for citizens and PRs, and fintech and traditional banks. Short on purpose, named in your plan, and chosen by the rules on our About page. A firm that wants to work with us? Get in touch.
Why companies base Asia here, with the numbers.
It costs more than its neighbours. Salaries and office rent are among the highest in Asia, and a team that only sells into one nearby market can be cheaper there. For a regional base, these are the reasons people pay it.
Tax, with the real number
The headline rate is 17%, and less applies to the first S$200,000 of profit: 75% of the first S$10,000 and 50% of the next S$190,000 are exempt. A company making S$200,000 pays about S$16,600, an effective 8.3%, and for YA 2026 a 50% rebate capped at S$40,000 comes off that (IRAS, 2026). No tax on capital gains or on dividends paid out.
Fast to set up, slow to bank
Incorporation takes one to two days once your documents are in, and the rules are published in English and change on notice. The bank account is the slow step: one to eight weeks, longer for foreign-owned companies with no resident director.
Close to the region
Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Ho Chi Minh City are all under three hours from Changi. Singapore has signed tax agreements with around 100 jurisdictions, and its double tax treaties cut the withholding tax regional customers deduct when they pay you.
Hiring works in English
English is the language of business and of the courts. A foreign hire needs an Employment Pass, from S$5,600 a month in 2026 and higher with age. A local hire costs 17% on top of salary in employer CPF.
We did it ourselves first.
Red Dot People started as a freelancer's question: where do you set up a company that clients, banks and tax advisers all take seriously? Estonia was the first answer. Singapore was the better one. We set up our own Singapore holding company with the same firms we recommend here, and it runs through them today. Every page on this site is written from that experience, including the parts that took longer than advertised.
The advice we'd give a friend is the advice we give clients. Sometimes that advice is “not yet”.
The guidance, written down.
What a foreign company needs to know about setting up, hiring and staying compliant in Singapore.
Tell us what you're trying to do. We'll tell you what it takes.
Two minutes on the form. A written plan from a person within one business day: the steps, the numbers, and the firm we'd use for each.