How much does it cost to start a business in India?

The government's statement that the MCA charges no fee to incorporate any company with authorised capital up to ₹15 lakh, under the SPICe+ form.

Zero fee for incorporating companies with authorised capital up to Rs 15 lakh

From pib.gov.in by Ministry of Corporate Affairs (PIB)

• Keep authorised capital at ₹15 lakh or less to pay no MCA fee.
• Stamp duty and digital signatures are still extra.

This is the year-one Indian Pvt Ltd number laid out line by line, in rupees, from a working CA firm: statutory audit 10,000 to 25,000, ROC professional fee 5,000 to 10,000 for AOC-4 and MGT-7A, ROC government fees 400 to 800, ITR-6 prep 5,000 to 10,000, and DIR-3 KYC for both directors. It lands the whole point: registration is cheap, but the total annual bill is 24,400 to 52,800 even for a small company at low revenue.

Company Annual Filing Cost: ROC Fees, Audit Fees & Compliance Package

From Virtual Auditor by Virtual Auditor 10 min read

• A small Pvt Ltd (turnover up to 2 crore) runs 24,400 to 52,800 a year in total compliance, dominated by the mandatory statutory audit, not the one-time registration
• Statutory audit is compulsory for every private limited company from rupee one of revenue, unlike a proprietorship or LLP below thresholds
• Even a dormant company pays roughly 16,000 a year to stay compliant (audit, AOC-4, MGT-7A, ITR-6), so an idle entity is not a free entity

The government's own comparison, and it leads with the exact filter you need: if you are raising funding, the decision is made for you (Private Limited), and everything else is secondary. It covers all five Indian structures including OPC. Two parts are dated: its OPC section still says an OPC must convert past Rs 2 crore of revenue or Rs 50 lakh of capital, a rule removed in 2021, and its tax lines mention dividend distribution tax, which no longer exists.

Types of Businesses (Sole Proprietorship, LLP, Private Limited, OPC)

From Startup India by Startup India (DPIIT) 12 min read

• Only a Private Limited company can take external equity, so investors decide your structure before anything else does
• A sole proprietorship gives you zero liability protection; an OPC or LLP gives it without a co-founder, and an OPC no longer has to convert when it grows
• LLP fits a bootstrapped, non-scalable business; Private Limited fits one that will raise and hire

The mirror image of the India breakdown, and just as itemized: Delaware filing fee 289 (with 10M authorized shares), registered agent 100, then the recurring bill that founders miss, 400 minimum franchise tax on the Assumed Par Value method, 50 annual report, and 1,500 to 3,000 for the Form 1120 federal return. It correctly warns to use the Assumed Par Value method so you pay 400, not a five or six figure franchise tax bill under the default calculation.

Cost of Delaware C-Corp: Complete Fee Breakdown 2025-2026

From SpryTax by SpryTax 12 min read

• Forming is a few hundred dollars, but true annual upkeep is 2,000 to 4,000 once you add the federal 1120 return prep, which needs an accountant
• The 400 minimum franchise tax only holds if you elect the Assumed Par Value method; the default Authorized Shares method on 10M shares can bill you tens of thousands
• A registered agent is not optional and recurs every year, a line Indian founders forming remotely almost always forget to budget

The government's only portal for registering a micro, small or medium enterprise. It states registration is free and lists the revised limits: a micro enterprise has investment up to ₹2.5 crore and turnover up to ₹10 crore, a small one up to ₹25 crore and ₹100 crore.

Udyam Registration (MSME)

From udyamregistration.gov.in by Ministry of MSME

• Registration is free and paperless; ignore sites that charge for it.
• Check which band you fall in on both investment and turnover.

An ICANN-accredited registrar's domain search with Indian prices. It lists a .in domain at ₹899 for the first year (₹1 on a 3-year term during its sale) and shows renewal and transfer prices side by side.

Hostinger domain search and .in prices

From hostinger.com by Hostinger

Hostinger Domains on eChai Explore

• Compare the first-year price with the renewal price, which is what you pay every year after.
• Buy the .in and the .com of your name together if both are free.
• Register the domain in your own name and account, never your web designer's.

Gmail, Meet, Drive and Docs on your own domain, priced in rupees. The page lists Base at ₹99 per user a month for up to 20 users, Business Starter at ₹270 and Business Standard at ₹1,080, each with a 14-day free trial.

Google Workspace pricing (India)

From workspace.google.com by Google

Google Workspace on eChai Explore

• Base is the cheapest way to get Gmail on your own domain.
• Prices are per user, so make shared addresses aliases, not extra users.

Hostinger's drag-and-drop builder with AI tools, priced in rupees for India. The page lists the starter plan at ₹139 a month on a 48-month term (₹6,672 paid up front, renewing at ₹449 a month) and the business plan at ₹199 a month, with a free domain and a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Hostinger Website Builder (India pricing)

From hostinger.com by Hostinger

Hostinger Website Builder on eChai Explore

• The intro price needs a 48-month term; check the renewal price before you pay.
• A free domain comes with the plan, so you do not need to buy one separately.
• Good for a cheap, simple business site you will edit yourself.

India's most used payment gateway for small businesses, taking UPI, cards and netbanking. The pricing page lists a standard fee of 2% plus GST per transaction, with no gateway fee for the first 90 days on its current offer and custom pricing above ₹5 lakh a month.

Razorpay pricing

From razorpay.com by Razorpay

Razorpay Payment Gateway on eChai Explore

• Payment Pages give you a payment link without any coding.
• Budget 2% plus GST of every online sale as the cost of collecting it.