How Much Does It Cost to Start a Company in Poland in 2026?

In short:

• Registering an sp. z o.o. online through S24 costs about PLN 350 in state fees (PLN 250 court fee + PLN 100 announcement) plus a small PCC tax of roughly PLN 23 on the minimum capital — so the paperwork to create the company runs under PLN 400.
• The PLN 5,000 minimum share capital is not a fee — it is the company’s own money and can be spent on the business the moment you are registered.
• The notary route (needed only for custom articles) costs more — from about PLN 800–1,000+, because the court fee is PLN 500 and a notarial deed is added on top.
• The cost that actually matters is monthly accounting: an sp. z o.o. must keep full books, so we quote the fee per company based on your transaction volume — contact us for a figure. Add a registered address — a virtual office from henryestates.pl starts at PLN 69/month + VAT.
• Realistic budget: under PLN 1,000 to get registered (beyond the capital); the main ongoing costs are monthly accounting (quoted per company), a registered address from PLN 69/month + VAT, and — for a single-shareholder company — ZUS.

“How much does it cost?” is usually the second question a foreign founder asks, right after “can I even do this?” The reassuring answer: creating a Polish company is cheap — the state fees are under PLN 400. What costs money is running one properly. Here is the full 2026 breakdown, keeping three things clearly apart: the one-time fees, the capital that stays your money, and the monthly cost that follows.

How much does it cost to start a company in Poland in 2026?

Registering an sp. z o.o. online costs roughly PLN 350–400 in fees, on top of the PLN 5,000 minimum share capital that stays inside the company. Registration is deliberately cheap; the meaningful, recurring cost is professional accounting, which the law requires a limited company to keep.

Item	Cost (2026)	One-time or ongoing
Share capital (minimum)	PLN 5,000 — your money, not a fee	One-time, stays in the company
S24 online registration	~PLN 350 fees + ~PLN 23 PCC	One-time
Notary route (optional)	from ~PLN 800–1,000+	One-time
Registered / virtual office	from PLN 69 / month + VAT (henryestates.pl)	Ongoing
Accounting (full books)	quoted per company — contact us	Ongoing

This guide is the cost companion to our walkthrough on how to register a company in Poland as a foreigner and the guide on which structure to choose.

Is the PLN 5,000 share capital a fee?

No — the PLN 5,000 minimum share capital is not a payment to anyone. It is the company’s own starting fund. You put it into your own company, the minimum nominal value of a single share is PLN 50, and once the company is registered you can spend that money on rent, equipment, software or any other business expense. It does not sit frozen in an account. The only slice of it that is actually taxed is the PCC (0.5%), so on PLN 5,000 you lose about PLN 23 — not the whole sum.

What does registering online via S24 cost?

About PLN 350 in state fees plus a PCC tax of roughly PLN 23 — under PLN 400 in total. The breakdown for the S24 online route is:

• PLN 250 — court registration fee (the S24 rate; the standard route is PLN 500).
• PLN 100 — announcement in the Court and Economic Monitor (Monitor Sądowy i Gospodarczy).
• ~PLN 23 — PCC tax (podatek od czynności cywilnoprawnych), 0.5% of share capital minus those two fees, self-filed on form PCC-3 within 14 days.

S24 also needs an electronic signature. A Polish Profil Zaufany (trusted profile) is free but usually requires a Polish bank account; a qualified electronic signature costs about PLN 250–350/year and is what most non-resident founders use. That is the one setup cost people forget to budget for.

S24 or a notary — what is the price difference?

S24 is the cheap, fast route (~PLN 350 and about one business day); a notary costs from roughly PLN 800–1,000 but lets you customise the articles of association.

	S24 (online)	Notary
Court fee	PLN 250	PLN 500
Announcement	PLN 100	PLN 100
Notarial deed	—	from ~PLN 200 (incl. VAT)
Articles of association	Standard template	Fully customisable
Typical speed	~1 business day	Longer

For most foreign founders the standard S24 template is more than enough — you only need the notary if you want share classes, non-cash contributions or bespoke governance. Unless someone has told you otherwise, register through S24.

What other one-time costs should I expect?

Beyond the registration fee, budget for a few extras depending on your situation:

• Sworn translation of foreign documents (passport, power of attorney): about PLN 50–80 per page, done by a certified translator.
• VAT registration (VAT-R): free to file. There is no fee to register for VAT; whether you must register depends on your activity and turnover — see our VAT guide for foreign founders.
• Business bank account: usually free to open, though it is often the slowest step for foreign owners.
• Notarised or apostilled power of attorney if you register remotely from abroad rather than in person.

What are the ongoing monthly costs of running a company?

The two unavoidable monthly costs are accounting and a registered address; a single-owner company adds ZUS.

• Accounting. An sp. z o.o. must keep full accounting (pełna księgowość) from day one — this is a legal requirement for every limited company, not optional as it can be for a sole trader. The monthly fee depends on your transaction volume and complexity, so we quote it per company rather than a fixed price — tell us your expected volume and we’ll give you a figure.
• Registered office. Every company needs a registered address, and a virtual office is legally acceptable. Plans from henryestates.pl run PLN 69 / 99 / 129 per month + VAT (Silver / Gold / Diamond), with the higher tiers including a full company-registration address (KRS).
• ZUS. The company itself pays no ZUS on its own existence — but if you are the sole shareholder, Poland treats you like a sole trader and you pay monthly ZUS social contributions personally. Adding a second shareholder removes that obligation. This is the cost single founders most often overlook.
• Corporate tax. Once the company is profitable it pays CIT at 9% or 19% — the rates, and how to legally keep the bill down with Estonian CIT, are in our company tax guide.

So what should a foreign founder actually budget?

Plan for under PLN 1,000 to get registered, beyond the PLN 5,000 capital you keep. A realistic first setup for a single-member sp. z o.o. via S24 looks like this:

• PLN 5,000 share capital — kept as your company’s money.
• ~PLN 375 in registration fees and PCC.
• ~PLN 250–350 for a qualified e-signature (if you have no Polish bank account).
• A few sworn translations at ~PLN 50–80 per page.

So beyond the capital you keep, the real out-of-pocket cost to get live is often under PLN 1,000. After that, the main monthly costs are accounting (quoted per company), a registered address (from PLN 69/month + VAT), and ZUS if you are the sole shareholder — before any corporate tax on profit.

Getting it right the first time

The cheapest way to start a company is the one you do not have to redo. The registration fee is trivial next to the cost of a wrong PKD code, badly drafted articles, or a missed first filing. Getting the structure, address and bookkeeping right at the start is what saves real money — and every company then follows the same annual rhythm set out in our first-year tax calendar.

What will your setup actually cost?

Meyis is a Turkish-speaking accounting office in Warsaw, Poland — a biuro rachunkowe that registers foreign-owned companies and runs their accounting from day one, so the setup is done once and done right, in a language you understand.

Get a fixed quote for your company setup or message us on WhatsApp at +48 692 413 475. We will price your exact situation — registration, address and accounting — with no surprises.

Official sources: the entrepreneurs’ portal biznes.gov.pl, the S24 registration system at ekrs.ms.gov.pl, and the tax portal podatki.gov.pl. Always confirm current fees and thresholds, which can change year to year.