6 1st Formations Alternatives for Registered Office Address Services

Are you a sole trader or entrepreneur looking to incorporate a new company? You might be considering 1st Formations as a vendor that can do it for you.

1st Formations is one of the best recognised brands in the company formation space, offering limited company registration from just £39.99 (if you also subscribe to their accounting service), but they also offer additional add-on’s that small businesses might find useful.

One of them is a virtual office address service that’s compliant with Companies House rules, protecting your privacy and enhancing your professional image.

However, although 1st Formations is one of the leading names in the company formation space, is it the best option for your registered office address? To help you identify a 1st Formations alternative that will suit your business, we’ve pulled together this list of six of the best on the market right now.

1st Formations alternatives at a glance

In this article, we’re going to explore six 1st Formations alternatives, including the features of the services, platform pricing, user reviews and the types of businesses each provider is best suited to.

Don’t have a lot of time? Check out an overview below.

*Trustpilot ratings checked September 2026. Ratings relate to the provider overall, not necessarily its registered office service specifically.

We’ve provided an overview of the seven best 1st Formations alternatives, but in no particular order, let’s take a closer look at each one.

Hoxton Mix: Best for registered office address and digital mail management

Registered office address services, as well as digital mail management, are Hoxton Mix’s bread and butter.

We’re a little biased, but when it comes to AI-powered, tech-enabled 1st Formations competitors, Hoxton Mix is leading the way thanks to exceptional value for money and ease of use, as well as safe and secure mail handling. 

Hoxton Mix features

Our registered office address service includes mail handling and scanning as standard, complete with a customer portal that allows you to access business mail from anywhere in the world. In our opinion, the use of AI technology really elevates the platform above all of these other 1st Formations alternatives.

HaiRoTM AI scans and uploads all of your company mail within one business day, while categorising and tagging it, as well as providing a summary to help you quickly understand what you need to deal with first.

We also offer physical business mail forwarding as an additional service and provide you with a prestigious central London (EC2A) location that you can use with Companies House as your business’ official address, helping you to protect your personal privacy while boosting your professional image. Our Full Privacy Service, available for just £30 per year, gives you a director’s service address to ensure your private residence is kept off the Companies House register altogether.

Hoxton Mix pricing

Our registered office address and digital mail handling service starts from less than £21/month (billed annually). If you’d prefer the flexibility of a monthly plan that you can cancel at any time, this is available for £24.99/month.

The Physical Mail Forwarding add-on is an additional £170 per year (we automatically forward every piece of mail you receive), while we also offer a WhatsApp Business Number, helping you to connect with your customers directly on a platform they’re already familiar with. This service is available from an additional £49.99 per year (or £4.99/month), and it can be purchased as a standalone service. 

Hoxton Mix reviews

We currently have the joint highest Trustpilot score of the 1st Formation competitors in this article, with 4.6* from 125 reviews.

Reviewers have commented on the great customer support they’ve received, as well as the service’s fantastic value for money.

Who is Hoxton Mix best for?

If your priority is a registered office address, combined with best-in-class digital mail management, we think our platform is a great 1st Formations alternative.

We’re ideal for sole traders and entrepreneurs looking to incorporate a new company for the first time, as well as existing companies wanting to switch their registered office provider rather than purchase a new company-formation package.

Tide: Best for combining business banking with a registered office address

Tide is a challenger bank specifically designed to help small businesses access a variety of essential services in one place. Although primarily a provider of financial services, Tide also offers a company formation service and virtual office address.

The key USP here is the wider banking ecosystem you can access, as well as the convenience of setting up a company, opening a business account and arranging your registered office through one process.

Tide features

Tide’s registered office address is delivered by Hoxton Mix, meaning you get many of the features included within the standard Hoxton Mix service outlined above. 

However, note that you will need to use Tide for your company’s formation and business bank account if you want to purchase it through Tide. 

Tide pricing

Tide’s virtual office service is available for £22.99/month or £190/year. This makes Tide’s annual cost slightly cheaper than purchasing through Hoxton Mix directly, but you’re locked into using them for your business banking and company formation.

Tide reviews

Tide boasts a 4.4* Trustpilot rating, although it’s worth noting that most of these reviews will be for their business banking and financial products, rather than their registered office address service.

However, some reviewers have commented that the process for registering their new business and creating their virtual office was quick and straightforward, while others praised the ease of use and great customer service.

Who is Tide best for?

Tide is best for founders who want to form a new company, open a business bank account and purchase a registered office address in one go. However, as mentioned above, Tide isn’t ideal if you want to secure these services from different vendors.

ANNA Money: Best for keeping on top of business administration

ANNA Money is an all-in-one business app that founders can use to register a new business and manage their bookkeeping and accounting, as well as secure a registered office address. Similar to Tide, ANNA Money is great for company owners who want to keep business banking, accounting and admin all in one place.

Rather than specialising in any single service, ANNA Money’s strength is in the breadth of business admin services it offers.

ANNA Money features

Like with Hoxton Mix and Tide, ANNA Money’s registered office service will provide you with a central London address. One advantage of the ANNA Money service is that they offer same-day mail scanning that can be accessed via your ANNA Money account.

To secure a registered office address through ANNA Money you need to purchase the Secretary package, and this also includes free company registration and business secretarial support, which handles annual filings and other company admin.

ANNA Money pricing

ANNA Money’s Secretary package is £199.00/year, while their Total Support package costs £399.00/year if you also need additional accounting support and a business bank account.

ANNA Money reviews

ANNA Money has a Trustpilot rating of 4.6*, but again, not every review will be specifically in reference to their registered office address service.

Customers have applauded the easy-to-use platform and real-time support offered by the company, but some have experienced errors and technical issues, such as failing to match invoices to payments, and the AI tools struggling with receipts. However, most reviews suggest that issues are resolved quickly when they do occur.

Who is ANNA Money best for?

ANNA Money is best for business owners who want to combine their company admin, business banking and mail management within a single platform, rather than choosing a specialist registered office address provider.

BetaOffice: Best for a simple digital-first virtual office

BetaOffice is the only other vendor in this list that specialises in registered office addresses. In fact, it’s all they do, focusing on a simple, digital-first solution.

BetaOffice features

BetaOffice provides a lot of the basic virtual office features small businesses need, including a London-based registered office address, a director service address and digital mail scanning.

BetaOffice pricing

BetaOffice bundles all of their virtual office essentials together in a single package, costing £18/month when billed annually, or £21.99/month for their flexible monthly plan.

The simplicity of the BetaOffice solution also means there’s no setup fee, and no hidden fees or add-ons you have to worry about.

BetaOffice reviews

With a Trustpilot score of 4.5* from 16 reviews, BetaOffice is establishing itself as a disrupter in the registered office address space.

Positive reviews call out the ease of setup and clear user experience, as well as the BetaOffice team’s ability to handle inquiries quickly.

In an otherwise positive review, one user did comment on the lack of automated reminders for renewals, perhaps hinting at the relative immaturity of the product at this stage.

Who is BetaOffice best for?

BetaOffice is best suited to founders looking for a simple registered office address based in London, and who don’t need some of the more advanced features of a more established virtual office brand.

An accounting firm’s: Best for businesses that want one-to-one professional support

Using their accounting firm’s address used to be common practice for small businesses that didn’t want to use their home address for company formation. 

The main advantage was that business mail could be handled by a professional who already understood the business. 

Registered office address services an accounting firm (might) offer

Services vary from firm to firm, so if you want your accountant to handle everything for you, you’ll need to shop around. 

Most will offer company formation services, and might allow you to use their office as the official address and deal with Companies House and HMRC correspondence, but you’ll want to double check that they’ll also handle non-statutory mail for you. 

An accounting firm’s pricing

Pricing varies considerably between accounting firms, with registered office services potentially charged separately or bundled into a monthly or annual accounting retainer.

However, expect to pay somewhere between £60 per year and £180 per year. Below are some examples:

• £60 per year, Wainwright Accountants (Liverpool)
• £125 per year, Dolan Accountancy (Tring)
• £180 per year, 1st Cloud Accountants (Sunderland)

What to check when choosing an accountant

If an accounting firm allows you to use their office as the company’s registered address (as well as your director’s service address), the most important thing to check is how your business mail will be delivered to you. For example, do they inform you via email, scan and upload it to a customer portal, or forward the physical mail to you?

You should also ask how they’ll support a handover to a new accountant if you want to make a switch.

And, as is the case when choosing any service provider, make sure you check their reviews (paying particular attention to references to mail handling) and personal qualifications.

Who is an accountant best for?

We’d recommend that businesses of almost all sizes employ the services of an accounting firm, and if you want that professional, one-to-one service to extend to your statutory mail handling, then also using them as your registered office address (if they offer that service) could be ideal. 

However, the specifics of this service will vary from firm to firm, so make sure they offer everything you need first.

Mail Boxes Etc: Best for physical mail handling + branch access

Mail Boxes Etc is arguably more of an enhanced PO Box provider rather than a digital virtual office platform. However, their services can still offer some benefits to founders looking for support with mail management, particularly if they receive significant levels of physical post and parcels, and they can’t rely on digital copies.

Mail Boxes Etc has locations all over the country, meaning many small business owners can use them as an access point for their physical mail.

Mail Boxes Etc features

Mail Boxes Etc doesn’t offer the range of registered office services a specialist vendor like Hoxton Mix can. However, unlike a PO Box which is no longer suitable for registration with Companies House, many of the locations can be used as the registered company address because they’re real street addresses.

One of the main differentiators of Mail Boxes Etc is that they can handle large parcels, which many virtual office providers struggle with, while offering 24-hour access. An additional benefit of Mail Boxes Etc for a registered office address is the flexibility in choice of location.

Note that although they offer mail forwarding, the associated costs mean this is only really intended as a temporary solution for when you can’t make it to your local branch to collect it.

Mail Boxes Etc pricing

Prices vary based on location, with costs highest in London (£565.00/year in Covent Garden) and cheapest in smaller UK towns (£420.00/year in Huddersfield.

If you need mail forwarding, this will set you back around £4.25 per item, plus packaging and postage costs, although again charges vary by branch.

Mail Boxes Etc reviews

Mail Boxes Etc has a 4.4* Trustpilot rating, although this does include over 200 1* reviews.

Customers happy with the service have commented on the exceptional customer service and support. However, others have commented on a confusing setup process, as well as difficulty receiving their mail.

Who is Mail Boxes Etc best for?

If you need regular access to your physical mail, and your business receives a significant number of parcels, Mail Boxes Etc could be the best solution for you. The wide range of locations also makes it suitable for founders based outside of the south of England.

Which 1st Formations alternative is right for you?

Ultimately, choosing the ideal 1st Formations alternative comes down to what you need.  

Hoxton Mix is the class-leading registered office solution that is focused on providing all the tools you need, and the 100,000+ SME’s we have supported to date would agree.

For founders who want a single vendor to handle multiple elements of their business, Tide (banking and financial services), or ANNA Money (both digital accounting specialists) could be the best option. If you’re expecting to receive a lot of physical mail, including large parcels, Mail Boxes Etc might be the one for you.

There are pros and cons to all of these providers, but if you’re looking for a dedicated registered office address service that also offers a wider range of virtual office services that can help your business scale, we think you can’t beat Hoxton Mix.

Getting started couldn’t be quicker or easier, so click below to secure your brand new registered office address within minutes.