
What are the main differences between the e-Residency programmes in Estonia and Lithuania?

This article was written by InCorpora in September 2021, and was updated by the Estonian e-Residency team in May 2026. Incorpora is a full-service firm providing tailor-made corporate, accounting, back-office, and banking support services to e-resident company owners.
Estonia launched the world's first e-Residency programme in 2014. More than a decade on, it has attracted more than 140,000 e-residents from around the world.
Lithuania launched its own e-residency programme in January 2021, giving foreign citizens access to administrative, public, or commercial services provided in Lithuania electronically.
So what does the Lithuanian programme actually offer? How does it compare to Estonian e-Residency? And which should you choose? This article aims to answer all three questions.
In December 2014, Estonia was the first country in the world to introduce e-Residency. The programme allows non-Estonians to have remote, digital access to a range of e-services such as company formation, banking, payment processing, and taxation. E-residents receive a digital ID card, which they can use to securely authenticate themselves online and digitally sign, encrypt and send documents.
Thanks to e-Residency, it’s possible for people from around the world to establish an Estonian company that can be run from where they live, and serve their clients wherever they are.
Estonia is a world leader in digital governance and IT, and one of the most business-friendly environments in the EU.
Estonia is worth considering for several reasons – it's:
With Estonian e-Residency you can:
Learn more about the benefits of Estonian e-Residency on their website:
Lithuania has long been regarded as one of the more business-friendly countries in Europe, thanks to low administrative costs, competitive taxes, and a strong geographical position between east and west.
Some reasons why more entrepreneurs are considering Lithuania as a base for their business:
E-residency in Lithuania’s e-residency programme grants you e-resident status in the country’s Register of Foreigners for three years, and this can then be renewed. With Lithuanian e-residency you can:
Here are the main differences between the Estonian and Lithuanian programs and business environments.
Online application
Cost of application
Community size
Application time
Dedicated e-Residency team + infrastructure
Ecosystem of service providers for e-residents
Supported languages
Tax Competitiveness Index (2025)
Cost of starting a business
Minimum share capital down payment
Annual company running costs
Corporate tax rate
Double tax treaties
Yes
€150
140,000+ e-residents (as at May 2025)
Up to 30 mins
Yes
Yes
Estonian, English, Russian
1st
€265
0%
Legal address + contact person from €200
22% on distributed profits
~65
Yes
€90
5,000-7,000 estimated
10-15min
No
No
Lithuanian, English, Russian
5th
€73
25%
Legal address €45-€500
7% / 17%**
~55
Online application
Yes
Yes
Cost of application
€150
€90
Community size
140,000+ e-residents (as at May 2025)
5,000-7,000 estimated
Application time
Up to 30 mins
10-15min
Dedicated e-Residency team + infrastructure
Yes
No
Ecosystem of service providers for e-residents
Yes
No
Supported languages
Estonian, English, Russian
Lithuanian, English, Russian
Tax Competitiveness Index (2025)
1st
5th
Cost of starting a business
€265
€73
Minimum share capital down payment
0%
25%
Annual company running costs
Legal address + contact person from €200
Legal address €45-€500
Corporate tax rate
22% on distributed profits
7% / 17%**
Double tax treaties
~65
~55
Notes to table:
** Corporate tax rate in Lithuania is 7% if annual income less than €300,000 & up to 10 employees.
*** There might be circumstances when a Tax Authority in another country may consider your Estonian or Lithuanian company liable to pay corporate taxes there too – meaning it has dual tax residency. For example, if you spend a lot of time in one country or conduct most of your activities for the company there (e.g. do client work, hire staff or maintain an office), a Tax Authority may consider that your company has formed a Permanent Establishment (PE). Neither e-Residency program will exempt your company from creating PEs in other countries.
As you can see, there are a number of differences between the programmes and it can come down to the scale of your business and how location-independent you need to be.
You can apply for Estonian e-Residency totally online and pick up the card from one of 50+ collection points around the world. In contrast, in order to apply for e-residency status in Lithuania, you need to travel there to do so, and again to pick up the card.
While Lithuania’s fee is slightly cheaper than Estonia’s, the Estonian programme offers significantly more services to its e-residents, including online company registration, remote business management, submitting online tax declarations, and being able to use Smart-ID to sign documents in state portals.
The Lithuanian programme is still less developed and less comprehensive than its Estonian counterpart. For example, a Lithuanian e-residency card simply grants a foreigner the ability to log into the government’s e-services portal and use digital signatures.
With a dedicated team and infrastructure, a maturing ecosystem of expert service providers, a growing community of over 140,000 e-residents who have started 40,000+ businesses, and the fact that almost all of Estonia’s online infrastructure is available in English and Russian, Estonian e-Residency is still the one to beat.
If you’re looking to establish a company in Estonia, InCorpora is ready and waiting to help.
Take the first step and get in touch with us today to book your free 15-minute consultation about e-Residency.
Setting up an Estonian entity couldn’t be more straightforward, thanks to our dedicated team. Our tailored package covers all aspects of company establishment in Estonia, including:
Company registration takes as little as one week.
This guest post was written by InCorpora, a full-service firm providing tailor-made corporate, accounting, back-office, and banking support services to e-resident company owners, and a trusted e-Residency Marketplace member.
