Almost nobody researching Lithuanian e-residency is really asking about Lithuania. They are asking whether to use Estonia's programme instead โ and the most detailed comparison online happens to be written by Estonia.
The answer is below, including where it is Estonia. Neither programme gives residence, citizenship or a right of entry โ both say so in their own words.
Table of Contents
The Verdict, Including Where Estonia Wins
If your goal is a company you can incorporate and administer entirely online, Estonia is the mature product and Lithuania is not. Its programme launched in December 2014; at 1 December 2025 it reported over 132,000 e-residents from 185 countries and more than 38,500 companies founded since launch, over 4,600 of them in 2025. Those are the programme's own figures, but even discounted they describe a decade of accumulated practice, providers and documentation.
Lithuania's has been legally possible since 1 January 2021, and the only count anyone has published is on the state portal lietuva.lt in January 2023: more than 300 cards issued.
Where Lithuania is genuinely competitive
Corporate tax with a real zero band. A qualifying new Lithuanian company pays 0% corporate income tax for its first 2 tax periods and 7% thereafter while income stays under โฌ300,000. Estonia defers rather than exempts: nothing is taxed until distribution, and then at 22%.
No mandatory licensed contact person. Estonia requires one where the management board sits abroad; Lithuania publishes no equivalent, removing a recurring annual cost and a dependency.
A larger domestic financial sector. Vilnius is an EU fintech licensing hub, and Lithuanian law lets a company's formation account sit at an electronic money institution rather than a bank.
The Two Programmes Side by Side
Every row names its source: the two sides are not equally documented, and pretending otherwise is how comparison pages go wrong.
| ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | |
|---|---|---|
| Launched | 1 January 2021 (Aliens Law) | December 2014 (programme) |
| State fee | โฌ90 | โฌ150 |
| Fee source | Migration Department fee list | Police and Border Guard Board |
| Service provider charge | โฌ80 per person, applying abroad | None listed on the programme's costs page |
| Status / card term | 3 years | 5 years |
| Where you can apply abroad | 21 jurisdictions with a provider branch | โ50+ pickup locationsโ (programme) |
| Holders | Over 300 cards, January 2023 (state portal) | Over 132,000, December 2025 (programme) |
| Independent measurement | None published | Statistics Estonia, 2020: 73,400 e-residents, 20% having helped found a business, 14,200 companies |
| Grants residence or entry? | No, explicitly | No, explicitly |
What Each Actually Costs
Lithuania. The Migration Department's state fee is โฌ90 for examining the application and issuing the electronic identification and e-signature means; its page for applicants abroad adds โฌ80 per person to the external service provider. Most applicants are abroad, so the realistic entry cost is โฌ170, above Estonia's.
Estonia. โฌ150 state fee, per the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board, in force from 1 January 2025; renewal or replacement is the same, and the card runs 5 years.
Then the company, and then every year after that
Estonia, from its knowledge base: โฌ265 to register an Oร online, contact person and legal address โฌ200โโฌ400 a year, accounting from โฌ50 a month, first year roughly โฌ600 alone or โฌ1,300 with accounting support.
Lithuania publishes no equivalent estimate. What is certain is โฌ1,000 of share capital, paid in cash before registration โ money you keep, but money you must have โ plus a registered office and a Lithuanian accountant on a monthly retainer from the month you incorporate.
Neither fee is the decision. A one-off difference of โฌ20 is noise against a year of accounting, and complete noise against picking a country whose banks will not open you an account.
What the Status Unlocks Today
Lithuania โ the state's own list, on the Migration Information Centre's page:
- Log in to Elektroniniai valdลพios vartai, the government e-services gateway
- Log in to MIGRIS through it
- Sign documents with the qualified e-signature
- Company formation and financial operations: planned, not live
Estonia โ the programme's own list:
- Establish and manage an EU company entirely online
- Open a business bank or fintech account in Estonia
- Declare and pay taxes digitally
- Its own caveat: status alone does not guarantee banking access
That Lithuanian list is not our characterisation: it is 3 numbered items on a state page, followed by a sentence that the range "will be gradually expanded" so as to make it possible to develop business relations, establish and manage a company, and carry out financial operations.
And yet the Register says it accepts the card
On 2 February 2023 Registrลณ centras announced that company registration applications could be filed electronically by EU and EEA citizens using either an eIDAS-compliant national eID or an e-resident card โ reported by LRT and 15min from the Register's release, the citable text because the Register's own site serves nothing readable without JavaScript. The state's consumer-facing e-resident page has not been updated to match; the company page works through the contradiction.
One thing both programmes are honest about
Estonia's knowledge base states that e-Residency "does not confer citizenship, tax residency, physical residency or right of entry to Estonia or the European Union", and "is not a valid form of physical identification and cannot be used as a travel document". Lithuania's state page states that the status "does not give the foreigner the right to enter the Republic of Lithuania or any other Schengen area state". If you want a way into Europe, see the business residence permit.
Forming and Running the Company
Estonia lists its own minimum share capital as 0%. For Lithuania it lists a "25% minimum share capital down payment", compressing two rules into one and getting the wrong answer at the level most readers use.
Article 8 of the Lithuanian Law on Companies does require each founder's initial contribution to be at least 25% of the nominal value of the shares subscribed. It also requires the total of initial contributions to be at least the statutory minimum share capital, which Article 2(4) sets at โฌ1,000. At the floor the second rule decides it: a founder incorporating a minimum-capital UAB pays the whole โฌ1,000, in money, before the company is registered, not โฌ250 โ so Estonia's row understates the requirement fourfold, in its own favour.
Under ยง 24 of Estonia's Commercial Register Act, a company whose management board sits abroad must appoint a licensed contact person, and only certain professionals qualify: a licensed trust and company service provider, an advocate or law-firm owner, a sworn auditor or audit firm, a non-resident's tax representative, or a notary. The appointment is time-limited, usually a year, and renewable, and the role is narrow โ receiving and forwarding procedural documents, with no authority to act for the company.
Lithuania publishes no equivalent. It requires a registered office address in Lithuania, and the owner's consent where the premises are not the founder's, but no licensed person behind the address โ a genuine annual saving and one fewer party in the chain.
Estonia's knowledge base says outright that "e-Residency status alone does not guarantee access to banking services". Lithuania publishes no equivalent warning, and no Lithuanian authority states that an e-resident card is an accepted remote-identification means for opening a business account.
One Lithuanian advantage is structural: Article 7(5) of the Law on Companies lets the formation account sit at a credit institution or an electronic money institution, which in a country with this many licensed EMIs widens the field. Which of them will onboard a non-resident founder is answered provider by provider on business bank accounts.
Two Genuinely Different Tax Systems
| ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | |
|---|---|---|
| When profit is taxed | As earned | Only when distributed |
| Headline rate | 17% | 22%, computed as 22/78 on the net distribution |
| Small-company rate | 7% while income stays under โฌ300,000 | No reduced rate |
| New-company relief | 0% for the first 2 tax periods, on conditions | Not needed โ retained profit is untaxed by design |
| Retained profit | Taxed | Untaxed |
| Source | VMI | Estonian Tax and Customs Board |
The rule of thumb. Leaving profit inside the company to reinvest, Estonia's deferral is powerful and Lithuania has nothing matching it. For a small, profitable, one-person business that takes the money out, Lithuania's 0% for 2 periods and then 7% can beat 22% on distribution. Model your own numbers.
Two things neither table captures can outweigh the rates. Your country of residence taxes what you take out, so the total depends on your position and any treaty โ Estonia's comparison counts roughly 65 Estonian double tax treaties against 55 Lithuanian ones, its own approximations, confirmed by neither tax authority. And a company managed entirely from a third country may be tax resident there whatever the register says. See income tax and the tax overview.
Who Should Choose Which
| If you areโฆ | Choose | Because |
|---|---|---|
| A remote founder wanting an EU company this quarter | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | The path is documented and supported; Lithuania's is not yet described by its own state as available |
| Reinvesting profit rather than taking it out | ๐ช๐ช Estonia | Nothing is taxed until distribution; Lithuania taxes profit as it is earned |
| A new small business that will distribute everything | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | 0% for 2 periods then 7% can beat 22% on distribution โ model it |
| Already living in or moving to Lithuania | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | You need no e-residency: you will have an asmens kodas, and with it Smart-ID and every e-service |
| Building around Lithuanian fintech, clients or staff | ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania | Substance where the business is beats convenience in a country you have no connection to |
| Hoping either leads to residence or a passport | Neither | Both say plainly that it does not |
The mistake that costs the most
Choosing a country before checking whether anyone will bank you there. Estonia's own material says its status "does not guarantee access to banking services", and Lithuania's mainstream banks limit online business onboarding to Lithuanian citizens and residents. Get a named provider to say yes before paying any state fee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Estonian e-Residency better than Lithuanian e-residency?
For founding and running a company online today, yes โ and that is the answer even on a Lithuanian guide. Estonia's programme launched in December 2014; its own figures at 1 December 2025 report over 132,000 e-residents and more than 38,500 companies founded, and company formation is the documented core of the product. Lithuania's state page still lists establishing and managing a company among the services to be opened later. Lithuania competes on corporate tax and on requiring no licensed contact person.
Which is cheaper to apply for?
Estonia, in practice, despite the headline. Lithuania's state fee is โฌ90 and Estonia's โฌ150, but the Migration Department's page for applicants abroad adds โฌ80 per person to the external service provider, taking the realistic Lithuanian entry cost to โฌ170. Both are one-off and both are small against a year of accounting.
How long does each status last?
Lithuanian e-resident status is granted for 3 years, and the certificates on the card are valid no longer than the status. Estonia's digital ID card runs 5 years, and renewal costs the same as a first application.
How many e-residents does each country have?
Estonia's programme reported over 132,000 from 185 countries on 1 December 2025, while its own comparison page claims 140,000+ as at May 2025 โ the two do not agree. Lithuania publishes nothing beyond lietuva.lt in January 2023, more than 300 cards issued. The 5,000โ7,000 range you will see quoted is Estonia's estimate of Lithuania, not a Lithuanian statistic.
Do I need a contact person in Lithuania, like in Estonia?
Lithuania publishes no such requirement. Estonia requires a licensed contact person under section 24 of its Commercial Register Act where the management board is abroad, restricted to trust and company service providers, advocates, sworn auditors, non-residents' tax representatives and notaries. Lithuania requires a registered office address and the owner's consent where the founder does not own the premises, but no licensed person behind it.
How much share capital does each country require?
Estonia's own comparison lists its minimum at 0%. Lithuania requires โฌ1,000, paid in money before the company is registered. Estonia describes the Lithuanian requirement as a "25% minimum share capital down payment", which is half the rule: Article 8 of the Law on Companies requires each founder's initial contribution to be at least a quarter of what they subscribed AND the total of initial contributions to be at least the statutory minimum. At the floor that means the full โฌ1,000, not โฌ250.
Which country taxes a small company less?
It depends on whether you take the money out. Estonia does not tax retained profit and taxes distributions at 22%, computed as 22/78 on the net amount, per the Estonian Tax and Customs Board. Lithuania taxes profit as earned: 17% standard, 7% for a small company under โฌ300,000, 0% for a qualifying new company's first two tax periods. Reinvesting, Estonia; distributing everything while new and small, Lithuania can win.
Can I open a bank account with either status?
Neither status obliges anyone to bank you, and Estonia's knowledge base says so directly. Lithuania publishes no equivalent statement, and no Lithuanian authority says an e-resident card is an accepted remote-identification means for business onboarding. Revolut Business requires an applicant resident in the EEA, Switzerland, the UK or a listed territory, and Swedbank, SEB, Luminor and Citadele limit online business applications to Lithuanian citizens and residents.
Does either give me residence, citizenship or the right to travel?
No. Estonia's knowledge base states that e-Residency confers no citizenship, tax residency, physical residency or right of entry, and that the card is not a travel document. Lithuania's state page states that e-resident status gives no right to enter Lithuania or any other Schengen state. Anyone selling either as an immigration route is misrepresenting it.
Why is the best comparison written by Estonia?
Because Estonia has a programme with a marketing budget and Lithuania has a state fee page. That asymmetry is itself informative, but the most detailed comparison available is written by one of the two parties. Its hard numbers appear here with attribution, its adjectives do not, and every Lithuanian legal claim in it is set against Lithuanian sources โ one of which, the share capital rule, it gets wrong in its own favour.
Can a non-EU citizen use either programme?
Both are aimed at non-residents generally rather than at EU citizens. The complication on the Lithuanian side is that Registrลณ centras framed its February 2023 opening of electronic company registration around EU and EEA citizens, with the e-resident card as an alternative identification means. Whether a non-EU card holder can found a company through the self-service system is not resolved by anything published, and it is the question worth putting to the Register in writing before you apply.
I already live in Lithuania. Should I get e-resident status?
No. E-residency exists for people who are not here. A residence permit gives you an asmens kodas, and with it Smart-ID, Mobile-ID and every Lithuanian e-service, without a state fee for a card that needs a reader and desktop software.
Disclaimer
General guidance, not legal or tax advice. Fees, rates and programme scope change in both countries. Estonian figures marked as coming from the e-Residency programme are that programme's own claims about itself and a competitor, and are not independently verified; Estonian state fees and tax rates come from Estonian authorities. Confirm anything you plan to act on.