Private Limited, LLP, OPC, or Proprietorship: How to Choose
By FirstMan Corporate Services Team · Published 10 June 2026
Choosing a business structure mostly comes down to three questions: are you starting alone or with others, do you plan to raise outside funding, and how much annual compliance are you willing to take on.
Start with three questions
- Are you starting alone, or with co-founders? A solo founder can choose a Proprietorship or an OPC; two or more owners rules out both.
- Do you plan to raise equity funding? If yes, Private Limited is close to the only real option — LLPs and Proprietorships can't issue shares.
- How much compliance can you realistically keep up with? A Proprietorship has almost none; a Private Limited Company has the most, regardless of revenue.
Common paths
Solo founder testing an idea, no funding plans: Proprietorship, converting later if the business takes off.
Solo founder who wants a company from day one: OPC.
Two or more founders, professional services, no funding plans: LLP.
Startup planning to raise from investors: Private Limited Company, from day one if possible.
Read the detailed comparisons
For a side-by-side breakdown of liability, compliance, and cost, see our Private Limited vs LLP, LLP vs OPC, and Proprietorship vs Private Limited comparison pages.
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