A PO box gives you a numbered mailbox for collecting post. A virtual office gives you a real street address you can use as your business and registered office address, with your mail handled for you.
For a UK company, that difference is decisive. Only a virtual office can be your registered office, so the choice is rarely as close as it first looks.
This guide compares the two on cost, privacy and compliance, and explains when a PO box is still the right call.
What is the difference between a PO box and a virtual office?
A PO box is a locked mailbox at a Royal Mail sorting office, identified by a number rather than a normal address. You collect your post from it or have it redirected.
A virtual office is a real commercial address at an actual building. Staff receive and store your post, forward it on if you ask, and on the fuller plans answer your phone in your company name.
| PO box | Virtual office | |
|---|---|---|
| The address | A mailbox number at a sorting office | A real street address at a staffed building |
| Use for Companies House | Not on its own | Yes, fully compliant |
| Mail handling | You collect or redirect | Received, stored, forwarded for you |
| Call answering | No | Available on fuller plans |
| Business image | Reads as a PO box | Reads as a real office |
Can you use a PO box as a registered office address?
No, not on its own. Since the appropriate address rules took effect in March 2024, every UK company’s registered office must be an address where a document delivered there would come to someone’s attention and where delivery can be acknowledged.
A PO box does not satisfy that on its own. You can read the current requirements on the GOV.UK registered office guidance.
A virtual office does satisfy it, because it is a real address with people who sign for and handle your post. That is the single biggest reason most companies pick a virtual office over a PO box.
Which is cheaper, a PO box or a virtual office?
The headline prices are closer than people expect. A basic PO box and a basic virtual address both sit in roughly the same monthly range.
The difference is what you get for it. A PO box only collects post, while a virtual office address works for your website, your invoices, your clients and Companies House.
Our virtual office packages start at £39 a month, address included, with mail handling and no long-term contract.
Privacy and professional image
Both options keep your home address off your post. Only the virtual office keeps it off the public record too.
Because you cannot register a company at a PO box, using one often means your home address still ends up on the Companies House register. A virtual office lets you keep it private everywhere.
There is also the impression each makes. A street address at a real building reads as an established business; a PO box number does not.
When is a PO box the right choice?
A PO box still has its place. If you only need a private, secure spot to collect personal or low-volume post, and you have no need to register a company or look like a larger business, a PO box can be enough and simple to run.
For anything client-facing or company-related, a virtual office does the job a PO box cannot. If you are still weighing up the basics, our guide to what a virtual office is covers how the service works.
Which should you choose?
Choose a PO box if you want nothing more than a private place to receive post.
Choose a virtual office if you want a credible business address you can register a company at, put in front of clients, and have managed for you. For most businesses, that is the one worth paying for.
You can see plans, pricing and the Ascot address on our virtual offices page.