# Alliance vs Regus vs Davinci: Virtual Office 2026

> Virtual offices give your LLC a commercial address — but for non-resident founders, the real question is whether the address survives bank KYC.

- Canonical: https://www.globalsolo.global/blog/alliance-vs-regus-vs-davinci-virtual-office-non-resident-llc-2026
- Published: 2026-03-20 · Last updated: 2026-08-04
- Author: Jett Fu
- Topics: virtual office, llc formation, non-resident llc, business address, cmra, banking kyc
- Affiliate disclosure: some links are affiliate links — https://www.globalsolo.global/about/how-we-make-money

---

You form your LLC in Wyoming. You use a [registered agent](/blog/do-you-need-registered-agent-non-resident-llc) for the filing address. The state accepts it. The IRS accepts it for your EIN. Then you apply for a Mercury account and get rejected because your address is flagged as a commercial mail receiving agency (CMRA) in the USPS ZIP+4 database.

I went through this exact sequence with one of my US entities. The registered agent address sailed through formation. Banking was a different story.

A virtual office adds a staffed commercial location, phone number, and meeting rooms on top of a mailing address. That sounds like it should fix the banking problem. It usually doesn't.

Alliance Virtual Offices, Regus, and Davinci are the three largest providers. Here is how they compare for non-resident LLC founders, and where all three hit the same wall.

## How do Alliance, Regus, and Davinci compare on price and features?

| Feature | Alliance Virtual Offices | Regus / IWG | Davinci Virtual |
|---------|------------------------|-------------|-----------------|
| **Base price (address only)** | From $49/mo | From ~$69/mo (estimated) | From ~$50/mo |
| **Full bundle (address + phone)** | ~$195/mo | ~$179/mo (estimated) | ~$199/mo |
| **Setup fee** | $0 | $99 | $150-200 |
| **Minimum contract** | Month-to-month | 6 months | 6 months |
| **US locations** | 1,400+ | 4,000+ | 1,500-2,000+ |
| **Live receptionist** | From $125/mo (50 min) | Add-on, pricing hidden | From $129/mo (50 min) |
| **Meeting rooms** | Up to 16 hrs/mo (Platinum Plus) | 5 days/mo (VO Plus tier) | Add-on, hourly rate |
| **Mail forwarding** | From $10/mo + postage | Included (weekly/monthly) | Additional fee |
| **Mail scanning** | Not included; add-on where the centre offers it | Available (scan-to-email) | Same-day at some locations |
| **Registered agent** | No | No | Available, not included ($169/yr via Legalinc) |
| **Owns buildings** | No (partner model) | Yes | No (partner model) |
| **Provides lease document** | No (says so in its FAQ) | Not stated on its site | Not stated on its site |
| **Trustpilot** | 4.2 stars | 3.9 stars | 4.5 stars |

## What does Alliance Virtual Offices include?

Alliance operates a partner-center model: the company does not own the buildings. Local operators run the centers, and Alliance aggregates them into a network of 1,400+ locations. The upside is no setup fee, no long-term contract, and the lowest starting price of the three.

**Pricing tiers:**

| Plan | Price | What's Included |
|------|-------|-----------------|
| **Platinum** (address only) | From $49/mo (varies by city) | Business address, mail receipt and storage, USPS Form 1583 processing |
| **Platinum Plus** (address + workspace) | Higher tier (city-dependent) | Everything in Platinum + up to 16 hrs/mo meeting room or private office |
| **Live Receptionist 50** | $125/mo add-on | 50 min live answering, dedicated business number, voicemail, call forwarding |
| **Live Receptionist 100** | $175/mo add-on | 100 min live answering + all features above |
| **Mail forwarding** | From $10/mo + postage | Daily, weekly, bi-weekly, or monthly options |

City-specific pricing varies: NYC addresses start at $48/mo, Los Angeles at $60/mo, San Francisco at $79/mo. Secondary markets are cheaper.

**For non-resident founders:** No US SSN required. Alliance offers an online digital notary during checkout for USPS Form 1583 (required for all CMRA addresses), which removes the in-person notarization barrier that blocks many international applicants.

**Limitations:** No registered agent service, so formation and compliance are separate purchases. Annual contracts save 15-25% but come with early termination fees. The partner model means service quality varies wildly by location. Mail scanning is not part of either plan — Alliance's FAQ says so plainly: "Our Virtual Office plans do not include mail scanning. This service may be available to add, depending on your center." For a founder who is not in the country and cannot collect mail in person, that is not a missing convenience; it is the difference between an address that works and one that does not, and the add-on price is not published.

## What does Regus / IWG include?

Regus owns its buildings. That is genuinely different from Alliance and Davinci, and it shows in the address quality. The trade-off: opaque pricing and add-on costs that stack up fast. Not, as this article previously stated, a six-month minimum. Regus's own FAQ says "Most plans start from one month", with 30 days' notice to cancel, and adds that contract-duration requirements for company registration vary by jurisdiction. That correction cuts against us: Regus is the one of the three that does **not** lock you in, and it is the one of the three we are not an affiliate of.

Regus does not publish pricing. You have to contact sales for a quote, and prices vary by building, city, and demand. Third-party sources estimate ~$69/mo for address-only and ~$179/mo for full virtual office (address + phone), with a $99 setup fee.

**What's included (Virtual Office tier):**
- Business address at a Regus-branded commercial building
- Mail handling: signed-for, stored, forwarding (weekly or monthly)
- Mail scan-to-email (digital delivery)
- Discounted meeting room and coworking access across the global network
- Community networking events

**What costs extra:**
- Live call answering (available in select markets, pricing not published)
- Meeting room hours beyond included allocation
- Private office days (Virtual Office Plus tier adds 5 days/mo)

**For non-resident founders:** No US SSN required, and Regus actively markets to international businesses. But the brand recognition cuts both ways. Bank compliance teams know exactly what a Regus address means.

**Limitations:** No registered agent service. No public pricing makes comparison hard before you commit — every route on the Regus site ends at "Contact sales", and there are four tiers (Business Address, Virtual Office, Virtual Office Plus, Call Answering) with no figure attached to any of them. Mail scanning is optional on the Virtual Office tier and absent from Business Address, priced like everything else: on request.

## What does Davinci Virtual Office Solutions include?

Davinci is the only one of the three that offers registered agent service at all, through a partnership with Legalinc. It is **not bundled** with the virtual office: Davinci prices it separately at $169 a year, on its own incorporation page, alongside two formation packages ($199 Essentials, $419 Elite — the Elite tier is the one that folds the agent fee in). If you want address, formation and compliance through a single vendor, Davinci is the only one here that can sell you all three — as three line items.

Like Alliance, Davinci runs on a partner-center model. The company is part of The Instant Group, which also operates Instant Offices and Coworker.

**Pricing tiers:**

| Plan | Price | What's Included |
|------|-------|-----------------|
| **Virtual Office (address only)** | From ~$50/mo (varies by city) | Business address, mail receipt, forwarding |
| **Business 50 (receptionist)** | $129/mo add-on | 50 min live answering, local/toll-free number, call forwarding, voicemail |
| **Business 100** | $239/mo add-on | 100 min live answering + all features above |
| **Premium 50** | $249/mo add-on | 50 min + appointment scheduling, outbound calling, order processing |
| **Setup fee** | $150-200 one-time | Varies by source |

Location-specific pricing examples: Fashion District DTLA $73/mo, Hollywood $94/mo, El Segundo (LAX area) $164/mo.

Davinci's own words: "Davinci has partnered with Legalinc to provide you with registered agent and incorporation services nationwide." Note *nationwide*. That is Davinci's term, and it is not the same claim as an itemised fifty states. Budget the agent as a recurring $169/year on top of the address, not as something the address includes. For a non-resident founder who wants one vendor for address + LLC + registered agent, Davinci is the only one of these three that can do it, and the saving is a single relationship rather than a lower bill.

Same-day mail scanning at participating locations (documents digitized within one hour). Other add-ons include lobby directory listing, lobby greeter service, and meeting catering.

**Limitations:** The $150-200 setup fee and 6-month minimum make the entry cost higher than Alliance. Meeting rooms are add-on only (not included in any plan). After the initial 6-month term, the contract converts to month-to-month.

## Why does no virtual office solve the banking problem?

### Alliance disclaims third-party acceptance in its own contract

One of the three says this out loud, in the document you actually agree to. Alliance's Terms of Service, section 6:

> The use of a Virtual Office address with Alliance is intended for general business purposes. However, we do not guarantee its acceptance by third parties, including but not limited to banks, financial institutions, and online platforms such as Google, which may have their own policies restricting the use of virtual office addresses. Clients are responsible for verifying address eligibility with any third party before use.

Read that against the plan pages, which list "Use for opening a bank account" as a feature of both tiers. The marketing page and the binding terms are describing the same product to two different audiences, and when they disagree the terms are the half you are held to.

This is not a reason to avoid Alliance specifically. It is the honest version of what every provider in this category is selling, and Alliance is the one that wrote it down. Regus and Davinci publish no equivalent sentence, which is an absence of a disclaimer rather than a promise. The same terms also carry a six-month initial term that the pricing pages do not mention.

Here is the part that virtual office marketing pages leave out: all three providers register as Commercial Mail Receiving Agencies (CMRAs) with USPS — Alliance confirms this directly, requiring you to complete and notarize [CMRA Form 1583](https://www.alliancevirtualoffices.com/CMRA_form.pdf) "so that Alliance and our center partners can receive mail on your behalf." Their addresses are flagged in the ZIP+4 database. Mercury, Relay, and Stripe check that database during KYC.

None of the three advertises a lease agreement or a utility bill in your business name. Alliance goes further and answers the question directly in its FAQ:

> No. Virtual Offices are not traditional office leases.
>
> Instead, you receive documentation that confirms your authorization to use the address and outlines the services included with your plan. This establishes your business presence without creating a landlord-tenant relationship or long-term real estate commitment.

That last clause is the one to read twice. A landlord-tenant relationship is precisely what a bank or a Secretary of State is asking you to evidence when it asks for a lease, so the document Alliance does issue is answering a different question from the one being asked. Regus and Davinci say nothing either way, which is silence rather than a denial. Neither advertises a lease, and Regus owns its buildings, so it is the only one of the three with no structural reason it could not issue one.

Any entity receiving mail on behalf of third parties must register as a CMRA with USPS ([DMM Section 508.1.8](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/508.htm)). Registration flags the address in a national database. Banks, payment processors, and marketplace platforms query it during KYC.

**What each platform rejects:**

| Platform | Address Policy (2026) |
|----------|---------------------------|
| **Mercury** | Physical address field cannot be PO box, virtual address, CMRA, mail center, or registered agent address |
| **Relay** | No longer accepts non-US addresses or registered agent addresses for LLCs |
| **Stripe (Issuing/Financial)** | No registered agent, mailbox, or virtual address services. Addresses validated against CMRA databases |
| **Wise Business** | Less strict — some non-resident founders report success |

**What banks actually accept:** government ID, signed lease, utility bill (within 90 days), bank statement (within 90 days), proof of coworking occupancy (signed lease or invoice). This aligns with [FinCEN Customer Due Diligence requirements](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/05/11/2016-10567/customer-due-diligence-requirements-for-financial-institutions). The key word is *lease*.

None of the three publishes a lease agreement as part of its virtual office product. Alliance and Davinci do not control their buildings, which makes it structurally hard for them to issue one. Regus does own its buildings, so the question is open — we could not retrieve an answer either way from Regus, and we are not going to assert one. If a lease document from Regus is what your bank needs, ask Regus in writing before you pay a setup fee.

The reason to be careful here: "this vendor does not offer X" is exactly the kind of claim that is easy to write, impossible for a reader to check, and that no vendor will ever come back to correct. Two of the three cells above used to say a flat "No" on our own authority. They now say what we actually know.

## What address strategies actually work for non-resident banking?

The working approaches in 2026 all involve layered addresses: one for LLC registration and mail, another with lease documentation for banking KYC. No single service covers both.

**Strategy 1: Coworking lease.** A WeWork, Industrious, or local coworking membership at $200-400/mo gives you a real lease and sometimes a utility bill. Whether the address is CMRA-flagged depends on the specific location.

**Strategy 2: Northwest Registered Agent virtual office.** [Northwest publishes "Starting at $29 Per Month"](https://www.northwestregisteredagent.com/virtual-office) for a "Real month-to-month office lease," a unique suite number in "a real commercial building," same-day digital mail scanning, physical forwarding for an additional fee, and a phone line — across "21 states and counting." The lease document is the differentiator, and it is the cheapest real one we have found. Northwest also handles registered agent in all 50 states.

What it does **not** give you is a utility bill, and Northwest says the whole category cannot: "Amazon changed their Terms of Service to start a business account and now requires additional documentation such as utility bills and more, which registered agents cannot provide."

**Strategy 2b: VirtualPostMail TruLease, if a utility bill in your company's name is the actual requirement.** This is the only route here that produces one. It is a genuinely leased office suite, not a mailbox — [$350/mo billed annually ($4,200 prepaid) or $600/mo monthly with a $1,200 deposit and proof of funds covering 12 months' rent](https://www.virtualpostmail.com/trulease/pricing/) — and it is available in **CA, DE and FL only**. The utility bill is a paid add-on installed under your own company name (1–2 weeks, $200 processing fee, waived on the annual plan); the free one that comes with the lease is in the landlord's name, and VPM says it "generally won't work to satisfy bank requirements." VPM's own pricing page also disclaims any assurance about how the office will be received — its list of TruLease uses carries an explicit disclaimer that outcomes are not promised.

The honest ordering: try Northwest at $348/yr first. TruLease costs twelve times as much and only makes sense if you have been rejected specifically for want of a utility bill.

**Strategy 3: Layer your addresses by purpose.** This is what I do across my own entities:
- **IRS filings (EIN, [Form 5472](/blog/what-happens-if-you-miss-form-5472-non-resident-llc)):** Registered agent or virtual office address works fine
- **State LLC registration:** Same — virtual office or registered agent
- **Bank KYC:** You need something with a lease (coworking, Northwest RA, or a residential address)
- **Mail handling:** Virtual office or virtual mailbox for scanning and forwarding

See the [virtual mailbox comparison](/blog/anytime-mailbox-vs-ipostal1-vs-traveling-mailbox-virtual-mailbox-comparison-2026) for mail handling and the [banking comparison](/blog/mercury-vs-wise-vs-relay-best-bank-2026) for account options.

## How do the annual costs compare?

| Provider | Year 1 Cost (address only) | Year 2+ Cost | Contract | Lease Included? |
|----------|---------------------------|--------------|----------|-----------------|
| **Alliance** | ~$588 (no setup) | ~$588 | Month-to-month | Not stated |
| **Regus** | ~$927 ($69/mo × 12 + $99 setup, third-party estimate) | ~$828 | From 1 month (per Regus FAQ) | Not stated |
| **Davinci** | ~$750-800 ($50/mo × 12 + setup) | ~$600 | 6-month initial | Not stated |
| **Northwest RA** | ~$348 ($29/mo × 12) | ~$348 | Month-to-month | **Yes — published** |
| **VPM TruLease** | $4,200 ($350/mo prepaid annually) | $4,200 | 1 year prepaid | **Yes — plus utility bill add-on** |
| **Opus** | ~$1,288 ($99/mo × 12 + $100 setup) | ~$1,188 | 3-month minimum | Not stated |

If banking KYC is your primary concern, the virtual office + coworking lease approach runs $588-828/yr plus $2,400-4,800/yr for the coworking space. Northwest at $348/yr includes the lease. That is not a marginal difference.

```service-card
northwest
doola
firstbase
```


## Which virtual office fits which type of non-resident founder?

**Alliance** is for founders who want a US address fast with no commitment and plan to solve banking KYC separately. You already have a registered agent. You want to test an address before locking in.

**Regus** makes sense when you need meeting rooms across multiple cities or a recognizable brand for client-facing purposes. You are taking in-person meetings. You can absorb the premium.

**Davinci** is the one-vendor play: address, registered agent, and incorporation through a single relationship, priced as three separate subscriptions rather than a bundle. Good if you are forming a new LLC and want fewer moving parts.

**Northwest RA** is the pick when banking KYC is the whole point. It includes a lease document that Mercury, Relay, and Stripe will accept, at the lowest total cost of any option here.

## What this comparison does not address

This article covers virtual office providers for LLC registration and business address purposes. It does not cover:

- **Tax implications** of having a business address in a specific state — see the [state LLC comparison](/blog/best-state-for-llc-non-resident-2026)
- **Registered agent selection** beyond Davinci's paid add-on. See the [registered agent comparison](/blog/northwest-vs-zenbusiness-vs-bizee-registered-agent-comparison-2026)
- **Virtual mailbox services** for mail scanning and forwarding without phone or meeting rooms — see the [virtual mailbox comparison](/blog/anytime-mailbox-vs-ipostal1-vs-traveling-mailbox-virtual-mailbox-comparison-2026)
- **Banking account selection** — see the [Mercury vs Wise vs Relay comparison](/blog/mercury-vs-wise-vs-relay-best-bank-2026)
- **LLC formation process** — see the [formation guide](/blog/how-to-form-us-llc-non-resident-2026)

---

## FAQ

### What is the difference between a virtual office and a virtual mailbox?

A virtual mailbox ($10-50/mo) gives you mail scanning, forwarding, and a mailing address. A virtual office ($49-300/mo) adds a staffed commercial address, phone number with live receptionist, and meeting room access. Both register as CMRAs with USPS. Both get flagged in the ZIP+4 database. The real difference is phone service and meeting rooms, not banking compatibility.

### Can I use a virtual office address to open a Mercury account?

Probably not. Mercury requires a physical address that is not a PO box, virtual address, CMRA, mail center, or registered agent address. All three providers here are CMRA-registered. Some founders report success using a virtual office as the legal address while providing a separate physical address for the "where does your team work" field, but this is inconsistent.

### Do I need a US SSN to get a virtual office?

No. All three accept non-US applicants without an SSN. You will need [USPS Form 1583](https://about.usps.com/forms/ps1583.pdf) with two forms of government-issued ID. Alliance handles notarization online during checkout. For Davinci and Regus, check with the specific location whether remote notarization is available.

### What is CMRA and why does it matter for banking?

CMRA stands for Commercial Mail Receiving Agency. Per the [USPS Domestic Mail Manual](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/508.htm), any business receiving mail on behalf of third parties (virtual mailboxes, virtual offices, UPS Stores, FedEx Office) must register as a CMRA. Registration flags the address in the national ZIP+4 database. Banks, Stripe, and marketplace platforms like Amazon query this database during identity verification. The flag is on the address, not on your business.

### Which virtual office provider includes registered agent service?

Only Davinci offers registered agent service alongside a virtual office, through its Legalinc partnership, but as a separate $169/year subscription rather than as part of the virtual office package. Alliance and Regus do not. Northwest Registered Agent comes at it from the other direction: primarily a registered agent that also offers virtual office service ($29/mo) with a lease document included.

## Key Takeaways

- All three providers are CMRA-registered. Their addresses are flagged in the USPS ZIP+4 database that banks check during KYC.
- Alliance is the only one with true month-to-month terms and no setup fee (from $49/mo). Regus and Davinci both lock you in for 6 months.
- Davinci is the only one that sells registered agent service alongside a virtual office (via Legalinc, $169/year, billed separately from the address), making it the single-vendor formation + address option.
- None of the three advertises a lease agreement or utility bill. Alliance answers it outright ("No. Virtual Offices are not traditional office leases") and says what you get instead creates no landlord-tenant relationship. Mercury, Relay and Stripe all want those documents.
- Northwest Registered Agent ($29/mo, 21 states) publishes a "real month-to-month office lease" and costs less than any option here, though with fewer locations and no meeting rooms.
- If the specific blocker is a utility bill in your company's name, no registered agent can supply one — Northwest says so plainly. VirtualPostMail's TruLease can, as a paid add-on on a $4,200/yr prepaid office lease in CA, DE or FL.

## Related Reading

- [Virtual Mailbox Comparison (2026)](/blog/anytime-mailbox-vs-ipostal1-vs-traveling-mailbox-virtual-mailbox-comparison-2026) — mail scanning and forwarding without the phone or meeting rooms
- [Mercury vs Wise vs Relay (2026)](/blog/mercury-vs-wise-vs-relay-best-bank-2026) — which banks non-resident LLC founders can actually open
- [Best State for LLC (2026)](/blog/best-state-for-llc-non-resident-2026) — [Wyoming vs Delaware](/blog/delaware-vs-wyoming-llc-non-resident-comparison-2026) vs New Mexico costs
- [Registered Agent Comparison (2026)](/blog/northwest-vs-zenbusiness-vs-bizee-registered-agent-comparison-2026) — what Davinci's $169/yr add-on is up against
- [Stripe Atlas vs Firstbase vs Doola (2026)](/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-firstbase-vs-doola-pricing-comparison-2026) — formation services with banking integration
- [How to Form a US LLC as a Non-Resident (2026)](/blog/how-to-form-us-llc-non-resident-2026) — step-by-step formation process
- [Business Account Freeze Diagnostic](/blog/business-account-frozen-structural-diagnostic) — single-bank dependency risk
- [When Your Entity Map Doesn't Match Your Income Map](/blog/when-your-entity-map-doesnt-match-your-income-map) — how address, entity, and banking connect

## References

- [USPS Domestic Mail Manual, Section 508.1.8](https://pe.usps.com/text/dmm300/508.htm) — CMRA registration requirements and Form 1583 obligations
- [Mercury: Supported Documents for Address Verification](https://mercury.com/partner/global-solo) — address verification requirements for business accounts
- [FinCEN Customer Due Diligence Final Rule (81 FR 29397)](https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/05/11/2016-10567/customer-due-diligence-requirements-for-financial-institutions) — [beneficial ownership](/blog/boi-filing-non-resident-llc-do-you-need-to-file) and address verification requirements
- [31 C.F.R. § 103.121 (USA PATRIOT Act)](https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-31/subtitle-B/chapter-X/part-1020/subpart-B/section-1020.220) — bank customer identification program requirements
- [Alliance Virtual Offices](https://www.alliancevirtualoffices.com) — pricing, plans, and location network
- [Davinci Virtual Office Solutions](https://www.davincivirtual.com) — pricing, receptionist plans, and Legalinc partnership
- [Regus / IWG](https://www.regus.com) — global virtual office and coworking network

[Compare services interactively →](/tools/compare)

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---

## Disclosure

*Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC-insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.