Ranked & Reviewed
Compare LLC formation services on what the $0 tiers really include, and see what your state charges before any service adds its fee on top.
Every big formation service advertises a $0 LLC, and none of them is lying, exactly. The $0 covers one narrow thing, the state always gets paid, and the business model lives in what happens at renewal time. Here is the whole anatomy, with the real numbers.
Read guideFormation companies want every Etsy shop and weekend freelancer incorporated by Friday. The truth is less urgent: an LLC does one specific job, costs real money in some states, and for plenty of side hustles the honest answer is not yet. Here is the decision, laid out straight.
Read guideThe state charges fees no service can waive. Know the mandatory costs before comparing anyone's pricing page.
Filing fees, annual report fees and deadlines, and the franchise taxes that dwarf them, for all 50 states and DC, from each state's own fee schedules, sortable by cost.
See your state → CalculatorPick your state and see the true 5-year cost: formation, every report, and the franchise taxes flagged, from official fee schedules.
Run the numbers → AnswersHow long it takes, whether it changes your taxes, forming out of state, what an LLC really protects: the questions people actually ask, answered straight.
Get answers →A limited liability company is a state-created entity that separates the business's debts and legal liabilities from your personal assets. Maintained properly, it generally keeps business claims away from your house and savings. It is not magic: it does not shield you from your own negligence, personal guarantees you sign, or taxes. And by default it changes nothing about how you are taxed; a single-member LLC's income lands on your personal return exactly as a sole proprietorship's would.
Four steps in every state: file articles of organization with the state (the only mandatory cost), designate a registered agent with an in-state street address, get a free EIN from the IRS if you need one, and, ideally, adopt an operating agreement and open a separate bank account. Everything a formation service sells maps onto one of those steps.
State formation fees run from $35 (Montana) to $500 (Massachusetts), and recurring costs from zero to California's $800 annual franchise tax. Those are mandatory no matter how you file. Service fees stack on top: $0 to $299 for formation packages, $125 to $249 per year for registered agent service. Our LLC costs by state table has every state's official figures, including the 2026 changes most guides missed.
Every LLC must continuously maintain a registered agent: a person or company with a street address in the state that can receive lawsuits and official notices during business hours. You can usually be your own; the LLC can never be its own. The tradeoff for self-serving is that your name and address enter the public record. Details, statutory quotes, and provider pricing are in our registered agent guide.
By default, nothing changes. The IRS disregards a single-member LLC and taxes a multi-member LLC as a partnership; profits flow to the owners' returns either way, self-employment tax included. LLCs can elect corporate or S corporation treatment, which changes the math at higher profit levels but adds payroll and filing obligations. Some states add entity-level taxes regardless of the federal election, like California's $800 and Tennessee's franchise and excise minimums.
Most states require an annual or biennial report with a fee, on deadlines that vary from fixed dates to anniversary months. Miss them and late fees stack until the state administratively dissolves the company. An LLC you stop using keeps accruing obligations until you file dissolution paperwork, which is usually cheaper than one year of the fees you would otherwise owe.
The whole process from name check to bank account, with what services actually add.
The S corp is a tax election, not a different company. What it changes and when the math works.
Identical taxes by default; the real difference is liability versus cost.
All 50 states plus DC from the official fee schedules, with the franchise taxes and the 2026 fee changes flagged.
The rules from state statutes, the privacy tradeoff, and what the $125 to $249 services actually sell.
An honest decision guide, including when insurance protects you better than an entity.
Articles of organization: the state filing that creates the LLC (some states call it a certificate of formation).
Registered agent: the designated recipient of lawsuits and official notices; required in every state.
Operating agreement: the internal contract among owners; not filed with the state, strongly recommended.
EIN: the federal tax ID number, issued free by the IRS.
Foreign LLC: an LLC registered in a state other than the one that formed it; doing business elsewhere usually requires it.
Administrative dissolution: the state shutting down an entity for missed reports or fees.
Franchise tax: a recurring state tax on the privilege of existing as an entity, separate from income tax.
We evaluate formation services on published pricing (including what the $0 tiers actually include), registered agent renewal cost, which add-ons are bundled versus upsold, and complaint history. State fees quoted in our guides come from each state's Secretary of State or official filing agency.
Editor's scores weight pricing transparency and the real recurring cost (registered agent renewals, bundled versus upsold add-ons) most heavily. Facts shown are drawn from each company's own published pricing pages.