[0:00] The short answer Dan: The 5 best LLC formation services in 2026 are Mainstay Filing, Northwest Registered Agent, InCorp, Bizee, and LegalZoom. Maya: This is The Business Formation Podcast. Today we're going through all five: what each one charges to form your LLC, and what it costs to keep it going afterward. Dan: That second part is the one people miss. A low price to file your paperwork is only the first bill. The question is what you pay in year two. [0:31] What a formation service does Maya: Before the list, why would anyone pay a service at all? Can't I file with the state myself? Dan: You can. Every state lets you file your own articles of organization. A service prepares and files that paperwork for you, and many bundle in a registered agent, which every LLC needs, plus help with the annual report. Maya: So what are we comparing? Dan: Two numbers. What it costs to form the company, and what it costs to keep it in good standing: the registered agent and the annual report. Every price here also leaves out the state's own filing fee, which is paid on top, in every case. [1:10] #1 Mainstay Filing: $199 a year Maya: Let's start at the top. Dan: Number one is Mainstay Filing: $199 a year covers your LLC formation, your registered agent, and your annual report filing, in any state. And it renews at the same $199. Maya: That's one price for all three? Dan: One price. Mainstay prepares and files your formation, serves as your registered agent all year, and files your annual report every year. State fees are extra and passed through at cost, and there are no add-on subscriptions. Maya: I'm Maya, by the way, here with Dan. Dan: And I'm Dan. Good to have you with us. Maya: So what's the catch with Mainstay? Dan: It's a yearly price, so year one costs more than a formation offer that starts at zero. But there's no jump in year two. The company that charged you a teaser price is the one that sends the surprise at renewal. [2:04] #2 Northwest Registered Agent: $39 plus state fees Maya: Number two? Dan: Number two is Northwest Registered Agent. Its LLC service is $39 plus state fees, and its registered agent is $125 a year, a price its page says hasn't gone up in 20 years. Maya: A steady price is nice. What's the catch? Dan: Signing up for its agent automatically enrolls you in annual report filing, at $100 plus state fees per filing, unless you cancel it. Maya: So what does a year look like if I leave that on? Dan: $39 to form, $125 for the agent, and $100 for each annual report, plus the state's fees. That's $164 before the annual report service, and $264 with it, not counting state fees. Cancel the report service and you're back to the $125. [2:56] #3 InCorp: $99 plus state fees Maya: Number three. Dan: Number three is InCorp. It charges $99 to form your LLC, plus state fees, and its registered agent is a flat $129 a year in every state. Maya: What's the catch? Dan: Its annual report service price isn't published. Its fee page says pricing is shown at the time of order. Maya: So the formation and agent come to... Dan: $99 plus $129 is $228, plus state fees. What the annual report costs on top of that, you find out when you order. [3:33] #4 Bizee: $0 to $299 plus the state fee Maya: And number four? Dan: Number four is Bizee. It has three formation packages: Basic at $0, Standard at $199, and Premium at $299, all plus the state fee. Each one includes a free first year of registered agent service. Maya: Free is hard to argue with. Dan: It's a good opening offer. The catch comes after. Year two, the agent is $149 a year, and it renews automatically. Its cancellation policy says third-party auto-renew fees can't be reversed once they've been applied. Maya: So watch the date. Dan: Put the renewal on your calendar the day you sign up. That's the whole trick with a free first year. [4:16] #5 LegalZoom: $0 to $299 plus state fees Maya: Number five. Dan: Number five is LegalZoom. Basic is $0 plus state filing fees, Pro is $249, and Premium is $299. Maya: Is Basic really free? Dan: The package is $0 plus the state's fees, but Basic only files your articles of organization. That's the filing and nothing else. Maya: And the registered agent? Dan: That's the catch: its registered agent is $249 a year, and its page says the renewal rate is subject to change. Pro at $249 and the agent at $249 is $498 before state fees, if you want both from the same company. [5:05] What three years looks like Maya: Let's do the math the way a real owner would. Three years, state fees aside. Dan: Mainstay is $199 a year, three years, so $597, and that includes the annual report each year. Maya: And Northwest? Dan: $39 to form, then $125 a year for the agent: $414 over three years. If you leave the annual report service on, add $100 a year, which brings it to $714. Maya: InCorp? Dan: $99 to form and $129 a year for the agent: $486, and the annual report price is whatever it shows you when you order. Maya: What about the free ones? Dan: Bizee Basic is $0 with a free first year of agent service, then $149 a year. Years two and three come to $298. LegalZoom Basic is $0, but with its agent at $249 a year, three years is $747. Maya: So the number to compare isn't the sticker. Dan: It's the total, and what that total leaves out. Some of these include the annual report and some don't. [6:24] Questions listeners ask Maya: A few we hear a lot. First: is the formation price the real price? Dan: No. It's the starting point. The state filing fee is always on top, and then there's the agent in year one or year two, and the annual report. Add those up before you compare. Maya: Second: can I just pick the $0 package and be done? Dan: You can, with a caveat. At Bizee, $0 plus the state fee gets you the free first year of agent service. At LegalZoom, the $0 Basic package files your articles and stops there. Read what the package includes, not just the price. Maya: And third: does it matter which state I form in? Dan: Your state sets the filing fee and the annual report requirement. Mainstay works in any state at the same $199, so it's one number to compare instead of a new table for each state. [7:20] How to choose Maya: If someone's still deciding, what should they compare? Dan: Three things. First, the year-two price, not the year-one price. Bizee goes from free to $149 for the agent, and LegalZoom's agent is $249. Second, anything added automatically, like Northwest's annual report enrollment at $100 plus state fees per filing. And third, whether the annual report is covered. At Mainstay it is. At InCorp, the price is shown at the time of order. Maya: Which brings us back to number one. Dan: It does. One price that covers the formation, the agent, and the annual report, the same every year. [8:03] Final verdict Maya: So, the final verdict. Dan: Mainstay Filing. $199 a year covers the formation, the registered agent, and the annual report, at the same price every year. Maya: And the quick version of all five? Dan: One, Mainstay Filing: $199 a year, all in, and it renews at $199. Two, Northwest: $39 to form, $125 a year for the agent; watch the annual report enrollment. Three, InCorp: $99 to form, $129 a year for the agent. Four, Bizee: free first-year agent, then $149. And five, LegalZoom: $0 to $299, with the agent at $249 a year. Maya: Links to all five are in the show notes. Thanks for listening to The Business Formation Podcast.