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Prices and details checked in October 2026. Formation prices move with promotions, so fees are rounded and a range is given wherever a plan has options.
Many founders abroad treat an LLC formation service as a one-off purchase, paid at checkout and then forgotten. Over 24 months, all five providers priced here bill again, through an agent renewal, a subscription or a state tax.
Bizee, ZenBusiness, Doola, Firstbase and Stripe Atlas add up to between $309 and $1,400 over two full years for a founder living outside the US. Every fee was read on the provider’s pricing page or on the state’s own schedule.
Contents
What founders abroad report after the first year
On Trustpilot, where Doola averages 4.4 out of 5 from more than 2,000 reviews, founders abroad mostly write about speed. A founder in the Netherlands wrote in September 2026 that the Wyoming LLC, the EIN and a Wise Business account took under 20 hours.
The complaint that recurs is the EIN queue. A customer in Spain says a forgotten ITIN stretched the wait to about six weeks instead of one day. Ask for the EIN timeline in writing before you pay, and keep the thread.
Bizee shows 4.8 out of 5 from more than 26,000 reviews. In October 2026, a US owner reported state approval in about a week while the site kept offering registered agent add-ons. The owner declined them all, and the LLC was approved anyway.
ZenBusiness holds 4.8 from more than 33,000 reviews. One US customer who phoned in late October 2026 liked reaching a person right away and being walked through the whole process.
Firstbase scores 4.3 across more than 1,000 reviews. A Danish founder who has run a US company through it since 2021 called the experience amazing this October.
The recurring complaint targets the tax team, and a customer in the UAE counted a second no-show in late October 2026. Book your tax slot weeks before the deadline.
What those stories mean for your choice
Judge a provider on its second-year bill and on the paperwork it leaves to you.
The registered agent renewal is the line that moves. Most packages include only the first year; after that, the renewal runs from $100 to $299 a year among the five providers we priced.
The EIN is free at the source. “You never have to pay a fee for an EIN,” says the IRS page on getting an EIN. If your principal place of business is outside the US, the online tool is closed to you, so you apply by phone, fax or mail.
The tax return is the cost founders forget. The IRS instructions for Form 5472 set the yearly duty: an LLC wholly owned by one foreign person attaches that form to a pro forma Form 1120. Missing it triggers a $25,000 penalty, and no entry plan priced here covers that return.
The state sets the floor. Wyoming charges a $100 filing fee, then an annual report license tax of at least $60, according to its official fee schedule. Delaware asks $400 a year from every LLC, due by June 1.
The 24-month bill of each LLC formation service
The totals assume an LLC formed in November 2026. They add two years of provider fees, the filing fee and every annual state tax due in the period. Four providers file in Wyoming; Stripe Atlas forms in Delaware only. All amounts are in US dollars, as published.
| Provider and plan | State | Paid at formation | Registered agent | EIN | Later fees in the 24 months | Total over 24 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bizee Basic | Wyoming | $0 + $100 state fee | Free first year, then $149/year | Not listed in the packages; free from the IRS | $149 agent + $60 state tax | $309 |
| ZenBusiness Starter + agent + EIN | Wyoming | $0 + $199 agent + $99 EIN + $100 state fee | $199/year, not in any package | $99 add-on | $199 agent + $60 state tax | $657 |
| Doola Starter | Wyoming | $297/year + $100 state fee | Included | Included | $297 plan + $60 state tax | $754 |
| Firstbase Start + Agent | Wyoming | $99 + $299/year + $100 state fee | $299/year, annual report filing included | Expedited setup included | $299 agent + $60 state tax | $857 |
| Stripe Atlas | Delaware | $500, state fees included | First year included, then $100/year | Included | $100 agent + two $400 state taxes (June 2027 and June 2028) | $1,400 |
Take Bizee. The $0 package plus Wyoming’s $100 filing makes year one cost $100. Year two adds the $149 agent renewal and the $60 license tax, so $309 in all.
Atlas’s $500 already covers Delaware’s filing and the first agent year. What pushes it to the top is the state. Delaware’s $400 tax falls due each June 1, so a company formed in November 2026 pays it twice.
The five providers, one by one
Bizee, the cheapest two years
The Bizee pricing page lists three one-time packages: Basic at $0, Standard at $199 and Premium at $299, each plus the state fee. Every package comes with one free year of registered agent service.
From the second year, the standalone agent service costs $149 a year, according to Bizee’s registered agent page. The pricing page does not list the EIN among package items.
ZenBusiness, cheap to start, priced by the add-on
On the ZenBusiness LLC page, Starter costs $0 plus state fees and does not renew. The registered agent is never in a package: it is billed separately at $199 a year. The EIN is a $99 add-on to Starter, while Pro, at $199 a year, includes it.
Starter’s compliance service is free for the first year, then renews at $199 a year if you keep it; our total leaves it out. Keep it and the 24-month bill rises to $856.
Doola, one subscription for everything
Doola sells an annual plan rather than a one-time package. Starter costs $297 a year plus state fees, and covers formation, the EIN, an operating agreement, the registered agent and a virtual mailing address, per the Doola pricing page.
State fees are paid to the state through Doola, on top of the plan. The Tax and Compliance plan at $1,999 a year adds federal and state tax filings.
Firstbase, with tax filing on the menu
The Firstbase pricing page shows Start at $99 one-time, crossed out from $399, for Delaware or Wyoming, with expedited EIN setup. The Agent plan adds $299 per state per year. It bundles the registered agent with the annual report and franchise tax filings, and the page says agent service is required to incorporate.
For the tax return, Firstbase lists $899 a year for non-US owned single-member LLCs. That is the category facing the Form 5472 duty, priced at less than half of Doola’s tax plan.
Stripe Atlas, for a Delaware company
Stripe Atlas charges a one-time $500 that includes government fees and the first year of registered agent service. It forms in Delaware only, obtains the EIN and offers an LLC on its start form. The agent then renews automatically at $100 a year.
The frequent mistake: buying the cheapest first year
A designer in Manila who picks Firstbase’s $99 entry over Doola’s $297 plan may think she saved money. Once the required agent plan is counted, her two-year bill reaches $857 against $754.
How we compared
Each fee here was read on the provider’s own pricing page in October 2026 and set beside Wyoming’s fee schedule, Delaware’s tax instructions and two IRS pages. Ratings come from Trustpilot, read the same day.
Northwest Registered Agent is missing because its site blocked automated access on the day of checking, so none of its fees could be read.
Before you buy
Ask for the registered agent renewal price in writing before checkout, and keep the IRS letter confirming your EIN as a PDF of the paper original.
Questions and answers
Which LLC formation service is cheapest over two years?
On the plans we priced, Bizee Basic in Wyoming, at $309 with state fees. You obtain the EIN yourself, free from the IRS.
Can I form a US LLC without an SSN?
Yes. The IRS online tool needs an SSN or ITIN, but applicants whose business is based outside the US request the EIN by phone, fax or mail, free of charge.
Does a formation package include Form 5472?
Not at the entry level. Firstbase sells that filing for non-US owned single-member LLCs, and Doola includes tax filings from its Tax and Compliance plan.
Our verdict
For the best LLC formation service on price, take Bizee and handle the EIN yourself. If you would rather pay one yearly bill, Doola Starter costs more but covers the EIN and agent; the annual state report is still yours to file.
Founders who want the tax return handled by the same team should look at Firstbase. Keep Stripe Atlas for founders set on Delaware. Have a CPA used to foreign-owned LLCs confirm the Form 5472 filing before your first tax year closes.
Still torn between Wyoming and Delaware? Picking the best state to form an LLC means weighing the annual tax against owner privacy. Once the company is live, payments are the next hurdle, and a Stripe account rejected on day one has a known fix. For sales that should reach your books without copy-paste, Zapier vs Make vs n8n shows what each automation costs per task.
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At Biz Deals Corner, we check prices and official statuses at the source, never in competing comparison sites. We detail what is billed outside the plan, we flag solutions wrongly presented as certified, and we give no personalized tax, legal or financial advice: for that, consult a qualified professional. Our affiliate policy.
