There are a handful of big players in business formation, plus dozens of smaller services. We won't trash-talk competitors by name, but here's an honest framework for comparing services.

Many services advertise "$0 LLC formation" — the catch is that the $0 tier doesn't include things you'll actually need (EIN, Operating Agreement, BOI report, Registered Agent service). The "real" cost shows up when you click through to checkout.

Add up the total out-of-pocket for the package you'd actually buy: - Formation service fee - State filing fee (this is constant across services — set by the state) - EIN application - Operating Agreement - BOI report - 1 year of Registered Agent - Any required add-ons

Then compare across services. Our Premium tier sits in the middle of the market — not the cheapest, not the most expensive.

The RA service is a recurring expense, often the biggest one over 3-5 years. Watch for:

Our RA: $199/year, every year, including the first year. Same price renewal forever (until inflation forces a price update, which we always notify in advance).

Try the chat before you buy. Ask a question: - How fast was the response? - Was it a human or a bot? - Did they actually answer or give a runaround? - Did they try to upsell you immediately?

Our chat: - Hours: M-F 9am-6pm ET (real humans, no AI bots in the loop) - First response under 5 minutes during hours - No upsell pressure — we answer the question you asked

The fine print matters. Some companies: - Don't refund the service fee under any circumstance - Charge "restocking fees" for refunds - Make you wait 60-90 days for refunds - Refuse refunds if you've already received the state's filing confirmation

Ours (full text in Refund policy): - Full refund if we haven't started work - Prorated if we have - State fees not refundable (state's policy, not ours) - Refunds processed the same day, hit your card in 5-10 business days

Some companies include things that look free but aren't: - "Free business name search" — every state lets you do this free yourself - "Free 1-hour business consultation" — usually a sales call - "Free LLC name reservation" — only valuable if you're not ready to file immediately - "Free trademark search" — usually a USPTO TESS lookup, which is free

Real bundles to compare: - EIN service (actual government interaction, real value) - Operating Agreement (drafting + customization) - BOI report (FinCEN filing, real value especially for new LLCs) - Registered Agent service (real value, $100-200/year market price) - Annual report filing (if included)

Some services don't offer: - Mail scanning on RA service (sends paper to your address only) - Customer portal with documents - Compliance reminders - Multi-business management - A team you can talk to

Make sure the features you'd actually use are present.

Sites like SiteJabber, Trustpilot, and BBB have user reviews — but many "review aggregator" sites are paid affiliates and rank based on referral fees, not quality.

Better sources: - Reddit threads (r/Entrepreneur, r/smallbusiness) — search "[company name] review" - Google reviews with photos and detail (less likely to be fake) - LinkedIn recommendations from real users - Specific complaint patterns (e.g., "they auto-charged after I cancelled") tell you more than star ratings

DIY (filing directly with the state) is the cheapest option. You pay only the state's filing fee. Trade-offs:

Our Basic tier costs about as much as DIY + a Registered Agent service from a different provider, but consolidates the work.

The big brand-name services are recognizable because of TV advertising. The cost of that advertising is built into their prices. You're paying ~$200-$400 more per LLC for the brand reassurance.

Trade-offs: - ✅ Recognizable name (some people prefer this) - ✅ Larger company (potentially more stable) - ❌ Higher cost - ❌ Often slower support (larger queue) - ❌ More upsells in checkout flow - ❌ Harder to cancel (more friction in the cancel flow)

We're an independent company priced 30-50% below the big brand names for equivalent service. Customers who care about the price-quality balance tend to prefer us. Customers who want "the safety of going with the big name" don't.

Compare strictly on the bare-minimum tier from each: - Their formation service fee (excluding all add-ons) - State filing fee (same across all providers) - 1 year of Registered Agent (sometimes excluded from cheapest tier)

We're competitive but not the absolute cheapest at the basic tier. If you only need basic formation, you can find $20-50 cheaper. The trade-off: those cheapest tiers usually exclude mail scanning, customer portal, support, etc.

We don't do taxes or legal advice (see Are you a law firm?). We do refer to partner CPAs and attorneys.

A few competitors bundle their formation service with a "business owner's package" that includes attorney consultations and tax prep. Those are usually $500-$2000/year subscriptions. Worth it if you'd use all the services; overkill for most solo founders.

We prefer the unbundled approach: get the best service in each category from specialists, rather than mediocre across the board.

We're not the right fit if: - You're forming a C-Corp seeking VC funding — get a lawyer + use Carta/Pulley for cap table - You're a multi-state operation with complex tax planning — get a CPA + lawyer from day 1 - You're operating in a heavily regulated industry (cannabis, banking, healthcare) — specialist providers handle these - You want phone-only support (we offer phone but lean chat/email) - You're outside the US AND your home country requires very specific structuring (we'll help, but a local advisor is better)

For 90% of small businesses (solo founder or 2-3 person team, US-based, normal industry), we're a good fit.

Things to check on any business-formation service: 1. ✅ Are they registered as a business in their stated home state? (Check the state's Secretary of State website) 2. ✅ Do they have SSL on their site? (https://, not http://) 3. ✅ Do they have a physical address (not just a PO box)? 4. ✅ Do they have real customer service contacts (not just a "support form")? 5. ✅ Are they an authorized Registered Agent in the states they claim to serve? (Verify with the state)

FormationHub LLC is registered in the United States, has SSL across all surfaces, has real business addresses, has multiple support channels, and is an authorized Registered Agent in every state we serve.