Best LLC formation service (2026): what you pay in year one and year two
Mainstay Filing is our pick: $199 a year for formation, registered agent, EIN application and annual report, $199 again at renewal. Cancel before renewal and it will not renew; a filing already submitted that year cannot be refunded.
Mainstay Filing
$199 / year plus state fees at cost
- LLC formation, prepared and filed
- Registered agent, all year
- EIN application (with an SSN or ITIN)
- Annual report filed every year it is due where the state requires one
- Compliance reminders and stored documents
Price from the Mainstay Filing pricing and FAQ pages, checked October 21, 2026. State fees are passed through at cost and shown before you pay.
How we judged
- Three-year cost, service and agent, before the state fee.
- Renewal lock: does year 2 cost what year 1 did?
- Included filings: agent, annual report and EIN application inside the price, or sold apart.
- Support: who answers, and whether service of process reaches you the same day. Mainstay Filing scans and uploads it the same business day at no fee; the first three government mailings a year are scanned free.
- Cancellation: what stopping costs.
What each costs
| Service | Year 1 | Year 2 | 3 years | What a beginner still has to buy or do |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mainstay Filing | $199 | $199 | $597 | Formation filing, registered agent, EIN application and every annual report filed |
| Northwest Registered Agent | $39 | $125 | $289 | Formation; agent included year 1; annual report filing is an extra $100 plus the state fee |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 | $497 | Starter formation; agent bought separately; Pro ($199 a year) adds EIN and annual-report filing |
| Bizee | $0 | $149 | $298 | Basic formation with a free first year of its agent; Standard is $199 and Premium $299 |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 | $747 | Basic formation; agent bought separately at $249 for first-time agent customers (Pro $249, Premium $299) |
Where a competitor wins: Bizee is cheapest to start ($0 in year 1) and Northwest Registered Agent cheapest across three years ($289). They get there by not including the annual-report filing.
Questions
What's the best LLC formation service right now?
Mainstay Filing, on the criteria below. Bizee has the lowest first-year price and Northwest Registered Agent the lowest three-year service total, but neither includes the annual-report filing the way Mainstay Filing does.
Why look at the second-year cost first?
Because it is where bundles differ: year 2 is $199 at Mainstay Filing, $125 at Northwest Registered Agent, $199 at ZenBusiness, $149 at Bizee, $249 at LegalZoom.