Every formation service wants to be the cheapest, and several now advertise $0. The real answer depends on what happens in year two, because "free" formation is a customer acquisition tool and registered agent renewals are where the margin lives. This guide ranks services purely by total cost, including the renewal prices most comparison pages skip.
If you care about quality and features rather than the absolute lowest sticker price, start with our quality-ranked review of the best incorporation services. This page answers a narrower question: what is genuinely cheapest, all-in.
Three services will form your LLC for $0 plus your state's filing fee: Bizee, Inc Authority, and ZenBusiness.
The absolute cheapest route is filing directly with the state yourself. Delaware charges $109 minimum for a corporation and $110 for an LLC.
Registered agent renewals are where free gets expensive. Budget for $119 to $249 per year starting in year two, depending on the service.
Over two years, the gap between the cheapest and priciest "free" option is real money: roughly $229 versus $408 on a Delaware LLC.
For venture-track startups, the cheapest sticker price is often the most expensive choice. Investor-grade documents cost less than fixing their absence later.
The true $0-plus-state-fee options
Three services charge no formation fee at all. You pay only your state's filing fee, and the differences show up in what is bundled and what renews.
Bizee: $0 plus state fee, free first-year registered agent
Bizee, formerly Incfile, is the strongest free tier on the market. The $0 plan includes preparation and filing, plus a full year of registered agent service at no charge. After year one, the agent renews at $119 to $149 per year depending on your plan. Our full Bizee review covers the upsells to decline during checkout.
Inc Authority: $0 plus state fee, free first-year registered agent
Inc Authority matches Bizee's structure: no formation fee, one year of registered agent service included. The difference is the renewal, which is $199 per year, and a sales process known for follow-up calls pitching paid packages. Cheapest in year one, mid-pack by year two.
ZenBusiness: $0 plus state fee, registered agent costs extra
ZenBusiness's Starter plan is a genuine $0 one-time formation fee, but it does not include a registered agent, an EIN, or an operating agreement. Registered agent service runs $99 for the first year and renews at $199 per year, and add-ons like Worry-Free Compliance auto-renew at $199 per year if you accept them at checkout. It is a polished product, but among the free tiers it is the most expensive once you add the pieces most founders actually need.
Is there a free way to incorporate a startup?
Not entirely, and that's true no matter which service you pick, Rho included. Delaware charges its own $109 minimum to file a corporation and $110 flat for an LLC, per the state's fee schedule, and that number doesn't move for anyone. Nobody waives the state's cut.
What does move is the service fee stacked on top of it, and that part can genuinely land at $0.
Here's where the LLC services above stop answering the question, though. Bizee, Inc Authority, and ZenBusiness waive their fee for an LLC. A venture-backed startup needs a Delaware C corp, not an LLC, because a C corp with standard stock is what investors expect to see before they wire money. "Free LLC formation" and "free startup incorporation" are two different questions wearing the same word.
A few services have noticed that gap. Every.io markets its own "free" Delaware C-corp formation aimed at this exact question, and it already outranks this page for it. Worth knowing about if you're comparing options, and worth reading the fine print on whatever the free label is attached to, here or anywhere else.
Rho's version works like this: incorporation is a $400 fee, credited back once you deposit $10,000 of new money into your Rho checking account and keep your daily average balance $10,000 above where it started for the 60 days after you incorporate. For a startup that's going to hold operating cash somewhere anyway, that's the difference between $400 and $0, not a discount on the $109 Delaware already charges.
So the honest matrix looks like this:
State filing fee: never $0, anywhere. $109 minimum for a Delaware corporation, $110 flat for an LLC.
LLC formation service fee: genuinely $0 at several providers, but the end product is an LLC, not the C corp a fundable startup needs.
Rho's Delaware C-corp formation: $400, credited back once you deposit $10,000 of new money into your Rho checking account and keep your daily average balance $10,000 above where it started for the 60 days after you incorporate, which nets to $0 for a startup banking there anyway.
If none of that applies to you, the actually-free route is filing directly with the state yourself, which is next.
The cheapest route of all: file directly with the state
No service beats DIY on price. You file the formation document with your state yourself and pay only the state fee. In Delaware, that is $109 minimum for a corporation's certificate of incorporation, if you authorize 1,500 or fewer no-par shares, and $110 for an LLC's certificate of formation.
What you give up:
A registered agent. Delaware requires an agent with an in-state address, so unless you live there you will hire one anyway, typically $50 to $125 per year at the budget end. Our Delaware registered agent guide explains how to choose.
Document templates. No operating agreement or bylaws included. Solid templates exist, but you are assembling them yourself.
EIN handling. The EIN is free from the IRS either way, but you complete the application yourself.
Compliance reminders. Nobody will nudge you before your franchise tax deadline. Missing Delaware's deadlines triggers penalties that dwarf everything you saved.
DIY makes sense for a simple single-member LLC run by someone comfortable with forms. It makes less sense the more owners, states, or investors you add.
Watch the renewals: where free gets expensive
Formation is a one-time event. Registered agent service renews forever, and it is priced accordingly.
Service | Year-1 registered agent | Renewal price per year |
|---|---|---|
Bizee | Free | $119 to $149 |
Inc Authority | Free | $199 |
ZenBusiness | $99 | $199 |
LegalZoom | $249 | $249 |
LegalZoom deserves a special note here. Its corporation formation starts at $149 plus state fees, rising to $399 for the top tier, and its registered agent service is $249 per year with no free first year. It is a household name, not a budget option. If you were considering it on price, our roundup of LegalZoom alternatives is the better starting point.
You can switch registered agents later, and many founders form with a free bundle and move to a cheaper standalone agent at renewal. Just remember the switch itself requires a state filing in Delaware.
Total cost over two years
Here is the math on a Delaware LLC, including the $110 state filing fee and registered agent service for both years.
Route | Formation fee | Year-1 agent | Year-2 agent | Two-year total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
DIY, budget agent | $0 | $50 to $125 | $50 to $125 | $210 to $360 |
Bizee | $0 | $0 | $119 to $149 | $229 to $259 |
Inc Authority | $0 | $0 | $199 | $309 |
ZenBusiness | $0 | $99 | $199 | $408 |
LegalZoom (from $149 tier) | $149 | $249 | $249 | $757 |
State fees are identical across every row, so the ranking holds in any state. The two-year view flips the intuitive answer: DIY with a budget agent and Bizee are effectively tied, and the gap between the cheapest and most expensive mainstream option is over $500.
When cheap is expensive
If you are building a venture-track startup, stop optimizing for the $0 tier. Investors expect a Delaware C corporation with standard documents: proper bylaws, board consents, stock purchase agreements with vesting, and a clean cap table. Budget services do not produce those, and paying a lawyer to rebuild your paperwork before a financing costs far more than any formation service.
That is why startup-focused services charge more. Stripe Atlas is $500 and Clerky's lifetime package is $819, both built around investor-standard C corp documents. See how the startup-grade options compare in our guide to Stripe Atlas alternatives.
There is also a fourth pricing model worth knowing about. Rho Incorporation charges $400 for an attorney-reviewed Delaware C corp formation, with a registered agent included for the first year, your SS-4 prepared and submitted for you, and support for the 83(b) election that budget services ignore. The $400 is credited back when you deposit $10,000 of new money into your Rho checking account and keep your daily average balance $10,000 above where it started for the 60 days after you incorporate. For a funded startup that will hold cash in its operating account anyway, that makes the effective cost $0, which undercuts every startup-grade service on this page.
The rule of thumb: if your company will only ever have you in it, buy the cheapest thing that includes a first-year agent. If other people's money is coming in, whether investors or co-founders, buy documents you will not have to redo.
Related incorporation guides
The full ranking: See our roundup of the best incorporation services for startups, scored on price, speed, and what comes after filing.
The real cost: Our guide to how much it costs to incorporate breaks down first-year totals for three founder profiles.
The budget route: Our Bizee (formerly Incfile) review covers the $0 plus state fees option.
Beyond LegalZoom: See the best LegalZoom alternatives for the startup-specific paperwork LegalZoom skips.
doola vs Atlas: Our doola vs Stripe Atlas comparison covers the LLC versus C corp fork for non-US founders.
Ready to incorporate? Rho Incorporation forms your Delaware C corp with attorney-reviewed filings, includes your first year of registered agent service, and gives you same-day access to Rho banking, corporate cards, and treasury once approved.
FAQs
Filing directly with your state is cheapest in absolute terms, since you pay only the state fee, such as $109 minimum for a Delaware corporation or $110 for a Delaware LLC. Among services, Bizee is the cheapest over a two-year horizon because formation is $0 and its registered agent renewal is the lowest of the free-tier providers.
The formation itself usually is. You always pay your state's filing fee, and the service makes its money on upsells at checkout and registered agent renewals starting in year two, typically $119 to $199 per year. Decline the add-ons you do not need and note the renewal price before you buy.
You pay only the state filing fee. Delaware charges $109 minimum for a corporation and $110 for an LLC, and fees in other states range from about $35 to $500. If your state requires a registered agent you cannot provide yourself, add roughly $50 to $125 per year for a budget commercial agent.
Operating agreements and bylaws beyond generic templates, EIN handling on the free tiers, compliance calendars, and everything a venture financing requires: board consents, stock purchase agreements with vesting, 83(b) election support, and a clean cap table. For a solo owner these may not matter. For a startup raising money, they are the whole point.
Plan on $119 to $249 per year depending on the provider. Bizee renews at $119 to $149, Inc Authority and ZenBusiness at $199, and LegalZoom at $249. Standalone budget agents can be cheaper, and you are free to switch providers at renewal with a simple state filing.
The formation fee itself is often waived, but you always pay your state's filing fee, and services earn their margin on upsells at checkout and registered agent renewals starting in year two. Declining unnecessary add-ons and checking the renewal price before signing up helps you understand the true cost.
Bizee, Inc Authority, and ZenBusiness all charge no formation fee, meaning you pay only your state's filing fee. Bizee and Inc Authority also include a free first year of registered agent service, while ZenBusiness charges $99 for the first year and $199 per year at renewal.
Including the $110 state filing fee and registered agent costs for both years, Bizee runs $229 to $259, Inc Authority runs $309, ZenBusiness runs $408, and LegalZoom starts at $757. DIY filing with a budget registered agent lands between $210 and $360 over two years.
No service, including Rho, waives Delaware's own filing fee: $109 minimum for a corporation, $110 flat for an LLC. Several services do waive their own service fee for an LLC, but a venture-backed startup needs a Delaware C corp. Rho's C-corp formation is a $400 fee, credited back once you deposit $10,000 of new money into your Rho checking account and keep your daily average balance $10,000 above where it started for the 60 days after you incorporate, which nets to $0 for a startup that banks there anyway.
