Pricing
Delaware LLC 5-year cost projection: Delewarellc vs major competitors
5-year cost comparison for Delaware LLC formation across Delewarellc, Stripe Atlas, doola, Firstbase, Clerky, and HBS. The recurring vs one-time pricing math.
5-year totals across major providers
Delewarellc: ~$2,000 (Year 1 $407 + 4 years at $400). Stripe Atlas: ~$700 (Year 1 $500 + 4 years at $50 RA). Clerky: ~$900 (Year 1 $799 + 4 years at $50 RA). HBS DIY: ~$430 (Year 1 $279 + 4 years at $50 RA). doola: ~$10,300 (Year 1 $2,296 + 4 years at $1,999). Firstbase: ~$2,720 (Year 1 $863 + 4 years at $464). LegalZoom: ~$2,000-$5,000 depending on tier.
These exclude CPA fees ($200-$500/year for Form 5472) which apply across all formation services equally.
Why recurring pricing compounds
Recurring-fee services charge $1,500-$2,000/year for what they call 'compliance' or 'maintenance' services. The actual recurring labor in those packages is the registered agent renewal (real cost $50-$150) plus a few reminder emails per year.
Over 5 years, the structural difference between one-time and recurring pricing produces a 5x-10x cost gap. Most non-resident founders maintain the LLC for 5+ years, so the long-term math matters more than the Year 1 sticker.
When recurring pricing makes sense
When the bundled annual service includes meaningful ongoing work the customer would otherwise pay for separately. doola's Total Compliance package, for example, includes registered agent renewal, BOI reminders, and basic CPA-adjacent support. If the customer values having one company handle all of those, the recurring fee may be reasonable for them.
For founders who already have a CPA and prefer to receive registered agent and compliance reminders for free (as Delewarellc provides), the recurring fee is paying for services that are otherwise free or already paid for.
Form your Delaware LLC with Delewarellc
$297 + Delaware state fee, one-time. 8-10 day turnaround. Multilingual founder-led support.
More from the Delewarellc blog
- Delaware LLC vs Wyoming LLC for non-residents: which to choose in 2026
- Stripe Atlas 2025-2026 changes: what changed for non-resident founders
- Form 5472 late filing: how to recover from missed years
- Mercury banking in 2026: non-resident approval reality
- BOI report under the Corporate Transparency Act: 2026 status update