Expert Guide

Stripe Atlas Alternatives in 2026: Cheaper Ways to Open a US Company

Six formation services and a do-it-yourself route, set against Stripe Atlas on what a complete setup costs in year one, what each price leaves out and which founder each one fits, checked in October 2026.

Louis CorneloupFounder, Dupple · 29,000+ Finpresso subscribers · Updated Oct 2026

Product links may be affiliate links. How we rate 7 tools compared

TL;DR

Short answer: Bizee's Basic LLC package is the cheapest year one at $0 plus state fees, because its first registered agent year is free and the EIN costs nothing from the IRS. doola's Starter plan at $297 a year is the lowest headline price we found that lists the EIN and a registered agent in the same price. Stripe Atlas at $500 still makes sense for a Delaware C-corp that needs founder stock documents and an 83(b) filing included.

Three things decide the real cost of each option: the state fee, the renewal and the tax filings. Atlas drops to $100 a year after year one, doola bills its Starter plan every year, and ZenBusiness sells its agent as a yearly line. For a non-US founder who wants formation, EIN, agent, bookkeeping and tax filings in one plan, doola's Business-in-a-Box at $2,999 a year is the one plan we found that lists all five.

Key facts7 tools compared: Bizee, ZenBusiness, doola, Firstbase, Clerky, LegalZoom, Do it yourself…

Updated: October 15, 2026
Top pick: Bizee (best for: Owners forming one LLC who want the first agent year included and can get the EIN from the IRS)
Top pick price as of October 15, 2026: Bizee: LLC packages from $0 plus state fees; the Basic package includes one free registered agent year

7 tools compared: Bizee, ZenBusiness, doola, Firstbase, Clerky, LegalZoom, Do it yourself (state filing plus a free IRS EIN)
ZenBusiness (best for: Owners who want an LLC or C-corp and prefer to choose each add-on separately): Formation with no base charge, plus state fees; registered agent $199 a year; EIN $99 one-time
doola (best for: Non-US founders who want formation, an EIN and an agent in one printed yearly price): Starter $297 a year plus state fees: formation, EIN, operating agreement and registered agent
Firstbase (best for: Non-US owners of a single-member LLC who need federal tax filings and can buy the agent separately): Start $99 one-time, shown beside $399 struck through; registered agent $299 a year per state

Cheaper Stripe Atlas alternatives are easy to find and hard to price, because most pages show a formation fee and leave out the EIN, the registered agent every Delaware company must keep, and the tax forms a foreign-owned LLC may have to file.

This page prices each option in the same year-one scenario, then shows where the bill rises after year one.

Finpresso data: Of the eight formation options we read on their own pages on 12 October 2026, four put a first-year registered agent into the headline price.

The other four sell the agent as a separate line, leave it unstated or leave it to the founder. That gap is the main reason the lowest headline price is often not the cheapest company.

Top Picks

Based on features, real-world fit, and value for money.

#1 Top pick

Bizee

The cheapest year one on this list: the Basic LLC package carries no base fee, includes one free registered agent year and lists no EIN.

Pricing

LLC packages from $0 plus state fees; the Basic package includes one free registered agent year

Best for

Owners forming one LLC who want the first agent year included and can get the EIN from the IRS

Visit Bizee Details

ZenBusiness

A formation with no starting fee and the agent sold as a yearly line, so the first-year bill depends on which add-ons you buy.

Pricing

Formation with no base charge, plus state fees; registered agent $199 a year; EIN $99 one-time

Best for

Owners who want an LLC or C-corp and prefer to choose each add-on separately

Visit ZenBusiness Details

doola

The lowest headline price we found that lists both the EIN and a registered agent year, with a virtual mailing address included.

Pricing

Starter $297 a year plus state fees: formation, EIN, operating agreement and registered agent

Best for

Non-US founders who want formation, an EIN and an agent in one printed yearly price

Visit doola Details

Stripe Atlas Alternatives in 2026: Cheaper Ways to Open a US Company: 7 tools compared, updated Oct 2026
Tool	Pricing	Best for
Bizee	LLC packages from $0 plus state fees; the Basic package includes one free registered agent year	Owners forming one LLC who want the first agent year included and can get the EIN from the IRS
ZenBusiness	Formation with no base charge, plus state fees; registered agent $199 a year; EIN $99 one-time	Owners who want an LLC or C-corp and prefer to choose each add-on separately
doola	Starter $297 a year plus state fees: formation, EIN, operating agreement and registered agent	Non-US founders who want formation, an EIN and an agent in one printed yearly price
Firstbase	Start $99 one-time, shown beside $399 struck through; registered agent $299 a year per state	Non-US owners of a single-member LLC who need federal tax filings and can buy the agent separately
Clerky	Incorporation $427 one-time with a first-year agent; post-incorporation documents $299 more	Delaware C-corp founders who want a startup document set and expect to raise money
LegalZoom	Managed Service $249 plus state fees, with EIN and operating agreement; Expert Service adds tax work and costs more	Owners who want a large brand, an EIN and an operating agreement bundled, and who accept state fees on top
Do it yourself (state filing plus a free IRS EIN)	State filing fee for the company; the IRS EIN is free; registered agent bought separately	Founders comfortable with state forms who will buy the registered agent from one provider

Pricing read from each vendor's own pricing page, checked Oct 2026. Every vendor here publishes a price.

Top Pick

Bizee

The cheapest year one on this list: the Basic LLC package carries no base fee, includes one free registered agent year and lists no EIN.

Pricing: LLC packages from $0 plus state fees; the Basic package includes one free registered agent year

Best for: Owners forming one LLC who want the first agent year included and can get the EIN from the IRS

Pros

Each package includes one free year of registered agent service, so the first agent charge is zero.
The EIN is free from the IRS, so year one can come down to the state filing fee alone.

Cons

The EIN and operating agreement are not listed in any package, and the page prints no renewal price for the agent.
Packages are for LLCs only, and the page lists no corporation option, so a C-corp founder cannot buy here.

ZenBusiness

A formation with no starting fee and the agent sold as a yearly line, so the first-year bill depends on which add-ons you buy.

Pricing: Formation with no base charge, plus state fees; registered agent $199 a year; EIN $99 one-time

Best for: Owners who want an LLC or C-corp and prefer to choose each add-on separately

Pros

It forms LLCs, S-corps and C-corps, so a founder who later needs a C-corp can stay with the same provider.
Taking the EIN from the IRS instead of buying it from ZenBusiness keeps year one down to the agent alone.

Cons

The page does not say which items come with the base formation, so the year-one total has to be built from the add-on prices.
The agent is an annual fee that returns every year, and the compliance filings are a separate yearly charge on top.

doola

The lowest headline price we found that lists both the EIN and a registered agent year, with a virtual mailing address included.

Pricing: Starter $297 a year plus state fees: formation, EIN, operating agreement and registered agent

Best for: Non-US founders who want formation, an EIN and an agent in one printed yearly price

Pros

Starter lists the EIN, operating agreement and registered agent in one price, so the bundle is clear before you buy.
Tax and Compliance adds federal and state tax filing and a one-to-one tax consultation for $1,999 a year, plus state fees.

Cons

Starter includes no tax filing, and the page does not mention Form 5472, which Firstbase lists for foreign-owned single-member LLCs.
Every plan is billed yearly, and the monthly figures on Business-in-a-Box do not match its $2,999 annual price, so compare on the annual number.

Firstbase

A low one-time formation price, with the registered agent sold per state and a federal tax package for non-US-owned LLCs sold separately.

Pricing: Start $99 one-time, shown beside $399 struck through; registered agent $299 a year per state

Best for: Non-US owners of a single-member LLC who need federal tax filings and can buy the agent separately

Pros

The $899 non-US-owned single-member LLC package lists Forms 5472, a pro forma Form 1120, unlimited 1099s and IRS extensions.
Start lists an expedited EIN and says it charges no filing fees for the required documents, so the state bill is the main add.

Cons

The page does not say whether the Start price covers a registered agent year, so a buyer who needs one should add the Agent plan.
The page shows the Start price beside a struck-through $399 and does not say how long the lower price runs.

Clerky

A Delaware C-corp filing with a first-year agent and a fundraising document library, with no LLC option and no EIN listed.

Pricing: Incorporation $427 one-time with a first-year agent; post-incorporation documents $299 more

Best for: Delaware C-corp founders who want a startup document set and expect to raise money

Pros

The Lifetime Package at $819 covers Delaware incorporation, expedited filing and unlimited standard fundraising, hiring and maintenance documents.
Each SAFE costs $9 and each convertible note $19, or $99 buys a fundraising subscription for six months.

Cons

It forms only Delaware C-corps and public benefit corporations, so an LLC founder has to look elsewhere on this list.
On the pay-per-use route the post-incorporation documents are extra, which brings the total for the same set to $726.

LegalZoom

A $249 LLC package that includes the EIN and operating agreement, but no registered agent year is printed in any package.

Pricing: Managed Service $249 plus state fees, with EIN and operating agreement; Expert Service adds tax work and costs more

Best for: Owners who want a large brand, an EIN and an operating agreement bundled, and who accept state fees on top

Pros

The Managed Service includes the EIN and an operating agreement for $249 plus state fees, the lowest price on this page that lists both.
The Expert Service adds an attorney review of the filing, tax preparation and bookkeeping at a higher price plus state fees.

Cons

The package pages list no registered agent year, so the agent has to be priced separately before the total is known.
Both paid packages include a 30-day support period that auto-renews unless you cancel: $49 a month on Managed, and a higher monthly rate on Expert.

Do it yourself (state filing plus a free IRS EIN)

The lowest cash outlay if you file with the state yourself and take the EIN from the IRS, but you keep the agent and paperwork.

Pricing: State filing fee for the company; the IRS EIN is free; registered agent bought separately

Best for: Founders comfortable with state forms who will buy the registered agent from one provider

Pros

The IRS says you never pay a fee for an EIN, so the number costs nothing in either route.
With no service fee, the only costs are the state's filing fee and the agent you buy separately.

Cons

Stripe says a registered agent is mandatory for every Delaware company, and the standalone agent prices we read run from ZenBusiness's yearly fee up to Firstbase's per-state fee.
The IRS online tool needs a US principal place of business and a responsible party with an SSN or ITIN, so anyone else applies by phone, fax or mail.

What it is

A Stripe Atlas alternative is a service that forms a company with the state, obtains an EIN, supplies a registered agent and often adds founder documents, tax filings or bookkeeping, usually for a flat fee. Atlas bundles the first year of most of those pieces into one charge for a Delaware entity.

Alternatives differ in what they bundle, which entity types they form and what they charge after year one.

The state filing fee is the one cost none of these services sets. Each state sets its own and publishes it. This page keeps state fees out of its totals, except Atlas, whose one charge already includes Delaware's filing fees.

The figures compare the services themselves, and the LLC cost page covers the state side.

Why it matters

The renewal decides the three-year bill, not the first price. Atlas charges $500 once and $100 a year after that, so three years come to $700. doola's Starter plan is billed every year, which makes three years $891 before state fees.

ZenBusiness sells its registered agent at $199 a year, and its page lists no first-year discount to offset that.

The tax line is where non-US owners get surprised. Firstbase lists a $899 yearly package for non-US-owned single-member LLCs that covers Form 5472 and a pro forma Form 1120. doola's Starter plan lists no tax filing, and its Tax and Compliance plan costs $1,999 a year.

A founder who needs only federal forms can pay far less than one who also needs state returns, but the price only means something once the forms are named.

Key features to look for

The first-year agent

Atlas, doola's Starter plan, Bizee's packages and Clerky's incorporation each include the first registered agent year. ZenBusiness sells the agent as a yearly line, and Firstbase sells it per state.

The renewal line

Atlas drops to a yearly charge after year one. doola bills its Starter plan every year, and the ZenBusiness page lists its agent only as an annual fee.

The state fee

Atlas includes the Delaware filing fees. Bizee, doola and LegalZoom print a state fee on top of their price, and the do-it-yourself route is nothing but the state fee.

The tax filings

doola's Tax and Compliance plan, Firstbase's non-US owner package and LegalZoom's Expert Service all include tax work, and ZenBusiness sells compliance filings as a separate add-on. Atlas and Clerky list annual report reminders but no tax filing, and Bizee's packages list none.

Pricing

Every price here comes from the vendor's own page, read on 12 October 2026: Stripe Atlas, doola, Firstbase, Clerky, ZenBusiness, Bizee, LegalZoom and the IRS EIN page.

Methodology: each year-one total covers one owner, one company, the formation, an EIN and one registered agent year.

State filing fees are left out of every total, because each state sets and publishes its own. The one exception is Atlas, whose single charge already includes the Delaware filing fees. An EIN a package does not list is counted at the IRS price of zero.

A registered agent a package does not state is not counted as included. Prices are in US dollars.

The table is dated because prices change. We refresh it when a vendor moves a price, and the date above is the day each figure was read.

Plan	Price	Best for
Stripe Atlas, Delaware C-corp or LLC	$500 one-time, then $100 a year	Includes the Delaware filing fees, EIN, first-year agent, founder stock and 83(b) filing, plus $2,500 in Stripe credits
Bizee, Basic LLC package	$0 plus state fees	One free registered agent year; no EIN or operating agreement listed
ZenBusiness, registered agent	$199 a year	Annual fee; add the EIN once, or take it free from the IRS
doola, Starter	$297 a year plus state fees	Formation, EIN, operating agreement and registered agent; no tax filing
LegalZoom, Managed Service	$249 plus state fees	Adds the EIN and operating agreement; no registered agent year listed
Firstbase, Start	$99 one-time	Shown beside $399 struck through; expedited EIN; the page does not say whether an agent year is included
Clerky, incorporation	$427 one-time	Delaware C-corp with a first-year agent; post-incorporation documents are extra
doola, Tax and Compliance	$1,999 a year plus state fees	Adds federal and state tax filing and a one-to-one tax consultation
doola, Business-in-a-Box	$2,999 a year plus state fees	Adds monthly financials, synced bookkeeping and taxes, for the all-in plan
Firstbase, non-US-owned single-member LLC tax	$899 a year	Forms 5472 and pro forma 1120, unlimited 1099s and IRS extensions; federal forms only
Do it yourself, state filing plus IRS EIN	State filing fee only	The EIN is free from the IRS; the registered agent is bought separately

Mistakes to avoid

×Stopping at the headline price. Atlas's one charge covers year one, and the renewal after that is what the next two years add.

×Forgetting the state fee. Bizee, doola and LegalZoom print a state fee on top, so their headline prices are not the final bill.

×Paying a service for the EIN. The IRS issues one for nothing, and ZenBusiness charges for the same number.

×Missing the per-state agent price. Firstbase's Agent plan is $299 a year for each state, so a second state doubles that line.

×Counting Clerky's $427 as the whole C-corp bill. The post-incorporation documents are extra, which brings the total to $726.

Expert tips

→Price year two before you buy. Atlas renews after year one. ZenBusiness's agent is a yearly fee, and doola's Starter bills yearly too, so the cheapest first year is not always the cheapest second.

→Ask whether the agent year is included. Firstbase's page does not say whether its Start bundle covers one, and no LegalZoom package lists one, so ask in writing before you pay.

→Check the tax line for a foreign-owned LLC. Federal forms and state returns are priced separately, and doola's Starter has no tax filing at all.

→Price the bank as its own decision, and check each account's monthly fee on the bank's own pricing page. doola banks through Mercury, a fintech rather than an FDIC-insured bank, and that partner needs a passport or US ID for each founder or majority owner.

The bottom line

Choose Bizee's Basic package for the lowest year one on a single LLC if you can take the EIN from the IRS yourself. Choose doola's Starter plan when you want the EIN and the registered agent in one yearly price and you do not need tax filing yet.

Choose doola's Business-in-a-Box if you are a non-US founder who wants formation, EIN, agent, bookkeeping and tax filing in one plan.

Stay with Stripe Atlas if you are forming a Delaware C-corp to raise money.

Its one charge covers the founder stock purchase and the 83(b) filing. The same set costs $726 at Clerky once its post-incorporation pack is counted. Toolradar keeps tool profiles for doola and Mercury if you want to compare them beyond price.

For the bank that follows, read Mercury and Relay side by side, and compare business bank accounts and free business checking.

For bookkeeping after formation, see free accounting software, Wave and Xero.

Affiliate disclosure: some links on this page are affiliate links.

If you sign up through one, Finpresso may earn a commission at no cost to you.

This page is general information, not personalized financial advice. Confirm the current price and terms with each provider before you buy.

Cite this: Finpresso, "Stripe Atlas Alternatives in 2026: Cheaper Ways to Open a US Company", October 2026.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest alternative to Stripe Atlas in 2026?

For one LLC, Bizee's Basic package costs only state fees and includes one free registered agent year, and the EIN is free from the IRS. For a single headline price that lists both the EIN and the agent, doola's Starter plan is $297 a year plus state fees, checked on 12 October 2026. Atlas is one charge that includes the Delaware filing fees, the EIN and the first-year agent.

How much does Stripe Atlas cost after the first year?

Atlas charges $100 a year after the first year, which covers the registered agent. It renews automatically and can be cancelled at any time. Over three years the Atlas total is $700 before anything else, and the page states no amount for Delaware franchise tax.

Is Stripe Atlas worth it for a C-corp?

It is when you need the stock documents and an 83(b) filing included in one charge. Atlas covers founder stock issuance and purchase, the 83(b) filing and document templates. Clerky's pay-per-use incorporation is $427, but its post-incorporation documents are extra, so the same set comes to $726. For an LLC, Atlas is not the cheapest route: before state fees, Bizee's Basic package and doola's Starter both come in under it.

Is there a free registered agent?

Only in the first year of a bundle. Bizee's packages each include one free agent year, Atlas includes the first year in its one charge, and Clerky's pay-per-use incorporation includes one as well. After that the agent is a yearly charge: $199 a year at ZenBusiness, a per-state yearly fee at Firstbase, and a yearly fee at Atlas.

Does doola file taxes for a non-US founder?

Only on the upper plans. Starter has no tax filing. Tax and Compliance at $1,999 a year adds federal and state tax filing with a one-to-one tax consultation, and Business-in-a-Box at $2,999 a year adds synced bookkeeping and taxes. doola's pages do not mention Form 5472, so ask before you buy.

What is the cheapest option for a non-US owner who needs only federal forms?

Firstbase's non-US-owned single-member LLC package is $899 a year, covering Forms 5472 and a pro forma Form 1120, unlimited 1099s and IRS extensions. Add the Start bundle and the $299 Agent plan for a registered agent, and the first-year federal bundle comes to $1,297 before state fees.

Some offers on this page may be paid placements or contain affiliate links.

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