The cheapest way to form an LLC: what you must pay and what you can skip

The cheapest way to form an LLC is to do it yourself on your state's website. The state filing fee is the only cost you can't avoid. Everything else, including the EIN, the operating agreement and the registered agent, can cost nothing if you're willing to handle it.

That doesn't mean the cheapest route is always the right one. Some shortcuts save $100 now and cost far more later. This guide separates the two.

The one cost you can't avoid: the state fee

Every state charges a fee to file the document that creates your LLC. Here's what it costs in the largest states and the two most often discussed, and what each charges every year after.

State	To form	Every year after	Watch out for
California	$70	$800 franchise tax every year, plus a $20 Statement of Information every two years	The $800 is due every year, even in a year with no income, until the LLC is canceled.
Texas	$300	No franchise tax below $2.65 million in revenue (2026 reports), but a Public Information Report every year	Nothing unusual
Florida	$125	$138.75 annual report, filed between January 1 and May 1	A $400 late fee is added after May 1.
New York	$200	$9 biennial statement every two years	A notice must run in two newspapers for six weeks, then a $50 certificate of publication is filed. Newspaper costs vary widely by county.
Pennsylvania	$125	$7 annual report, due by September 30	Nothing unusual
Delaware	$110	$400 annual LLC tax, due June 1	Paying late adds a $200 penalty and 1.5% interest a month.
Wyoming	$100	$60 minimum annual report license tax, due in the month the LLC was formed	Nothing unusual

Among the states we checked, the lowest filing fees are Montana at $35, Kentucky at $40 and New Mexico at $50. Montana's annual report costs $20 if filed by April 15, Kentucky's costs $15, and New Mexico doesn't require one from LLCs at all.

Don't move your LLC to one of them to save $100, though. If you live and work in another state, you'll have to register there too, and that costs far more than the difference. Our guide to the best state to form an LLC works through the math.

Everything else can be free

The filing itself

Every state lets you file the articles of organization yourself, usually online, and most take under half an hour to fill in. The form asks for the LLC's name, a registered agent, an address and whether members or managers run it. There's no legal judgment involved for a simple LLC, just care with the details.

The name search

Check that your name is available in your state's free business name database, and search the USPTO's free trademark database before you commit. Paying a service for a "name check" buys the same search.

The EIN

The IRS issues EINs for free, online, in about 15 minutes, and says plainly that you never have to pay a fee for one. Our guide to getting an EIN walks through every screen.

The operating agreement

A single-member LLC can use a free operating agreement template and adapt it in an evening. It should cover ownership, how the LLC is managed, what happens if you die or become unable to run it, and the fact that the LLC is separate from you. Multi-member LLCs are a different story, covered below.

The registered agent

You can act as your own registered agent if you have a physical address in the state and are there during business hours. It costs nothing. The trade-offs are privacy, since your address goes on the public record, and reliability, since you must be there to receive legal papers. More on that below.

Compliance reminders

Formation services sell "compliance alerts." A calendar reminder for your annual report date does the same job.

Where the "$0 LLC" services make their money

Several well-known services advertise LLC formation for $0 plus the state fee, and the formation itself really is free. The business model is in what comes next.

• Registered agent renewals. Bizee includes the first year of registered agent service with its packages and then charges $149 a year in most states. Northwest Registered Agent charges $39 to form, includes a year of registered agent service, then charges $125 a year.
• Add-ons at checkout. ZenBusiness's free Starter plan doesn't include a registered agent, an EIN or an operating agreement. Its registered agent service is $199 a year, and its Pro plan, which adds the EIN and operating agreement, is $199 a year.
• Subscriptions that renew. LegalZoom's Managed package costs $249 and includes 30 days of business advisors, which then renews at $49 a month unless you cancel. Its registered agent service is $249 a year.

None of this is hidden, but it's easy to click past. The checkout pages pre-select or promote extras that a simple LLC doesn't need.

One owner, five routes, worked through

Here's what a solo owner in Texas would pay to form an LLC and keep a registered agent, using each route's published prices. Texas charges $300 to form, and a small LLC owes no franchise tax and files a free annual information report, so the state's yearly cost is zero.

• Do it yourself, acting as your own agent: $300 in year one, $0 in year two.
• Bizee Basic: $300 in year one, with the agent included. $149 in year two for the agent.
• Northwest: $339 in year one, with the agent included. $125 in year two.
• ZenBusiness Starter plus its registered agent: $499 in year one. $199 in year two.
• LegalZoom Basic plus its registered agent: $549 in year one. $249 in year two.

The gap in year one is a few hundred dollars. The gap that lasts is the yearly agent fee, which runs from nothing to $249 for the same legal function. If you need an agent, compare the renewal price, not the formation price.

Add an EIN or an operating agreement from a service and the totals climb again, which is why those two are the first things to do yourself.

The costs you can't skip later

Forming cheaply is easy. Keeping the LLC is where some states get expensive, and no service can make these go away.

• California's $800 annual tax, due every year from the first, whether or not the LLC earns anything.
• New York's publication requirement, which can cost hundreds of dollars or more in newspaper fees, depending on the county.
• Annual or biennial reports in most states, from $7 in Pennsylvania to $138.75 in Florida.
• Business licenses and permits from your city, county or state, depending on what you do.
• Foreign registration in any other state where the LLC does business.

Budget for these from the start. They're the difference between an LLC that cost $100 to form and one that costs $1,000 a year to keep.

Where cutting corners costs more

Being your own agent when you're not reliably there

If someone sues the LLC and the registered agent isn't there to receive the papers, the case can proceed without you. A default judgment against the LLC is far more expensive than any registered agent fee. If you travel, work from a coworking space or move often, pay for an agent.

Putting your home address on the public record

As your own registered agent, your home address goes on a public filing that anyone can search, including marketers and the occasional unhappy customer. A commercial agent's address appears instead if you use one.

A template agreement for a multi-member LLC

When two or more people own an LLC, the operating agreement decides who gets what if the business is sold, if someone wants out, or if the partners disagree. A generic template rarely fits. An attorney's draft costs real money up front and saves far more in the first serious disagreement.

Forgetting the annual report

Miss a state's annual report and the state can add penalties, then dissolve the LLC administratively. Reinstating it costs more than the report would have, and the LLC's liability protection may lapse in the meantime. Put the date in your calendar the day the LLC is approved.

The cheapest sensible setup, by situation

• A solo consultant working from a home office they don't mind listing. File yourself, act as your own agent, use a template agreement, get the free EIN. Total: the state fee.
• A solo owner who wants privacy or travels often. File yourself and pay a registered agent, or use a service whose low formation fee includes the first year of agent service. Total: the state fee, then roughly $125 to $250 a year for the agent.
• Two or more owners. File yourself if you like, but pay an attorney for the operating agreement. Total: the state fee plus the attorney.
• An owner outside the US. A service that handles the EIN without an SSN and acts as registered agent often saves more time than it costs. See our guide to starting a US company from abroad.

The checklist

1. Search your state's business name database and the USPTO.
2. File the articles of organization on your state's website.
3. Get your EIN free from the IRS.
4. Sign an operating agreement.
5. Decide whether you'll be your own registered agent.
6. Put your state's annual report and any yearly tax on your calendar.

For the full process from start to finish, see our guide to starting an LLC. If you'd rather pay a service, our comparison of ZenBusiness, Northwest and LegalZoom works out what each really costs in years one and two.