Method
Our ranking formula
What goes in
State fees, report deadlines and agent rules come from each state's own fee schedules, forms and statutes. Each is cited on its row, with the month it was confirmed. Service quotes use the prices each company publishes, sampled on the date shown.
How readings are added
After N years the cumulative cost is the year-one price plus (N minus 1) renewals. The three-year reading is year one plus two renewals. State totals: filing fee + reports in years 2 and 3 + any minimum tax. Variable costs are excluded. A break-even point is the year two cumulative costs swap order; we test ten years.
Terms and weights
- Measured three-year cost (36%). The first-year price plus two renewals from each company's published pricing. Every filer pays the same state fee, so the lab quotes it on separate lines and does not weigh it.
- Filings handled per dollar (30%). The recurring work the price performs: acting as registered agent, filing the state report, applying for the EIN and working at the same price in other states.
- Renewal drift (14%). How far the yearly price moves once the first year ends. A steady renewal ranks above a cheap start that drifts upward.
- Break-even year (10%). The year in which one service's total passes another's, taken from each page's cost-over-time quotes.
- Price clarity (10%). Whether the first-year price, the renewal and the state fee can all be read before the checkout page.
When two quotes sit close together, the page names the column that decided it and what the lower quote still offers.
The ranking is LLC Cost Lab's own editorial reading of these criteria and is not a customer rating.
Who appears on the boards
Mainstay Filing plus each state's agent services get listed, and only for services with a published price.
Not included
There are no customer ratings, quotes or legal advice here.