Choose Your Formation Path

Both panes open

Filing an LLC yourself or with a service, answered from both sides

Every comparison of doing it yourself against paying for it comes down to the same short list of questions. What changes between people is the answers, not the questions - so both sides stay open here until you close one.

Read both sides What This Site Is

Begin with these

Begin with these pages

Guide

Choosing How to Form Your LLC (2026)

Read the guide Yourself or a service

Is DIY LLC Formation Risky for Someone Who's Never Done it?

Read it Glossary

LLC Terms Worth Knowing Before You Decide

Look up a term Yourself or a service

When Does it Make Sense to Hire an LLC Formation Service Instead of Doing it Yourself?

Read it Yourself or a service

Is Paying for an LLC Formation Service Worth it, or is it a Waste of Money?

Read it Yourself or a service

For a First-time Business Owner, is it Better to DIY an LLC or Pay for Help?

Read it

The divider

Five questions, two answers each

Question Filing it yourself Using a service
What does it cost?Year one, and then every year after
The state fee, and nothing else. The recurring cost is whatever your state charges for its annual or biennial report.
The state fee plus a service fee, and then a renewal that is usually larger than the introductory price suggests.
Whose address is public?The registered agent question
Yours, unless you appoint an agent separately - which you can do without buying a formation package.
The provider's, for as long as you keep paying for the agent service. Stopping puts your own address back on the record.
How long does it take?Your time, not the state's
An afternoon in most states, reading the requirements and completing one form. Longer if the name needs rethinking.
Under an hour of your time. The state's own processing time is identical either way.
Who remembers the deadline?Where the real money is lost
You do. A calendar entry costs nothing and does the same job as a reminder service.
The provider, typically. What that is worth depends entirely on how likely you were to forget.
What happens when it goes wrong?Rejections, amendments, changes
You correct it and pay whatever the state charges to amend. The process is public and documented.
Support handles it, within whatever the package covers. Amendments are often billed separately.

Worked through in Is Paying for an LLC Formation Service Worth it, or is it a Waste of Money?, Is a Formation Service Like ZenBusiness Worth the Money Over DIY? and Do People Regret Paying for ZenBusiness Instead of Filing Their LLC Themselves?.

On the record

The figures these pages rest on

WhereWhat is chargedAmountSource
CaliforniaArticles of Organization filing fee$70.00ca.gov
Statement of Information fee$20.00ca.gov
FTB annual LLC tax$800 per yearca.gov
FloridaNew LLC total filing cost$125.00 ($100 filing + $25 registered agent)fl.gov
Annual report fee$138.75fl.gov
Annual report received after May 1$538.75 (a $400 late penalty)fl.gov
GeorgiaArticles of Organization fee$110.00 ($100 filing + $10 service charge)ga.gov
Annual registration fee$60.00 (online and paper)ga.gov
Penalty for late filing of annual registration$25.00ga.gov
MichiganAnnual statement fee$25.00michigan.gov
Late penalty on the annual statement$50.00 if received after February 15michigan.gov
New YorkArticles of Organization filing fee$200.00ny.gov
Biennial Statement fee$9.00ny.gov
Annual filing fee on Form IT-204-LL$25 minimum, up to $4,500 by NY source gross incomeny.gov
TexasCertificate of Formation filing fee$300.00texas.gov
Assumed name certificate fee$25.00state.tx.us
FederalAn EIN is free directly from the IRS$0 (free)irs.gov

What readers ask

The questions behind the pages