How we compare LLC formation services

This page explains how we build the ranking, the calculator, the reviews and the comparisons. The same rules apply to every service, whether it pays us a commission or not.

Which services we include

We include formation services that someone living outside the US can use to open an LLC. Reviews point out when a service limits who it serves, for example by country or by state. A service doesn’t need an affiliate program with us to be included.

How we calculate the 3-year cost

For each service, the ranking and the calculator add:

• the state’s fee to form the LLC;
• the service’s package (in the ranking, its cheapest one), plus its renewals when the package is billed every year;
• the registered agent for 3 years; year 1 counts as free only when the service includes it;
• add-ons the service requires to form the LLC, such as a mandatory US address;
• the state’s annual fee for years 2 and 3.

The ranking assumes you keep the registered agent for all 3 years and don’t buy the service’s EIN filing, and it uses the state shown at the top of the ranking. In the calculator you can change the state, the service, the package and both assumptions. If you say you need an EIN, the calculator adds the service’s EIN price unless your package already includes it.

We use each service’s regular prices. We don’t count promo codes or temporary discounts.

Where the numbers come from

Prices come from each service’s pricing page and, when that isn’t clear enough, from its checkout, which we go through without paying. State fees come from the state’s official site or its law. Pages with prices show the date we last checked them, and our guides link to the official sources they rely on.

How often we check

We check prices again at least every 90 days. When a number changes, we review every page that uses it: the ranking, the reviews and the comparisons. Guides, reviews and comparisons show the date of their last update.

Reviews and comparisons

Reviews and comparisons use the same data as the ranking, so a price is the same everywhere on the site. We keep a record of what each page claims and where it comes from. Services don’t see or approve our pages before we publish them.

Mistakes

If you find an error, write to hello@llcabroad.com with the page and what’s wrong. We check it against the source, fix the page if needed and update its date.