The honest cost of forming an LLC — ours included.
“$0 LLC” offers make their money on what renews later. Corpus itemizes the state filing fee and Corpus service fee after you choose a state. The service includes registered-agent service for year 1; EIN filing is optional and separate. Registered agent renews at $99/yr flat after the included first year.
State filing fee + Corpus service fee. Choose your state to see the current state filing fee and Corpus service fee before purchase. Registered-agent service for year 1 is included in your total. EIN filing is optional and priced separately, when available.
What a “$0 LLC” actually costs
Five-year formation-service + registered-agent costs, excluding state filing fees and optional add-ons. Competitors show their advertised totals; Corpus remains a state-selected formula because its service fee varies by jurisdiction.
| Provider | Advertised | Registered agent, yr 2+ | 5-yr cost / formula | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LegalZoom | “$0” + state fees | $249/yr registered agent | ~$996+ | Form-filler + upsells; RA renews at $249/yr after year 1 as of 2026-07-05 |
| ZenBusiness | “$0” Starter + state fees | $199/yr RA (+ “Worry-Free” auto-renews $199/yr) | ~$796–$1,592+ | Template SEO pages; two separate $199/yr auto-renewals as of 2026-07-05 |
| Corpus | State filing fee + Corpus service fee, shown after state selection | $99/yr flat — stated at checkout on day one | Current Corpus service fee + 4 × $99 registered-agent renewals (state filing fee excluded; optional EIN excluded) | State-specific formation intake; registered-agent service for year 1; human approval bound to the exact filing payload; optional $75 EIN filing (when available) |
And no — we're not always the absolute cheapest either. Depending on your state, an old-school flat-fee service may cost less over five years, and we'd rather tell you that than hide it. The Corpus service buys a guided formation intake, a cryptographically hash-locked human approval on your exact filing, and cited local-law answers wherever our corpus covers.
Five-year figures exclude state filing fees. Competitor figures are their published prices, checked on the dates shown. Corpus uses the current Corpus service fee shown after state selection plus four $99 registered-agent renewals; optional $75 EIN filing (when available) is excluded.
What the Corpus service covers
Choose your state to see the current state filing fee and Corpus service fee before purchase. Registered-agent service for year 1 is included in your total. EIN filing is optional and priced separately, when available.
The amount charged by the selected state is shown as its own line before purchase.
Formation preparation, the human filing gate, and registered-agent service for year 1. Registered agent renews at a flat $99/yr after your included first year — cancel anytime.
The IRS issues EINs free at irs.gov if you apply yourself; Corpus charges $75 only when the add-on is available and you choose to have it prepare the application.
Built for people who build with AI
Corpus was itself built at an AI hackathon by a founder orchestrating an agent swarm — “built by and for the AI generation” is the literal origin story, not positioning. It started as a civic-transparency fight: a 240-day public-records battle with Philadelphia, MS ended with us photographing the city's code book and publishing it ourselves.
If you shipped a product with Claude, Cursor, or v0 and it's turning into a real business, this is the formation service that works the way you do: a conversational intake, state-specific pricing shown before payment, and receipts for every claim below.
Asked by people who read the fine print.
What does it cost after year 1?
Your registered agent renews at a flat $99/yr — stated here before you ever pay, and you can cancel anytime. There are no other recurring Corpus fees. (Your state may charge its own annual-report fee — ask in the chat what your state requires.)
Why isn't Corpus $0 too?
Because nothing is $0. A “$0 formation” still costs the state fee at checkout, and the provider earns it back on what renews later — registered agent commonly runs $199–$249/yr at the big brands. Corpus itemizes the state filing fee and its service fee after state selection, then charges a flat $99/yr registered-agent renewal after the included first year.
What does “hash-locked human approval” mean?
Before anything is filed, your exact filing payload is snapshot-hashed and a human approves that hash — a tamper-evident record of precisely what was approved. You pay first and that review happens after, which is why you may request a full refund before we begin processing your filing. Once filing processing begins, refunds are no longer available because work on your formation submission has started. The agent's activity also runs on a public console anyone can audit.
What if I'm not ready to form anything?
Then don't — the law library behind this service is free with no account, and the field guide below covers the procedural facts first-time founders usually learn the hard way. Form the LLC when the business is real.
Can I pay for my LLC with USDC?
Yes, when the option is shown at checkout. You can pay the quoted U.S.-dollar amount in USDC on Solana or pay by card. USDC is a dollar-denominated stablecoin; the checkout amount is set before payment. Send the exact amount shown. USDC refunds are manual and return only to the wallet that sent the payment. No on-chain refund timing is promised.
Are there extra fees for paying in USDC?
Corpus quotes the formation total in U.S. dollars. The amount shown in the USDC payment request is the amount due; SOL network fees are separate and paid by the sender. Do not send a rounded amount or a different token.
What if I need a refund?
Before filing processing begins, you may request a refund under the standard policy. A USDC refund is sent manually only to the wallet that sent the original payment. No on-chain refund timing is promised.
Can the USDC amount change after I start?
Your formation price is set in U.S. dollars before payment. The checkout request fixes the exact USDC amount for that order; Corpus does not reprice the order while you are paying. Send the exact amount shown.
Not ready to file yet?
Take the founder legal checklist — the procedural facts first-time founders usually learn the hard way, in one page. Leave your email and we'll also send you Corpus product updates, or just read it now.
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