LLC Cost & Fee Guides

The "$99 LLC" is the corporate version of a $99 car lease — the headline gets you in the door, then the add-ons arrive. This section itemises what forming and running a US LLC actually costs over its life, so you can budget for the real number instead of the advertised one.

On the formation side, the hidden-costs guide walks line by line through what the cheap-LLC ads leave out: registered-agent renewals that auto-bill at $125–$300 a year, annual report fees, state franchise and privilege taxes (California's $800 minimum is owed whether or not you make a dollar), publication requirements in four states that can run into four figures, and foreign-qualification fees if you operate outside your formation state. The pattern is consistent — the upfront filing fee is usually the smallest number you will pay.

The second half of the cost question is the one almost nobody budgets for: what it costs to get paid. Receiving money into a US LLC is not a single fee but a stack — the processor's headline rate, a cross-border surcharge on foreign cards, and a currency-conversion spread on withdrawal — and the difference between the cheapest and most expensive path can be several percent of every dollar you earn. Our guide compares Stripe, PayPal, Wise, Payoneer, Mercury, and Relay with each provider's pricing page linked and dated. Put your own numbers through the cost calculator and the pricing calculator to see the all-in figure. Rates move often — verify on the source before relying on any number here.