Incorporating is cheap. Incorporating correctly is the part founders pay for. A certificate of incorporation filed in Delaware is one page. A company that can take a SAFE, grant options and pass diligence also needs bylaws, board consents, founder stock purchase agreements with vesting, IP assignment and a timely 83(b) election for every founder holding restricted stock.

Stripe Atlas bundles most of that for a single fee, which makes it the reference point. The five alternatives below are compared against it, line by line, on what a venture-track C corp needs in its first two years.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice.

Method

1. C corp paperwork. Does the package produce the documents a seed investor’s counsel will ask for: bylaws, initial board consent, founder stock purchase agreements and IP assignment?
2. 83(b) handling. Does the provider file the election, or hand the founder a pre-filled form and instructions?
3. EIN. Is the federal tax ID part of the package?
4. Published price. What the provider charges in year one and year two, from its own pricing page, with conditions noted.

Checked against each provider’s own pages on November 5, 2026.

Side by Side

The Baseline: Stripe Atlas

Stripe Atlas

Included: Delaware C corp formation, EIN, founder equity issuance and share purchase, 83(b) election filing, document templates, $2,500 in Stripe credits for the first year and partner discounts.

Cost: A $500 one-time setup fee that covers government fees and the first year of the Delaware agent. After that, $100 a year, renewing automatically.

The catch: Atlas’s advertised $500 bonus depends on opening a Stripe Treasury account within seven days of incorporating, so the headline “free” math only works inside Stripe’s own products.

The Atlas page also lists board consents and post-money SAFEs on the YC template, with per-SAFE tracking, at no additional cost. That fundraising piece is what most alternatives either charge for or skip.

The Alternatives

Clerky

Included: The Formation package covers Delaware incorporation with expedited filing fees, the first-year agent fee, annual report and franchise tax reminders, and lifetime use of Clerky’s standard fundraising, hiring, commercial and maintenance products.

Cost: $819 one-time. À la carte, incorporation is $427 and post-incorporation setup is $299.

The catch: Clerky prepares the 83(b) but leaves the mailing to the founder. Its pricing page describes a “pre-filled 83(b) Election and Filing Instructions” with automated reminders.

Post-incorporation setup produces the action of incorporator, bylaws, initial board consent, restricted stock purchase agreements with custom vesting, notices of stock issuance and confidential information and invention assignment agreements. Outside the package, SAFEs are $9 each, convertible notes $19 each, and an unlimited issuance subscription is $99 for six months. Stock plan adoption is $199. Foreign qualification is $125 plus state fees for California and New York. Clerky also lets a company’s own startup attorney give access to its products, which suits founders who already have counsel.

Gust Launch

Included: The Start plan covers Delaware C corp incorporation with EIN, post-incorporation setup (bylaws, officer and board appointments, first board action), founder stock issuance with 83(b) forms, a digital cap table and the Delaware agent fee.

Cost: $450 a year for Start, $1,250 a year for Accelerate and $3,500 a year for Raise, per Gust’s pricing page.

The catch: It’s a subscription. Year two costs the same as year one, and SAFEs, convertible notes and contractor agreements sit in the $1,250 tier, not the $450 one.

Accelerate adds unlimited NDAs, contractor and advisor agreements, founder IP assignment, cap table modeling and unlimited SAFEs and notes. It also includes introductions to startup law firms with the initial retainer waived and one hour off the legal bill in months the firm is engaged. Raise adds an equity incentive plan, a 409A valuation and option issuance and exercise. We couldn’t confirm whether Delaware’s filing fee sits inside the $450.

Firstbase

Included: Formation in Delaware or Wyoming, expedited EIN setup, “all essential and important documents” such as a stock purchase agreement and bylaws, and lifetime support.

Cost: The Start product showed a $99 offer price against a $399 list price, plus the state fee. Firstbase states that agent service is required for incorporation and lists it at $299 a year.

The catch: The low entry price isn’t the full first-year cost once the required $299 agent fee is added. Firstbase One, its subscription for running the company, is listed at $199 a month billed yearly ($2,388).

The pricing page doesn’t say whether Firstbase files the 83(b), so we couldn’t confirm it. Founders who choose Firstbase should calendar the 30-day deadline themselves. Add-ons include accounting at $1,890 and tax filing at $1,799.

Every

Included: Delaware C corp formation, a common stock purchase agreement, the 83(b), EIN number and letter, confidentiality agreements and board setup, per the incorporation page.

Cost: $0. The pricing page describes the free incorporation as a deal activated at sign-up in return for spreading the word about Every.

The catch: Incorporation is the free front door to a paid back-office business. Every’s other products (bookkeeping listed from $330 a month, tax preparation and others) are where it charges.

We couldn’t confirm on Every’s pages whether Delaware’s state fees are covered or what the agent costs after year one. Founders should get both in writing before signing up.

doola

Included: A C corp formed in Delaware or Wyoming, an EIN, one year of agent service and a US mailing address, per the C corp page.

Cost: $297 a year plus state fees for the Starter plan, per doola’s pricing page. Tax and Compliance is $1,999 a year.

The catch: doola’s C corp page lists an “Operating Agreement,” which is LLC paperwork, and doesn’t list founder stock purchase agreements, vesting or the 83(b). Founders would need those from somewhere else.

doola’s own description is forming a US company “from anywhere,” and its pages are written for founders outside the US. For a non-US team that needs an EIN and an address first, that focus is useful. For a US team preparing for a seed round, the missing equity documents are the issue.

Two-Year Cost, Worked Out

Assumptions
- One Delaware C corp, two founders, no foreign qualification.
- Prices from each provider's page on November 5, 2026.
- Excludes Delaware franchise tax and annual report fees, and any
  state fee a provider doesn't say it covers.
- "?" marks a cost we couldn't confirm.

Provider      Year 1                          Year 2           Two-year total
Stripe Atlas  $500 (gov. fees + agent incl.)  $100             $600
Clerky        $819 (filing + agent incl.)     ?                $819 + ?
Gust Launch   $450 (Start)                    $450             $900
Firstbase     $99 offer + $299 agent          $299 agent       $697 + state fee
              ($399 list + $299)              $299             ($997 + state fee)
doola         $297 + state fees               $297             $594 + state fees
Every         $0 (deal at sign-up)            ?                $0 + ?

The cheapest line isn’t the cheapest company. A provider that skips founder stock agreements or the 83(b) pushes that work onto a lawyer later, at hourly rates. The 83(b) is the one that can’t wait: the IRS instructions on Form 15620 require the election no later than 30 days after the stock is transferred.

The Diligence Test

Once a term sheet is signed, the investor’s counsel sends a document request. A formation package earns its price if the company can answer these items from its own files:

1. Certificate of incorporation, as filed and stamped by Delaware.
2. Bylaws and the initial board consent appointing directors and officers.
3. A stock purchase agreement for each founder, with the vesting schedule and repurchase right.
4. Proof that each founder’s 83(b) election was sent to the IRS within 30 days, with the mailing receipt.
5. An IP assignment from every founder and early contributor.
6. A cap table that matches the signed documents share for share.
7. The EIN confirmation letter.

Atlas, Clerky, Gust Launch and Every list most of these items on their own pages. Firstbase lists the stock purchase agreement and bylaws but not the 83(b). doola lists the EIN but none of the equity documents. Any gap on that list becomes a lawyer’s invoice in the middle of the round.

Matching Provider to Situation

• Two US founders heading to a seed round on SAFEs: Stripe Atlas or Clerky. Both produce the full founder document set, and both handle SAFEs. Atlas files the 83(b). Clerky prepares it.
• Founders who already have a startup lawyer: Clerky, because the lawyer can be given access to the same products.
• Founders who want incorporation, cap table and later a 409A from one vendor: Gust Launch, accepting the annual fee.
• A non-US team that needs a US entity and an EIN first: doola or Firstbase, with the founder equity documents sourced separately.
• Founders already planning to buy bookkeeping and tax services: Every, after confirming state fees.

Before picking any of them, settle the entity question in Delaware C corp vs LLC and the founder split in a co-founder agreement. Programs on the best startup accelerators list mostly expect a Delaware C corp, and the full sequence sits in how to start a startup company.