Firstbase.io sits in the awkward middle of the US company formation market. It is more expensive than Northwest Registered Agent, cheaper up front than Doola's bundled packages, and it competes with Stripe Atlas for the same globally distributed founder. Most reviews of it are written by people who have never had to get an EIN without a Social Security number, which is the only part of this process that is genuinely hard.
This is an assessment of what Firstbase actually charges in 2026, what the US$399 headline does and does not include, and the specific readers for whom Northwest or Doola is the better buy. Soveraine earns a commission if you sign up through our link — that does not change the assessment, and our editorial policy explains how we keep rankings honest.
Firstbase — US$399 one-time US company formation with expedited EIN, state fees included, built for founders outside the US. Check current pricing.
What Firstbase is
Firstbase forms US companies — LLCs and C-corps — in Delaware or Wyoming for founders who are typically not in the United States, and then sells the ongoing infrastructure that a US entity needs: a registered agent, a business address that receives and scans mail, bookkeeping, and tax filing.
The structural difference from its competitors is the pricing shape. Northwest is cheap and transactional. Doola leans toward annual all-in packages. Firstbase leads with a low one-time formation fee and then charges à la carte for everything recurring. That shape rewards founders who know what they need and punishes those who assume the headline covers the year.
What US$399 actually buys
Firstbase Start — US$399, one-time:
- Company formation in Delaware or Wyoming
- State filing fees included (Firstbase advertises "zero filing fees" — the state's cut is inside the US$399, not added at checkout)
- Expedited EIN, including for a responsible party without an SSN
- Core legal documents — operating agreement, bylaws, stock purchase agreements
- Business bank account partnership introductions
- Lifetime support access
Including the state filing fee is a genuine differentiator worth naming. Most competitors quote a formation price and then add the state fee, so a US$39 headline becomes US$139 in Wyoming or US$149 in Delaware. Firstbase's US$399 is the number you pay.
What it costs after that
This is where the real decision lives.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Start (formation, one-time) | US$399 |
| Agent Autopilot (registered agent) | US$299 / year, per state |
| Mailroom Basic | US$35 / month (US$315 / year) |
| Mailroom Premium | US$50 / month (US$350 / year) |
| Tax Filing | US$1,799 / year |
| Accounting | from US$599 / month (US$5,990 / year) |
| Firstbase One (bundle) | US$199 / month, billed yearly — US$2,388 |
| Sales Tax | Custom |
Plus, paid to the state and not to Firstbase: roughly US$60 a year in Wyoming, around US$300 a year in Delaware.
So the realistic first-year cost for a lean non-resident LLC is not US$399. It is US$399 + US$299 agent + US$315 mailroom + US$60 state ≈ US$1,073, before any tax filing. That is the number to compare against competitors, and it is the number most reviews never compute.
Is the One bundle worth it?
Firstbase advertises One at US$199 per month billed yearly — US$2,388 — bundling Mailroom Premium (US$350), Agent Autopilot (US$299), Accounting (US$1,890) and Tax Filing (US$1,799).
Those components total US$4,338, against US$2,388. The advertised saving of "up to US$1,950" is arithmetically correct, which is not something you can say about every bundle in this industry.
But the saving is only real if you would have bought all four. A solo consultant who needs an agent and a mailbox spends under US$700 standalone. For that reader, One is a three-fold overspend dressed as a discount. For a funded company with genuine bookkeeping volume and a US tax return to file, it is a fair price.
The EIN question, which is the actual product
If you take one thing from this review: the EIN is what you are paying for.
A responsible party with a Social Security number gets an EIN from the IRS online tool in about fifteen minutes, free. A responsible party without an SSN cannot use that tool. You must file Form SS-4 by fax or mail, and the IRS routinely takes four to six weeks to come back — longer if anything on the form is wrong, and the form is easy to get wrong in ways that cause a silent restart.
Firstbase runs this as an expedited process and quotes roughly 8 to 12 business days.
That gap — six weeks of dead time versus under two — is the honest justification for the fee. If you have a US client waiting to onboard a vendor, or a Stripe account you cannot activate without a tax ID, it pays for itself immediately. If you are in no hurry and comfortable with US administrative paperwork, you can do this yourself and keep the money. Our EIN for non-US residents guide covers the DIY route.
Form 5472: the expensive thing nobody mentions
A foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year. The penalty for missing it is US$25,000.
Forming through Firstbase does not include this. It sits inside Tax Filing at US$1,799 per year, or inside the One bundle. If you form a US$399 LLC, add an agent, and assume you are compliant, you are not — and the penalty dwarfs every price in this review.
This is the single most important sentence on the page: confirm which product covers your 5472 before your first filing deadline.
Delaware or Wyoming?
Firstbase offers both, and defaults matter because the difference is recurring.
Wyoming costs roughly US$60 a year at state level, has no franchise tax calculation to get wrong, and is the correct default for consulting, freelance, agency and e-commerce businesses — which is most readers.
Delaware costs around US$300 a year and earns that premium in exactly one scenario: you intend to raise US institutional venture capital, and US investors expect a Delaware entity. If that is not your plan, Delaware is a recurring premium on an option you will never exercise.
See which state is best for an LLC for a non-resident for the fuller comparison.
Where Firstbase wins
- State fees included in the US$399, so the headline is the real price at formation.
- Fast EIN without an SSN — 8 to 12 business days against the IRS's four to six weeks.
- Low entry cost compared with bundled annual packages, if you want to own the entity and add services later.
- Banking introductions to Mercury, Relay and Brex, which is meaningful because remote US bank onboarding is the second-hardest step after the EIN.
- Honest bundle maths — the One components genuinely total more than the bundle price.
Where it loses
- The US$399 is not the year. Realistic first-year running cost lands near US$1,073 for a lean setup, and the site's headline does not make that obvious.
- Registered agent at US$299 a year per state is expensive. Standalone agents are widely available for US$100 to US$150. Over five years that difference alone is US$750 to US$1,000.
- Accounting from US$599 a month is not a solo-founder product. Anchoring it on the pricing page makes the platform look costlier than it needs to be for small operators.
- 5472 is not included at the formation tier, and the consequence of misunderstanding that is a US$25,000 penalty.
Who should buy what
Buy Firstbase if you want a US entity formed quickly with the state fee inside the price, you need the EIN in under two weeks, and you are comfortable buying ongoing services separately as you actually need them.
Buy Doola instead if you want formation and ongoing compliance — bookkeeping, tax, 5472 — handled end to end by one provider, and you have not run a US entity before.
Buy Northwest instead if you already understand US compliance, want the cheapest reliable formation and agent, and will handle your own filings. It is meaningfully cheaper over a multi-year horizon.
Buy Stripe Atlas instead if you are building a venture-backable startup that will take US institutional money, and you want the Delaware C-corp path that investors expect.
The verdict
Firstbase is a competent, fairly priced product with one presentational problem: the US$399 headline describes the formation, not the year, and the gap between the two is roughly US$700 for even a minimal setup.
Judged on what it does rather than what it advertises, it is a good buy for a specific reader — a founder outside the US who needs an entity and a tax ID quickly, wants the state fee included, and prefers to add compliance services deliberately rather than pay for a bundle on day one. For a first-time founder who wants everything handled, Doola's shape fits better. For a cost-conscious operator who knows the mechanics, Northwest is cheaper.
Whichever you pick, budget for Form 5472 before you budget for anything else.
Ready to form the US company?
Firstbase Start is US$399 one-time for a Delaware or Wyoming entity with the state filing fees included and an expedited EIN in roughly 8–12 business days — the step that otherwise costs non-residents four to six weeks of IRS waiting. Budget separately for the registered agent and, if you own a single-member LLC from abroad, for the annual Form 5472. Soveraine readers go through our partner link, and your signup funds independent editorial.
FAQ
Is Firstbase legit?
Yes. Firstbase.io is an established US company-formation platform that has incorporated thousands of companies, with a deliberate focus on founders who are not in the United States. The legal filing itself is made with the Delaware or Wyoming Secretary of State and the EIN is issued by the IRS regardless of who you use — Firstbase is the intermediary that runs the paperwork, provides the address and agent, and connects you to banking. That is a real service, competently delivered, at a price that is neither the cheapest nor the most expensive in the category.
How much does Firstbase cost?
Firstbase Start is US$399 one-time and includes formation in Delaware or Wyoming, the state filing fees, an expedited EIN, core legal documents and banking introductions. Everything ongoing is priced separately: registered agent (Agent Autopilot) at US$299 per year per state, Mailroom from US$35 per month, tax filing at US$1,799 per year, and accounting from US$599 per month. The Firstbase One bundle packages Mailroom Premium, Agent Autopilot, Accounting and Tax Filing at US$199 per month billed yearly, or US$2,388. State franchise and annual report fees are paid to the state on top — roughly US$60 a year in Wyoming and US$300 a year in Delaware.
Can Firstbase get an EIN without a Social Security number?
Yes, and it is the main reason non-residents pay for the service. A responsible party without an SSN cannot use the IRS online EIN tool and must file Form SS-4 by fax or mail, which routinely takes the IRS four to six weeks. Firstbase runs this as an expedited process and quotes roughly 8 to 12 business days. If you have ever waited on an IRS fax queue, that difference is most of what the US$399 buys.
Firstbase vs Doola — which is better for non-residents?
They are close competitors aimed at the same reader, and the honest split is upfront cost versus bundled compliance. Firstbase leads with a US$399 one-time formation and then charges for each ongoing service separately, which suits founders who want to own the entity cheaply and add services only as needed. Doola leans toward annual packages that bundle formation with bookkeeping and tax filing, including the Form 5472 that foreign-owned single-member LLCs must file. Pick Firstbase if you want a low entry price and control over what you bolt on. Pick Doola if you would rather one provider handled compliance end to end and you have not done this before.
Does Firstbase handle Form 5472?
Through its tax filing service, yes — but that is a separately priced product at US$1,799 per year, or part of the Firstbase One bundle, not something included in the US$399 formation. This distinction matters more than any other line item in this review, because a foreign-owned single-member LLC that fails to file Form 5472 faces a US$25,000 penalty. Do not assume forming through Firstbase means the annual filing is handled. Confirm which product covers it before the first filing deadline.
Delaware or Wyoming with Firstbase?
Firstbase offers both. For most non-resident readers running a consulting, freelance or e-commerce business, Wyoming is the better default: annual state costs are roughly US$60 versus around US$300 in Delaware, and there is no franchise tax calculation to get wrong. Delaware earns its premium when you intend to raise US institutional venture capital, because that is the jurisdiction US investors expect. Choosing Delaware for a solo consultancy is paying a recurring premium for an option you will never exercise.
Is the Firstbase One bundle worth it?
The arithmetic is real: the components are advertised at US$350, US$299, US$1,890 and US$1,799, which totals US$4,338 against a bundle price of US$2,388 — a genuine saving of US$1,950. Whether that is worth it depends entirely on whether you would have bought all four services anyway. If you only need an agent and a mailbox, buying those standalone costs under US$700 a year and the bundle is a large overspend. The bundle is good value for a funded company with real bookkeeping needs, and poor value for a solo founder invoicing a handful of clients.