Alternatives · Inc Authority · An honest, dossier-sourced comparison, not an attack page.
Alternative to Inc Authority
Inc Authority Alternative — Inc Authority vs Mainstay Filing
Inc Authority runs the most genuinely free entry offer of any company in this comparison series — a $0 LLC filing, a $0 registered agent for the first year, and a $0 EIN, with only the mandatory state fee out of pocket. That's real, and it's worth saying plainly rather than assuming a catch that isn't there. What comes after that free year is the part worth understanding before you sign up: renewal pricing, and every "premium bundle" beyond it, is withheld from their website by design.
Receipt · Mainstay vs. Inc Authority
Formation + agent, year one
Registered agent, year two
Annual report
Premium bundle pricing
Year two total
Inc Authority figures as advertised on incauthority.com, live-verified July 2026 per our competitor pricing dossier. Where marked "not disclosed," that reflects Inc Authority's own published policy, not a gap in our research — confirm current terms directly with Inc Authority before comparing.
Inc Authority runs the most genuinely free entry offer of any company in this comparison series — a $0 LLC filing, a $0 registered agent for the first year, and a $0 EIN, with only the mandatory state fee out of pocket. That's real, and it's worth saying plainly rather than assuming a catch that isn't there. What comes after that free year is the part worth understanding before you sign up: renewal pricing, and every "premium bundle" beyond it, is withheld from their website by design.
The Verdict
If getting a company formed with zero service fee out of pocket in year one matters more than anything else right now, Inc Authority's free tier is a genuinely strong, real offer. If you want to know your full second- year cost before you commit to anything, that number isn't published anywhere on their site — it's revealed by phone, and this page can't respectably estimate it for you.
What Inc Authority Actually Offers
The core offer is straightforward and genuinely free: $0 for the LLC (or corporation) filing itself, though the state's own mandatory filing fee still applies; $0 for the registered agent, for the first year only; and $0 for a federal EIN. Bundled into the same free package: a business-name check, document prep and filing, "INC CARE" customer support, secure document storage, and instant digital delivery — plus two lead-generation calls explicitly built into the package, a tax-planning consultation and a business-credit- and-funding-analysis call, both sales conversations rather than self-serve deliverables.
Inc Authority's own homepage runs a comparison chart positioning this free offer directly against LegalZoom (which it states costs "$378 + state fees") and ZenBusiness (stated at "$298 + state fees") — the entire marketing strategy is built around being the free loss-leader against exactly those two named competitors.
What Happens After Year One: Genuinely Not Published
This is the headline finding of this whole page, and it comes directly from Inc Authority's own site rather
than from any outside estimate: registered-agent renewal pricing after the free first year is not disclosed
anywhere in their static content — not in the FAQ, not on the premium-packages page, not on the homepage.
Annual-report pricing follows the identical pattern. Their /premium-packages page states outright that
their bundles "can only be ordered through our team of Business Startup Experts," with an explicit
instruction to call a phone number to learn more — this is a direct quote from their own page, not an
inference drawn from their business model.
The Upsell Menu, Priced by Phone Call
Beyond the free core offer, Inc Authority's site lists an extensive menu across four categories — Entity Products (bylaws, a legal-documents package, an EIN service, minutes and resolutions, an operating agreement, S-corp amendment filing, nonprofit formation), Business Support (tax preparation, a personal banker, an "Inc Success Advisor"), Website Services (a branded website, address and email, custom design), and two named Premium Service Bundles ("STARTER" and "FAST TRACK") layered with add-ons like private banking access and expedited filing. Every single item on that list is marked phone-quote-only — this is, by a wide margin, the most opaque upsell structure of any competitor reviewed in this dossier, and it's opaque by explicit design rather than by oversight.
Year Two: Unknown by Design, and That's the Point
Because neither the registered-agent renewal nor the annual-report price is published anywhere, a realistic year-two total for an Inc Authority customer simply cannot be computed from public information — not "roughly this much," not "somewhere in a range," genuinely unknown until you're on the phone with their sales team. That absence is the finding this page is built to surface, not a research gap this page failed to close. It's also the single sharpest contrast with Mainstay's model: the $199/yr figure on this site is the same number whether you're reading this page for the first time or renewing for the fifth year in a row.
Genuine Strengths Worth Naming
Inc Authority's free tier is the best true $0 offer of any competitor in this entire series — genuinely $0 out of pocket beyond the state's own mandatory fee, with the registered agent actually included at no cost for a full year rather than just discounted. The company has operated for more than 30 years, carries an exceptionally high review volume (over 48,000 and 10,700 reviews combined, at 4.9 stars), and its Bank of America partner banking bonus — $300 to $800 — is a real, usable perk rather than marketing filler. Live, US-based phone support is also a genuine feature for an owner who wants a person on the line.
When Inc Authority Might Be the Better Fit
If the absolute lowest possible cash outlay in year one is the deciding factor — genuinely $0 beyond the state's own fee — Inc Authority's free tier is the strongest offer of its kind in this comparison set, and it's a real, usable one, not a bait-and-switch built on hidden year-one fees. Their long operating history and banking-bonus partnership are also genuine value for the right owner.
For anyone who wants to know their full year-two cost — registered agent and annual report both — before committing to anything at all, that number simply isn't available from Inc Authority without a phone call, and it's printed plainly on this page instead.
Frequently asked questions
Is Inc Authority legit?
Yes — it's operated for more than 30 years, carries an exceptionally high review volume (48,000-plus and 10,700-plus reviews at 4.9 stars), and its free-tier offer is real and genuinely delivered as advertised. The phone-only pricing beyond year one is a deliberate sales-funnel design, not a sign the company is disreputable.
How much does Inc Authority really cost per year?
Year one is genuinely $0 for the LLC filing, registered agent, and EIN, beyond the state's own mandatory fee. Year-two registered-agent renewal pricing and annual-report pricing are not disclosed anywhere in their public site content — by their own description, available only by phone — so a year-two total cannot be computed from published information as of July 2026.
Why won't Inc Authority publish its renewal or bundle prices?
Their own /premium-packages page states that bundles "can only be ordered through our team of Business Startup Experts," directing customers to call a phone number — a direct quote from their own site. The pattern is consistent across every premium product listed: no price appears anywhere until a sales conversation starts.
Can I switch my registered agent from Inc Authority to Mainstay?
Possibly — it depends on your state and your current filing, including whether your free first year with Inc Authority has already ended. Contact us and tell us what you have set up now; we'll tell you plainly whether we can help and what it would involve.
What's the catch with a truly free LLC filing?
For Inc Authority, the "catch" isn't a hidden year-one fee — the free tier is genuinely free beyond the state's own charge. It's that the company's actual revenue model runs through the phone-based sales calls bundled into the free package and the unpriced premium bundles beyond it, which is a different kind of trade than a hidden cost: it's a business built to convert a free signup into a phone conversation, not to surprise you with a bill.
See it side by side, in your state
Formation, your registered agent, and your annual report. One price, $199/yr, with the state fee passed through at cost. Pick your state and we'll take it from there.
Get Started ($199/yr All-In)