doola vs Firstbase: Which Fits a Global Founder?

Pick doola if you are a solo or small team outside the US running an LLC for services, SaaS or e-commerce and you want formation, EIN, address and registered agent in one annual price. Pick Firstbase if you are building a fundable startup, want a Delaware or Wyoming entity inside a stack that also handles mailroom, accounting and tax filing as separate products, and you like paying for modules rather than one bundle.

Both are real answers to the same problem: you cannot walk into a US bank or a Secretary of State’s office. They just package the solution differently.

Quick comparison

Confirm all of these on the vendors’ own pricing pages before you buy. Both companies run promotions and both restructure their tiers.

The real difference is business model, not price

doola’s bet is that you want one vendor. The entry plan folds together the four things a non-resident LLC needs to exist: the state filing, the EIN, a US business address and a registered agent. You pay once a year and stop thinking about it.

Firstbase’s bet is that you want a company that looks and behaves like a US startup. Formation is a relatively cheap entry point, and then you attach what you need: registered agent, mailroom, accounting, tax filing, sales tax. Its bundled plan pulls those together at roughly $199 a month billed annually, which tells you who it is priced for — a funded or revenue-generating company, not a freelancer testing an idea.

So the question is not “which is cheaper.” It is “am I buying a container for my freelance income, or the first layer of a company I intend to raise money into?”

Cost over three years, honestly

A single-member Wyoming LLC that just needs to exist and stay compliant:

• doola route: entry plan renewals, plus state fees and the annual report. Predictable. The address and agent are inside the price.
• Firstbase route: formation, plus registered agent per year, plus mailroom if you need a US address. Each line is separately useful and separately billable, and the sum usually lands above doola’s entry plan once you add the address.

Now the same comparison for a company with a bookkeeper, a US bank account, real revenue and a tax return to file: Firstbase’s module pricing starts to look reasonable, because you were going to buy accounting and tax filing anyway. Its listed price for a non-US single-member LLC tax package is meaningfully below doola’s bundled tax tier.

That inversion is the whole article. Low complexity favors doola. Real operating complexity favors Firstbase modules or an independent CPA. For the underlying cost components, see what a US LLC really costs for non-residents.

EIN handling

Neither company can make the IRS move faster. If no owner has an SSN or ITIN, the online EIN tool is closed to you and Form SS-4 goes by fax or mail. Firstbase markets an expedited EIN as part of formation; doola sells expedited EIN on its higher tiers.

What “expedited” means in practice is that the provider prepares and submits the SS-4 promptly and correctly, and follows up. It does not mean the IRS has a fast lane for you. Non-resident EINs commonly take four to eight weeks, and a rejected application restarts the wait. If you want to understand what you are paying someone to get right, read how to get an EIN without an SSN.

Start with doola if you want the EIN bundled with the address and agent

Start with Firstbase if you want expedited EIN plus startup tooling

State choice

Firstbase steers hard toward Delaware and Wyoming, and for a fundable startup Delaware is the right default because investors expect it. Be clear-eyed about the cost: Delaware charges LLCs a $300 annual franchise tax regardless of activity, on top of the registered agent.

doola will file in any state. For a non-resident with no US physical presence, Wyoming and New Mexico are the usual low-cost picks. New Mexico is notable for not requiring an annual report for LLCs, which removes one recurring task. We break the trade-offs down in Wyoming vs Delaware and Wyoming vs New Mexico.

If you are forming an LLC to hold freelance or agency income, Delaware’s franchise tax buys you nothing. If you plan a priced seed round, Delaware is not optional — though at that point you likely want a C-corp, not an LLC.

Banking

This is where non-residents actually get stuck, and neither vendor can guarantee an outcome. Both help with applications and both work with fintech providers that serve foreign-owned US companies. Firstbase makes more noise about bank setup as part of formation; doola positions banking help inside its onboarding.

The honest framing: the bank or fintech decides, based on your country of residence, your business model and their current risk appetite. Have a second and third option ready. Our US business bank account guide covers which providers currently accept foreign-owned LLCs and what documents they ask for.

Compliance and the paperwork nobody mentions in ads

A foreign-owned single-member LLC is generally required to file Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with zero profit. Penalties start at $25,000. This is the single most expensive thing a non-resident founder forgets.

Both companies sell tax filing that covers it. The cheaper path is an independent CPA who does this all day. The point is that somebody must do it, and “my LLC made no money” is not an exemption. Details in US LLC taxes for non-residents.

One thing you can probably stop worrying about: beneficial ownership reporting to FinCEN. Current rules exempt companies formed in the United States and apply only to foreign-formed companies registered to do business in a state. Check fincen.gov/boi before paying anyone for a BOI filing.

Who should pick doola

• You are one or two people outside the US.
• Your revenue is services, digital products, SaaS or e-commerce, not venture-funded.
• You want the address and registered agent inside one predictable annual price.
• You would rather not evaluate five modules.

Compare doola’s plans

Who should pick Firstbase

• You are building something you intend to raise money into.
• You want a Delaware or Wyoming entity plus a mailroom, accounting and tax filing you can switch on as you grow.
• You value expedited EIN handling and bank setup support at formation.
• You are comfortable that the true annual cost is the sum of the modules you turn on.

Compare Firstbase’s plans

FAQ

Can either one open a US bank account for me?

No. They prepare and support the application; the bank decides. Approval depends on your country of residence and business model more than on which formation service you used.

Which is faster overall?

Formation speed is close and depends mostly on the state. The EIN dominates the timeline for anyone without an SSN, and both are constrained by the same IRS fax and mail process.

Can I switch later?

Yes. Your LLC belongs to you. You can change registered agent and move bookkeeping at any time; the state filing stays intact as long as you appoint a new agent before dropping the old one.

Do I need a US address?

You need a registered agent address in the state, which both provide. A separate business mailing address is optional but usually required by banks and payment processors — which is why doola bundles one and Firstbase sells one.

The call

For most readers of this site — a founder abroad with an LLC, not a cap table — doola’s single bundle is the lower-friction start, and its entry price already includes the two recurring items Firstbase charges separately. If you are building for investors and expect to add accounting and tax modules anyway, Firstbase’s per-module pricing wins on the way up.

Start where your next twelve months actually are: doola for a lean operating LLC, Firstbase for a company you plan to grow into a stack. If you are still deciding on the entity itself, begin with our guide to US LLCs for non-residents.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your situation with a CPA or attorney experienced with foreign-owned US entities.