doola review: subscription pricing for non-US LLC founders
Data last updated: Apr 21, 2026Overview
doola was founded in 2020 by Arjun Mahadevan and JP Pincheira, headquartered in New York, and funded through Y Combinator. The product targets non-US residents who need a US LLC to open a US bank account, onboard to Stripe, and sell on Amazon or Shopify from outside the country. That is a specific problem with a specific set of paperwork (ITIN handling, non-US EIN via mailed Form SS-4, US address and registered agent, ongoing BOI and tax filings), and doola builds the flow around it.
The competitive set is Firstbase and Stripe Atlas, not Bizee or LegalZoom. Among those three, doola is the only pure annual-subscription model; Firstbase charges a $399 one-time formation fee with Agent as a separate $299/yr subscription, and Stripe Atlas is a flat $500 one-time with $100/yr RA renewal. doola instead wraps formation, registered agent, and ongoing compliance into a single recurring invoice, which is either clarifying or expensive depending on how you think about subscription spend.
Where doola fits, and where it doesn't
Good fit for doola
You live outside the US and want a US LLC that can receive payments through Stripe, Shopify, or Amazon in USD. You want an EIN without a US Social Security Number and do not want to handle the IRS paper SS-4 path yourself. You want a US bank account (Mercury is the named banking partner) and do not want to explain why your address shows up as a residential address in Karachi or Buenos Aires. You want federal and state tax filing handled by someone who files for non-US-owned LLCs routinely, which is what the Tax and Compliance tier covers. You accept that annual subscription spend is the price of the bundle.
Look elsewhere if
You are a US founder with a US Social Security Number and want a one-time fee for LLC formation (better match: Bizee Basic or Standard, or Northwest). You want minimum ongoing cost and you are comfortable handling your own bookkeeping and tax return (doola's subscription pricing is hard to justify unless you use the ongoing services). You are raising institutional funding and want a Delaware C-corp (better match: Clerky or Stripe Atlas). You want live phone support; doola is chat and email only.
Pricing tiers
All prices exclude state filing fees. State fees range from $35 in Montana to $500 in Massachusetts depending on where you form.
| Tier | Price | RA year 1 | RA renewal | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $222 Renews $222/yr | Included | $197/yr | Promo price on the pricing page, listed as on sale from the regular $297/yr. Subscription renews annually. Tier covers LLC filing (1-2 business days), EIN, US business address, registered agent for year one, and guidance to open a US bank account. State filing fees are charged separately. |
| Tax and Compliance | $1,499 Renews $1,499/yr | Included | $197/yr | Promo price, listed as on sale from the regular $1,999/yr. Includes everything in Starter plus expedited EIN, federal and state tax filing, 1:1 tax consultation, and bookkeeping and invoicing software. State fees are charged separately. |
| Business-in-a-Box | $2,249 Renews $2,249/yr | Included | $197/yr | Promo price, listed as on sale from the regular $2,999/yr. Includes everything in Tax and Compliance plus a dedicated bookkeeper, monthly financial statements, synced bookkeeping and taxes, and estimated quarterly taxes. State fees are charged separately. |
Pricing honesty
Every doola tier is an annual subscription, not a one-time formation fee, and the promo price on the pricing page is what you pay now. Starter is listed at $222/yr on promo (regular $297/yr) and covers LLC filing, EIN, a US business address, registered agent for year one, and guidance on opening a US bank account through Mercury. Renewal next year is the same $222 (or $297 if the promo expires), not a fresh formation fee. State filing fees are billed separately and vary by state, so a Wyoming filing adds $100 and a Delaware filing adds $110 to the first-year total.
Tax and Compliance at $1,499/yr (from $1,999) adds federal and state tax return preparation, a 1:1 tax consult, and bookkeeping software. That is the tier most non-US founders running an active e-commerce or software business actually need, because filing a 1120 with the protective return and the 5472 information return for a foreign-owned disregarded LLC is the single tax service most non-US owners cannot do on their own. Business-in-a-Box at $2,249/yr (from $2,999) adds a dedicated bookkeeper and quarterly estimated tax work.
Registered agent is bundled at every tier while the subscription is active. On Trustpilot threads, customers who cancel the formation subscription and try to keep the registered agent alone see a $197/yr RA charge. That is higher than Northwest's $125 or Stripe Atlas's $100 renewal, which matters if you ever stop subscribing.
What you'll actually pay
Sticker prices on formation services rarely reflect what a real filer ends up paying. This is the honest math for doola across three common buying patterns. All figures exclude state fees, which are identical regardless of service.
| Scenario | Year 1 total | Year 2+ annual | 5-year total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Just the basics Cheapest tier, skip the EIN and OA add-ons. Get your EIN from the IRS yourself. | $222 | $197/yr RA | $1,010 |
| Common buyer: EIN and operating agreement included Most new LLCs end up here. Adds $70 EIN and $99 OA where the service sells them as add-ons. | $222 | $197/yr RA | $1,010 |
| Standalone registered agent only You formed the LLC elsewhere and just want doola as your RA. | $197 | $197/yr | $985 |
Feature summary
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
Purpose-built for non-US founders, which is a narrow problem almost no mainstream formation service handles well. EIN acquisition for non-SSN founders is handled in-house, not a $200 add-on like some competitors. Mercury banking partnership is explicit and the flow is designed around getting a non-US founder through Mercury's KYC. Tax filing tier covers the 1120 plus 5472 return path that foreign-owned disregarded LLCs are required to file. Operating agreement is included at every tier, not an add-on. Trustpilot profile at 4.6 across 2,005 reviews is a meaningful sample size for a 2020-founded service. 24/7 in-app chat support covers time-zone spread for a global customer base.
Weaknesses
Annual subscription pricing means you keep paying, every year, or the service stops. There is no one-time formation flow. No phone support channel, which is friction if something goes wrong with a bank or IRS submission. The regular (non-promo) Starter price is $297/yr, and promos are not guaranteed to continue. Registered agent renewal after cancellation is $197, well above the category leaders. Tax and Compliance tier starts at $1,499/yr, which is a big jump from Starter and the main reason most doola customers eventually upgrade. No mail scanning, which Firstbase bundles as part of its One product.
Support quality
If you're paying for a formation service, support quality is half of what you're buying. The other half is convenience. A service that can't answer a Tuesday-afternoon filing question is harder to justify than one that picks up the phone.
Phone
Not offered
Available
Live chat
24/7 per vendor, via in-app chat and help center
doola covers the basics but doesn't offer the full range. Good enough for most filers, but if you anticipate a lot of back-and-forth during filing, a service with live chat is worth considering.
Ratings and review volume
A 4.8 from 50 reviews is noise. A 4.7 from 25,000 is signal. Review volume matters as much as the star rating because formation services that actively solicit reviews push their rating up and the sample size way up, while services that don't solicit tend to have smaller samples skewed by motivated complaints.
Mid-volume sample with a solid rating. Not as statistically strong as services with 10,000+ reviews, but 2,005 reviews is enough to treat the rating as real rather than noise.
Frequently Asked Questions
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How much does doola actually cost?
Starter is $222/yr on promo ($297/yr regular), Tax and Compliance is $1,499/yr ($1,999 regular), and Business-in-a-Box is $2,249/yr ($2,999 regular). All three are annual subscriptions, not one-time formation fees. State filing fees are billed separately. Expect your actual first-year total to be the tier price plus your state's filing fee (roughly $100 in Wyoming, $110 in Delaware, $300 in Texas).
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Is doola a subscription or a one-time fee?
Annual subscription, every tier. That is different from Bizee, Northwest, Firstbase Start, and Stripe Atlas, which all charge a one-time formation fee. If you cancel your doola subscription, the registered agent drops off and you need to transfer it to another provider or pay doola's $197/yr standalone RA rate.
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Can non-US founders use doola?
Yes, this is the core customer. doola handles EIN acquisition for founders without a US Social Security Number (the IRS paper SS-4 fax route), sets up a US business address, and walks you through opening a Mercury bank account. Most customers use doola specifically to get onto Stripe, Shopify, or Amazon US from a non-US home country.
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Which tier do most doola customers actually need?
It depends on whether the LLC is active. Starter at $222/yr covers formation and a quiet holding company. Once the LLC starts generating revenue, foreign-owned disregarded LLCs are required to file a 1120 with a 5472 information return every year, and self-filing is a bad idea. That pushes most active customers to Tax and Compliance at $1,499/yr within the first year or two.
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Is doola cheaper than Firstbase for non-US founders?
In year one, yes. doola Starter is $222/yr versus Firstbase Start at $399 one-time plus $299/yr for the Agent subscription ($698 first-year total). Over three years, Firstbase drops to $897 total ($399 one-time plus two renewals of Agent at $299) while doola Starter totals $666. For richer bundles, Firstbase One at $2,388/yr roughly matches doola Business-in-a-Box at $2,249/yr. Compare against Firstbase's full breakdown.
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Does doola include banking?
doola includes guidance to open a US bank account through Mercury as the named partner, but the account itself is opened between you and Mercury. doola does not issue the account. For non-US founders, doola's advantage is that the application is pre-filled with the correct business details and the support team knows Mercury's KYC flow. The same arrangement exists at Firstbase and Stripe Atlas.
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How much is doola's registered agent?
Included while your subscription is active. If you cancel the subscription and need only the registered agent service, customer reports on Trustpilot reference $197 per year. That is more expensive than Northwest's $125 or Stripe Atlas's $100 renewal, so if you plan to drop doola after year one, budget for the transfer.
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Is doola good for US founders?
Compare doola to another formation service
Side-by-side pricing, features, support, and ratings against every other service we cover.
Sources
- Pricing: www.doola.com/pricing/ · verified April 21, 2026
Three tiers: Starter $222/yr (from $297), Tax and Compliance $1,499/yr (from $1,999), Business-in-a-Box $2,249/yr (from $2,999). All tiers are annual subscriptions. State fees not included. - Features: www.doola.com/llc/ · verified April 21, 2026
doola forms LLCs in any US state. Bundle includes EIN, registered agent (year one), operating agreement, and bank account guidance. Dashboard provides bookkeeping and compliance. - Banking partner: www.doola.com/pricing/ · verified April 21, 2026
Mercury is the named banking partner surfaced on the pricing page (fintech services via Choice Financial Group and Column N.A.). - International: www.doola.com/llc/ · verified April 21, 2026
Doola is built primarily for non-US founders needing a US LLC, EIN, and US bank account for Stripe, Shopify, and Amazon access. - Founded: www.ycombinator.com/companies/doola · verified April 21, 2026
Y Combinator profile confirms doola founding year 2020, founders Arjun Mahadevan and JP Pincheira. - Headquarters: www.crunchbase.com/person/arjun-mahadevan · verified April 21, 2026
Crunchbase and LinkedIn place CEO Arjun Mahadevan and doola HQ in New York. - Support: help.doola.com/ · verified April 21, 2026
Help center routes to a web form and ticket tracker. No public phone number on contact or help pages. Vendor markets 24/7 chat support. - Ratings: www.trustpilot.com/review/doola.com · verified April 21, 2026
Trustpilot shows doola.com rated 4.6/5 across roughly 2,005 reviews as surfaced by Trustpilot search result snippet on 2026-04-21. - Price usd: www.trustpilot.com/review/doola.com · verified April 21, 2026
Customer reviews on Trustpilot reference a $197 charge for registered agent renewal. Vendor does not publish a separate RA-only pricing card.