Is it Cheaper to File a Georgia LLC Yourself or Hire a Service?

After formation, the state's recurring charge is the annual registration: $60.00, online or on paper, per the Secretary of State's annual registration guide. A newly formed LLC files its first one between January 1 and April 1 of the year after formation, under Georgia rule 590-7-22. Filing late adds a $25.00 penalty, and not filing at all risks administrative dissolution. Two other items people often pay for cost nothing. An EIN is free directly from the IRS, and a Georgia-formed LLC has no federal beneficial ownership report to file, since FinCEN now exempts companies created in the United States.

A service's value is in convenience and ongoing upkeep, not in lowering the state's price. ZenBusiness's Starter plan is $0 plus the state fee, so forming through it adds no service charge at the start. Costs appear if you add its registered agent service ($199 a year, discounted to $99 for the first year when you form with ZenBusiness) or choose Pro at $199 a year or Premium at $299 a year. If you are comfortable filing online with the Secretary of State, can receive legal notices at an address you are happy to make public, and will reliably file by April 1 each year, filing yourself is the better call. If you want a separate address for legal notices and someone else keeping track of filings, a service can be worth its fee.

Georgia's charges at a glance

Figures are as published by each official source at this page's update date. State charges and service charges are shown separately and are never combined.

What you pay the state no matter who files

The state's fees do not change based on how you file. The $110.00 formation fee and the $60.00 annual registration are the same for a do-it-yourself filer and for a service filing on your behalf. Any quote from a service therefore breaks into two parts: the state's fee, which you would pay anyway, and the service's own charge, which is the real price of hiring help. Keep those two numbers apart when you compare.

The same applies to the EIN. The IRS issues it for free, and its guidance is explicit that you should never pay a third party for one. If a package lists "EIN included" as a feature, it is bundling something you can get yourself at no cost, once the LLC exists with the state.

What filing it yourself actually involves

Filing yourself means submitting the Articles of Organization to the Secretary of State and then handling the yearly upkeep on your own. The part that trips people up is not the formation. It is the annual registration. Your first one falls between January 1 and April 1 of the year after you form, and every year after that it is due by April 1. Georgia lets you file up to 3 years in advance, which is a simple way to take the deadline off your calendar. A $25.00 late penalty is the mild outcome. The serious one is administrative dissolution for failing to file.

You will also need to name a registered agent in your filing. This page does not restate Georgia's registered agent rules; the Secretary of State's domestic entity registration guide sets out what the filing requires. Whether you pay someone to fill that role is usually the single biggest cost difference between filing yourself and hiring a service.

What a service adds, and what it charges

The options below are listed alphabetically, not ranked. Service charges are separate from the state's fees. Provider prices are as of 2026 and change, so confirm them on each provider's site.

This site earns a commission on some links. That does not change which option this page recommends.

Which path fits your situation

File it yourself if cost is the priority, you are fine using your own address for legal notices, and you trust yourself with a once-a-year deadline. You will pay the state's fees and nothing else.

For a first-time owner who wants a guided filing without paying a service charge at formation, ZenBusiness is a reasonable fit: its Starter plan adds nothing to the state fee. Be clear about where its costs start. The registered agent service is a separate $199 a year on every plan, including Premium, with the first year at $99 when you form through ZenBusiness. If you do not need a paid agent, Starter keeps you close to the do-it-yourself cost.

If a registered agent address is the main thing you want to pay for, Northwest's pricing is built around that service. It costs more than ZenBusiness Starter on day one, but if you want a paid agent, its first year of agent service is included and its renewal rate is lower than ZenBusiness's, as of 2026. Confirm current figures on Northwest's site before you buy.

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