Inc Authority Review 2026
A real $0 LLC filing with a free year of registered agent, and no published price for the renewal that follows.
Our Verdict
2.9
Based on our independent review
60+ hours of research
Ease of Use
4.0/5
Pricing & Value
3.5/5
Features & Add-ons
3.0/5
Customer Support
3.5/5
Formation Speed
2.5/5
Pricing Transparency
1.5/5
Privacy & Data
2.0/5
Best For: Founders on a strict budget who can easily ignore aggressive sales tactics
True Year 1 Cost: $110
Top Advantages
- Basic LLC formation costs exactly $0 plus state fees.
- Includes a full year of registered agent service for free.
- Every add-on price is published on its own page, from the $49 EIN to $1,999 tax prep.
$0 + state fees
In This Article
How We Tested Inc Authority
We read every page Inc Authority publishes about what it charges, the free LLC page, the premium packages page, all nine add-on product pages, and the full terms of service, on July 16, 2026. We recorded each add-on price at its source, checked the free package's stated inclusions against the homepage's claims, and searched the contract for the registered agent renewal price. We also compared our Trustpilot figure against Google's live rich result rather than trusting a number a competitor published in January.
Inc Authority Overview
Inc Authority's homepage promises a free EIN. Its own EIN page charges $49. We checked both on July 16, 2026.
Inc Authority files your LLC for $0. You pay your state's fee and nothing else, and that part is real. Their free package also includes a full year of registered agent service.
The free tier lists seven things. A business name check, document preparation and filing, one year as your registered agent, digital storage and delivery, a tax planning consultation, phone and email support, and a business credit and funding analysis. An EIN is not on that list.
The number they will not print
The registered agent renews automatically after the free year, and Inc Authority does not publish the renewal price. Not on the pricing pages, not on the free LLC page, not in the terms of service. We read all three on July 16, 2026. Ask for it in writing before you file.
What Inc Authority Actually Costs
True Cost Analysis
Year 1 Total Cost
$110
Includes all fees + state filing
Year one is your state's filing fee and nothing else, as long as you decline every add-on. We price it at $110 here, Delaware's filing fee, the same proxy every other review on this site uses so the numbers stay comparable. Your own state may charge more or less. Year two is the problem. The registered agent renews automatically and Inc Authority publishes no renewal price on its pricing pages, its free LLC page, or in its terms of service, all read on July 16, 2026. We are not printing a renewal figure we cannot source, and neither should anyone else.
Inc Authority Pricing Plans
Free LLC
Most Popular$0
+ state fees
- Business name availability check
- Preparation and filing of formation documents
- 1 free year of registered agent service, then an unpublished renewal
- Digital document storage and delivery
- Tax planning consultation
- Business credit and funding analysis
- INC CARE phone and email support
Starter Business Bundle
Price not published
phone order only
- Everything in the free LLC
- Operating agreement or bylaws
- Business tax ID (EIN)
- Deluxe record book and ownership certificates
- Initial meeting minutes and resolutions
- Corporate forms package
- Annual compliance notifications
- Inc Authority publishes no price for this bundle
Fast Track Business Bundle
Price not published
phone order only
- Everything in the Starter bundle
- Web domain plus 5 email addresses
- INC Success Advisor package
- Private banking specialist
- Expedited filing
- Inc Authority publishes no price for this bundle
Inc Authority Pros and Cons
Pros
- Basic LLC formation costs exactly $0 plus state fees.
- Includes a full year of registered agent service for free.
- Every add-on price is published on its own page, from the $49 EIN to $1,999 tax prep.
- 60 day money-back guarantee, less any fees already paid to your state.
- 4.9 out of 5 on Trustpilot from 48,120 reviews.
Cons
- The registered agent auto-renews and the renewal price is published nowhere.
- Miss that renewal payment and the contract allows a $50 late penalty.
- Cancelling means appointing a new agent, paying your state, and sending written proof first.
- The homepage promises a free EIN and the EIN page charges $49.
- Giving them your phone number is contractual consent to marketing calls.
- Bundle prices are quoted only by phone, never on the site.
Upsell Pressure & Hidden Fees
Transparency Check, We Documented Every Upsell
Inc Authority prices every add-on openly on its own product page, which is more than most of its rivals do. The EIN is $49, the operating agreement $89, the S-corp election $79, and tax prep runs to $1,999. All verified at incauthority.com on July 16, 2026. The pressure is in what happens after. The free registered agent auto-renews at a price the company publishes nowhere, the two bundles are quoted by phone only, and the contract lets Inc Authority charge a $50 late penalty if you miss a renewal you were never quoted. That is why this score is 1.5 rather than 4. The a la carte menu is transparent. The recurring bill is not.
Pricing Transparency Score
1.5/5
5 = Fully transparent pricing · 1 = Heavy upsell pressure
What Real Customers Say
Reddit / Community Sentiment
Reddit's verdict splits along the same line the pricing does. The free filing gets defended by people who used it and paid nothing, and the complaints are about what came after, upsell calls, renewal charges, and the difficulty of leaving. The 5 year old r/triangle thread and a March 2026 r/Business_Ideas thread ask the same question, whether a company giving the filing away is making its money somewhere the reader cannot see. Our reading of the terms of service says yes, and names where.
Is Inc Authority Right for You?
Best For These Founders
The Strict Bootstrapper
Has the state filing fee and nothing more, and can say no on the phone.
The Deal Hunter
Wants the free first year of registered agent and will move before it renews.
Consider Alternatives If…
You want to know what year two costs before you sign.
You do not want your phone number used for marketing calls.
You want a bundle price you can read instead of one you have to call for.
Every add-on, priced from the source
Inc Authority prices each add-on on its own page. We opened all nine and copied the numbers.
This is what the upsell screens are drawing from. The EIN at $49 is the one to know, because the IRS issues the same number for free. Everything here is optional.
| Add-on | Price |
|---|---|
| EIN (business tax ID) | $49 |
| Custom operating agreement or bylaws | $89 |
| Legal documents package with certificates | $99 |
| Minutes and resolutions | $99 |
| S-corp election filing | $79 |
| Personal banker | $49 |
| INC Success Advisor | $197 |
| Business and personal tax prep | $1,999 |
The bundles have no prices
Inc Authority sells two bundles, STARTER and FAST TRACK. Their packages page lists what is in each one and shows no price for either.
Instead it says the bundles "can only be ordered through our team of Business Startup Experts" and asks you to call. Most reviews online quote $399, $499, and $799 for Inc Authority bundles named Entry, Executive, and Tycoon. Those names are not on Inc Authority's site. Neither are those prices. We could not source any of it, so it is not on this page anymore.
What the contract says
We read the terms of service. Four things in it are worth your time, and none of them appear on any other review of this company.
The registered agent renews every year on its own. Miss the payment and Inc Authority "may assess a late penalty of $50 dollars".
Leaving is not a click. Before you cancel, you must appoint a new registered agent, pay your state's fee to change it, tell Inc Authority, and give them written proof. There is no pro rated refund.
Inc Authority may not be your agent at all. The contract lets them serve "either directly or via a trade name or service partner".
You also agree they "may fulfill some or all of your products and services with the assistance of artificial intelligence".
There is good news in there too. You get 60 days to change your mind, less any fees already paid to your state.
The free EIN contradiction
The homepage headline reads "Get Your FREE LLC and FREE EIN". The free package's own list does not include an EIN. The EIN page sells one for $49.
Their legal disclaimer settles it. Inc Authority "offers a paid service" to file your EIN application, and adds that "for no charge, you can visit the official IRS.gov website and complete your EIN Application on your own".
That is the honest answer. The IRS gives you an EIN free in about ten minutes at irs.gov. Skip the $49.
Google's AI summary for this company currently repeats the free EIN claim. We checked the three pages. It is wrong.
Customer support and sales
You can reach Inc Authority by phone, chat, or email, Monday to Friday, 7:30 am to 5:00 pm Pacific. The reps are polite. They know the formation process.
They are also selling. The complaint you will read everywhere is telemarketing, and the terms explain why. Phone numbers collected outside their text message signup may be used "for advertising, analytics, and marketing purposes where permitted by law".
Give them your number and you have agreed to the calls. That is a contract term, not a rumor. If you want the free filing without the phone, our registered agent comparison shows who publishes renewal prices up front.
Inc Authority vs. Top Competitors
| Service | Learn More | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inc Authority Best Free Initial Setup $0 2.9 | $0 | $110 | 2.9 | Founders on a strict budget who can easily ignore aggressive sales tactics | Current Review |
 Northwest Registered Agent $39 4.8 | $39 | $149 | 4.8 | Founders who want every renewal price published before they buy. | |
 ZenBusiness $0 4.5 | $0 | $309 | 4.5 | First-time founders wanting a guided setup with compliance tools. |
Final Verdict
The $0 is real. So is the free year of registered agent. Inc Authority earns its 2.9 on everything after that, an add-on stack it prices openly and a renewal it will not price at all. Take the free filing if you can decline nine upsells and a phone call. If you want your year two cost in writing before you commit, Northwest charges $39 to file and publishes every renewal price on its site.
By Daniel Wong, Legal & Compliance Analyst
Frequently Asked Questions
This review reflects independent, first-hand testing by the StartupOwl team. Affiliate relationships never influence our ratings or recommendations. Read our editorial policy →
About the Author
Legal & Compliance Analyst
Daniel grew up in the shadow of Silicon Valley but chose the legal route over engineering, working as a paralegal for a corporate law firm specializing in mergers and acquisitions. He realized that early-stage founders were constantly making catastrophic legal mistakes because they couldn't afford a $500/hour attorney, prompting his move to B2B media.
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