doola's pricing splits into two separate products: LLC/C-Corp formation packages ($0–$549 one-time plus state fees) and an ongoing bookkeeping/compliance subscription ($79–$149+/month, billed monthly or annually). A typical solo founder or two-person startup realistically pays $300–$1,800 in year one and roughly $950–$1,800/year after that for bookkeeping alone. The single biggest gotcha: state filing fees, registered agent renewals, and tax filing are often billed separately from the advertised subscription price, so the "sticker price" understates true annual spend.
FAQ
How much does doola actually cost per month?
doola's bookkeeping subscription is publicly listed starting around $79/month for the Starter plan and $149/month for the Pro plan, typically cheaper if paid annually. Formation itself is a one-time fee (as low as $0 plus state fees, up to $549 for bundled packages), not a recurring monthly charge. Tax filing and registered agent renewals are billed separately.
Is doola's free LLC formation actually free?
doola advertises a Starter formation option where you pay only the state's filing fee (which varies by state, commonly $50–$500) while doola's service fee is waived. You still need to budget for state fees, EIN processing if expedited, and any ongoing registered agent or compliance subscription, so "free" refers only to doola's own formation service charge, not total setup cost.
Does doola charge extra for tax filing?
Yes. doola Tax is a separate line item from bookkeeping and formation plans, publicly described as starting around $500/year for a basic federal filing, with additional state filings and multi-member or foreign-owner complexity priced higher. doola does not appear to publish a full itemized rate card for every tax scenario, so founders with non-standard situations should request a specific quote before committing.
What happens if I outgrow the Starter bookkeeping plan?
doola's Pro bookkeeping tier is designed for higher transaction volumes, multiple bank/credit accounts, or more complex categorization needs. If your business exceeds Starter-plan limits (transaction count, number of connected accounts), doola will typically prompt an upgrade to Pro or a custom/enterprise conversation, since doola does not publicly list a fixed overage fee per extra transaction.
Is doola cheaper than hiring an accountant or using Stripe Atlas?
For very early-stage, single-founder companies, doola is generally cheaper than a part-time bookkeeper or accountant, whose fees often start at $200–$500/month alone. Compared to Stripe Atlas (one-time ~$500 formation, no bundled bookkeeping) or Firstbase, doola's bundled formation-plus-bookkeeping model can be cheaper on total cost but pricier than DIY formation through a state's website plus a separate low-cost bookkeeping tool.
doola Pricing in 2026: Complete Guide
Note on accuracy: doola periodically updates its pricing and packaging. The figures below reflect doola's most recently publicly documented pricing structure as of this writing. Enterprise, custom, and some add-on rates are not fully published by doola — where that's the case, this guide says so explicitly rather than estimating. Always confirm current numbers on doola.com/pricing before purchasing, since exact dollar figures can shift without notice.
Quick Pricing Table
| Product | Plan | Monthly (if billed monthly) | Annual (if billed yearly) | What it's for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Formation | Starter | $0 doola fee + state filing fee (one-time) | Basic LLC/C-Corp formation | |
| Formation | Total Compliance | ~$297 first year (publicly listed), renews annually | Formation + registered agent + compliance alerts + annual report filing | |
| Formation | Premium/Bundle | ~$549 one-time (bundled) | Formation + bookkeeping trial + extra services | |
| Bookkeeping | Starter | ~$79/mo | ~$948/yr (varies with promos) | Basic monthly bookkeeping, limited transactions/accounts |
| Bookkeeping | Pro | ~$149/mo | ~$1,788/yr (varies with promos) | Higher transaction volume, more accounts, priority support |
| Bookkeeping | Advanced/Custom | Not publicly listed — "Contact sales" | Multi-entity, high volume, or complex structures | |
| Tax | doola Tax | Starting ~$500/yr (publicly cited "starting at"), scales with states/complexity | Federal + state tax filing | |
| Registered Agent (standalone) | Add-on | Not always broken out separately when bundled; standalone renewal figures not consistently published | Legal address/compliance mail handling | |
What Each Plan Includes
Starter Formation ($0 + state fee): LLC or C-Corp filing with the state, EIN application assistance, and basic onboarding documents. It does not include ongoing registered agent service beyond any included trial period, bookkeeping, or tax filing — those are separate purchases.
Total Compliance (~$297): Adds a full year of registered agent service, compliance deadline tracking/alerts, and annual report filing assistance so the entity doesn't fall out of good standing. This is the plan doola markets most heavily to non-US founders who need a reliable US mailing address and compliance safety net.
Premium/Bundle (~$549): Combines formation with a bookkeeping trial period and sometimes additional perks (e.g., banking introductions, discounted tax filing). Exact bundle contents have changed over time, so confirm the current bundle contents before buying.
Bookkeeping Starter (~$79/mo): Monthly transaction categorization, basic financial statements (profit & loss, balance sheet), and a bookkeeping dashboard, generally capped at a lower transaction volume and number of connected bank/card accounts.
Bookkeeping Pro (~$149/mo): Higher transaction and account limits, typically faster turnaround/support, and more detailed reporting. Exact transaction caps for each tier are not always itemized publicly with a hard number — doola support should confirm your specific limits.
Advanced/Custom bookkeeping: For multi-entity structures, high transaction volume, or e-commerce businesses with many payment processors. doola does not publish a fixed price for this tier; it is quote-based.
doola Tax: Federal tax return preparation and filing, with state filings and multi-state nexus situations priced as add-ons. The "starting at" figure is a floor, not a ceiling, for anything beyond the simplest single-state, single-member scenario.
Hidden Costs Founders Should Know About
- State filing fees: Vary widely by state ($35 in some states to $500+ in others like Massachusetts), and are always separate from doola's own fee.
- Registered agent renewal: Bundled into Total Compliance for year one; renewal-year pricing should be confirmed directly, as promotional first-year pricing doesn't always equal renewal pricing.
- EIN expedite fees: If you need a faster EIN turnaround (especially as a non-US resident without an SSN), there can be added processing time or service costs.
- Multi-state tax filings: Each additional state where you owe tax or have nexus adds to the base doola Tax price; the total isn't a flat annual number for every business.
- Transaction/account overages on bookkeeping: If you exceed your plan's transaction volume or connect more bank/payment accounts than allowed, doola may require an upgrade to Pro or a custom quote rather than charging a small per-unit overage fee.
- Bank account and payment processor setup: doola often partners with banking providers, but any banking fees themselves are charged by the bank, not doola.
- Amendment or dissolution fees: Changing your registered agent, business address, or dissolving the entity later typically carries its own one-time fee, separate from the subscription.
ROI Calculation: If You Pay $149/Month, Here's the Breakeven
This is an illustrative estimate, not a benchmark or guarantee. Assume a solo founder currently spends 5 hours/month on DIY bookkeeping and would otherwise hire a freelance bookkeeper at $35–$50/hour ($175–$250/month) once volume grows. At doola Pro's ~$149/month, the breakeven point versus a freelance bookkeeper is roughly 3–4 hours of your own time reallocated to product or sales work each month, assuming your time is worth at least $40–$50/hour. If your business has very low transaction volume (under 20 transactions/month) and you're comfortable doing your own books in a free tool, the ROI case for paying $149/month is weaker — Starter ($79/mo) or a manual spreadsheet may be more cost-efficient until volume increases.
Scaling Costs: 10, 100, and 1,000 "Users"
doola isn't priced per-seat like typical SaaS; it's priced per-entity and per-transaction-volume. Reframed for a growing company:
| Stage | Illustrative profile | Likely doola tier | Illustrative monthly cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| ~10 team members / 1 entity | Low transaction volume, 1-2 bank accounts | Bookkeeping Starter | ~$79/mo (estimate) |
| ~100 team members / 1-2 entities | Higher transaction volume, multiple accounts, payroll complexity | Bookkeeping Pro, possibly two entity subscriptions | ~$149–$298/mo (estimate) |
| ~1,000 team members / multi-entity, multi-state | High volume, multiple states, likely dedicated accountant needed alongside doola | Advanced/Custom (quote-based) | Not publicly listed — contact doola sales |
At real scale (hundreds of employees, multi-state tax nexus, complex cap tables), most companies move beyond a productized bookkeeping subscription entirely and hire in-house finance staff or a dedicated CPA firm — doola's public pricing tiers are built for early-stage and growing small businesses, not large enterprises.
Competitor Comparison
| Provider | Formation cost | Bookkeeping/compliance cost | Feature parity notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| doola | $0–$549 one-time + state fee | $79–$149+/mo | Bundles formation, registered agent, bookkeeping, and tax under one vendor; strong for non-US founders needing a US entity. |
| Northwest Registered Agent | ~$39 + state fee (publicly listed, often cited as one of the cheapest formation-only options) | No native bookkeeping product; requires third-party tool | Cheaper for pure formation + registered agent, but you must separately buy bookkeeping (e.g., QuickBooks, Bench, Wave) and tax help, so total stack cost may end up similar or higher once assembled. |
| Firstbase | Formation packages publicly listed starting around similarly low one-time fees plus state fee | Offers bookkeeping/compliance add-ons, pricing varies by package | Comparable non-US-founder focus to doola; feature sets overlap closely, so the decision often comes down to which bundle's specific inclusions (banking partners, support responsiveness) fit best rather than raw price. |
Both Northwest Registered Agent and Firstbase can be cheaper on paper for formation-only needs, but neither is a full drop-in replacement for doola's bundled bookkeeping-plus-tax workflow. If you only need formation and a registered agent, a cheaper standalone provider plus a separate low-cost bookkeeping tool (Wave, for instance, has a free tier) may undercut doola's bundle — but you'll manage more vendors.
Cost Optimization Strategies
- Pay annually where offered:
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