Guide 22 · Comparisons, with sources
Sethhost vs CorpNet: the hosted bundle vs the filing desk
Two ways to buy a US company formation, compared on criteria rather than adjectives. CorpNet sells the filing itself, package by package. Sethhost sells a subscription that bundles the filing — which, disclosed openly, runs through CorpNet — with the agent, the EIN workflow, a website, a phone number, and a compliance calendar. Every competitor figure here is from CorpNet's own pages, checked November 7, 2026, and Sethhost's own weaknesses are printed in the same size type.
On this page
How this comparison was built
This page compares two different ways of buying what is partly the same filing. CorpNet is a national filing and compliance company that sells formation packages and per-filing services. Sethhost is a subscription bundle for founders abroad — and, stated plainly because it shapes the whole comparison, Sethhost's own filings and registered agent service run through CorpNet as its wholesale fulfillment provider. Buying Sethhost does not replace CorpNet's desk; it pays for a hosted layer on top of it. Buying CorpNet direct means dealing with that desk yourself, per filing.
Every CorpNet fact below comes from CorpNet's own published pages, fetched and checked on November 7, 2026 — its pricing page and its LLC formation page. Every Sethhost fact comes from Sethhost's own pricing page and service agreement. Where a CorpNet price could not be verified on those pages, this page says so instead of estimating. There is no winner declared anywhere on this page: the criteria are printed, and your situation picks the column.
Sethhost's own terms, stated in its own column first. Hosted is $79 per month with a 12-month initial term — a first-term total of $948, before the state fee and the filing processing fee. That term is a real commitment and it is disclosed here and on the pricing page, not saved for checkout. Formation is included in the first term; after the first term the membership continues month-to-month at $79, auto-renews, and can be cancelled from the portal. Enrollment screens applicants at intake, and Sethhost serves founders based outside the United States. The registered agent of record is CorpNet, Incorporated, Sethhost's wholesale partner, named in the service agreement before you pay.
The criteria table
| Criterion | Sethhost | CorpNet (direct) |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | One subscription: $79/mo, 12-month initial term, $948 first-term total before the state fee and the filing processing fee; then month-to-month | Per-package and per-filing prices: LLC packages at standard processing are Basic $99, Deluxe $219, Complete $269, before state fees, shipping and handling, and CorpNet's 3% convenience fee |
| Formation filing | Included in the first term — prepared at your direction, confirmed by you before submission, in any of the 50 states, DC, or Puerto Rico | Name availability check and preparation of the Articles in every package; standard internal processing stated as 2–4 business days, with paid faster processing tiers |
| Registered agent | Included in Hosted; the agent of record is CorpNet, Incorporated | 60 days included in Basic; one year included in Deluxe and Complete; standalone registered agent subscription listed at $149/year |
| EIN — including with no SSN | Handling included in the first term, including the no-SSN IRS fax workflow (typically 15–25 business days on Sethhost's published figures) | EIN included in Deluxe and Complete, not in Basic; sold separately as online filing $69 or paper filing $99 at standard processing. CorpNet's pages checked for this guide do not state how its EIN service handles an applicant with no SSN or ITIN — confirm that point with CorpNet before ordering if it applies to you |
| Website, domain, and US phone | A five-page website (live in 14 days from content handoff), domain for the first year, hosting and care, and a configured US business number are inside the membership | No website, hosting, domain, or phone service appears in the formation packages on the CorpNet pricing and LLC pages checked for this guide |
| Compliance calendar and annual reports | A compliance calendar with best-efforts deadline reminders, and annual report filing service included in Hosted (the state's own fee is separate) | A free corporate compliance tool with company alerts is included in every package; annual report filing is a separate per-filing service, listed at $99 at standard processing before state fees and the other excluded charges |
| Banking | Document file assembled for your application; Sethhost does not open the account and never promises approval | CorpNet's formation pages describe the EIN as the number you need to open a business bank account; opening the account itself is your step with the bank |
| Who it is built for | Founders based outside the US, screened at intake, who want the filing, the agent, the EIN, a website, and the calendar under one subscription | Any founder, including US-based owners and multi-entity operators, who wants to buy filings and compliance services one at a time |
First-year money, like for like
Take a Wyoming LLC, because its state fee is a round verified figure: $100. With Sethhost, the first term prices on this site's calculator at $1,079.44 all in — the $948 first term plus the $100 state fee, plus the 3% filing processing fee on the order. In exchange, the year's agent service, the website and its hosting, the phone number, the compliance calendar, and the annual report filing service are already inside that figure.
With CorpNet direct, the tier that matches on EIN and agent — Deluxe, at $219 — plus the same $100 state fee comes to $319 before shipping and handling and before CorpNet's 3% convenience fee, and it buys the filing, the EIN, and one year of agent service, with the compliance alert tool. Basic, at $99 plus the state fee, is cheaper still, but it carries no EIN and only 60 days of agent service. Neither CorpNet figure includes a built website, hosting, or a phone number, because CorpNet's formation packages do not list them. The honest reading is not that one number is better: CorpNet's is the price of the filing desk alone, Sethhost's is the price of the filing desk plus a year of hosted operations, charged as a subscription with a 12-month initial term.
Where Sethhost is the weaker choice
Sethhost's weaknesses are stated in full, because a comparison page that hides them is an advertisement:
- Sethhost is new and small. It publishes no count of businesses formed, because it does not have a large one to publish. The established providers on this page have served founders at a scale Sethhost has not reached.
- No preparer service. Sethhost does not prepare your tax filings. Form 5472 and federal filing help is waitlist-only, delivered by a qualified preparer engaged for that service when that engagement is in place; until then the obligation sits on your compliance calendar with a plain-language explanation, and the filing itself is yours or your CPA's.
- Banking is document preparation, never account opening. Sethhost assembles the document file a bank or a payment provider asks for. It does not open accounts, and it never promises a bank's or Stripe's approval — that decision belongs to the provider alone.
- The 12-month initial term. If your plans are uncertain, a one-time filing you can walk away from may fit better than a year of membership. We would rather lose the comparison on that point honestly than hide the term.
- CorpNet is the broader desk. On its own pricing page, CorpNet lists services Sethhost does not sell at all — payroll tax registrations, trademark searches, business license packages, entity conversions, and more, for entity types well beyond the LLC and the corporation. If your filing is unusual, the direct desk is the deeper one — unsurprising, since it is also the desk Sethhost's own filings run through.
- CorpNet publishes a satisfaction guarantee for its service fees on its LLC page; Sethhost's refund rule is the narrower one printed on the pricing page and in the service agreement, and it is worth reading before you compare anything else.
Which column fits your situation
- You only need the filing done well, once. CorpNet direct — Deluxe if you want the EIN and a year of agent service in the same order — is the straightforward buy, with no subscription and no term.
- You run several entities or need filings beyond formation. CorpNet's per-filing catalogue and its bulk registered agent pricing (listed on its pricing page for 20 or more units) are built for that; Sethhost is one membership for one hosted company.
- You are abroad and you also need the company to look and run like a business — a live website, a US number, someone watching the calendar and filing the annual report. That is the specific gap the Sethhost bundle exists to fill, and it is the only column on this page that includes all of it in one price.
- You are unsure the company will still be wanted in a year. Choose the one-time route. Sethhost's 12-month initial term is the wrong shape for an experiment.
Sources and check date
Sources — checked November 7, 2026. CorpNet pricing page: corpnet.com/about/pricing (package prices, registered agent at $149/year, EIN and annual report service prices, and the statement that prices exclude state fees, shipping and handling, and a 3% convenience fee). CorpNet LLC page: corpnet.com/form-llc (package contents, 2–4 business day standard internal processing, state fees ranging $40–$500). Sethhost figures: the pricing page and service agreement on this site. Prices change; the figure confirmed when you order is the one that governs, on either side.
Sethhost is not a law firm and does not provide legal or tax advice. This guide is general information, not advice about your situation. Tax filings are performed by a qualified tax preparer engaged for that service or by your own CPA; legal questions go to your own attorney.
Reading is step one. The paperwork is the rest.
Sethhost handles formation paperwork, the EIN workflow, registered agent service, your website, a US number, and a compliance calendar — one company, one bill. Hosted is $79 per month and formation is included in your first term; the state filing fee is always shown separately.