Guide 33 · Comparisons
Sethhost vs doola: a hosted membership vs an annual formation platform, honestly compared
doola is the closest comparable to Sethhost in the market: both were built for founders abroad, both bundle formation with an EIN and a registered agent. The difference is the shape of the ongoing relationship — an annual platform tier against a monthly hosted membership — and what happens to your tax filings, website and phone number inside each. Priced from doola's own published plans, checked this month.
On this page
The two offers, in their own numbers
Sethhost's own terms, stated first. Hosted is $79 per month with a 12-month initial term — a first-term total of $948, formation included, then month-to-month at $79. The state filing fee is passed through at cost, separately. The bundle carries formation handling, the EIN workflow, registered agent service, a five-page website, a US number, and a compliance calendar. It does not file your taxes; Form 5472 is prepared through your own CPA, with the calendar and the records kept for them.
doola's terms, from its published pricing. Starter is $297 per year plus state fees: LLC or C-corp formation, EIN, operating agreement, registered agent, a US address and compliance alerts. Pulse, its bookkeeping software, is $300 per year. Tax and Compliance is $1,999 per year plus state fees and adds federal and state tax filing (including Form 5472 and the pro-forma 1120), the annual state report filing and a tax consultation. Business-in-a-Box is $2,999 per year, or $329 per month, adding a dedicated bookkeeper.
Side by side
| Question | Sethhost | doola |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | One subscription: $79/mo, 12-month initial term ($948 first term), then month-to-month; state fee at cost | Annual tiers: Starter $297/yr; Tax and Compliance $1,999/yr; Business-in-a-Box $2,999/yr (or $329/mo); state fees extra |
| Formation + EIN | Included in the first term; EIN by the no-SSN workflow | Included in Starter; EIN with or without SSN |
| Registered agent | Included; agent of record is Registered Agents Inc., named in the service agreement | Included in Starter |
| Tax filing (5472/1120) | Not filed by Sethhost — your CPA files; calendar and records provided | Filed for you on Tax and Compliance ($1,999/yr) and above |
| Bookkeeping | Not included; records kept CPA-ready | Pulse software $300/yr; dedicated bookkeeper on Business-in-a-Box |
| Website + US number | Included (five-page website, US number) | Not a doola product |
| US address | Registered-agent address for official mail; memberships from Nov 2026 do not include a mail service | Virtual mailing address included in Starter |
Five-year arithmetic and the tax question
Year one, a Wyoming formation: doola Starter totals $297 plus the state fee; Sethhost totals $948 plus the state fee. doola is cheaper in year one by roughly $650, and this guide does not argue otherwise. The comparison turns on what the second and fifth years look like and on the tax question. A founder who needs the 5472 filed by the platform must price doola's Tax and Compliance at $1,999 a year — against which Sethhost plus an independent CPA commonly totals less, with the CPA answerable to the founder rather than bundled. A founder who only needs formation, agent and address pays doola $297 a year and should.
Where Sethhost's arithmetic wins is the hosted layer: a maintained website, a US number and a compliance calendar are separate purchases or separate vendors in doola's world. Whether that layer is worth $948 a year depends entirely on whether you would otherwise buy and run those things yourself.
Who should choose which
- Choose doola if you want the platform to file your federal and state taxes and you accept the $1,999 tier as the price of that; or if you want the cheapest reputable annual bundle of formation, agent and address and need nothing hosted.
- Choose Sethhost if you want one monthly bill that also keeps a website and a US number alive, your CPA is your own (or you prefer to choose one), and a disclosed 12-month first term is acceptable in exchange for formation inside it.
- Choose neither blindly if your facts include US employees, premises or inventory: read our 1040-NR and ECI guide first, because the personal filing question outranks the platform question.
Fairness notes
doola's published strengths are real: a mature platform, banking introductions, and a compliance tier that genuinely files. Its prices were read from doola's pricing page and corroborating plan summaries in November 2026; plan names changed recently (Total Compliance is now Tax and Compliance) and prices change — the live page governs. Sethhost's counter is not a cheaper headline; it is a different job description, priced monthly and stated in full on our pricing page before checkout, which is where this comparison should be re-run before anyone pays either company.
Verification. doola prices checked November 2026 against doola's published plans as summarised from its pricing page (Starter $297/yr, Pulse $300/yr, Tax and Compliance $1,999/yr, Business-in-a-Box $2,999/yr or $329/mo, each plus state fees). Sethhost prices are this site's own published prices. Prices change; the providers' live pages govern.
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.