Guide 38 · Comparisons
Sethhost vs Stripe Atlas: a Delaware incorporation machine vs a hosted LLC membership
Stripe Atlas is the most polished formation product ever shipped — for exactly one job: creating a Delaware company, corporation first, inside Stripe's ecosystem. Sethhost's job description is wider and less glamorous: an LLC in any state, hosted month to month. Comparing them fairly means admitting they overlap on a single square — a foreign founder forming a Delaware company — and differ everywhere else.
On this page
The two offers, in their own numbers
Sethhost's terms, first. Hosted is $79 per month with a 12-month initial term — $948 for the first term, formation included, in any US state — then month-to-month. The bundle: formation handling, the EIN workflow, registered agent service, a five-page website, a US number and a compliance calendar. State filing fees pass through at cost. Sethhost forms LLCs as its working product; a C corporation is available on the entity-choice facts but the hosted bundle is LLC-shaped.
Atlas's terms, from Stripe's published pricing. A one-time $500 setup fee forms a Delaware C corporation or LLC — and only Delaware. The fee includes the state filing, the EIN, founder equity paperwork and 83(b) election filing for corporations, document templates, and the first year of registered agent service, which then renews at $100 per year. Atlas does not file your taxes or keep your books. Delaware's own charges continue regardless: an LLC owes Delaware's flat annual tax ($400 for 2026), a corporation its franchise tax and annual report.
Side by side
| Question | Sethhost | Stripe Atlas |
|---|---|---|
| How you pay | $79/mo subscription; $948 first term incl. formation; state fee at cost | $500 one-time incl. state filing and year-one agent; agent $100/yr after |
| Entity and state | LLC (working product) in any state | C corporation or LLC, Delaware only |
| Built for | Operating businesses owned from abroad | Startups heading for venture funding, inside Stripe's ecosystem |
| Equity machinery | Operating agreement for the member structure | Founder stock issuance, 83(b) filing, template library |
| Registered agent | Included in membership; Registered Agents Inc. of record | Year one included; $100/yr after |
| Tax filing | Not filed by Sethhost; your CPA, on a kept calendar | Not filed by Atlas |
| Website + US number | Included | Not an Atlas product |
Where the arithmetic points
On pure formation arithmetic Atlas is formidable: $500 once, government fees inside, and a Delaware company in days — a founder who needs exactly that, especially a C corporation with stock to issue, should not pay $948 across a year for it. Sethhost's number only makes sense against the hosted layer Atlas does not sell: the agent beyond the first year inside the same bill, the website, the number, the calendar, and a state other than Delaware. Note also what each leaves standing: the Atlas company still owes Delaware's $400 LLC tax or its corporate franchise tax and report every year, and its 5472 duty is identical to any other foreign-owned company's — see our explainer.
Who should choose which
- Choose Atlas if you are raising venture capital, or credibly about to: Delaware C corporation, clean equity paperwork, 83(b) filed — this is the machine the ecosystem expects, and it is genuinely excellent at it.
- Choose Sethhost if you are building an operating business — services, ecommerce, an agency — in any state, and you want the ongoing apparatus hosted on one monthly bill rather than assembled.
- Choose neither as your tax answer: both leave filing to you and your CPA; any founder comparing only formation prices is comparing the cheapest third of the problem.
Fairness notes
Atlas prices here are Stripe's published figures as of November 2026 ($500 one-time including state fees and year-one agent service; $100/yr agent renewal), corroborated across current reviews; Delaware's LLC tax is stated at the 2026 rate from the Division of Corporations. Stripe also advertises periodic promotions around Atlas (including a Treasury-deposit fee-back offer in 2026) — promotions change, and Stripe's live page governs. Sethhost's side is stated in full on our pricing page.
Verification. Stripe Atlas prices checked November 2026 against Stripe's published pricing as corroborated by current reviews ($500 one-time including state filing fees and first-year registered agent; $100/yr thereafter); Delaware LLC annual tax ($400 for 2026) from the Delaware Division of Corporations. Sethhost prices are this site's own published prices.
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.