Free versus paid is the wrong first question here. Everyone asks it anyway, so here is the real answer.
- Keep the research stack free: the comparison database, a post-formation checklist app, and the IRS app should cost nothing. - The paid tier is the provider's service, and the app is just the wrapper: formation, renewals, EIN filing, compliance support. - Judge the portal as part of the purchase, but do not pay for a premium app tier that is the same portal with push notifications. - A gorgeous dashboard from a slow-filing provider is lipstick; a plain portal that files your EIN as a foreign founder is gold. - Put the money into the provider, chosen on cheapest LLC formation service math over two years, not on app polish.
Keep the apps free. Run a formation provider comparison database search at formationcompare.fyi, and when you are done comparing, my service handles the filing and the post-formation setup, EIN, banking, and registered agent for $49 plus the state fee.