Northwest vs Doola: Two Great Services, Completely Different Founders

Northwest charges a flat $39 formation fee plus your state filing fee. The first-year registered agent service is included free. Starting year two, the RA renews at $125/yr, a rate Northwest has held for years. Over three years, the total cost is $289. Doola's Starter plan lists at $297/yr, which is $891 over the same period. For US residents, that $602 gap is hard to justify unless you need services Doola uniquely provides. The key question is whether the extras — EIN filing, an operating agreement, and US bank account setup help — are worth $602 more (annual report filing is not included in Starter). For most US founders, they aren't. For international founders, they absolutely are, because the EIN process alone can take months without Doola's help.

If you're forming a US LLC as a non-resident, the conversation is short: use Doola. They have a dedicated team for ITIN applications, EIN obtainment for foreign nationals, and Mercury bank account setup — none of which Northwest handles. This isn't a criticism of Northwest; they're simply not built for this use case. Doola exists precisely because international founders were underserved. They've helped 30,000+ founders from over 100 countries get legitimate US business infrastructure.

Northwest uses its own address on public filings by default where the state allows it, which keeps your home address off your Articles of Organization and other state records. Check whether another service offers the same before you choose. For founders who want to keep their home address out of searchable public records — especially those running online businesses or working from home — this is a meaningful, structural difference. It's not just a feature; it's the default on every Northwest account.

Northwest assigns a Corporate Guide to every account — a real person you can call. Their phone support is frequently cited in reviews as a competitive advantage. Doola operates primarily through email and chat. For complex situations (multi-state registration, amendment filings, annual report questions), having a real person on the phone matters. For straightforward formation and compliance, chat support is usually sufficient.