CompareFile.Business vs Inc Authority - feature-by-feature comparison.
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Compare · verified Aug 11, 2026

File.Business vs Inc Authority.

Inc Authority made its name on genuinely free formation with a phone call attached. File.Business publishes every price including the renewals. One of these companies lists its agent renewal price on the internet; this page is on their side of that fact too.

220,000+ BUSINESSES FORMED51 JURISDICTIONSSTATE FEES AT COST60-DAY MONEY BACK

IAPick Inc Authority for

  • The free year is real
  • Humans walk you through it
  • Long track record

FBPick File.Business for

  • Our renewal price is a fact you can read
  • No phone call between you and a price
  • A platform after the paperwork
  • Leaving is a button, not a negotiation
Side-by-side

Every line, both columns, real numbers.

No checkmark theater. Where Inc Authority is stronger, the right column says so.

FeatureFile.BusinessInc Authority
LLC formation (service fee)$0 + state fee at cost$0 + state fee, genuinely
Registered Agent year 1$149/yr flatFree
Agent renewal price$149/yr, publishedNot published; auto-renews per reviews
Paid bundlesMonitoring $79/yr · Business OS $249/yr, listedStarter and Fasttrack bundles, phone-quoted
Sales modelSelf-serve, prices on the pageSignup includes a consultation call reviewers describe as a pitch
Compliance platformCalendar, filings, vault, BosAINot the product
Annual report filing$129 + state fee, AutoFile $99/yrAdd-on service
EIN application$79 flatUpsell path
Free tier after formationFree workspace foreverNone
Cancel behaviorPlan lapses, workspace staysAuto-renewal; cancellation by contact
State feesAt cost, itemized before paymentAt cost, on top
Money-back terms60-day on service feesVaries by bundle

Inc Authority pricing verified August 11, 2026 from their public pricing page and current independent reviews. Prices change; check theirs before you decide. Spot an outdated number? Tell us and we fix it.

The honest math

Three years, both columns, all-in.

FBFile.Business
$447 3 years, agent path, all published
3-year total
  • Agent $149 times 3, on the pricing page
  • Every filing priced on the menu
  • Free workspace underneath it all
VS
IAInc Authority
Unpublishable renewal price is not public
3-year total
  • Year 1 free, genuinely
  • Renewal price not published anywhere
  • Bundles quoted on the phone
We cannot compute their column. That is the comparison.

This is the rare page where the honest 3-year table has a blank in it: Inc Authority does not publish its registered agent renewal price, and current reviews describe automatic renewal. Their year one is genuinely free and their people are pleasant. Year two is a phone call. Ours is a number on a public page.

Inc Authority pricing verified August 11, 2026 from their public pricing page and current independent reviews. Prices change; check theirs before you decide. Spot an outdated number? Tell us and we fix it.

Credit where due

Where Inc Authority genuinely wins.

The free year is real

Formation at $0 service fee with a genuinely free agent year. As a way to get a company filed this week for state-fee money, it works.

Humans walk you through it

The consultation call is hand-holding as well as sales. First-timers who want a person will get one.

Long track record

Decades in the formation business under one roof. This is not a fly-by-night operation.

Our case

Where File.Business pulls ahead.

Our renewal price is a fact you can read

$149/yr, on the pricing page, next to every other price we charge. Theirs is not published, and it auto-renews. That difference is the whole philosophy.

No phone call between you and a price

Bundles here are listed: Monitoring $79/yr, Business OS $249/yr, bundles page for one-time packages. Nothing is quoted at you.

A platform after the paperwork

Calendar across 51 jurisdictions, filings at flat fees, vault, BosAI. Their product substantially ends at formation.

Leaving is a button, not a negotiation

Plans lapse when you stop paying; the free workspace stays. Reviews of auto-renewing services read differently.

Switching

Already with Inc Authority?

On Inc Authority now? Before your renewal date, ask them what the agent renewal costs; then compare it to $149 on our pricing page. The change filing is $49 plus the state fee and we prepare it. Your documents and deadlines consolidate into the workspace the same day.

1
Find out your renewal price

It is not on their site. It is on your next invoice. Ask before it auto-renews.

2
Change the agent

$49 + state fee, filed by us, effective with the state.

3
Keep everything visible

Every future price you pay us is on one public page.

FAQ

Common questions.

How is File.Business different from Inc Authority?
Both offer $0-service-fee formation. After that: Inc Authority monetizes through phone-quoted bundles and an agent renewal whose price is not published; File.Business monetizes through a published plan menu and a $149 agent renewal, with a compliance platform as the product. The difference is not the free filing; it is everything after.
When is Inc Authority honestly the better pick?
If you want a free formation this week with a human on the phone walking you through it, and you are comfortable asking for prices as you go, their entry path is real and their staff are helpful. Choose us if you want every future cost knowable today.
Is this comparison up to date?
Checked August 11, 2026 against public information and current reviews: formation $0 plus state fee with a free agent year; paid bundles quoted by phone; agent renewal price not published, with reviews reporting automatic renewal. If Inc Authority publishes its renewal pricing, tell us and this page changes the same day.
Why do you show "unpublishable" instead of a number?
Because inventing their number would make this page dishonest, and copying a review’s guess would make it wrong. When a price is not public we say so; it is the strongest fact on the page.
Can I move my Inc Authority LLC?
Yes: change of registered agent, $49 plus the state fee, filed by us. Do it before the renewal date if you want to skip the auto-renewal question entirely.
What does year 2 cost at each?
File.Business: $149 agent plus your plan at its published price ($0 if you stay free). Inc Authority: their agent renewal at the price on your invoice, plus any bundle you agreed to on the phone.

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