The honest comparison across the top three formation platforms.
Stripe Atlas, doola, and Firstbase are the three platforms founders evaluate alongside FormBridge. Here's where each wins, where each loses, and where the Services-as-Software thesis changes the math.
Formation + EIN + founder equity. Back-office is the founder's problem.
Formation + EIN + banking help. Bookkeeping, tax, and quarterly estimates are paid add-ons.
Formation + address + RA + bookkeeping + tax + sales tax. No AI layer.
Jurisdictions
US (WY, DE, FL), UK Ltd, UAE free zones (IFZA, RAK, Meydan)
Delaware only
US (multi-state)
US + light international
Entity types
US LLC, US C-Corp, UK Ltd, UAE FZ
C-Corp, LLC, Subsidiary
LLC (C-Corp on higher plans)
LLC, C-Corp
AI depth
Is the AI a chatbot or an autopilot?
Eight dedicated autopilots, each with a defined eval suite, cost budget, and citation trail.
None.
“AI Co-Founder” chatbot for Q&A.
None.
Pricing transparency
Flat, published, interactive plan builder — see your total before you click buy.
$500 one-time + $100/yr RA renewal
$222 → $1,499 → $2,249/yr + state fees
Opaque. Pricing not shown on homepage.
Ongoing compliance
Compliance Agent with jurisdiction rules engine and auto-filing where APIs exist.
Registered agent renewal only. No annual reports or franchise tax drafting.
Manual filings with reminders. Auto-filing limited.
Manual filings with reminders. Auto-filing limited.
Tax filing
Tax Agent drafts 1120, 5472, 1120-S, 1040-NR, UK CT600 with CPA sign-off.
Not included. No tax advisory.
Human-delivered on the $1,499 plan and up.
Add-on. No agent support.
Bookkeeping
Bookkeeping Agent: Plaid feed → auto-categorization → monthly close with P&L, BS, and anomaly flags.
Not included.
Bookkeeping software (self-serve) on Starter; dedicated bookkeeper on $2,249 plan.
Accrual bookkeeping included with accounting plan.
Payments approval help
Non-residents' #1 pain
Payments Agent audits your site, category, and description before you submit to Stripe / PayPal / Square to maximize approval.
Stripe pre-approval bundled (Atlas is a Stripe product).
Stripe referral; no anti-rejection coaching.
Stripe referral; no processing fee on first $20k.
Audit trail
Can you replay every agent decision?
Every LLM call logged as an AgentRun with cost, tools called, and decision rationale. Customer-exportable.
Standard service logs only.
Standard service logs only.
Standard service logs only.
Founder fit
Global founders (US res + non-res) who want one platform and verifiable AI work.
Tech startups planning to raise US VC — fast Delaware incorporation.
First-time e-commerce founders who want a bundled services package.
Early-stage startups already in a bank/Carta partner ecosystem.
Based on public information as of May 2026. FormBridge rows reflect the live platform across all 8 waves. See each deep-dive page for sourcing notes.
Pricing transparency
No “contact sales.” No six-month procurement.
Enterprise compliance vendors hide their pricing behind a discovery call, a security questionnaire, and a quarterly procurement cycle. FormBridge publishes every number on the same site as the product. The plan builder shows your total before you click buy, and any module can be cancelled the same way it was added — from the dashboard, in one click.