Firstbase Review (2026)

Firstbase is one of two services we consistently recommend to founders who don't live in the United States (the other is Stripe Atlas). It sells a specific bundle; Delaware C-Corp or LLC, EIN, US mailing address, registered agent, and handoffs into US banking; as a single package aimed at people who can't walk into a bank branch or sign a W-9 in person.

If you fit that profile, Firstbase is genuinely good. If you don't, you're overpaying.

Who Firstbase is for

Firstbase exists because international founders hit a wall US founders don't see: you can file an LLC yourself for $100 in New Mexico, but you can't get an EIN in 48 hours, you can't open a Mercury account without a US entity, and you can't use a residential address in Mumbai as your company's principal office. Firstbase stitches those steps together.

The practical test: if you need an EIN and a US-addressable business, and you don't already have relationships with a US attorney or CPA, the bundle is worth it. If you're a US resident forming an LLC in your home state, you're paying 4x what a bare-metal formation would cost.

The right question is not 'is Firstbase expensive?' It's 'how much is it worth to you to skip a three-month EIN queue from a foreign address?' For most non-US founders, the answer is $399.

What you actually get

• Formation. Delaware C-Corp or LLC. They're opinionated about Delaware and it shows; the workflow is smooth there and rougher elsewhere.
• EIN. This is the single biggest reason international founders use the service. Firstbase handles the SS-4 paperwork and the IRS fax dance; without them it can take 6-12 weeks.
• Registered agent. One year included, then ~$150/yr.
• US mailing address. Real street address, scanned mail.
• Banking handoffs. Pre-approved referrals into Mercury, Brex, and Stripe Atlas. You still have to pass KYC, but the path is paved.

The EIN math

The EIN piece is the single most defensible part of Firstbase's value proposition, and understanding why requires looking at how the IRS handles foreign-founder applications. If you have a US Social Security number or ITIN, the IRS online EIN application issues the number instantly. If you don't, the IRS requires a paper or faxed Form SS-4, and the published processing window for international applicants is four to eight weeks; in practice, readers have told us it's often longer. Firstbase maintains direct relationships with the IRS EIN unit and, in our testing, turned an SS-4 around in under two weeks.

For banking, Firstbase's referrals work because Mercury, Brex, and similar US neobanks require a registered US entity, an EIN, and a verifiable US address as minimum inputs. The FinCEN beneficial-ownership rules tightened further in 2024-2025, and banks are stricter now about documentation than they were when Firstbase launched. Having a partner who delivers all three inputs in a single packet meaningfully shortens KYC review. Founders who try to do this stepwise often hit a document-mismatch wall we've seen take weeks to resolve.

Pricing reality

The $399 quoted price is for formation only. The Core plan (which is what most founders actually buy) is $399/year recurring and includes the mailing address, tax filings, and compliance reminders. That's the number to compare against.

It's not cheap. But the alternative for a non-US founder is hiring a US attorney ($1,500-3,000 for the setup), paying a CPA separately for the EIN ($300-500), and figuring out the address problem yourself. Firstbase undercuts that meaningfully. If you want to benchmark the legal alternative, the American Bar Association's lawyer-referral directory is a reasonable starting point for state-by-state attorney pricing.

Where it falls short

• Not flexible on state choice. If you want a Wyoming or New Mexico LLC instead of Delaware, the experience is less polished.
• Ongoing cost. The annual compliance tier keeps charging even after year one. Some founders forget it's on autopay.
• Support is queue-based. Fine for routine questions, frustrating when something genuinely needs a human (like an IRS rejection).

How we rated it

We rate formation services on five axes: transparency, international accessibility, post-formation support, banking integration, and price. Firstbase scores highly on international accessibility and banking integration, mid-pack on transparency (the annual fee structure isn't obvious until you're deep in checkout), and loses points on price for US-based founders who don't need the bundle.

Verdict: If you're filing from outside the US, start here. If you're a US founder, skip it. Northwest, ZenBusiness, or a direct state filing will cost you a fraction.