Doola vs Firstbase

Features, pricing, and contract terms compared

Patrick Ward Patrick Ward Follow Published: Dec 08, 2022

Doola and Firstbase are both aimed at international founders, but Firstbase has better offerings for small and mid-size companies outside the VC ecosystem. Firstbase has a heavy emphasis on setting up high-growth startups, while Doola has products specifically tailored for e-commerce, SaaS, and DAO operators living outside of the US.

Content on this page does not constitute financial advice. It is intended for general information purposes only. NanoGlobals may be compensated when featuring partner brands.

  • Best for non-resident startups and DAOs: Doola (View current offers)
  • Good fit for resident startups seeking funding: Firstbase

Note: most of our clients choose Firstbase over Doola based on their longer track record and brand familiarity with investors.

Doola

3.2/5 stars

Doola's key differentiator is their API and DAO products, and the suite of tools offered for international company owners. They tend to emphasize lowering costs, suggesting Wyoming over Delaware for LLCs during their onboarding flow.

Doola data validated April 2024
Base price $297 + state fees
Registered Agent service Included
Registered agent renewal fee $197

Firstbase

3.9/5 stars

Firstbase has a special focus on international founders seeking the VC path, meaning that they're a good choice if you're setting up Delaware LLC or C-Corp and need associated services like banking and compliance.

Firstbase data validated April 2024
Base Price $399
Registered Agent service Included
Registered agent renewal fee $99

Summary of key differences

FeatureDoolaFirstbase
Entry price$297 + state fees$399
Standard processing time1–3 business day3-7 business days
Banking, mail, tax service✅✅
View PlansView Plans

Pricing Analysis: Doola vs Firstbase

While Firstbase appears more expensive on the surface, they're actually similar or cheaper than most Doola packages since they bundle in the state fee for LLCs. We suggest comparing the current perks over the formation price, since their deals on banking and software can make up the difference.

Doola pricing

The base pricing from Doola is less expensive than Firstbase. However, note that pricing is impacted by state fees. For example, Doola customers setting up an LLC in Delaware will see an initial cost of $387 (package cost plus the state LLC fee). In Wyoming, the same package would cost $497 because of the higher state fee.

Doola pricing data validated April 2024
Base Price $297 + state fees
Registered agent renewal fee $197
Foreign qualification fee Variable

Firstbase pricing

Firstbase is the more expensive formation service offering compared with Doola.

Firstbase data validated April 2024
Base Price $399
Registered agent renewal fee $99
Foreign qualification fee Variable

Doola vs Firstbase market value analysis

Market average based on analysis of 10 formation services providers.
MetricMarket AverageDoolaFirstbase
Lowest package price$124 before state fees$297 + state fees$399
Formation processing time8 business days1–3 business day3-7 business days
Registered agent annual cost$164 Variable Variable
Foreign qualification fee $142 Variable Variable

User experience & onboarding

Doola offers a mix of developer-friendly and user-friendly products, with the centerpiece being their chat-based formation process. Their chatbot follows a strict if/else script to collect basic information about your business and provides recommendations along the way about which state to incorporate based on your inputs. While we don't agree with their suggestions in many cases, the service is free and helpful for some companies. Pricing is up-front, although the renewal fees aren't displayed until the end of the chat. To be fair, these fees can vary based on the state and formation type, which is probably why they info-gate it.

With an interface more akin to a developer-facing product than a consumer-facing one, Firstbase is not immediately the easiest to navigate. Once into the flow, it's fairly straightforward with limited options of Delaware and Wyoming and a flat fee disclosed up front. The business formation flow in particular is exceptionally quick to navigate - as Firstbase prefers to offer multiple products within the 'Start your U.S. based business niche' including growth tools, business addresses alongside the expected formation and registered agent services.

Doola earns points with us for their mix of API-first and non-technical onboarding options. Unlike Firstbase, Doola caters to whitelabel customers as well as company owners. Firstbase assumes a higher level of knowledge compared with Doola, and opts for documentation and menu onboarding rather than chat-based entrance interviews.

Formation speed

Doola and Firstbase have similar processing times, in the sense that you're going to be waiting on the state for most of the approximately one-week formation time. Doola's API product means they've heavily automated the process, but overall, time to formation is not a consideration between Doola and Firstbase.

Doola's services are tailored around their API offerings, meaning that it's heavily automated and extremely fast. The only holdup customers will experience is with state processing times; Doola's processing times are effectively instant.

Firstbase's processing times of three to seven business days isn't awful, but neither is it particularly impressive. In today's 'I want it now' economy, three to seven business days seems like a lifetime compared to the 'same day' or 'next day' promises of several in the business formation space. It's worth noting however, that Firstbase's processing time puts it solidly in the middle of the pack, considerably faster than those in the twenty to forty business day processing time range.

Are they worth the cost?

Doola is heavily focused on non-US residents, and is unique in their product offerings for specific LLC use cases such as DAOs. While their obvious competitors like Stripe Atlas focus on the venture-funded startup crowd, Doola provides tools for more modest e-commerce and software companies. In addition to formation, they offer basic legal and regulatory compliance services in the $1.5–3k range.

Firstbase has strong overtures of developer dark mode interfaces, leaning to a strong targeting of International Tech Founders. The messaging is consistent with entrepreneurs trying to start their first U.S. business. Firstbase positions the choice of their products as either for the entrepreneur looking to be economical on taxation (via Wyoming incorporation) or Startups seeking VC-funding (via the standard Delaware incorporation).

NanoGlobals' editor's rating of Doola is among the lower ones in our index. It is based on Doola's value matrix for a clear demographic, but offset by issues including high cost of upsold services and low company history. On the plus side, Doola provides ultra-tailored tools for non-residents and DAOs rather than trying to serve every type of business.

NanoGlobals editor's rating represents Firstbase as a solid option, especially for the Non-U.S. founder. Their tech-oriented, all encompassing offer earn points for providing multiple tools to the aspiring tech entrepreneur to start their U.S. base business, along with very transparent pricing on all their available add-ons. Minor subtractions occur due to a higher than average price point and processing times.

Author Credentials

Patrick Ward is an expert on working with startups and new businesses. He has 8 years experience serving tech-enabled companies with staffing and growth.

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