{"question": "best registered agent services for startups", "category": "registered-agent-services", "category_name": "registered agent services", "audience": "startups", "audience_name": "startups", "engine": "Claude (Anthropic) with web search", "model": "claude-opus-5", "asked_at": "2026-10-08T22:23:55Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/registered-agent-services-startups-2026-10-08", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/registered-agent-services/startups", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "Northwest", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "Northwest Registered Agent", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Clerky", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Stripe", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "Stripe Atlas", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "Harbor Compliance", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "CSC", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "CT Corporation", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 9, "brand": "ZenBusiness", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 10, "brand": "ZenBusiness/Bizee", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 11, "brand": "Bizee", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 12, "brand": "Rho", "label": "mentioned"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://www.rho.co/blog/best-registered-agent-services", "domain": "rho.co", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://www.rho.co/blog/stripe-atlas-vs-clerky", "domain": "rho.co", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://howtostartanllc.com/reviews/best-registered-agent-services", "domain": "howtostartanllc.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.businessinitiative.org/formation-providers/northwest-registered-agent-vs-harbor-compliance/", "domain": "businessinitiative.org", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://startupsavant.com/northwest-llc-service-review", "domain": "startupsavant.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.rho.co/blog/best-incorporation-services", "domain": "rho.co", "source_type": "vendor"}], "answer_text": "# Best registered agent services for startups\n\n**1. Northwest Registered Agent - $125/yr. My default pick.**\nPrivacy-first: they put *their* address on public filings instead of yours, and they explicitly don't sell your data. Free mail scanning/forwarding, real humans on the phone (no upsell gauntlet), and flat pricing with no renewal jump. Founded 1998, so they're not going anywhere. If you're a solo founder working from your apartment, this is the one - it keeps your home address off the public record.\n\n**2. Clerky - $125/yr, if you're VC-track.**\nNot really a standalone RA service; it's a startup legal-docs platform that includes Delaware registered agent (first year free with formation, $125/yr after). Worth it if you're raising: SAFEs, 83(b)s, option grants, and your cap-table paperwork live in the same place as your compliance mail. Investors and startup lawyers know and trust Clerky's docs.\n\n**3. Stripe Atlas - RA included, ~$100/yr after year one (via LegalInc).**\nBest if you want incorporation + bank + payments done in a couple days. $500 one-time, first year of Delaware RA covered, plus Stripe credits and partner discounts. The RA itself is outsourced to LegalInc, so it'", "answer_truncated": true, "measurement": "One answer from one engine on one date. Not a ranking and not a claim about the world; brands the engine did not name are not recorded.", "limitation": "Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included.", "alerts": {"name": "Answer Watch Pro", "price_usd": 79, "period": "month", "gets": "daily change alerts for up to 5 brands in what one AI answer engine says, history, CSV export. Coverage: Claude (Anthropic) with web search. Other engines not included", "url": "https://bikoosh.com/answers"}}