{"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": "2026-10-28T01:31:09Z", "permalink": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/s/registered-agent-services-startups-2026-10-28", "question_page": "https://bikoosh.com/answers/q/registered-agent-services/startups", "brands_named": [{"position": 1, "brand": "Kruze", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 2, "brand": "Kruze Consulting", "label": "recommended"}, {"position": 3, "brand": "Cooley", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 4, "brand": "Wilson Sonsini", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 5, "brand": "InCorp", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 6, "brand": "CSC", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 7, "brand": "CSC Global", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 8, "brand": "CT Corporation", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 9, "brand": "Series B", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 10, "brand": "Northwest", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 11, "brand": "Northwest Registered Agent", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 12, "brand": "Harbor Compliance", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 13, "brand": "multi-year", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 14, "brand": "Stripe Atlas", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 15, "brand": "EIN", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 16, "brand": "Clerky", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 17, "brand": "LegalZoom", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 18, "brand": "ZenBusiness", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 19, "brand": "Bizee", "label": "mentioned"}, {"position": 20, "brand": "Rho", "label": "mentioned"}], "sources_cited": [{"url": "https://www.kruzeconsulting.com/cheapest-agent-delaware/", "domain": "kruzeconsulting.com", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://kruzeconsulting.com/registered-agents-delaware", "domain": "kruzeconsulting.com", "source_type": "vendor"}, {"url": "https://howtostartanllc.com/reviews/best-registered-agent-services", "domain": "howtostartanllc.com", "source_type": "other"}, {"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://www.businessinitiative.org/formation-providers/northwest-registered-agent-vs-harbor-compliance/", "domain": "businessinitiative.org", "source_type": "other"}, {"url": "https://www.discern.com/resources/best-registered-agent-services-venture-capital-firms", "domain": "discern.com", "source_type": "other"}], "answer_text": "Here's who I'd actually name, roughly in the order I'd suggest them.\n\n## If you're a Delaware C-corp (the default for anything venture-track)\n\n**1. Harvard Business Services (HBS)** - $50/year, flat, guaranteed for the life of the company. This is the pick for most early-stage Delaware corps. It's the cheapest credible option by a wide margin, they've been doing Delaware-only work for decades, and Kruze Consulting (which does the books for hundreds of VC-backed startups) lists it as one of the agents premier startup law firms routinely recommend. There's no upsell machine attached to it.\n\n**2. Whoever your startup lawyer tells you to use** - genuinely the best answer if you have counsel. Firms like Cooley, Gunderson, Wilson Sonsini have standing relationships, and a diligence process goes smoother when your agent is one your acquirer's lawyers recognize. In practice that means HBS, InCorp (~$99/yr), **CSC Global** (~$194/yr), or **CT Corporation** (~$275/yr).\n\n**3. CSC Global or CT Corporation** - only once you're bigger. You're paying 4-5x for institutional-grade service of process handling, multi-state coverage, and an account team. Worth it around Series B+, when you're qualifie", "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"}}