California LLC costs and business software (October 2026)
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What it costs to form and keep an LLC in California, which cloud data centres are closest, how California's privacy rules affect your customer data, and the software and free tools for running the business.
LLC costs in California
Forming an LLC in California costs $890 in state fees in the first year and $810 a year after that. That makes California the 51st cheapest state to form an LLC and the 51st cheapest to keep one, above the national median of $110 to form.
| Formation filing fee | $70 |
|---|---|
| Other first-year state costs | $820 |
| Recurring: annual franchise tax ($800 minimum) plus a $20 Statement of Information every two years | $800 every year |
| State cost in the first year | $890 |
| State cost each later year | $810 |
Every California LLC owes at least $800 franchise tax each year, plus a fee based on income for larger LLCs. The first-year cost includes the $20 Statement of Information due within 90 days.
Work out your own total, with or without a formation service, in the LLC cost calculator, or see every state in LLC cost by state.
Forming in California with a service
Services file the paperwork, act as your registered agent and, on some plans, get your EIN. Their fee comes on top of the state's.
| Service | Service fee | First year with California fees | Each later year | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent (Basic) | $49 | $939 | $935 | Visit site |
| doola (Starter) | $297 | $1,187 | $1,107 | Visit site |
Later years include the service's registered agent (Northwest renews at its listed price; doola's plan renews each year) plus California's recurring fee. You can act as your own registered agent if you have a street address in California.
Founders who can form anywhere often choose Delaware or Wyoming through services such as Stripe Atlas, Clerky or Firstbase; compare them in the company formation ranking.
Compared with neighbouring states
An LLC formed in another state that does business in California usually has to register in California as a foreign LLC too, paying fees in both states. A cheaper neighbouring state rarely saves money if you operate here.
Cloud servers closest to Los Angeles
Servers near your customers load pages faster. The nearest data centre of each provider in our cloud server ranking, measured in a straight line from Los Angeles, California's largest city:
| Provider | Nearest data centre | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Vultr | Los Angeles | 0 miles |
| Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Los Angeles | 0 miles |
| DigitalOcean | San Francisco | 347 miles |
| Amazon Lightsail | Oregon | 818 miles |
DigitalOcean also lists Richmond, Kansas City and Memphis data centres; check which products are offered there before choosing one.
Customer data and California privacy law
California has a comprehensive consumer privacy law: the California Consumer Privacy Act (as amended by the CPRA), in force since January 1, 2020. If you collect personal data from California residents above the law's thresholds (usually a number of consumers a year, or a share of revenue from selling data), you must publish a privacy notice, honour opt-outs and answer requests to see or delete data.
A CRM that records consent and can export or delete a contact's data makes this routine. Compare them in the CRM ranking.
Software for California businesses
The same tools serve every state; these rankings compare them on published prices and features.
- CRM software
- Help desk and AI support
- Project management
- Online store builders
- Point of sale
- Business accounts
- Corporate cards and expenses
- Hiring abroad (EOR)
- Cloud servers
- Website hosting
- Company formation services
Free tools
- LLC cost calculator by state
- Business name generator
- Free QR code generator
- Email signature generator
- Discount and sale price calculator
- Break-even calculator
- Hourly to salary calculator
- Customer lifetime value (LTV) and acquisition cost (CAC) calculator
Questions
How much does it cost to start an LLC in California?
$890 in state fees in the first year ($70 to file plus $820 in other first-year state costs), then $810 a year. A formation service adds its own fee.
Does California require an annual report?
Yes: the annual franchise tax ($800 minimum) plus a $20 Statement of Information every two years, every year, $800.
Sources: LLC University: LLC filing fees by state (updated June 10, 2026); LLC University: LLC annual fees by state (updated June 10, 2026); Commenda: LLC filing fees by state (updated July 16, 2026). Fees change; confirm with the California filing office before you file.