South Carolina LLC costs and business software (October 2026)
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What it costs to form and keep an LLC in South Carolina, which cloud data centres are closest, how South Carolina's privacy rules affect your customer data, and the software and free tools for running the business.
LLC costs in South Carolina
Forming an LLC in South Carolina costs $110 in state fees in the first year and $0 a year after that. That makes South Carolina the 28th cheapest state to form an LLC and the 9th cheapest to keep one, level with the national median of $110 to form.
| Formation filing fee | $110 |
|---|---|
| Recurring report | Not required |
| State cost in the first year | $110 |
| State cost each later year | $0 |
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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina fees | Each later year | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent (Basic) | $49 | $159 | $125 | Visit site |
| doola (Starter) | $297 | $407 | $297 | Visit site |
Later years include the service's registered agent (Northwest renews at its listed price; doola's plan renews each year) plus South Carolina's recurring fee. You can act as your own registered agent if you have a street address in South Carolina.
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
| State | First year | Each later year |
|---|---|---|
| South Carolina | $110 | $0 |
| Georgia | $110 | $60 |
| North Carolina | $125 | $200 |
An LLC formed in another state that does business in South Carolina usually has to register in South Carolina 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 Charleston
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 Charleston, South Carolina's largest city:
| Provider | Nearest data centre | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| DigitalOcean | Atlanta | 266 miles |
| Vultr | Atlanta | 266 miles |
| Akamai Cloud (Linode) | Atlanta | 266 miles |
| Amazon Lightsail | Northern Virginia | 454 miles |
DigitalOcean also lists Richmond, Kansas City and Memphis data centres; check which products are offered there before choosing one.
Customer data and South Carolina privacy law
South Carolina has no comprehensive consumer privacy law yet, but customers from other states and countries bring their own laws with them: if you sell to Californians or Europeans, their rules apply to their 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 South Carolina 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 South Carolina?
$110 in state fees in the first year ($110 to file), then $0 a year. A formation service adds its own fee.
Does South Carolina require an annual report?
No. South Carolina has no recurring report fee for LLCs.
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 South Carolina filing office before you file.