Comparisons

Compare Maine LLCs Against Every Other State

Every comparison below is written for an owner based in Maine and ranked by first-year cost against Maine itself.

What Maine costs today

Forming an LLC in Maine costs $175 to file online. Counting that filing fee plus one year of the state's recurring charges, meaning the annualized report and any minimum entity-level tax, a first year comes to $260. After year one Maine has $85 a year in recurring state charges, annualized. See what Maine actually requires each year, including what the filing is called and when it is first due.

Filing fee, online$175
First year, state charges$260
Minimum recurring state cost, annualized$85
States cheaper in year one36

Measured on first-year cost alone, 36 of these 49 states are cheaper than Maine, 13 cost more. Cost is only one input. Forming outside the state where you actually operate usually means registering as a foreign LLC at home as well, so you pay both states. Each comparison below works through that trade for one specific pair.

All 49 comparisons, cheapest first

The difference column is that state's first-year minimum minus Maine's $260.

Compare Maine withTheir first yearDifference
Maine vs Montana$35-$225
Maine vs Arizona$50-$210
Maine vs Mississippi$50-$210
Maine vs Missouri$50-$210
Maine vs New Mexico$50-$210
Maine vs Hawaii$62.50-$197.50
Maine vs Iowa$65-$195
Maine vs Colorado$75-$185
Maine vs Michigan$75-$185
Maine vs Utah$77-$183
Maine vs Ohio$99-$161
Maine vs Idaho$100-$160
Maine vs South Carolina$110-$150
Maine vs Indiana$110.50-$149.50
Maine vs Oklahoma$125-$135
Maine vs Kansas$130-$130
Maine vs Louisiana$130-$130
Maine vs Pennsylvania$132-$128
Maine vs Nebraska$137.50-$122.50
Maine vs Virginia$150-$110
Maine vs Minnesota$155-$105
Maine vs West Virginia$155-$105
Maine vs Wisconsin$155-$105
Maine vs Wyoming$160-$100
Maine vs Georgia$170-$90
Maine vs North Dakota$185-$75
Maine vs Arkansas$195-$65
Maine vs Alabama$200-$60
Maine vs Connecticut$200-$60
Maine vs New Hampshire$200-$60
Maine vs New Jersey$200-$60
Maine vs Oregon$200-$60
Maine vs Vermont$200-$60
Maine vs South Dakota$205-$55
Maine vs Illinois$225-$35
Maine vs Kentucky$230-$30
Maine vs Florida$263.75+$3.75
Maine vs Washington$270+$10
Maine vs Alaska$300+$40
Maine vs Texas$300+$40
Maine vs North Carolina$325+$65
Maine vs Maryland$400+$140
Maine vs Nevada$425+$165
Maine vs New York$479.50+$219.50
Maine vs Delaware$510+$250
Maine vs Rhode Island$600+$340
Maine vs Tennessee$700+$440
Maine vs California$880+$620
Maine vs Massachusetts$1040+$780

Each first-year figure is that state's online filing fee plus one year of its recurring charges: the report annualized over its cycle, any minimum entity-level tax, and any publication cost the state publishes. It is not a prediction of your own first year. Seven states file only every second year, and several do not require a first report until year two, so check the state's own deadline. Registered agent service is excluded throughout, being a commercial charge rather than a state one. A state showing no recurring cost may still owe an entity-level tax above that state's threshold. Arizona, Nebraska and New York additionally require newspaper publication whose full cost no state publishes.

More Maine guides

Edmond Hui

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.