Comparisons

Compare Montana LLCs Against Every Other State

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

What Montana costs today

Forming an LLC in Montana costs $35 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 $35. After year one Montana has no minimum recurring state cost. See what Montana actually requires each year, including what the filing is called and when it is first due.

Filing fee, online$35
First year, state charges$35
Minimum recurring state cost, annualized$0
States cheaper in year one0

Measured on first-year cost alone, 0 of these 49 states are cheaper than Montana, 49 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 Montana's $35.

Compare Montana withTheir first yearDifference
Montana vs Arizona$50+$15
Montana vs Mississippi$50+$15
Montana vs Missouri$50+$15
Montana vs New Mexico$50+$15
Montana vs Hawaii$62.50+$27.50
Montana vs Iowa$65+$30
Montana vs Colorado$75+$40
Montana vs Michigan$75+$40
Montana vs Utah$77+$42
Montana vs Ohio$99+$64
Montana vs Idaho$100+$65
Montana vs South Carolina$110+$75
Montana vs Indiana$110.50+$75.50
Montana vs Oklahoma$125+$90
Montana vs Kansas$130+$95
Montana vs Louisiana$130+$95
Montana vs Pennsylvania$132+$97
Montana vs Nebraska$137.50+$102.50
Montana vs Virginia$150+$115
Montana vs Minnesota$155+$120
Montana vs West Virginia$155+$120
Montana vs Wisconsin$155+$120
Montana vs Wyoming$160+$125
Montana vs Georgia$170+$135
Montana vs North Dakota$185+$150
Montana vs Arkansas$195+$160
Montana vs Alabama$200+$165
Montana vs Connecticut$200+$165
Montana vs New Hampshire$200+$165
Montana vs New Jersey$200+$165
Montana vs Oregon$200+$165
Montana vs Vermont$200+$165
Montana vs South Dakota$205+$170
Montana vs Illinois$225+$190
Montana vs Kentucky$230+$195
Montana vs Maine$260+$225
Montana vs Florida$263.75+$228.75
Montana vs Washington$270+$235
Montana vs Alaska$300+$265
Montana vs Texas$300+$265
Montana vs North Carolina$325+$290
Montana vs Maryland$400+$365
Montana vs Nevada$425+$390
Montana vs New York$479.50+$444.50
Montana vs Delaware$510+$475
Montana vs Rhode Island$600+$565
Montana vs Tennessee$700+$665
Montana vs California$880+$845
Montana vs Massachusetts$1040+$1005

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 Montana 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.