It is the most common showdown in our first calls: "I was thinking Delaware, everyone forms there." Our answer regularly surprises people: for founders abroad with an international life, Wyoming wins four times out of five, and Delaware's fame rests on a mix-up worth clearing up.
Where the Delaware myth comes from
Delaware really is the corporate law capital of the world, but for corporations, not for your LLC. IPO candidates and venture-backed startups form there because investors know the Delaware corporation as the standard contract and the Court of Chancery has been handing down pure corporate law for centuries. That shine rubs off on the name, and formation portals resell it to solo founders for whom it simply does not matter: your single-member LLC will never fight over investor rights in the Chancery Court. What is an argument for a corporation is folklore for you.
The comparison in the categories that affect you
Privacy: Both states are on the list of eleven anonymous registers. A tie, at a high level.
Asset protection: Wyoming wrote charging order protection as the exclusive remedy into its statute, expressly including the single-member LLC, the strongest wording in America. Delaware belongs to the exclusive-remedy family too, but Wyoming's statute is the benchmark every other state is measured against. Advantage Wyoming, in exactly the discipline that counts for anyone buying asset protection.
Running costs and upkeep: Delaware charges its franchise tax every year, due by 1 June, regardless of revenue or activity. Wyoming is content with a lean annual report and minimal fees. Over ten years of ownership the difference adds up to a four-figure sum, for exactly zero added value. A clear advantage for Wyoming, and the pricing logic for both states is laid out openly on the pricing page.
Image: This is Delaware's one real point. "Delaware" opens doors with US corporate buyers and investors because the name sounds serious, and that is why we gave it the global-corporation verdict. Wyoming, on the other hand, sounds like open space, freedom and cowboys, which works at least as well with your European and international clients, just differently. If you plan to raise a round from US funds in two years, think Delaware (and then usually a corporation straight away). Everyone else loses nothing with Wyoming.
Legal certainty in everyday life: Both first class. The Chancery advantage shows up in shareholder disputes and M&A drama, not in the life of a single-member LLC that sends invoices.
The honest decision rule
Choose Wyoming if you are who this website is built for: an entrepreneur, freelancer, nomad or investor with an international life who cares more about privacy, protection and low upkeep than about a name US funds love. Choose Delaware if your business model targets American corporate clients or institutional capital and the name is part of your sales story, or if converting to a corporation is realistically on the horizon. And if you truly cannot choose between them: Wyoming, because moving by domestication stays open to you later, while nobody refunds the franchise tax years you could have saved.
Your next step
Decision made? Order Wyoming or order Delaware, both in our firm's complete package. If your setup involves investors, US clients or a later corporation, book a consultation with Sebastian: one hour, held in English, honest feedback, 15-minute guarantee.
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ZeroTax LLC is a service of Mount Bonnell Advisors in Austin, Texas.
Founder of Mount Bonnell Advisors, Austin, Texas. Has debunked the Delaware myth often enough to still like Delaware, in the right place.
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