Entity type comparison

Five US business structures, ranked across the decisions that matter

Liability protection, tax treatment, ownership rules, fundraising readiness, ongoing compliance. The matrix we walk every customer through before they form.

LLC vs C-Corp vs S-Corp vs Nonprofit vs Professional Corporation

Factor
LLC
LLC
CC
C-Corp
SC
S-Corp
NP
Nonprofit
PC
PC / PLLC
Personal liability shield
✓
✓
✓
✓
Partial
Owner personally liable for own malpractice
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
Yes
Pass-through taxation
✓ default
✗
✓
✓ tax-exempt
Optional
SE tax savings (vs sole prop)
By default no
N/A
✓ Major
N/A
Vian S-Corp election
Can issue stock to VCs
✗
✓ Required
Limited (100 shareholders, no entities)
✗
✗
Foreign owners allowed
✓
✓
✗ Only US persons
✓
Licensed pros only
Annual report (most states)
Some states
✓ Usually yes
✓ Usually yes
✓ + Form 990
✓ Plus license renewal
Typical setup time
1-15 business days
1-15 business days
+ Form 2553 election
3-9 months (1023)
+ Board pre-approval
File.Business formation
$0 service
$0 service
$0 service
$0 service
$0 service
Take the 90-second entity quiz See the LLC vs Corp deep guide