Wyoming vs Delaware for a non-resident LLC.

Over five years, the state-fee gap alone is roughly $300 (Wyoming) vs $1,600+ (Delaware) — before identical registered-agent costs in both states. Both keep owner names off the public formation record; Wyoming's privacy protections and charging-order shield are, if anything, stronger.

One scenario, but it's decisive: you plan to raise from US venture funds or institutional angels. VCs standardize on Delaware — its Court of Chancery has decades of predictable corporate case law, every startup lawyer works in it daily, and the LLC-to-C-Corp conversion is a solved, routine process. If a priced round is in your 18-month plan, form in Delaware and spend your energy elsewhere. Fighting this convention costs you more in legal friction later than the $300/year saves.

Every other scenario. If you're bootstrapping a SaaS, running an e-commerce store, consulting, or holding assets — and funding means revenue or your own savings — Delaware gives you nothing you'll use while charging $300 in franchise tax annually for it. Wyoming gives you $60/year total state cost, no corporate income tax, no franchise tax, anonymous ownership, and the strongest charging-order protection in the US. Your customers will never know or care which state your LLC lives in.

"Delaware sounds more legitimate" is the most expensive sentence in company formation. Legitimacy with banks, Stripe, and the IRS comes from your EIN, your documents, and your compliance record — not the state on your certificate. Meanwhile the wrong choice compounds: franchise tax, plus late-fee exposure, plus (if you later move) the cost of domestication or re-formation. Pick on facts, and if your plans change, converting a Wyoming LLC to a Delaware C-Corp at fundraising time is a well-trodden path.