Making the work
Growing an audience
Running the business
Both cover creator finance and accounting & tax. Here is what separates them on price, billing, what you can take with you, and coverage.
doola | Relay | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $297 | From $30 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Paid subscription | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing (they differ) | Annual only | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | Not stated | 14 days |
| API | Not stated |
Form the company, then keep its books
doola sets up a US company for somebody who does not have one, including the people doing it from outside the country, and then sells the upkeep that follows. Formation is the cheap part. What costs money is the annual compliance, the bookkeeping and the filings, which is exactly the work that gets forgotten until it is late. Pricing is annual and the state's own filing fee sits on top.
Our note
The state fee is the number this page does not add up for you, and it ranges from under a hundred dollars to several hundred depending on where you file, so the real first-year cost is Starter plus a figure you have to look up. Formation alone is cheap almost anywhere; what you are buying at the dearer tiers is somebody else remembering the annual report.
Only on this side
Business banking with twenty checking accounts
Relay's difference is that it hands you twenty checking accounts rather than one, which is what makes envelope budgeting work on a business rather than on a spreadsheet beside it. Income splits on arrival: tax here, contractors there, what is left is yours. It also issues a stack of cards and connects to the usual bookkeeping tools. The free plan is a real account rather than a trial.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.
| Data export | Not stated | Not stated |
|---|
| Their cut | Not stated | Not stated |
|---|
| Runs on | Web | Web |
|---|
| Covers | Creator Finance, Accounting & Tax, Legal & Contracts | Creator Finance, Accounting & Tax |
|---|
| Works with | Nothing in particular | Nothing in particular |
|---|
| Founded | Not listed | Not listed |
|---|
| Reader rating | No reviews yet | No reviews yet |
|---|
| Live deals | None right now | None right now |
|---|
Shaded rows are where the two answers disagree and both listings have answered. A row where one side has not stated a fact is left plain, because silence is not a difference.
Our note
The free tier is the one most creators should be on, because the paid features are approval workflows for teams and a better savings rate that only matters on a balance large enough to notice. If the interest rate is what tempts you, work out the difference on your actual balance before paying $360 a year for it.