Comparison
CorpStart vs incorporating yourself
You can absolutely incorporate yourself. The government registries are open to the public and the filing fee is the same whoever submits it. What you do not get is the document set that makes the corporation actually usable: by-laws, organizational resolutions, a share register, and a minute book. That is the real difference, and for some people it is not worth paying for.
Which one suits you
Choose filing it yourself if
- You have incorporated before and know what a minute book has to contain.
- You have time to research OBCA or CBCA requirements and prepare your own by-laws.
- Cost matters more to you than time, and you enjoy this kind of task.
Choose CorpStart if
- You want the corporation usable the same day, without researching corporate law.
- You want a proper minute book your bank and accountant will accept.
- Your time is worth more than the service fee.
Side by side
| CorpStart | filing it yourself | |
|---|---|---|
| Government filing fee | $300.00, passed through at cost. | $300.00, paid directly. Identical. |
| Service fee | $279.00 plus HST. | Nothing. This is the genuine saving. |
| By-law No. 1 and resolutions | Prepared for you and included. | You draft or source them yourself. Registries do not provide them. |
| Share register and certificates | Prepared and included. | You prepare them yourself. |
| Minute book | Digital minute book delivered the same day. | You assemble it. Banks and accountants will ask for it. |
| Time required | About ten minutes of form filling. | Several hours, more if it is your first time and you research it properly. |
| Risk of getting it wrong | We catch structural problems before filing, like an invalid name. | Errors are found after the fee is spent, and refiling costs another fee. |
Our pricing is generated from our live price list. Details about filing it yourself were last reviewed on 2026-09-02 and reflect publicly available information at that time. Competitors change pricing and packaging without notice, so check their current terms before deciding. If anything here is out of date, tell us and we will correct it.
Common questions
Is incorporating yourself actually hard?
The filing is not hard. The registry form is fairly clear and takes maybe twenty minutes. What catches people is everything around it: choosing a valid name, deciding share structure, and then producing the by-laws, resolutions, and registers that the filing does not give you but that every bank and accountant expects.
What happens if I skip the minute book?
Nothing immediately, which is why people skip it. It surfaces later, when a bank asks for your Articles and directors' resolution to open an account, when your accountant needs the share register for your first T2, or when a buyer or investor does diligence and finds you have no corporate records. Rebuilding it years later is harder than doing it at the start.
So when should I just do it myself?
If you have incorporated before, or you are comfortable reading the OBCA and preparing your own by-laws, do it yourself and keep the service fee. We would rather tell you that than sell you something you do not need.
Decided we are the right fit?
Flat fee, government fee at cost, filed within one to two business hours.