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Sunset alternatives
Last updated October 7, 2026
Starcycle provides operational support for shutdowns. We're not a substitute for legal, tax or financial advice.
Home / Alternatives
Last updated October 7, 2026
Starcycle provides operational support for shutdowns. We're not a substitute for legal, tax or financial advice.
Six approaches cover most startup wind-downs: Starcycle, filing yourself, an attorney, a CPA, a full-service wind-down and, if debts exceed assets, an ABC or bankruptcy. At Starcycle, we start at $399, are turnkey and hands-off, cover all 50 states and typically take 8 to 10 weeks.
The approaches below are ranked in the order most solvent startups consider them, and the last one applies only when debts exceed what the company can pay. The Starcycle vs Sunset comparison covers that pairing line by line.
1
Our service
Best for: a company that can pay its debts and wants a turnkey, hands-off close, with the filings, payroll tax account closure and key dates handled for it
2
Best for: a simple company with one state registration, no investors to pay out and time to track every deadline
3
Best for: investor distributions, disputes, asset sale agreements and any question about how the law applies to your company
4
Best for: final federal and state tax returns and for closing the tax accounts the company opened
5
Best for: a founder who wants one provider to coordinate legal, tax and investor steps under a single scope
6
Best for: a company that cannot pay its debts, where an attorney chooses the route
| Approach | What it includes | Cost | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starcycle | Tailored action plan, coverage of all 50 states, help tracking contracts and subscriptions, document management, dissolution articles, EIN cancellation, payroll tax account closure and final returns arranged through partner CPAs. A dedicated team member on the complex tier. Typically 8 to 10 weeks. | "Starting at $399" for the self-serve tier, with $399 as the service fee and state fees extra, so $399 is the floor | Our services page, 2026-10-06 |
| DIY with the state | You file the dissolution, Form 966 and any state withdrawals yourself. | State filing fees from $0 to $224 across four states, before taxes and preparation | Delaware fee schedule, 2026-10-06 |
| Attorney | Drafts consents and releases, advises on investor and creditor questions, reviews sale agreements. | Quoted per engagement | No published fee schedule applies; ask for a written scope |
| CPA | Prepares final returns and closes tax accounts. | Quoted per engagement | IRS: closing a business, 2026-10-06 |
| Full-service wind-down | One provider coordinates filings, tax, people, assets and distributions. Scopes differ by provider. | Quoted per engagement | No published fee schedule applies; ask for a written scope |
| ABC or bankruptcy | An assignee or a court takes over the company's assets and pays creditors under a legal process. | Quoted per engagement; bankruptcy court filing fees are $338 for Chapter 7 and $1,738 for Chapter 11, before attorney fees | U.S. Bankruptcy Court filing fees, 2026-10-06 |
We start at $399 for the self-serve tier, which covers the action plan, key-date tracking, help tracking contracts and subscriptions, document management, dissolution filing and EIN cancellation. $399 is the service fee and state fees are extra, so $399 is the floor. State government fees are paid at each state's own rate, and complex cases are quoted individually.
We have two tiers. The simple tier is built for a single-member LLC or straightforward corporation with one state registration, no investors or cap table and no active contracts. The complex tier is for a Delaware C-corporation or multi-state entity with investors, a cap table and active contracts, subscriptions or leases, and it comes with a dedicated team member.
For a venture-backed company, the complex tier is the relevant one. We support the documents a board and stockholders need, such as resolutions and consents, and track the dates that follow. Your counsel or CPA calculates any investor waterfall and makes the distributions. We arrange the final federal and state returns through partner CPAs, or work with your own CPA, and we have partner CPAs and lawyers for pretty much every situation.
We work with companies that can pay their debts, and we don't handle bankruptcy or ABC work. We serve U.S. entities only and cover all 50 states, and a typical close takes 8 to 10 weeks. The experience is turnkey and hands-off: we do the heavy lifting and there is little for you to do, while others assign a dedicated specialist. We also close payroll tax accounts, take care of sales tax account closure through a partner, and offer a complimentary asset recovery review through a network of partners.
What we include:
Filing yourself means you hold every date and every state. The fees are small, and the work is in the order of operations, because several states want taxes settled before they accept the dissolution.
Among four states we checked, the filing fees differ widely:
| State | Dissolution filing fee | What the state asks for first | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware | $224 for a stock corporation's certificate of dissolution | All Delaware taxes through the dissolution date paid and annual franchise tax reports filed | Delaware Division of Corporations fee schedule, revised August 1, 2026 |
| California | No filing fee, with an optional $5 certification | Final franchise or annual tax return filed for the preceding taxable year | California Secretary of State |
| New York | $60 for a domestic business corporation | Written consent of the Department of Taxation and Finance attached | New York Department of State |
| Texas | $40 for a certificate of termination (Form 651) | Certificate of account status from the Comptroller (Form 05-305) | Texas Secretary of State |
Those fees exclude franchise or minimum taxes, a registered agent and tax preparation. California, for example, sets a minimum franchise tax of $800 per year for most corporations and LLCs. Federally, the IRS lists no filing fee for Form 966, which is due within 30 days after the company adopts its resolution or plan of dissolution.
DIY fits a company with one registration and no one to pay out. With investors, SAFE or note holders, or employees in several states, the notices, releases and distributions fall on you and your counsel.
An attorney is the right person for any question about how the law applies to your company. That includes how investors and note holders are paid, what a release should say, how an asset sale is papered and if the company should wind down at all.
Fees are quoted per engagement, and we found no published schedule to cite, so ask for a written scope and a fee basis before you start. If you suspect the company can't pay what it owes, start with an attorney before anything else on this list.
A CPA prepares the final federal and state returns and handles the tax accounts the company opened. The IRS closes an EIN by letter after final returns and taxes are paid, so the return work sits near the center of the sequence.
Costs are quoted per engagement. A CPA doesn't usually file the state dissolution, cancel your vendor contracts or track the foreign-state withdrawals, so most founders pair one with another approach from this page. We can arrange a CPA for the final returns or work with yours.
A full-service wind-down coordinates the steps under one scope: filings, tax, people and vendors, asset sales and final distributions. Scopes differ, and some leave final tax returns to a CPA.
Pricing is quoted per engagement, and providers price differently or don't publish a price at all. Before you sign, ask what the fee includes, which steps stay with your lawyer or CPA, and if final tax returns are inside the price.
Everything above assumes the company can pay what it owes. If it can't, the route changes, and an attorney decides which one applies. This section describes the options and leaves the choice to counsel.
ABC and bankruptcy costs are quoted per engagement. The one published figure we can cite is the court filing fees for bankruptcy, which are fees only, before attorney fees: Chapter 7 is $338 and Chapter 11 is $1,738.
Bring documents that show what the company owns and what it owes, since counsel can't compare routes without them:
Ask the attorney which route applies, who serves as the assignee or trustee, what happens to investors and what each route costs in fees and time. We don't handle bankruptcy or ABC work, so this is the one case on this page where we send you to an attorney first. When counsel finishes, the other approaches above cover the filings that remain, if any.
The right mix depends on four facts about your company: who holds equity, what it owns, what it owes and where it's registered. Your lawyer or CPA confirms the details for your case.
| Step | You | Starcycle | Lawyer or CPA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board and stockholder consents | Approve and sign | Supports the documents and the dates | Drafts or reviews the terms |
| State dissolution and withdrawals | Sign what is needed | Prepares and files the dissolution articles | Reviews where the case needs it |
| Investor distributions | Approve the plan | Not part of the plan | Counsel or CPA calculates and pays |
| Final tax returns | Provide records | Arranged through partner CPAs, or yours | Partner CPAs, or yours, prepare and file |
| EIN closure | Confirm final returns are filed | Prepares the EIN cancellation | CPA confirms the order |
| Payroll tax account closure | Approve | Closes the accounts | CPA confirms final payroll filings |
| Contracts and subscriptions | Decide what to end and cancel | Helps you track them; you take the cancellation action | Reviews anything with a dispute |
| Insolvency decisions | Bring the records | Not handled | Attorney decides the route |
We ranked approaches, not brands. Figures come from primary sources: state filing offices, the IRS and a U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Where none exists, the page uses no number. State fees change, so confirm them before you file. Browse more in our compare section.
A wind-down isn't one purchase. It's a set of filings, tax returns, investor steps and cancellations, and each approach on this page covers a different slice of them. The first question is if the company can pay what it owes, because the answer decides which set you're choosing from: us, the state, a CPA and a full-service wind-down, or an ABC and bankruptcy with an attorney leading.
If the company can pay its debts, we handle the filings, payroll tax account closure and key dates from $399, a floor that excludes state fees, and we can also make intros to lawyers and accountants. Get started.
Filing yourself costs the least in cash, from $0 in California to $224 in Delaware for the dissolution filing alone, before taxes and preparation (Delaware fee schedule). The real cost is your time.
We aren't a law firm and can't say what your case requires. An attorney is the person to ask how investors, note holders and releases are handled, and we can make intros to lawyers and accountants.
An ABC transfers the company's assets to an assignee under state law, outside a court, while bankruptcy runs through a court as Chapter 7 or Chapter 11. Both are quoted per engagement, and an attorney decides which applies.
We arrange final federal and state returns through partner CPAs, or work with your own CPA. We can also make intros to lawyers and accountants.
We support the board and stockholder documents and track key dates, and your counsel or CPA calculates and makes the distributions. The complex tier serves companies with investors and a cap table, and it comes with a dedicated team member.
Speak with an attorney before you pick any other approach, because the answer decides which routes are open. We work with companies that can pay their debts and don't handle bankruptcy or ABC work.
Sunset alternatives
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