What startup patents cost in 2026
A US utility patent for a startup typically costs $1,070 to $5,350 in USPTO fees from provisional to grant, depending on entity size, plus professional fees that published price lists put at $2,000 to $6,000 for a provisional and $5,000 to $15,000 for a nonprovisional, before office actions.
The USPTO averaged 28.8 months from filing to a final decision in September 2026. With Tao IP, Standard is $12,000 fixed for the provisional and the nonprovisional.
USPTO fees by entity size
Every fee depends on your entity size. Small entities pay 60% less than large entities on most patent fees and micro entities pay 80% less.
Most venture backed startups are small entities: 500 or fewer employees including affiliates, and no obligation to assign or license the invention to a larger company.
A company is a micro entity only if its own gross income and each inventor’s was at or under $262,380 last year, the limit since 15 Sep 2026, and each inventor is named on no more than four earlier applications.
These are the fees in the schedule effective 19 Jan 2025, still current on 29 Oct 2026.
| USPTO fee | Large entity | Small entity | Micro entity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provisional filing | $325 | $130 | $65 |
| Nonprovisional filing, search and examination, filed online | $2,000 | $730 | $400 |
| Each independent claim over 3 | $600 | $240 | $120 |
| Each claim over 20 | $200 | $80 | $40 |
| Request for continued examination, first | $1,500 | $600 | $300 |
| Extension of time, first month | $235 | $94 | $47 |
| Issue fee | $1,290 | $516 | $258 |
| Typical case to grant | $5,350 | $2,070 | $1,070 |
| Maintenance at 3.5 years | $2,150 | $860 | $430 |
| Maintenance at 7.5 years | $4,040 | $1,616 | $808 |
| Maintenance at 11.5 years | $8,280 | $3,312 | $1,656 |
The typical case is a provisional, a nonprovisional with up to 3 independent and 20 total claims filed online, one request for continued examination, a one month extension and the issue fee. Maintenance fees come after grant.
Other USPTO fees a startup may meet
An application longer than 100 sheets pays a size fee of $450, $180 or $90 for each extra 50 sheets. An information disclosure statement that takes the references you have cited past 50 costs $200, and more past 100 and 200.
A second request for continued examination costs $2,860, $1,144 or $572. Track One prioritized examination costs $4,515, $1,806 or $903 and is limited to 4 independent and 30 total claims.
A continuing application filed more than 6 years after the earliest date it claims pays $2,700, $1,080 or $540, which rarely touches a young company.
What patent attorneys charge
Professional fees are most of the cost, and they vary with the invention and the firm.
The Rapacke Law Group’s 2026 guide, published 23 Oct 2026, lists $2,000 to $6,000 for a provisional, $5,000 to $15,000 for a nonprovisional and $1,000 to $3,000 per office action response.
IP Boutique Law’s 2026 guide, published 6 Mar 2026, lists $2,000 to $5,000 in total for a provisional, $5,000 to $10,000 for a nonprovisional on an electrical, software or computer implemented invention, and $2,000 to $4,000 per office action response.
Treat these as ranges, not quotes. Software and AI inventions sit toward the top because the steps, the data flow and the alternatives all have to be written down. Firms that bill by the hour give an estimate rather than a price.
What Tao IP charges
Every price is a fixed professional fee, paid at milestones; USPTO fees are passed through at cost.
Office action responses, examiner interviews and requests for continued examination are billed only when you approve the step, at $2,500, $750 and $2,500 on Standard, or $1,000, $750 and $2,500 on Solo.
| Service | Price | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Tao AI | $0 | Invention disclosure and a first patentability check, in the portal |
| Prior art search report | $500 | US and worldwide patents, published applications and literature, with an overlap map, within 2 business days |
| Provisional | $2,500 | Attorney prior art check, drafting, drawings and filing; credited in full to any plan within 12 months |
| Standard | $12,000 | Provisional and nonprovisional; office actions billed per step |
| Protected | $21,000 | Provisional and nonprovisional, up to 4 office action responses, 2 examiner interviews and 1 RCE |
| Guaranteed | $23,000 | As Protected, with 2 RCEs and a refile then refund guarantee |
| Solo | $4,000 | Provisional and nonprovisional for one inventor paying out of pocket; $1,000 per office action response |
Prices from taoip.ai/prices on 29 Oct 2026. The guarantee terms are on the guarantee page.
Total cost and time to grant
At the published ranges above, a provisional and a nonprovisional cost $7,000 to $21,000 in professional fees before any office action, and responses add $1,000 to $4,000 each.
With us on Standard, a case with two office action responses and one request for continued examination comes to $19,500 in professional fees: $12,000, plus $5,000, plus $2,500. Add about $2,070 in USPTO fees as a small entity, $21,570 in all.
On Protected the same case is $21,000 plus USPTO fees, because those steps are included.
Time: in September 2026 the USPTO averaged 20.5 months from filing a nonprovisional to a first office action and 28.8 months to a final decision, or 33.6 months counting requests for continued examination.
A provisional filed first adds up to 12 months before that clock starts. Keeping a granted patent in force for its full term adds $5,788 in maintenance fees for a small entity.
How to lower the cost
Check micro entity status: it cuts most USPTO fees by 80% against the large entity rate. File a provisional first: $65 to $325 in USPTO fees holds your date for 12 months and puts off the larger nonprovisional costs until you know more.
Search before drafting: a $500 prior art search report shows what already exists before you pay for claims. Keep to 3 independent and 20 total claims unless more are worth the excess claims fees.
File online: a small entity’s basic filing fee is $70 online and $140 on paper. Respond to office actions on time: each month of extension adds a fee. And let Tao AI write the invention disclosure for free, so attorney time goes to the claims.
How we got these numbers
Every USPTO fee was read from the USPTO fee schedule on 29 Oct 2026 and is shown for large, small and micro entities. Timing comes from the USPTO Patents Dashboard figures for September 2026.
Attorney fee ranges come from two law firm price guides published in 2026 and are labelled with their source and date. The AIPLA Report of the Economic Survey, the usual industry reference, is sold to members, so its tables are not quoted here.
Tao IP prices come from our price list on the same date.
- USPTO fee schedule, effective 19 Jan 2025, page last revised 14 Aug 2026
- USPTO micro entity gross income limit, $262,380 since 15 Sep 2026
- USPTO Patents Dashboard, pendency through September 2026
- USPTO comparison of Track One and other examination programs
- The Rapacke Law Group, How Much Does a Patent Cost, 23 Oct 2026
- IP Boutique Law, nonprovisional patent application cost in 2026, 6 Mar 2026
- Tao IP price list
Common questions
How much does a patent cost for a startup in 2026?
USPTO fees for a typical case to grant are $2,070 for a small entity, $1,070 for a micro entity and $5,350 for a large entity.
Professional fees published in 2026 run $2,000 to $6,000 for a provisional and $5,000 to $15,000 for a nonprovisional, before office actions. With Tao IP, Standard is $12,000 for both.
What is the USPTO fee for a provisional patent?
$325 for a large entity, $130 for a small entity and $65 for a micro entity, under the fee schedule effective 19 Jan 2025.
Is my startup a small entity?
Usually, if it has 500 or fewer employees including affiliates and has not assigned or licensed the invention to a larger company, and is under no obligation to. Small entities pay 60% less on most USPTO fees. Status is checked each time a fee is paid.
How long does it take to get a patent?
In September 2026 the USPTO averaged 28.8 months from filing a nonprovisional to a final decision, and 33.6 months counting requests for continued examination.
Track One aims for a final decision within 12 months, on average, of being granted, for a USPTO fee of $1,806 for a small entity.
Are USPTO fees included in Tao IP prices?
No. Our prices are fixed professional fees. USPTO fees are billed at cost, about $2,070 to grant for a typical small entity case.
