1-2k is a bit tough for testing the water. But above there is another $50 one. One wonder what is the difference as $50 is very manageable!

going direct to ARIN/RIPE/APNIC etc have some stricter rules (IIRC, in RIPE you need a company or possibly business, plus a bank account in that name). by going for somone like HostUs, they are sponsoring the account, so they need to verify you and ask questions, then setup the ASN, etc. Also, going direct will provide you with V4/V6 space allocations. They might charge a yearly fee (IIRC, its like 50 per allocation) but v6 is "practally" free but V4 will be a in a wait list... Finally, going direct, there is some sort of "kick back"... if the RIR makes more money than it cost to run the place, they reallocate fees back to the LIRs... so, you some times get money back... I have been tempted, but for RIPE, its 1400 per year, plus 2k setup... ouch...

[EDIT] bit more on the RIPE fees: https://www.ripe.net/participate/member-support/payment/ripe...

I have my personal LIR with RIPE and they do allow signing up as an LIR without being a company. As an individual you need to provide proof of identity via government issued ID and pay 17% Dutch VAT.

When I signed up I got a /22 of V4 space and /29 of v6 space, although for new signups I believe there's now a wait list to get a /24 and that's it for V4.

Yeah, AFAIK the LIR model is specific to RIPE. The ARIN team does seem to put a decent amount of work into vetting and support/etc with pleasant interactions, so I don't think the fees are too unreasonable (but maybe not the best idea as an individual).