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The final results from the September 17 vote gave the rightwing Likud 32 seats compared to Benny Gantz's centrist Blue and White's 33 in the 120-seat parliament.
The two parties are in the process of trying to negotiate a unity coalition, and President Reuven Rivlin has one week to name someone to form a government.
Likud's additional seat came at the expense of one of Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, United Torah Judaism, which now has seven.
Israel's Arab parties, running together under the Joint List alliance, finished as the third-largest force in parliament with 13 seats.
Netanyahu has received the endorsement of 55 parliament members to be prime minister, while Gantz has received 54.
Neither has a clear path to a majority coalition.
Rivlin, who will formally receive the results later Wednesday, has leaned heavily on Gantz and Netanyahu to work out a unity coalition between them, including in a joint meeting on Monday.
Rivlin is due to host the two for a follow-up meeting on Wednesday night.
A rotation arrangement has been floated, but the question of who would be premier first remains a major stumbling block.
The timing is especially important for Netanyahu, who is facing possible corruption charges in the weeks ahead pending a hearing set for early October.
A prime minister does not have to step down if indicted -- only if convicted with all appeals exhausted -- while other ministers can be forced to do so when charged.