We earn commissions if you shop through the links below. Read more
Written by: Coralee Bechteler
Coralee is a business writer with experience in administrative services, education, and software testing.
Edited by: David Lepeska
David has been writing and learning about business, finance and globalization for a quarter-century, starting with a small New York consulting firm in the 1990s.
Published on September 5, 2022
Updated on April 10, 2024
If you’re starting a business, the business entity formation process is one of the first and most important hurdles. This step can be terribly complex and time-consuming, which is why many entrepreneurs turn to professional formation services.
But which are the best services for you? Rocket Lawyer is a great option, but we’ve examined a few more alternatives to help you choose the service that will put you on the road to success.
Here are our top alternative choices for LLC business formation.
LegalZoom offers affordable pricing plans (free Basic plan) with the option to add on additional services. The company has a great industry reputation and offers a variety of other legal services.
Northwest Registered Agent differentiates itself from competitors with transparent pricing, great customer service, and a commitment to maintaining your privacy.
We recommend Bizee because of good quality services with a lot of features and affordable online incorporation services.
LegalZoom is an industry leader when it comes to LLC formation services. They offer three business plans, with one-time fees ranging from $0 to $299, plus state fees. Their Basic Plan is great value for what’s included and they have great customer service.
The LegalZoom Basic plan costs state fees only and provides a business name availability search through the state database, your business’s formation, and full customer support. It also offers a few extras, including a digital welcome packet and a customizable business website. You’ll also have access to your formation documents online at any time.
LegalZoom’s Pro plan costs $249 and includes all the services in the Basic plan plus an operating agreement, an EIN, a business license guide, and a tax and insurance consultation.
The LegalZoom Premium plan, at $299, offers all of the services listed above, plus expedited filing.
LegalZoom’s services are easy to use and they offer great customer experience. LegalZoom has competitively priced plans and they offer a wid variety of legal services and have been in business for more than 20 years. Overall, they’re a great one-stop shop for all of your business formation and legal needs.
Northwest Registered Agent offers several a la carte services and one business formation package, which is competitively priced and includes registered agent services for one year. All customers will have online access to their documents and full customer support.
Northwest Registered Agent differentiates itself from competitors with transparent pricing, outstanding customer service, and a commitment to maintaining your privacy.
Northwest’s plan, at $225 plus state fees, includes business formation, free registered agent services for a year, a business address, an operating agreement, and a few extras.
This plan is a good value since registered agent services and an operating agreement, which is very important, are included.
But if you do not choose the registered agent services, you’re still charged the full plan price.
Overall, Northwest Registered Agent provides valuable services for aspiring business owners. They can ensure that your new business gets off on the right foot. Their service is easy to use and offers a great customer experience, which we learned from testing their support services, reading countless customer reviews, and moving through their online formation process.
Northwest Registered Agent can take the time and hassle out of starting your business and the ongoing process of staying in compliance with your state’s laws. Their streamlined pricing is uncommon amongst competitors, so you’ll have more control over what you pay for. We highly recommend Northwest Registered Agent.
Bizee offers three business formation packages: Silver, Gold, and Platinum. The Silver package is free, plus state fees, and includes free registered agent services for one year. Bizee also gives customers access to an online dashboard and unlimited phone and email support.
Bizee’s Silver package provides the preparation and filing of the articles of organization, unlimited name searches, business banking offer, and lifetime company alerts. It also includes free registered agent services for a year, making it a great value at no additional cost other than the state’s LLC formation filing fees.
Customers can purchase the Gold package for $149, which encompasses everything in Bizee’s Silver plus an operating agreement and EIN. It has a few other benefits, as well, so it’s an overall good value.
For $299 plus state fees, Bizee’s Platinum package includes everything in Gold, as well as expedited filing and access to business contract templates. However, if you have either the Silver or Gold package, you can gain access to the entire document library for $150. Bizee also offers a number of a la carte services. For a fee, Bizee can handle tasks like filing your annual report and changing your registered agent.
Bizee is great for entrepreneurs on a budget, as their Silver package covers the basics and includes a free year of their registered agent service. Competitors like LegalZoom and Swyft Filings have a more robust suite of services, but tend to be more expensive.
Nolo handles the business formation process for you, making it nearly seamless while offering additional services that can make life easier for a new business owner. Whether you’re forming a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation, Nolo takes care of all the red tape so you can focus on building a successful business.
The $49 Basic package consists of a business name availability search through your state and business formation filing, with unlimited customer support. It also offers a few extras, including error checking and a guide to formalizing your LLC.
The $149 Standard package includes all the services included in the Basic package, but with the addition of a prepared EIN tax ID application and a supply of business forms. Nolo will email you a filled-in EIN application, so all you have to do is sign it and send it in. Their business form cache provides you with over 30 different documents.
The $299 Express package includes everything in the Standard package with the advantage of rush filing, as well as a personalized LLC records kit & seal.
In general, Nolo provides valuable services for aspiring business owners and people seeking legal information they can easily understand. Unfortunately, we just aren’t that smitten with Nolo as a whole when we lined it up with its competitors.
Nolo’s business formation packages and a la carte services pale when compared to those of a competitor like Bizee. Moreover, Nolo’s website lacks clarity — it’s confusing and difficult to navigate. However, Nolo’s LLC formation service is surprisingly easy to use once you find it.
We found some reviews that had nothing but good things to say about Nolo, but most of the reviews fit our own experience with Nolo’s customer service, which was inconsistent. We had a couple good phone conversations, but trying to get in touch over the internet proved difficult.
Email responses were slower than expected, and trying to find the right contact form to submit is frustrating and overwhelming due to Nolo’s poorly organized contact forms. If we’re being honest, it feels like Nolo threw a handful of contact-form confetti into their website and let them land where they may.
Nolo can undoubtedly take the time-consuming task of starting your business off your hands, but we think there are better bargains elsewhere. As a result, we’re wary of recommending Nolo to help you start your LLC. Instead, we suggest you look at some other options.
A business formation service handles the business formation process for you, making it nearly seamless while offering additional services that can make life easier for a new business owner. Whether you’re forming a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation, a business formation service takes care of all the red tape, freeing you up to focus on growing your business.
With so many business formation services to choose from, it can be difficult to decide which is best for you. There are four essential elements that can help you make your decision.
Each service offers various products and services and their plans are all designed differently. You may need some services but not others, so you need to choose the service that offers everything you need. For example, only some of the providers offer annual report filing.
If it’s important to you to get that task off your plate, you’ll want a service that offers that feature. Another feature you might need is a digital dashboard where you can always access your business formation documents.
You’ll want to choose a service that has everything you need to make starting and running your business as easy as possible.
One good way to learn about the quality of any service is to listen to what people are saying about it. When we review services we look at reviews and ratings from the Better Business Bureau ratings and TrustPilot. It’s wise to look at both positive and negative reviews to find out what people love about the service and the issues they’ve encountered.
Remember that fake reviews are common, so you should take some of the reviews with a grain of salt.
Of course, you’ll want to get the best value for your money!
Compare the cost of each service for everything you need. The price can really add up when you start adding extras, so be careful not to go too far. You also want to get good value and great customer service, so if you’re considering the cheapest service, check the reviews to see how people felt about it.
Business formation turnaround times vary with each service, so if you’re in a hurry to get your business up and running, you’ll want to look for the quickest service. You don’t want your order to sit in an office too long before your paperwork gets filed with the state. Some services differentiate themselves with fast turnaround times, so if they also offer good value, that might be your best choice.
As a leading entrepreneurial advisory site, we take our responsibilities seriously. We understand that countless entrepreneurs, and potential entrepreneurs, rely on our judgments and insights, particularly when it comes to creating their business.
As a result, our writers do their utmost to gain a comprehensive understanding of the services offered and the actual customer experience. In nearly every case, we:
Thanks to this full immersion in the actual customer experience, our reviewers are able to provide the most complete and insightful analysis of various LLC formation services.
When assessing whether or not a business formation service is right for you, it’s important to dive into the following four categories: included features, customer service, pricing, and turnaround time.
Bizee is great for entrepreneurs on a budget, as their Silver Package covers the basics and includes a free year of their registered agent service. Competitors like LegalZoom and Swyft Filings have a more robust suite of services, but can be more expensive.
Overall, Northwest Registered Agent provides valuable services for aspiring business owners. They can ensure that your new business gets off on the right foot. Their service is easy to use and offers a great customer experience. Their a la carte streamlined pricing is uncommon amongst competitors, so you’ll have more control over what you pay for. We highly recommend Northwest Registered Agent.
To learn more about the customer experience at a particular business formation service, check out the reviews and ratings on the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot websites. Also see our summaries of customer reviews for each LLC formation service, detailed near the start of this article.
Published on October 17, 2023
When launching a business, is it really possible to get everything — from formation services to logo design — in one seamless platform? Enter ...
Read Now
Published on September 11, 2022
In the ever-evolving world of startups and entrepreneurship, there’s a persistent need for reliable, efficient, and affordable businessservice ...
Read Now
Published on September 8, 2022
If you’re starting a business, the business entity formation process is one of the first and most significant hurdles. This step can be terriblyco ...
Read Now
No thanks, I don't want to stay up to date on industry trends and news.
Comments