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Written by: Carolyn Young
Carolyn Young is a business writer who focuses on entrepreneurial concepts and the business formation. She has over 25 years of experience in business roles, and has authored several entrepreneurship textbooks.
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.
Updated on May 8, 2023
If you’re starting a business, the business entity formation process is one of the first and most significant hurdles. This step can be terribly complex and time-consuming, which is why many entrepreneurs turn to a professional formation service.
One of the top options is LegalZoom. But is it the best service? And is it the right choice for you? This review takes a closer look — putting ourselves in the shoes of an entrepreneur — to help you choose the formation service that will put you on the road to success.
Pricing
Turnaround Time
Help and Support
Customer Satisfaction
Ease of Use
Overall Score: 4.2/5
LegalZoom 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, LegalZoom takes care of all the red tape so you don’t have to.
LegalZoom offers packages of services and a la carte options. We explored all of the options and have broken down the services and pricing here.
| Service | Basic | Pro | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $249 | $329 |
| Articles of organization | √ | √ | √ |
| Name check service | √ | √ | √ |
| Business filing service | √ | √ | √ |
| Operating agreement | √ | √ | |
| Federal Tax ID Number (EIN) | √ | √ | |
| Business licenses & permits guide | √ | √ | |
| Tax & insurance guidance | √ | √ | |
| Expedited processing | √ | ||
| Available support channels | Email & chat | Email, chat, & phone | Email, chat, & phone |
Note that state filing fees still apply with all these plans. Fees vary by state, which we have listed below.
The $0 Basic Plan includes a business name availability search and the business formation service. It also includes full customer support and a customizable business website making it a great value.
The Basic Plan includes a business name availability search through your state and the business formation service, with full customer support. It also offers a few extras, including a digital welcome packet and a business website. You’ll also have access to your formation documents online at any time.
This plan is a good value and appropriate for entrepreneurs with a limited budget that just want to get their business up and running and plan to handle annual reporting and the operating agreement themselves. You can add additional services at the time of purchase or later.
This plan, at a cost of state fees only, is a great value.
The $249 Pro Plan has the additional benefits of an operating agreement, an EIN, and a business license guide.
The Pro Plan includes all the services included in the Basic Plan, but with the addition of an operating agreeement, an EIN, and a business license guide.
This plan, with all that’s included, is an excellent value.
The $299 Premium Plan has the additional benefit of expedited filing.
The Premium Plan includes everything in the Pro Plan with the advantage of expedited filing.
This plan is appropriate for someone who needs their LLC formed quickly, although you’re still at the mercy of state processing times.
Note that none of these plans feature registered agent services, which can be added for $299 annually.
| Service | Price |
|---|---|
| Registered agent service | $299 annually |
| Annual report | $99 one-time fee |
| Operating agreement | $99 one-time fee |
| Business licenses | $99.99 one-time fee |
| Articles of amendment | $129 one-time fee |
| Dissolution | $129 one-time fee |
| EIN | $79 one-time fee |
| Compliance calendar | $69 annually |
| Trademark registration | $599 one-time fee |
| Copyright registration | $114 one-time fee |
| Total Compliance Service | $280 per year |
Many of the a la carte services are very expensive when compared to competitors like ZenBusiness. For example, LegalZoom registered agent services are $299 while ZenBusiness charges $199.
If you need any a la carte services, it’s advisable to shop around. And be careful if you do buy a la carte services through LegalZoom, as your costs can really add up.
Your LLC must be formed with your state by filing articles of organization, sometimes called a certificate of organization or a certificate of formation. This can be done online or by mail. LegalZoom handles the filing for you online, and the LLC approval time varies by state.
This can be a time-consuming and difficult process for an entrepreneur and getting customer support from your state government office is often a challenge. With LegalZoom, you have access to customer support seven days a week.
Once your LLC is approved and official, you can access your formation documents on the LegalZoom website at any time.
When you form your LLC, depending on the state where you want to register your business there will be a state fee that you have to pay. Below we have listed the fees for each state so you can calculate the overall expenses for opening your LLC.
Please note that the state fees are costs that you will pay in addition to the LegalZoom formation service costs, or any other formation service you would choose to use.
Use our dropdown calculator to check how much LLC formation will cost using LegalZoom. Simply, choose a plan and a la carte services and select the state where you want to form an LLC to calculate the exact amount based on your needs and preferences.
In most states, when you form an LLC, you need a registered agent. A registered agent is a person or business authorized to accept and respond to legal, tax, and financial documents on behalf of your business.
For $299 per year, LegalZoom can act as your registered agent and handle official correspondence. They will ensure all correspondence is handled on time and keep copies of documents for you. They will keep track of deadlines for you and send you reminders of things you may have to file, such as tax forms or annual reports.
A registered agent service will help keep you in compliance with the law and save you time by keeping track of key documents and filing deadlines. This also frees you up to focus on growing your business. LegalZoom will also offer support if any issues arise.
LegalZoom’s registered agent services enable you to have flexible hours. If you’re your own registered agent, you must be available from 8 AM to 5 PM at your registered agent address. If you use an agency like LegalZoom, they are available during those hours so that you’re able to focus on growing your business.
If you use a national agency like LegalZoom, you can also form an LLC or corporation in another state or multiple states where you do not have residency.
Using LegalZoom also offers you a level of privacy, as you would never be served with a summons at your business in front of customers or employees.
LegalZoom offers an operating agreement template customized for your state and specific information about your company. An operating agreement for an LLC is an important legal document that details who owns the business and also provides essential information pertaining to member duties.
An LLC operating agreement establishes the financial relationship between business owners (“members”) and the basics of the working relationships between those owners and the managers who oversee daily operations.
By using the LegalZoom template, you can just fill in the blanks by answering a few questions online, rather than having an attorney draw up the agreement for you from scratch.
An operating agreement is included with the Pro and Premium Plans.
LegalZoom offers trademark and copyright services that other services, such as ZenBusiness, do not.
Forming your LLC will protect the name in your state, but the only way to protect it across the US is to trademark your business name. Applying for a trademark can be a complicated process and using a service like LegalZoom ensures that the application process is handled smoothly and professionally.
At $599 plus federal filing fees, the service is somewhat expensive, but if you plan to expand your business to other states or online, a trademark ensures that your name is protected across the country.
If you’ve created a logo or other creative images or written copy for your business, a copyright can protect those from being copied by others. The LegalZoom copyright service handles this process for you. At $114 plus filing fees, this is a solid value buy.
When you first go to the LegalZoom site, you’ll be able to explore products and pricing from the menu at the top, or you can just click “start my business” and select the business entity type you want to form.
When you start the formation process by selecting LLC as your entity type, you’re asked a series of questions about your business. Then the site automatically offers you products, such as registered agent services and the operating agreement. You can accept or decline any of the services.
One of the products offered is a total compliance service, which does not appear in their products menu. This service helps you meet all your LLC’s requirements, such as annual report filings.
You’re also offered tax services, including “tax prep essentials” for $99 a month and a “full-service tax and accounting plan” for $159 per month. Then you’re offered a legal protection plan, which includes legal guidance and documents, for $49 per month.
Then you’re finally presented with their packages, so you can choose the Basic, Pro, or Premium. Once you make your selection, you get offers for special deals from Bank of America and Earth Class Mail.
Lastly, you get to your total cost. Note that anything that has an annual fee, such as registered agent services, is not included in this initial total, so you’ll need to be prepared to incur those charges later.
You can pay your initial total all at once, or you can choose to make three monthly payments. Note that if you do choose to make payments, you’ll pay a bit more due to the $2 monthly installment fee.
We asked email customer service about filing turnaround times and received a response in about 48 hours.
All times depend on the state’s turnaround time.
The LegalZoom plans are one-time charges and services, so there is no need to cancel. If you want to cancel a recurring service, such as the registered agent service you can call the Customer Care Center at (800) 773-0888 or cancel online through the “My Account” portal.
We did note that a few of the reviews of LegalZoom were about difficulties with cancellation, such as:
“I was on auto pay since 2019 and cancelled with them in 2020. They charged me again in 2021… I called and they refunded me and were supposed to cancel auto pay. I just got charged again in 2022 and they said there is no record of a refund in 2021 when I clearly have it on my bank statement. They aren’t refunding me or cancelling this year. They said there is ‘nothing’ they can do. I haven’t used them since 2019 and still have an ongoing issue with them.”
Overall, the process was very smooth. Yet it was also very much a sales process, as they understandably want you to spend as much money as possible.
Still, everything was made clear during the formation process and it only took a few minutes.
We tested all three forms of LegalZoom’s customer support, as detailed below.
When we tested the customer service response time through the online chat option, we received a response almost immediately.
We asked about the price of operating agreements, and what determines the final price since it’s listed as “from $99”. The answer was that it’s $99 for standard processing and $199 for rush processing.
The customer service agent was quick and polite, and after the chat, we received a follow-up email almost immediately.
Chat Support Rating:
Response time:
Immediate
We called LegalZoom to ask a question about registered agent services. Our call was answered in two minutes and the question was answered promptly. The question was whether registered agent services are included in any of the plans, and the answer was no.
The customer service representative was very professional and polite and made no sales pitches.
Phone Support Rating:
Response time:
Immediate
We asked email support what the standard filing time is vs. expedited filing. Our email was sent on a Saturday, and we received a response on Monday at about 11 a.m. The answer was polite and clear.
Email Support Rating:
Response time:
Very quick
We took our review a step further and actually went through the entire process to form a real LLC.
We had to answer a series of questions about the business, and quickly into the process we were offered services that we could purchase in addition to the LLC formation.
We finally got to the three service package options.
We selected the Economy plan with no additional services and received our total price.
We completed the checkout process – and the system continued to upsell us other products! We declined. This is one of the things that we didn’t like about the signing up process. There were to many upsells – specifically other legal services in your area.
Then we were prompted to set up our online account.
Then we went through another series of questions about our business, including how it would be managed and the name and address of the LLC’s registered agent.
The entire process only took about 20 minutes. It was quite simple, but the upselling of other products was a bit intrusive.
We received an automated welcome email within minutes.
A short time later, we received a more personal welcome email.
All that was left to do was to wait for our filed documents. To our surprise and pleasure, we received them in 24 hours! We also received some other helpful documents, including instructions and a guide to our next steps, such as drafting an operating agreement.
We found this document to be quite helpful.
With our Legal Zoom account, we are able to access our documents online at any time.
After the process was completed, however, we did continue to receive emails upselling other products. This is to be expected, but is a bit intrusive.
Overall, our experience with Legal Zoom was quite positive. We had no issues, everything was simple, and what we received is a good value for the money.
We’ve put together some benefits and drawbacks of LegalZoom.
We explored similar services to LegalZoom to see how they stack up to the competition.
LegalZoom is more expensive than some competitors. However, they do offer a wider variety of legal services and have been in business for more than 20 years.
ZenBusiness has three packages of services as well:
ZenBusiness offerings are very similar to those of LegalZoom. However, ZenBusiness is a subscription service, while LegalZoom packages are one-time fees.
Like LegalZoom, Swyft Filings is not a subscription service. They charge a one-time fee of $49 for business formation services, and other ongoing services can be added. The differentiating factor for Swyft Filings is their speed. Their signup process is quick and they have faster business formation turnaround times. Visit Swyft Filings site.
Incfile has very competitive pricing. Their basic package, called the Silver Package, is free and includes registered agent services for a year. Their Gold Package is only $149 and includes the operating agreement as well as a banking resolution. Their Premium Package is $299. Visit Incfile site.
LegalZoom was founded in 2001 by a group of entrepreneurs and attorneys. LegalZoom has helped more than 2 million businesses get started, and, according to the BBB, has 351 employees and is managed by:
According to LegalZoom, they are “a tech company that’s in the business of providing clarity, making things simple, and creating innovative services so that legal and tax help are accessible to every business owner, creator, and every family.” The company says its mission is to make legal help accessible to everyone.
Overall, LegalZoom provides extremely 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 and reading countless customer reviews.
LegalZoom 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 prices are also reasonable.If you need a one-stop shop for all your business and legal needs, LegalZoom is your best bet.
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 this case, we:
Thanks to this full immersion in the actual customer experience, our reviewer and team are able to provide the most complete and insightful review of LegalZoom’s LLC formation services.
A service like LegalZoom can make the business formation process easy for you and ensure that it’s done correctly. They provide customer support and additional services to support your business.
LegalZoom offers business formation services to handle the paperwork and cut through the red tape with your state, so you don’t have to. They also offer additional services, including registered agent services and an operating agreement.
The Basic Plan from LegalZoom offers a name availability search, LLC formation filing with your state, and unlimited phone and email support. You’ll also be able to access your LLC documents online at any time.
The Pro Plan from LegalZoom offers the same business formation services as their Basic Plan, with the added benefits of an operating agreement, an EIN, and a business license guide.
With the Premium Plan from LegalZoom, you get everything offered in the Pro Plan plus expedited filing.
Yes, all of their plan prices are one-time fees.
The LegalZoom registered agent service is a professional service that will handle official correspondence and documents for your business. They will ensure that all correspondence is handled on time and keep copies of documents for you. They will keep track of deadlines for you and send you reminders of things you may have to file, such as tax forms or annual reports.
Registered agent services from LegalZoom cost $299 annually.
LegalZoom has no rating from the BBB, but they are an accredited business with 4.55/5 stars in customer reviews. They have been an accredited BBB business since 2001.
The LegalZoom plans are one-time charges and services, so there is no need to cancel. If you want to cancel a recurring service, such as the registered agent service you can call the Customer Care Center at (800) 773-0888 or cancel online through the “My Account” portal. Note that several LegalZoom customers have complained of facing difficulties when attempting to cancel.
There are no fees or penalties to cancel your annual services with LegalZoom. If you want to cancel an annual service, such as the registered agent service you can call the Customer Care Center at (800) 773-0888 or cancel online through the “My Account” portal.
The turnaround time for business formation with the Basic Plan is about 20 days, according to LegalZoom.
The LegalZoom Plans all offer a lot for the money, particularly their Basic Plan that costs state fees only.
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