Who This LLC Formation Comparison Is For
This comparison is for anyone about to form an LLC or corporation and trying to decide whether to use a formation service at all — and if so, which one. All three platforms here can get your business legally formed correctly. The differences show up in what is actually included at the base price, how good the registered agent service is once you need it, and what you pay to stay compliant in year two and beyond.
We focused on total cost including state fees, the quality of registered agent and compliance support, and how each service treats you after the sale — which is where formation services tend to differentiate the most.
Bizee: Best for a Genuinely Free Base Formation
Bizee (formerly Incfile) charges nothing beyond your state’s mandatory filing fee on its entry-level plan, and includes a full year of registered agent service and lifetime compliance alerts as standard. For cost-conscious founders forming a straightforward single- or multi-member LLC, this is the cheapest legitimate path to a properly formed business.
Paid tiers add the EIN application, operating agreement, and banking resolution documents for a flat fee on top of state costs — useful if you want everything handled in one checkout rather than assembling documents separately. The tradeoff is a more assertive upsell flow at checkout, and registered agent service reverts to a paid annual renewal after the included first year.
ZenBusiness: Best for Ongoing Compliance and a Worry-Free Guarantee
ZenBusiness also offers a $0-plus-state-fee starter plan, but its real strength is what happens after formation. The Worry-Free Compliance service — available as an add-on or bundled on higher tiers — actively files your state’s annual report on your behalf rather than just reminding you it is due, which removes one of the most common ways new LLCs accidentally fall out of good standing.
ZenBusiness also bundles a basic website and domain on some plans, which is a useful extra for founders launching a business and a website at the same time. Registered agent service is not included free on the base tier the way it is with Bizee, so factor that into a direct cost comparison if you need agent coverage from day one.
Northwest Registered Agent: Best for Privacy and Genuinely Responsive Support
Northwest Registered Agent takes a different approach — it charges a flat service fee plus state costs rather than leading with a free tier, but what you get in return is widely regarded as the best registered agent service in the category. Support is handled by Northwest’s own trained staff rather than outsourced call centres, and the company has built its reputation specifically around privacy: using its address instead of your home address on public formation documents in every state it operates.
For founders who value not being upsold repeatedly after checkout and want a company whose core business model is genuinely built around registered agent quality rather than volume formation sales, Northwest is consistently the top recommendation among people who have used multiple formation services. The tradeoff is a higher upfront price than Bizee’s free tier or ZenBusiness’s starter plan.
Total Cost Comparison Once Add-Ons Are Included
On paper, Bizee and ZenBusiness both start at $0 plus state fees, while Northwest starts with a flat service fee around $39 plus state fees. In practice, once you add registered agent service, an operating agreement, and an EIN — the documents most founders actually need — the three platforms land much closer together in total first-year cost than the headline pricing suggests. The real differentiation is in year two: Bizee and ZenBusiness both move to a paid annual registered agent renewal, while Northwest’s flat annual fee is transparent from the outset and does not change based on which plan you originally purchased.
Final Recommendation by Founder Priority
Choose Bizee if minimising first-year cost is the priority and you want a full year of registered agent service included for free. Choose ZenBusiness if ongoing compliance filing — not just reminders — is important to you and you like the idea of a bundled starter website. Choose Northwest Registered Agent if privacy protection and the quality of your registered agent relationship matter more to you than the lowest possible sticker price.
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