Nowadays there are many online incorporation services to choose from to help form your limited liability company. The question is which one to choose from? This guide will cover the top 6 of best online incorporation services which include entrepreneur favorites to help you decide the best option for your business.
In case you are not aware, an online incorporation service is a legal service provider that can help register your business on your behalf so you don’t have to be physically present. All documents would have to be submitted upfront via an online portal.
How to Evaluate An Online Incorporation Service
When we evaluated the best online incorporation services, we took into consideration to determine which options provide the best llc service for the price charged. Hence we looked at criteria which are:
- Price
- Ease Of Use
- Time To File
- Educational Resources
- Customer Service
- Online Reviews
30 Seconds Summary: My Top Recommendation
Northwest Registered Agent – After testing and purchasing all the available options out there, Northwest is arguably the best company to provide online incorporation services in the market. They strike the right balance between cost and quality, plus they offer a monthly subscription service for businesses to ease off the upfront cash flow needed to launch a LLC.
Besides transparency, their customer support is pretty awesome. They are very professional and attentive towards any concerns you might have. With over 4000+ positive reviews, you can’t go wrong.
As a Business Fair Field reader, you will get to enjoy the service at a discounted price. Click here to check price (discount applied automatically after clicking the link, valid only for a limited period of time). Don’t miss this special deal.
| Wallet | Features | Editor’s Comment | Rating | Get The Best Deal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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1. A physical office in every state 2. Highly reputable and professional 3. Great customer support 4. 4000+ positive reviews |
Northwest Registered Agent offers the best online business incorporation service. They are the only reputable company that offers an affordable monthly package. (You can also opt for a 1-time payment). | 10/10 | Check Current Price |
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1. Hassle free service 2. Transparent pricing structure 3. Great customer support 4. 3000+ positive reviews |
Their services are transparent, straightforward and comprehensive. You will not get caught by surprises. | 9/10 | Check Current Price |
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1. Long history of establishment 2. Services are affordable 3. Staffs are professional 4. 3000+ positive reviews |
Swyft Filings have a long history in helping businesses legally form their corporation. Great alternative if you dislike Better Legal for some reasons. | 9/10 | Check Current Price |
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1. Flexible choice of services 2. Economical pricing 3. Decent customer support 4. 2000+ positive reviews |
Incfile services are arguable the most affordable. If you are extremely tight on budget, give this service a try. | 8.0/10 | Check Current Price |
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1. Very popular lately 2. Competitive pricing structure 3. Solid design and interface 4. 2000+ positive reviews |
A relatively new online formation service that’s getting a lot of attention lately. Design and interface are intuitive which makes submitting information much easier. | 8.0/10 | Check Current Price |
The 5 Best Online Incorporation Services – Our Top Picks
Here’s 5 of the best online incorporation services:
1. ZenBusiness
On the top of the list of best online incorporation services is ZenBusiness. They offer a worry free guarantee which includes two amendments to yearly corporate annual reports. They also have an easy to use interface and superb customer service.
Features
ZenBusiness’s most attractive features are having a clean and easy to use user interface as well as superb customer service and a live chat for enquiries beyond what is displayed.
As ZenBusiness mainly focuses on the business incorporation service, they offer few additional business forms.
What sets ZenBusiness apart from other business incorporation services are the worry free guarantee offered as well as the yearly compliance which allows up to two amendments to annual filings.
Pricing
ZenBusiness has 3 pricing plans for business with different forms of requirements. Starting with $49 annually for its Starter plan, which includes a registered agent, standard filing services and an operating agreement template.
After the first year, $129 will be charged annually. Meanwhile the Pro plan is priced at $249 annually with added features such as expedited filing speed, an Employee ID Number, Banking Resolution Template as well as guarantee that your corporation will be re-registered on time every year.
The Premium plan which is priced at $349 per year adds online presence for your company which includes a business website, domain name and business email. For business owners that are looking for a specific service, ZenBusiness also offers custom plans starting from $49 plus state fees.
Ease of Use
ZenBusiness’s online business formation services is one of the easiest to navigate out of the options we looked at. Well detailed plans and services allows customers to understand what they are signing up for easily as well as craft their own custom plans.
Time To File
ZenBusiness states that the amount of time taken to form your business is within two to three weeks with their Starter plan; five to eight business days with their Pro plan and two to four business days with their Premium plan.
Educational Resources
For every state, ZenBusiness provides blog articles as well as how-to articles. For example, articles explaining what is LLC and how much it costs has been posted by ZenBusiness.
They also have a concise webpage explaining the steps of registering a business in each state as well as the costs. While many other online business incorporation services provide this as well, none come as close as ZenBusiness when it comes to how concise its guides are.
Customer Service
ZenBusiness handles customer enquiries and complaints via phone calls through Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm as well as a live chat option for people who find it easier to text.
An online form is also provided to be filled up and customers can expect a reply via email to their queries.
Online Reviews
ZenBusiness has the highest overall rating by online reviews when compared to other online business incorporation services. ZenBusiness customer service representatives replies to any negative reviews to resolve the issue.
Most Positive reviews relate to how well the registration process is laid out and easy to understand. Check out our honest Zen Business Review to find out more on our thought on this company.
2. IncFile
IncFile comes in second with low fees with quick and easy incorporation services. IncFile does not charge a registration fee when compared to other business incorporation services.
Features
One of IncFile’s attractive points is its quality educational resources which can help even the smallest of businesses. Their incorporation process is also easy to understand and has a streamlined design. After signing up as a customer you can check the order status from the client’s dashboard.
Pricing
IncFile has 3 options, one of which is the Silver package which includes basic incorporating services and a registered agent at no charge (plus any state fees). At $149, the Gold package has added services which include Employee ID Number as well as several business forms and customer support. The Platinum package is priced at $299 and offers business contract templates, expedited filing as well as website domain name and business email.
Ease Of Use
IncFile’s process to incorporate your business is clean and simple to use. It’s well-spaced interface provides easy understanding for product explanations. It is also convenient to add-in or opt-out of certain products such as purchasing an EIN. Once a product is purchased, IncFile provides a client dashboard to view order status.
Time To File
Standard within online incorporation services, IncFile’s time to file is 15 business days. A convenient feature which estimates your date of business formation is provided by IncFile as well. An additional cost of $150 can be used for expedited business filing, which IncFile provides to speed up the submission to within two days.
Educational Resources
IncFile has some of the best educational resources to learn about incorporation in comparison to other online business incorporation services. Specifically, they provide entity registration information for every state which has crucial steps, dates as well as prices to set up your business incorporation smoother.
Customer Service
You can call IncFile’s customer service with the number they provide during the incorporation process. The customer service is available on weekdays from 9am to 6pm. A client support request form can also be sent to address any concerns.
Online Reviews
The online reviews for IncFile are generally mixed. Positive reviews focused on the easy usability of IncFile’s website as well as the speed of the business registration. Negative reviews, however, focused on the poor customer service which took too long to respond to their queries.
IncFile comes right below ZenBusiness on our list, is ZenBusiness better than IncFile?
3. Rocket Lawyer
Next up is Rocket Lawyer which is similar to IncFile but has more comprehensive legal services, Rocket Lawyer has attorneys among its staff so that they can answer any legal queries you have. A free business incorporation service is given when you sign up for Rocket Lawyer’s ongoing legal assistance.
Features
Rocket Lawyer has a very distinct and unique difference when compared to other online business incorporation services which are the attorney services they provide with their monthly membership program. A call or message can be placed to the attorneys at Rocket Lawyer at any point of the incorporation process. Additionally Rocket Lawyer also provides articles to help with small business owners such as how to go about applying an EIN online.
Pricing
Rocket Lawyer does not have a plan such as the other business incorporation services which explains why they charge $99 plus state fees to incorporate your business. At an additional $260 expedited filing is also offered as well as services of a registered agent at $150. However if you sign up for their membership at $39.99 a month, Rocket Lawyer provides you with a free first time business incorporation. The monthly membership also comes with unlimited customizable legal documents as well as unlimited consultations with attorneys.
Ease Of Use
The registration process for a new business was easy and easy to use on Rocket Lawyer’s website. Even though the user interface appears to be slightly out of date and could use a revamp, it did not affect our experience of submitting documents.
Time To File
For the standard $99, business filings could take 15 to 20 days which is slightly more time consuming compared to other competitors. Business documents can be rushed to be filed within 2 to 3 business days with an ezra $260.
Educational Resources
Rocket lawyer links pop up boxes to every decision that needs to be made throughout the business incorporation process. For example, when asked to decide about the management and ownership Rocket Lawyer shows the percentage of other customers that chose a specific decision and the reason why. Other competitors such as LegalZoom and incFile provide this but ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent does not.
Customer Service
Throughout the business incorporation process, Rocket Lawyer provides a number to dial to their customer service representative which is available 6am to 6pm every weekday. A live chat is also available during the hours listed above and if you have queries that are outside those hours, emails can be sent to Rocket Lawyer.
Online Reviews
Most reviews about Rocket Lawyer are positive with users commenting that the simple step-by-step process to register a business was enjoyable while others complimented the customer service’s interaction with the customer.
You should check out our comprehensive review on Rocket Lawyer to learn more about its services and how does it fair against its competitors.
4. LegalZoom
You might be wondering – Is LegalZoom legit?
LegalZoom is a good online incorporation service for customers that need legal services for both corporate and personal reasons. It is also the greatest for customers that need support during the weekends. The only downside is the high cost of registration.
Features
The business formation of LegalZoom is easy to use as well as well designed. The educational resource that they provide is vast and covers hundreds of questions that need to be answered. Additionally, the customer support is available 7 days per week.
Pricing
LegalZoom offers an Economy package includes standard incorporation filings, a business name check as well as articles of incorporation, The Standard package costs $329 which includes a deluxe organizer for paperwork and expedited filing within their queue. At $349, the Express Gold package comes with rushed processing with the relevant Secretary of State. State fees are not included in these packages.
Ease Of Use
When compared to other online incorporation services, LegalZoom leads in terms of quality for their business registration software. Each step in the process is well organised and visually appeals to the customer. Explanations about every decision and how it will benefit the business is also added in.
Time To File
The time to file is around 15 to 24 days for the Economy and Standard packages. LegalZoom also offers 24-hour expedited processing within their system as well as express shipping and rushed processing at the Secretary of State office. By using LegalZoom’s expedited service, your business can be approved within 7 to 10 business days.
Educational Resources
LegalZoom is also a leader in educational resources as they offer dozens of articles about businesses, LLCs, sole proprietorships and many more. LegalZoom offers a quiz in addition to determine which type of corporation is best suited for you.
Customer Service
LegalZoom has a unique feature whereby you can share your screen with a customer service representative any time you are stuck in the business registration process. By doing so the representative can accurately provide assistance based on the problem you are facing. LegalZoom is also the only online business incorporation service to stay open on weekends with their operating hours from 5am to 7pm and weekdays and 7am to 4pm on weekends.
Online Reviews
The reviews from customers are mixed with the main focus on price and usability. Many customers were happy with the software which LegalZoom made so easy to use as well as handle both corporate and personal matters. Negative reviews focused on the pricing which was high for the Incorporation and LLC formation costs when compared to other competitors.
One of their competitors is ZenBusiness. While LegalZoom will cost you more, is Zenbusiness better than LegalZoom?
5. Swyft Filings
Swyft Filings is an online incorporation service centered around quick business formation and affordable services. In New York, business incorporation documents can be returned to you within one business day. Is Swyft Filings legit?
Features
The leading feature of Swyft Filings is the incredibly fast incorporation time. Other online incorporation services state incorporation documents to be up to 30 business days, while Swyft Filings’s Standard package includes a less than 15 day filing. No other incorporation service offers a money-back guarantee, which means if you are not happy with the service you were provided with you could request a refund from Swyft Filings.
Pricing
The Basic package offered by Swyft Filings incorporates a business for only $49 while the Standard package adds EIN, operating agreement and custom organizational minutes at $149. The Platinum package includes all of the above in addition to an electronic version as well as a FedEx tracking number at $299.
Ease Of Use
The incorporation software of Swyft Filings was easy to understand and use, with additional information linked to each step and explained well. In addition there is a step by step progress bar on the top of the screen to show you where you are in the process.
Time To File
Swyft Filings have the fastest turnaround and document processing time when compared to other competitors. Swyft Filings states that the turnaround time for business documents is 15 days, which is half of LegalZoom’s 30 day turnaround. The express filing time costs an additional $145 and is within two business days depending on state.
Educational Resources
Swyft Filing’s resource center has several business guides to help with customers, specifically the pros and cons of registering a business in forms of graphics and guides. Blog posts with information about small businesses and registering a business is also available.
Customer Service
Customers can contact Swyft Filings Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm through phone calls or live chats. A money back guarantee is also provided for service fees paid to them, but not state fees.
Online Reviews
The reviews for Swyft Filings are very mixed. Positive views from customers include prices of incorporation as well as turnaround times and helpful customer service. Complaints mainly centered around the upcharges of added services during checkout and technical issues with the chat software.
Conclusion
I hope this guide has steered you onto which online business incorporation service to choose. Keep in mind that different incorporation services offer different services, and not all cater to your personal preference.
If you are on a really tight budget, there are companies such as MyCompanyWorks who are offering one of the lowest rates in the market that you might want to consider. Check out our in depth MyCompanyWorks review to find out more on their services.
That said, if I had to choose the best online incorporation service, ZenBusiness would be my top pick for their worry-free guarantee as well as annual report amendments. The prices for ZenBusiness are well justified for the services that they provide.
Starting a business correctly doesn’t have to be difficult. With over 15 years of experience consulting new businesses and start ups, Matthew is probably the best person to help you set a strong foundation for your business.