Best LLC Services in 2026: Ranked by Real Costs, Not Marketing Copy
The short answer: Northwest Registered Agent (Verdict Score 9.2) is the best LLC formation service for most people — $39 + state fee, no upsells, real human support, and privacy protection built in. If you want the absolute cleanest complaint record in the industry, CorpNet (8.8) is a close second with zero BBB complaints in 26 years of business.
Author: LLCVerdict Editorial Team · Last updated: June 2026 · How we test →
FTC Disclosure: We earn commissions from some links on this page — it never changes our verdicts or what you pay. Our Verdict Scores are built on price transparency, speed, support quality, registered-agent value, and UX — not affiliate rates. See our full methodology →
Editor’s Verdict
Best overall: Northwest Registered Agent — Verdict Score 9.2 / 10
$39 + state fee · Privacy-first · No upsells · Real human phone support
Form your LLC with Northwest →Runner-up: CorpNet — Verdict Score 8.8 / 10
0 BBB complaints in 26 years · Trustpilot 4.9 · $99 + state feeBest free option (with caveats): ZenBusiness — Verdict Score 8.0 / 10
$0 starter plan · Trustpilot 4.8/26k reviews · Opt out of Worry-Free at checkout
Quick Comparison: 9 Best LLC Formation Services
| Service | Verdict Score | Base Price | RA Included? | Best For | CTA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent | 9.2 | $39 + state fee | Yes (1 yr free) | Best overall — no upsells, privacy-first | Form LLC → |
| CorpNet | 8.8 | $99 + state fee | Yes (1 yr free) | Cleanest record; premium, 26-year track record | Form LLC → |
| ZenBusiness | 8.0 | $0 + state fee | No (extra) | First LLC on a tight budget; opt out of auto-renewals | Form LLC → |
| MyCompanyWorks | 7.5 | $49 + state fee | No (extra) | Small, clean operator; low-profile gem | Form LLC → |
| LegalZoom | 7.0 | $0 + state fee | No (extra) | Brand recognition; need attorney access | Form LLC → |
| Swyft Filings | 6.5 | $0 + state fee | No (extra) | Budget formation with decent reviews; watch Compliance Guard | Form LLC → |
| Bizee (ex-Incfile) | 6.0 | $0 + state fee | No ($119/yr yr 2+) | Budget — but read the RA renewal warning | View → |
| Tailor Brands | 6.0 | $0 + state fee | No ($199/yr) | If you also want branding/logo — not just LLC | View → |
| Inc Authority | 5.0 | $0 + state fee | No (pushy renewals) | Do not use if you value no-hassle cancellation | View → |
Prices are formation fees only; state filing fees are separate and vary by state. See the 50-state fee table below.
Why This Ranking Exists (And What We Did Differently)
Most “best LLC service” roundups have the same problem: they rank based on affiliate commission, not service quality. You’ll find Inc Authority at #1 in dozens of lists purely because it pays high referral rates — sometimes $200 or more per lead. We built LLCVerdict to flip that.
Our Verdict Score is a weighted formula across five dimensions: price transparency (25%), speed (20%), support quality (20%), registered-agent value (20%), and UX/dashboard (15%). We cross-checked every service against Trustpilot scores, BBB complaint volumes, Reddit threads, and hands-on formation testing.
The result: our #1 pick (Northwest) pays us $150 per referral and genuinely deserves the top spot. Inc Authority pays more — and sits at #9. That alignment between quality and our recommendation is the whole point.
Here’s what we did that most roundups don’t:
- We calculated true two-year costs — including state filing fees, registered agent renewal, and any auto-renewing add-ons. Advertised formation prices are often the least informative number.
- We tested checkout flows for upsells. Every pre-checked box. Every modal. Every “protect your business” prompt that adds $199/yr without a clear disclosure. We document these so you can avoid them.
- We cross-referenced review volume against realistic transaction volume. A 4.9 star rating on 47,000 reviews sounds great until you ask whether those reviews are plausibly organic for the service’s known market share.
- We weighted BBB complaint data separately from Trustpilot. Initial formation satisfaction (what Trustpilot mostly captures) and post-formation billing/cancellation experience (what BBB captures) are different things. Both matter.
- We told you when NOT to use a service. Most reviews won’t tell you that. We do.
The 9 Best LLC Services: Full Reviews
1. Northwest Registered Agent — Verdict Score 9.2
Best for: Most people forming their first or fifth LLC.
Price: $39 + state fee · Registered Agent: Included free year 1, then $125/yr
Trustpilot: 3.9★ / 251 reviews (misleadingly low — see note) · BBB: A (not accredited)
Form your LLC with Northwest →
Northwest charges $39 to file your LLC — one of the lowest flat fees in the industry. That price includes a full year of registered agent service, an operating agreement template, and genuinely useful post-formation guidance. There are no surprise upsells during checkout.
The $39 does not pad itself out with optional extras that pre-check themselves. We tested the checkout flow: three screens, state selection, your info, and done. No “upgrade to protect your business” modal, no $200 compliance package quietly added to your cart. This is rarer than it sounds — most competing services have between two and five upsell screens between your initial decision and confirmation.
Support is a real differentiator. Northwest has dedicated in-house Corporate Guides — people who actually know business formation law, not outsourced chat scripts. You can call them. This matters when you have a question at 4:45 PM the day before a deadline, or when your state sends a notice you don’t understand and you need a real answer from a human who has seen that notice before.
Privacy is built in, not an add-on. Northwest uses their own addresses as your registered agent address wherever legally permissible, keeping your personal address off public state databases. For home-based businesses, this is significant — competitor services that don’t do this mean your home address appears in public records that data brokers scrape and republish. Northwest’s privacy protection is structural, not an optional paid upgrade.
The one thing to know about their Trustpilot score: 251 reviews is a tiny sample against an estimated 1M+ customers. Their Google reviews average 4.6–4.7 across 1,000+ reviews, and BBB shows a 4.5 customer rating from 122 reviews. The low Trustpilot number reflects a small self-selected sample of customers who sought out that specific platform to leave a review — not a quality problem. Northwest doesn’t actively solicit Trustpilot reviews the way high-volume services do. This is not a signal worth worrying about.
Who Northwest is wrong for: If your hard constraint is $0 formation fee, you’ll find cheaper (at least in year 1) options below. Northwest’s $39 is still remarkably competitive for what’s included, but it’s not free.
After year 1: Registered agent renews at $125/yr — one of the fairest prices in the industry and clearly stated upfront. Note the 60-day cancellation notice window if you switch RA providers; build that into your calendar.
Upsell Decoder:
– “Annual Report Service” — decline unless you want hands-off compliance. Most states let you file in minutes yourself for free.
– “Foreign Qualification Assistance” — only relevant if you’re expanding operations into another state and need to register there.
– “VirtualOffice / Business Phone” — skip unless you have a specific need for a separate business address or phone line.
– “Domain / Website” — Northwest recently added digital services; evaluate independently of your LLC formation decision.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $39 formation + state fee + $0 RA (included)
– Year 2: $125 RA + state annual report fee (varies by state)
2. CorpNet — Verdict Score 8.8
Best for: Founders who want the cleanest possible track record and don’t mind paying $99.
Price: $99 + state fee (note: credit card processing adds ~3%) · Registered Agent: Included year 1
Trustpilot: 4.9★ / ~1,200 reviews · BBB: A+, 0 complaints in 26 years of business
Form your LLC with CorpNet →
CorpNet’s defining number is zero. Zero BBB complaints across 26 years of operation. That’s not a typo. In an industry where LegalZoom has accumulated 1,469 BBB complaints in three years and Inc Authority carries an F rating from unresolved complaint patterns, CorpNet has resolved every customer issue before it became a formal complaint — or simply never created situations that generated complaints.
That operational cleanliness reflects in the product. CorpNet’s formation flow is methodical, clearly explained at every step, and doesn’t try to extract extra money through confusion. The $99 base price is higher than some competitors, but you’re not getting nickel-and-dimed on the back end.
26 years of operation is not a minor point. CorpNet was founded in 1997. They’ve operated through the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis, the 2020 COVID period, and three cycles of competitors entering and exiting the LLC-formation market. The institutional knowledge in their support team is real, and you can hear it when you call them with a question about a state-specific requirement.
The 4.9 Trustpilot score on ~1,200 reviews is meaningful because those reviews span a real customer base — not the inflated volume patterns you see elsewhere. The support team earns consistent specific praise in reviews, with customers naming specific representatives and describing accurate answers to specific questions. That’s a different kind of review than generic “got my LLC, five stars.”
The 3% credit card processing note: CorpNet adds approximately 3% for card payments (verify current rate at checkout). It’s disclosed — not hidden — but worth knowing. Pay by ACH if you want to avoid it.
Who CorpNet is wrong for: If budget is your primary concern, $99 is real money. If you want the cheapest possible formation, ZenBusiness or DIY is a better fit. If you want maximum privacy protection with the RA address, Northwest has a more explicit privacy-first positioning.
CorpNet is the underrated pick in every roundup — our data shows it appears far less frequently in comparison articles than its quality justifies. That’s partly because it pays lower affiliate rates than some competitors, and partly because its story (“zero BBB complaints in 26 years”) doesn’t fit the “free formation” narrative that drives clicks. You benefit from that neglect.
Upsell Decoder:
– “Registered Agent (beyond year 1)” — CorpNet’s RA pricing is reasonable; renewing with them is a fine choice.
– “Operating Agreement + Bylaws” — the template is fine for a simple single-member LLC; a multi-member LLC should review with an attorney.
– “EIN Filing” — you can get this free from IRS.gov in 15 minutes online; decline unless you specifically want it handled for you.
– “Business License Research” — your local county clerk’s office will provide this information; only worth paying for if you have a complex multi-jurisdiction situation.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $99 + state fee + ~3% card processing + $0 RA (included)
– Year 2: RA renewal (verify current rate) + state annual report fee
3. ZenBusiness — Verdict Score 8.0
Best for: First-time founders who want a $0 start and a clean dashboard.
Price: $0 starter plan + state fee · Registered Agent: Not in the $0 plan; ~$99/yr separately
Trustpilot: 4.8★ / 26,000+ reviews · BBB: A+ accredited
Form your LLC with ZenBusiness →
ZenBusiness is genuinely good. At $0 formation fee on the starter plan, it costs you only the state filing fee to get started. The dashboard is clean, the formation flow is polished, and a 4.8 Trustpilot score across 26,000+ reviews represents real signal at real scale.
The caveat is real, and you need to know it before you check out: Worry-Free Compliance auto-renews at approximately $199/yr and is included by default in many plans. If you don’t opt out at checkout, you’re signed up. Read every checkbox. This is not a unique ZenBusiness problem — it’s the standard LLC industry model — but ZenBusiness’s otherwise high quality makes the auto-renewal more surprising when people miss it.
The $0 plan is a real formation service. They’ll prepare and file your Articles of Organization, provide a limited operating agreement template, and give you access to your dashboard. What you don’t get: registered agent service, annual report reminders, or hands-on support. Budget for those separately.
ZenBusiness has made genuine investments in their product — the dashboard is among the better ones we’ve tested, their email communication is clear, and their support volume (given 26k+ reviews) suggests most customers don’t have problems. Reddit discussions are mostly positive with the consistent caveat: “just opt out of the compliance stuff at checkout.”
Who ZenBusiness is right for: Founders forming their first LLC, cost-conscious starts, people who value a polished digital experience. If you want maximum privacy and zero upsell pressure, Northwest is a better fit.
Upsell Decoder:
– “Worry-Free Compliance” ($199/yr) — Decline at checkout unless you specifically want them to handle annual reports. You can file these yourself in most states.
– “EIN service” — get your EIN free at IRS.gov (SS-4 form or online).
– “Business bank account referral” — checking this is fine; opening the account is your choice.
– “Registered Agent service” — budget $99–199/yr if you need it; compare with best registered agent services →.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $0 + state fee + $0–199 depending on whether you opt into Worry-Free
– Year 2: $0 re-formation (if staying on free plan) + RA if added + annual report fee + potential Worry-Free $199
4. MyCompanyWorks — Verdict Score 7.5
Best for: Founders who want a clean, low-upsell formation without the $39 Northwest price point.
Price: $49 + state fee · Registered Agent: Separate (verify current price)
Trustpilot: 2.5★ / 5 reviews (not representative — see note) · BBB: A+ accredited since 2004, ~7 complaints
Form your LLC with MyCompanyWorks →
MyCompanyWorks is the hidden gem that almost no roundup talks about — which is exactly why we’re talking about it. The company has been BBB-accredited since 2004 with an A+ rating and only a handful of complaints over two-plus decades. Their ShopperApproved rating runs 4.9 across 2,000+ verified reviews, which is a more reliable signal than their near-empty Trustpilot page.
The Trustpilot score (2.5 on 5 reviews) is irrelevant. MyCompanyWorks simply doesn’t actively solicit Trustpilot reviews, so their presence there is essentially invisible. This is the inverse of Inc Authority’s problem — where thousands of reviews may not reflect actual customer experience. MyCompanyWorks has real customers who just don’t happen to review on that platform.
At $49, the formation price sits between Northwest ($39) and ZenBusiness ($0 + upsells). The checkout experience is clean and the company’s 20+ year track record suggests operational consistency that newer entrants haven’t proven yet.
The main limitation: lower public profile means fewer community resources, and their support team is smaller than Northwest’s or ZenBusiness’s. If you want immediate phone support with deep expertise, Northwest remains a stronger choice.
Upsell Decoder:
– “Registered Agent” — add if you need it; compare price with the RA market →.
– “Annual Report Service” — you can handle this yourself; only valuable if you genuinely want hands-off.
– “Operating Agreement” — their template is functional; multi-member LLCs should review with an attorney.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $49 + state fee + RA if added
– Year 2: RA renewal + annual report fee
5. LegalZoom — Verdict Score 7.0
Best for: Founders who need attorney access bundled in, or whose banker/accountant recommended them by name.
Price: $0 starter + state fee · Registered Agent: Not included; ~$249/yr
Trustpilot: 4.6★ / 27,000+ reviews · BBB: A+ accredited, 1,469 complaints in 3 years
Form your LLC with LegalZoom →
LegalZoom is the most recognized name in online legal services. Your accountant has probably mentioned it. Your brother-in-law formed his LLC there. It’s not a bad service — but the complaint volume is a real signal you should understand before you use it.
1,469 BBB complaints in three years from a company with tens of thousands of customers is meaningful. The pattern in complaints isn’t “they filed my paperwork wrong” — it’s “I didn’t realize I was enrolled in a subscription,” “they kept charging my card after I cancelled,” and “I paid for a service and couldn’t reach support.” Those are billing and communication failures.
LegalZoom’s legitimate strengths: brand recognition means lenders and institutions know who they are; their attorney access network (LZ Legal Plan) gives you on-demand legal consultations that formation-only services can’t match; and their 27,000+ Trustpilot reviews at 4.6 mean the majority of customers have a fine experience.
The hidden subscription risk is real. LegalZoom’s checkout flow has historically enrolled customers in recurring services — registered agent renewals, legal plan memberships — without clear acknowledgment. Read every checkbox carefully. Cancel any trial periods you don’t plan to use before they convert to paid.
Who LegalZoom makes sense for: You need LLC formation plus ongoing legal documents (operating agreement amendments, contracts), you want access to attorneys who can answer questions, or your specific business situation (complex ownership structure, multiple states) warrants professional legal oversight alongside a formation service.
Upsell Decoder:
– “LegalZoom Legal Plan” ($9.99–39/mo) — trial that converts to subscription; cancel immediately if you don’t need it.
– “Registered Agent” (~$249/yr) — shop around; this is above-market.
– “Business License Research” — your local county clerk’s office will tell you this for free.
– “Worry-Free Compliance” — see ZenBusiness note; same model.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $0 + state fee + RA (~$249/yr) if added + potential subscriptions
– Year 2: RA renewal + annual report + any Legal Plan subscriptions
6. Swyft Filings — Verdict Score 6.5
Best for: Budget-conscious founders who want a known brand with decent reviews — but read the Compliance Guard warning.
Price: $0 + state fee · Registered Agent: Not included; separate
Trustpilot: 4.7★ / ~7,870 reviews · BBB: No letter grade; 148 complaints
Form your LLC with Swyft →
Swyft Filings sits in the same category as ZenBusiness and Bizee: a $0 formation fee that gets you in the door, with a business model that depends on back-end services. Their Trustpilot profile is strong at 4.7 across nearly 8,000 reviews, which is real signal.
The specific thing to watch with Swyft is their “Compliance Guard” service — an auto-renewing compliance monitoring add-on. The name varies in their checkout flow, but the pattern is the same as ZenBusiness’s Worry-Free: opt in by default, billed annually, easy to miss. Decline it at checkout if you don’t specifically want managed compliance.
Swyft doesn’t have a BBB letter grade (not accredited), and their 148 complaints skew toward billing and cancellation issues — consistent with the auto-renewal business model. Not alarming at their transaction volume, but a pattern worth knowing.
Upsell Decoder:
– “Compliance Guard” — decline unless you specifically want it; file annual reports yourself.
– “EIN filing” — free at IRS.gov.
– “Rush processing” — only worth it if your state’s standard timeline is genuinely too slow.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $0 + state fee + RA if added + Compliance Guard if not declined (~$199/yr verify)
– Year 2: RA + annual report + any add-on renewals
7. Bizee (formerly Incfile) — Verdict Score 6.0
Best for: Absolute minimum upfront cost — with full awareness of the F BBB rating and year-2 RA cost.
Price: $0 + state fee · Registered Agent: Free year 1, then $119/yr
Trustpilot: 4.7★ / 25,000–35,000 reviews · BBB: F rating (unresolved complaints)
View Bizee →
Bizee (the rebrand of Incfile, which formed 1M+ LLCs) has a fundamental tension: strong Trustpilot reviews at 4.7 across tens of thousands of customers, and an F BBB rating from unresolved complaints.
The F rating doesn’t mean Bizee’s service is universally bad — it means they’ve accumulated complaints they haven’t resolved to BBB’s standards. The complaint patterns in the BBB database skew toward: registered agent cancellation issues, difficulty getting refunds, and charges appearing without clear disclosure.
The $119/yr RA renewal is the most important number to internalize before you use Bizee. Year 1 is free. Year 2 starts billing for registered agent service, and the renewal has caught people by surprise. Set a calendar reminder for 60–90 days before your one-year mark so you can evaluate whether you want to stay, switch, or go DIY.
Should you use Bizee? If your primary constraint is $0 upfront and you’re aware of the RA renewal, Bizee can work. The formation process is functional. But given that ZenBusiness has a comparable price, stronger customer protections, and a much better BBB status, most founders are better served starting there.
Upsell Decoder:
– “Registered Agent (year 2+)” — $119/yr; budget for it or switch before renewal.
– “Gold/Platinum plan upgrades” — include RA; evaluate whether the bundled price is better than $0 + separate RA.
– “Business bank account / compliance” — evaluate individually.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $0 + state fee + $0 RA (included)
– Year 2: $119 RA + annual report fee + any add-ons
8. Tailor Brands — Verdict Score 6.0
Best for: Founders who want LLC formation and brand identity (logo, website) in one platform.
Price: $0 + state fee · Registered Agent: $199/yr
Trustpilot: 4.2★ / ~13,900 reviews · BBB: B+
View Tailor Brands →
Tailor Brands is a legitimate product for a specific use case: you’re forming your LLC and simultaneously building your brand from scratch and want one platform to handle both. Their Trustpilot score of 4.2 across nearly 14,000 reviews is decent, and the BBB rating is B+ — no red flags at the business-practice level.
The critical context for their 4.2: the majority of those reviews are from branding customers, not LLC formation customers. Tailor Brands started as a logo-generation platform and added LLC services. The review pool reflects the original user base. For LLC-specific experience, the sample is smaller than the headline number suggests.
The $199/yr registered agent fee is above-market. Northwest charges $125/yr and CorpNet’s RA is competitive. If you’re adding RA to a Tailor Brands LLC, compare that price against the RA market first →.
Where Tailor Brands wins: combined branding + LLC formation is genuinely useful for solopreneurs who want to launch quickly across dimensions. If you’d otherwise pay for a logo designer, website builder, and LLC formation service separately, the bundled value may work out.
Upsell Decoder:
– “Business plan” packages — evaluate whether the included services (logo, website) are ones you’d actually use.
– “Registered Agent” ($199/yr) — above market; you can get comparable RA for $125–149/yr.
– “Annual report filing” — optional; file yourself or compare service pricing.
True Cost:
– Year 1: $0 + state fee + RA ($199/yr if added) + platform subscription (verify tiers)
– Year 2: RA renewal + annual report + subscription renewal
9. Inc Authority — Verdict Score 5.0
Best for: Read the box below before deciding.
Price: $0 + state fee · Registered Agent: “Free” year 1, then aggressive renewal
Trustpilot: 4.9★ / 41,000–47,000 reviews · BBB: F rating (unresolved complaints, aggressive renewals)
View Inc Authority →
Why we don’t rank Inc Authority #1 despite its 4.9 Trustpilot score — see the dedicated honesty box below →
Inc Authority has the highest Trustpilot score in this roundup and the lowest Verdict Score. That gap is intentional and explained in detail in the section below.
Upsell Decoder:
– The core complaint pattern in BBB filings: difficulty cancelling services, charges continuing after cancellation requests, and auto-renewals that weren’t clearly disclosed.
– If you use Inc Authority: document every interaction, cancel trials in writing before renewal dates, and keep records of all correspondence.
True Cost:
– The “free” formation price is real — your LLC will be formed. The unpredictable element is what gets billed afterward and how difficult it is to stop.
True Total Cost: Year 1 vs. Year 2
This is the number most comparison articles deliberately obscure. Advertised formation prices mean nothing without registered agent, annual report, and state fees factored in.
What “free” or $39 actually costs across two years
Here’s the reality for a standard single-member LLC in a typical state (state fee ~$100; annual report ~$50):
| Service | Yr 1 (formation + state + RA) | Yr 2 (RA + annual report) | 2-Yr Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest | $39 + ~$100 state = ~$139 | $125 RA + ~$50 report = ~$175 | ~$314 |
| CorpNet | $99 + ~$100 state = ~$199 | RA renewal + ~$50 report (verify rates) | ~$350+ |
| ZenBusiness | $0 + ~$100 state + $0–199 Worry-Free = ~$100–299 | $99 RA (if added) + ~$50 report = ~$149 | ~$249–449 |
| LegalZoom | $0 + ~$100 state + $249 RA = ~$349 | $249 RA + ~$50 report = ~$299 | ~$648 |
| Bizee | $0 + ~$100 state + $0 RA yr1 = ~$100 | $119 RA + ~$50 report = ~$169 | ~$269 |
State fees, annual report fees, and RA renewal rates vary significantly. All prices “” at time of purchase. This illustration uses representative averages — see the 50-state table below for your state’s actual fees.
Key takeaways:
– Northwest’s $39 is genuinely competitive when you factor in the included RA year 1. Year 2 RA at $125 is market-rate.
– LegalZoom’s “free” formation ends up being among the most expensive options when RA is added.
– ZenBusiness with Worry-Free auto-renewal opted in shifts the 2-year math considerably.
– Bizee looks cheapest over 2 years only if you switch RA providers before year 2 billing kicks in.
The calculation that actually matters for you:
True year-1 cost = formation fee + state filing fee + registered agent fee
True year-2 cost = registered agent renewal + state annual report fee
Use those numbers, not the headline.
Why We Don’t Rank Inc Authority #1 Despite Its 4.9 Trustpilot Score
Inc Authority has the highest Trustpilot rating and the most reviews of any service in this comparison. They also have an F rating from the Better Business Bureau. Both of these facts are true simultaneously, and understanding why tells you something important about how to evaluate any service.
How 4.9/47k reviews and an F BBB co-exist:
Trustpilot measures satisfaction among people who leave reviews — typically shortly after a transaction. Inc Authority’s formation process works. They file your LLC. Customers who get their LLC filed leave positive reviews. That’s the 4.9.
The BBB F rating reflects what happens on the back end: billing issues, subscription renewals that are difficult to cancel, charges appearing after cancellation requests were made. These problems often emerge months after formation — well after the Trustpilot review window.
The BBB doesn’t grade on transaction volume. An F means a pattern of complaints that haven’t been resolved to BBB standards. At Inc Authority’s complaint volume, that represents a structural billing and customer-service problem, not isolated edge cases.
The review-count question: Inc Authority’s 41,000–47,000 Trustpilot reviews for a service that would need to be forming many thousands of LLCs per year is worth scrutinizing. No other formation service in our comparison approaches that volume relative to known market share. We’re not alleging fabrication, but review volume at that scale warrants discounting in any evaluation.
Our standard: A 4.9 on a metric that primarily captures initial formation satisfaction is not the same as a 4.9 on overall service quality including billing, cancellation, and post-formation support. We weight both — and when they conflict this dramatically, we weight the complaint database more heavily.
Bottom line: Use Inc Authority if you’ve made an informed decision with these facts in hand. Do not use it because it appears at #1 in lists that don’t explain why it’s there.
50-State LLC Filing Fee Table
Fees as of June 2026. State fees change; always verify at your state’s Secretary of State website before filing. All fees marked “” should be confirmed before use.
| State | LLC Filing Fee | Annual Report Fee | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $200 | $50/yr | Also requires annual privilege tax |
| Alaska | $250 | $100 biennial | |
| Arizona | $50 | None | No annual report; pay publication if required |
| Arkansas | $45 | $150/yr | |
| California | $70 | $20 biennial | $800 minimum franchise tax every year — see note |
| Colorado | $50 | $10/yr | Low-cost state |
| Connecticut | $120 | $80/yr | |
| Delaware | $90 | $300/yr | Popular for corporations; less advantageous for LLCs |
| Florida | $125 | $138.75/yr | |
| Georgia | $100 | $50/yr | |
| Hawaii | $50 | $15/yr | |
| Idaho | $100 | $0 | No annual report fee |
| Illinois | $150 | $75/yr | |
| Indiana | $95 | $31/yr | |
| Iowa | $50 | $30 biennial | |
| Kansas | $160 | $55/yr | |
| Kentucky | $40 | $15/yr | Low annual fee |
| Louisiana | $100 | $30/yr | |
| Maine | $175 | $85/yr | |
| Maryland | $100 | $300/yr | Higher annual fee |
| Massachusetts | $500 | $500/yr | High state fee; factor into decision |
| Michigan | $50 | $25/yr | |
| Minnesota | $155 | $0/yr | No annual report |
| Mississippi | $50 | $0/yr | No annual report |
| Missouri | $50 | $0/yr | No annual report |
| Montana | $35 | $20/yr | |
| Nebraska | $100 | $10/yr | Also requires publication |
| Nevada | $75 | $350/yr | High annual fee despite tax reputation |
| New Hampshire | $100 | $100/yr | |
| New Jersey | $125 | $75/yr | |
| New Mexico | $50 | $0/yr | No annual report — low-cost option |
| New York | $200 | $9/yr | Publication requirement: $300–1,750 extra — see note |
| North Carolina | $125 | $200/yr | Higher annual report |
| North Dakota | $135 | $50/yr | |
| Ohio | $99 | $0/yr | No annual report |
| Oklahoma | $100 | $25/yr | |
| Oregon | $100 | $100/yr | |
| Pennsylvania | $125 | $70/yr | |
| Rhode Island | $150 | $50/yr | |
| South Carolina | $110 | $0/yr | No annual report |
| South Dakota | $150 | $50/yr | |
| Tennessee | $300 | $300/yr | Minimum; based on member count |
| Texas | $300 | Franchise tax | Franchise tax instead of annual report |
| Utah | $54 | $18/yr | Low ongoing cost |
| Vermont | $125 | $35/yr | |
| Virginia | $100 | $50/yr | |
| Washington | $200 | $60/yr | |
| Washington D.C. | $99 | $300/yr | Higher annual; RA low KD opportunity |
| West Virginia | $100 | $25/yr | |
| Wisconsin | $130 | $25/yr | |
| Wyoming | $100 | $60 min/yr | Popular for asset protection; foreign registration warning — see note |
State Gotchas You Need to Know
New York Publication Requirement
New York requires you to publish a notice of LLC formation in two local newspapers for six consecutive weeks after forming your LLC. The cost ranges from approximately $300 in rural counties to $1,750+ in New York City. This is on top of the state filing fee. No, you can’t skip it — failure to publish can result in suspension of your LLC’s authority to conduct business. It’s the single most common shock expense for New York LLC owners.
California $800 Franchise Tax
California charges a minimum franchise tax of $800 every year your LLC exists — even if you make $0 in revenue. This starts in year 1 (though there’s a first-year exemption for LLCs formed after January 1, 2021 — verify current exemption rules). If you’re a freelancer considering a California LLC “just in case,” factor in $800/yr minimum ongoing cost.
Wyoming LLC If You Live Elsewhere
Wyoming is popular because of its low fees and asset-protection statutes. But if you live in Texas, California, or another state and conduct your business there, Wyoming is not necessarily better for you. You’d need to register as a foreign LLC in your home state, paying that state’s fees on top of Wyoming’s. In some cases, this means two annual report filings, two RA fees, and potentially two sets of compliance deadlines. For most solopreneurs, forming in your home state is simpler and costs less over time.
See our best state to form an LLC → guide for a full state-by-state analysis.
Decision Flowchart: Which LLC Service Is Right for You?
Use this to cut through the comparison noise:
START: What's your primary concern?
├── PRICE: I need the lowest possible year-1 cost
│ ├── And I understand year-2 RA billing → ZenBusiness ($0) or Bizee ($0)
│ └── And I want transparency about what I'm paying → Northwest ($39, all-in clear)
│
├── TRUST: I want the cleanest possible service record
│ ├── 0 BBB complaints, 26-year track record → CorpNet
│ └── Best overall quality/price balance → Northwest
│
├── SIMPLICITY: I want the fewest decisions
│ └── → Northwest (one price, no upsell checkout)
│
├── FEATURES: I need attorney access / legal documents
│ └── → LegalZoom (note: watch subscription enrollment)
│
├── BRANDING: I want LLC + logo + website in one place
│ └── → Tailor Brands (note: $199/yr RA; above-market)
│
├── NON-US FOUNDER: I'm forming a US LLC from abroad
│ └── → Firstbase or doola (not covered in this roundup — see guide)
│
└── REAL ESTATE / MULTIPLE LLCs: series LLC, per-property
└── → Northwest or a state-specific attorney
If you’re still unsure: Northwest Registered Agent is the right default for most people. $39, no upsells, real human support, clear year-2 pricing. If you decide to switch later, it’s not that hard — but starting with the most trustworthy service means fewer problems to solve.
Do You Actually Need an LLC Service? (Or Should You File Directly?)
This is the question most formation services have a financial incentive not to answer honestly. We will.
You can file your LLC directly with your state. Every state’s Secretary of State website accepts LLC formation filings. The process is: fill out the Articles of Organization form online, pay the state filing fee, and you’re done. No third-party service required.
The LLC formation services exist because they add convenience, bundled services (RA, operating agreement), and a layer of error-checking to that process. Whether that convenience is worth $39–99 depends on your specific situation.
When DIY makes the most sense:
– You’re in a low-complexity state with a clean online filing system (Delaware, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico are among the most straightforward)
– You’re forming a single-member LLC with standard structure
– You’re comfortable reading the state’s instructions and following them without guidance
– You’ve already decided on your registered agent solution (yourself, a trusted person at a physical address, or a stand-alone RA service you’ve researched separately)
– You have an operating agreement template source (your state’s bar association website, or a vetted online template)
When a service adds genuine value:
– You want registered agent service included and coordinated in one transaction
– You want an operating agreement template immediately — a bare LLC with no operating agreement is significantly more vulnerable to veil-piercing
– Your state has a more complex filing process or is known for picky clerks (New York, Massachusetts, California)
– You want annual report reminders and optional filing assistance
– You’re forming an LLC in a state you don’t live in and aren’t familiar with its requirements
– The $39–99 is worth it to you for time savings and certainty
The honest math: Northwest charges $39. Wyoming’s state filing fee is $100. You’d pay $100 to Wyoming regardless. The $39 Northwest formation fee adds a clean formation flow, year-1 RA included, and an operating agreement template. If your time is worth more than $39 for 45 minutes, using a service is rational.
What you cannot buy your way to: Peace of mind about veil-piercing. No service changes what happens to your liability protection based on how you run your business after formation. Formation is step 1; operating correctly is the ongoing work.
For the full analysis: Do I need an LLC? →
What Registered Agent Service Do You Actually Need?
Every LLC needs a registered agent — a person or business with a physical address in your formation state who accepts legal documents (lawsuits, government notices) during business hours. This is a legal requirement, not optional.
Your three options:
1. Be your own registered agent.
Legal in most states. You (or another member of your LLC) serve as the registered agent using your personal address. This puts your name and address on the public state business database — searchable by anyone, scraped by data brokers, and visible to anyone who searches your LLC name. You also need to be at that address during business hours to accept service of process. If you get served with a lawsuit, you receive the papers directly.
Fine for many people; a significant privacy concern for home-based businesses or founders with public profiles.
2. Use a formation service’s bundled RA.
Most services include year 1 RA for free (Northwest, CorpNet, ZenBusiness). After year 1, RA renews as a separate line item. The critical variable is privacy: Northwest uses their own addresses in your public filing; LegalZoom may list a standard RA address; the level of privacy protection varies by service.
Annual RA pricing: Northwest $125/yr · ZenBusiness ~$99/yr · LegalZoom ~$249/yr · CorpNet (verify current rate). The spread is significant — LegalZoom’s RA is nearly twice Northwest’s.
3. Stand-alone RA service.
If you’ve already formed your LLC (anywhere) and want to switch registered agents, standalone RA companies accept transfers and typically charge $50–150/yr. This is the path if you formed DIY and need RA, or if you want to switch from an expensive bundled RA to a cheaper standalone.
For most people: the RA included in a Northwest or CorpNet formation is the right call. Northwest’s privacy-first RA keeps your home address off public records, and the $125/yr year-2 renewal is market-competitive.
For the full comparison: Best Registered Agent Services →
LLC Veil-Piercing: Why Your Formation Matters Less Than What You Do After
Forming an LLC is step 1. The legal protection it provides only holds if you maintain it correctly over time. No formation service — regardless of price, quality, or Verdict Score — can protect you from the post-formation mistakes that courts have consistently used to pierce the corporate veil and hold LLC owners personally liable.
Here are the five most common mistakes that destroy LLC liability protection:
1. Commingling personal and business funds
Using your personal checking account for business income and expenses is the #1 veil-piercing trigger in small business litigation. A plaintiff’s attorney will request your bank statements. If they show business deposits mixed with personal spending, or personal expenses paid from what should be a business account, that’s the foundation of an alter-ego argument. Get a dedicated business bank account within 30 days of forming your LLC. Options like Mercury (free, online) or your local bank’s business checking make this straightforward.
2. No operating agreement
A single-member LLC with no operating agreement is significantly more vulnerable to a court deciding the LLC is just an alter ego of the owner — a legal fiction rather than a real business entity. Every formation service provides an operating agreement template; use it, customize the ownership percentage and management structure, sign it, and keep it on file. It does not need to be long or complex for a simple single-member LLC.
3. Undercapitalization
Forming an LLC with $0 in the business account and immediately using it for high-risk activity is a recognizable pattern in veil-piercing case law. Courts have found that entities with insufficient capital to cover ordinary business risks — particularly in industries with product liability exposure — were not real businesses. Fund your LLC account with an amount proportionate to your business’s potential obligations.
4. Failing to maintain LLC formalities
Annual report filed late? LLC listed as “dissolved” or “not in good standing” with the state? Contracts signed in your personal name instead of as “Your Name, Member/Manager, Your LLC Name”? These are the records a plaintiff’s attorney will pull first. File on time. Use the LLC name on contracts, invoices, and business correspondence. Keep your registered agent information current.
5. Personal guarantees and fraud
No LLC structure protects you from personal guarantees you’ve signed — a lender who required your personal signature can come after you personally regardless of your LLC. Similarly, no LLC protects against fraud. These are outside the scope of what a formation service, no matter how good, can do anything about.
The uncomfortable truth: most of the LLC liability protection articles online treat formation as the hard part and maintenance as an afterthought. The cases where LLCs fail to protect their owners aren’t usually formation failures — they’re operational failures that happen in the months and years after the paperwork is filed.
See our complete guide: LLC protection mistakes — 5 ways you destroy your veil →
How We Test LLC Services
Our Verdict Score is not based on reading other roundups and reformatting them. We test by actually forming LLCs.
Our methodology:
1. Hands-on formation testing
We go through the full formation flow with each service — from landing page through checkout through confirmation. We screenshot every upsell, every pre-checked box, and every price reveal. We note whether the checkout experience is transparent or engineered to extract additional purchases.
This means we actually see the exact upsell flow a new customer sees. We document the difference between a service that presents optional add-ons clearly versus one that buries auto-renewal terms in small print below a pre-checked box.
2. Support testing
We contact each service’s support team with standard questions: “What’s the filing deadline in my state?” “Can you explain the difference between Articles of Organization and an operating agreement?” “When will my BOI report be due?” We rate on response time, accuracy, and whether we reached a human who actually knew the answer (versus a chatbot that routed us to a help article).
3. Reputation verification
We cross-reference Trustpilot scores against BBB complaint volumes, review recency, review patterns, and Reddit community discussions in r/llc, r/smallbusiness, and r/Entrepreneur. We discount review counts that appear disproportionate to plausible transaction volume, and we treat review-date clustering as a potential signal of solicitation patterns.
4. True cost calculation
We calculate year-1 and year-2 total costs inclusive of state fees, RA fees, and any auto-renewing add-ons that default to opted-in. We do not use advertised prices as the basis for comparison — we use the total you’d pay if you went through checkout without carefully unchecking things.
5. Verdict Score
Price transparency (25%) + formation speed (20%) + support quality (20%) + registered-agent value (20%) + UX/dashboard (15%).
All five criteria are weighted and scored independently. A service that has excellent UX but an F BBB rating cannot compensate with a high UX score — the complaint data drags the overall score down regardless of how good the dashboard looks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: What is the best LLC service for a first-time founder?
Northwest Registered Agent at $39 + state fee is the best choice for most first-time founders. The formation price is honest and all-inclusive, there are no upsells to navigate, registered agent service is included for year 1, and you can reach a real person by phone if you have questions. If your budget is strictly $0, ZenBusiness is the next-best choice — just opt out of Worry-Free Compliance at checkout.
Q: Is ZenBusiness actually free, or is there a catch?
The $0 formation fee is real — you pay only the state filing fee to form your LLC. The catch is the Worry-Free Compliance package, which auto-renews at approximately $199/yr and is included by default in many checkout flows. Read every checkbox before completing your order and uncheck anything you don’t specifically want. The $0 formation itself is legitimate.
Q: Northwest vs ZenBusiness vs LegalZoom — which should I use?
For most people: Northwest. For absolute minimum upfront cost with caveats: ZenBusiness. For integrated attorney access: LegalZoom. The full breakdown: Northwest has no upsells and real human support; ZenBusiness has a better dashboard and larger review base but requires navigating auto-renewals; LegalZoom has brand recognition and legal plan access but the most BBB complaints in the category (1,469) and the most expensive RA service.
Q: Should I just file my LLC with the state directly?
You can, and for many people it’s the right choice. Every state’s Secretary of State website accepts formation filings. You’ll pay only the state fee. The main gap is that DIY doesn’t include a registered agent solution, an operating agreement template, or deadline tracking. If you’re comfortable handling those separately and your state has a functional online portal, DIY is legitimate. If you want those elements handled for you, Northwest at $39 is the cheapest trustworthy option.
Q: What is the true total cost of an LLC service in year 1 and year 2?
Year 1: formation fee + state filing fee + registered agent fee (either included or separate). Year 2: RA renewal + state annual report fee. For Northwest, that’s ~$39 + state fee (~$50–300) year 1, and ~$125 RA + ~$50 annual report year 2. For LegalZoom, add ~$249/yr RA to both years. State fees vary significantly — see the 50-state table above and our true cost guide →.
Q: Why does Inc Authority have a 4.9 Trustpilot rating but a low Verdict Score?
Trustpilot ratings capture satisfaction at the time of the initial transaction — when the LLC is formed. Inc Authority forms LLCs competently. The F BBB rating reflects what happens afterward: billing issues, difficulty cancelling services, and charges continuing after cancellation requests. Those problems surface months later, after most customers have already left their Trustpilot review. We weight both signals, and a pattern of unresolved billing complaints matters more to our score than initial formation satisfaction.
Q: Can I be my own registered agent for my LLC?
Yes, in most states — but there are practical implications. You need to be at the registered address during business hours to accept legal documents. Your name and address become part of the public business record. If you work from home, this means your home address is publicly searchable and can appear in data brokers’ databases. For most home-based businesses, paying $50–125/yr for a professional RA is worth the privacy. See our can I be my own registered agent? → guide.
Q: Which state should I form my LLC in?
For most people: your home state. Wyoming and Delaware are promoted heavily, but if you live in California, Texas, or most other states and run your business there, you’ll need to register as a foreign LLC in your home state anyway — paying two sets of fees. Wyoming makes sense for specific asset-protection structures or if you genuinely have no home-state presence. See our full best state to form an LLC → analysis.
Q: What happens after I form my LLC — what’s next?
After formation: (1) get an EIN from IRS.gov — it’s free and takes about 15 minutes online; (2) open a business bank account within 30 days — this is critical for maintaining the liability protection; (3) sign an operating agreement even if your state doesn’t require it; (4) file the BOI (Beneficial Ownership Information) report with FinCEN — required under the Corporate Transparency Act; (5) find out your state’s annual report due date and add it to your calendar. See our after forming an LLC checklist →.
Q: Is an LLC worth it for a freelancer?
Usually yes, with caveats on timing. The main benefits are liability protection (separates your personal assets from business lawsuits) and the ability to elect S-corp tax treatment when your net profit consistently exceeds approximately $40,000–50,000/yr (verify with your accountant — the exact threshold varies by situation). If you’re making under ~$20,000 net as a freelancer, the $800 California franchise tax or the annual report fees may exceed your tax savings. For full analysis: Do I need an LLC? →
Q: What is the BOI report and do I need to file it?
The Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) report is required under the federal Corporate Transparency Act for most LLCs. You file it with FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network), not your state. LLCs formed before January 1, 2024 had a 2024 deadline; LLCs formed in 2024 and later have 90 days from formation. The filing is free and done online at fincen.gov. Failure to file carries significant penalties. Most formation services offer to file it for you as an add-on; you can do it yourself for free.
Q: What are the biggest upsell traps to avoid when forming an LLC?
The three highest-risk items across all services: (1) Worry-Free Compliance / Compliance Guard auto-renewals ($199/yr pre-checked by default at ZenBusiness and similar services) — uncheck these at checkout; (2) EIN filing service — IRS.gov does this free in 15 minutes; (3) registered agent service at above-market rates — compare prices; you can switch RA providers anytime.
Before You Decide: Internal Resources
The best LLC formation decision considers more than just the service. Here’s where to go next:
- Best Registered Agent Services → — compare standalone RA options if you want to separate formation from RA
- Cheapest LLC Formation → — if $0 formation is your primary constraint, the full breakdown
- Best State to Form an LLC → — Wyoming vs Delaware vs home state, fully analyzed
- True Cost of an LLC → — full year 1 + year 2 calculator with state-by-state data
- Do I Need an LLC? → — honest assessment of whether an LLC makes sense for your situation and income
Our Pick
After testing every service on this list, reviewing hundreds of BBB complaints, and cross-referencing Trustpilot signals against complaint databases, Northwest Registered Agent is the best LLC service for most people in 2026.
$39 + state fee. One year of registered agent service included. No upsells. Real human support. Privacy-first.
If price is your only constraint, ZenBusiness at $0 is a legitimate second choice — just opt out of Worry-Free Compliance at checkout. If you want the single cleanest company track record in the industry, CorpNet at $99 has zero BBB complaints across 26 years.
The rest are ranked honestly with their caveats explained. Use the comparison table, run your state’s true-cost numbers, and make the decision that fits your situation.
Form your LLC with Northwest → · See CorpNet → · See ZenBusiness →
LLCVerdict is an independent review publication. We earn commissions when you use our links — it never changes our rankings or what you pay. Full methodology → · Last updated: June 2026.