Best LLC Formation Services, Priced Honestly
Every comparison online leads with the $0 package. We lead with the number you actually pay over five years, because renewals are where formation services make their money. Prices checked on each provider's own site, November 8, 2026.
How This Page Makes Money, Honestly
LLCForming is funded by affiliate commissions. Right now the provider links on this page are plain links and we earn nothing when you click them. As affiliate partnerships are approved, links will be swapped for tracked ones and this note will be updated. Prices below come from each provider's own pricing page, checked November 8, 2026. Full disclosure.
Our method, and the five-year math
We priced each service the way a founder actually experiences it: the formation package, plus a registered agent for five years, excluding state fees because those are identical no matter who files. First-year discounts are in the table, but the ranking runs on the five-year total and the renewal prices, because an LLC is not a one-year purchase. Every price below was read on the provider's own pricing page on November 8, 2026. Where a provider's pages disagree with each other, we print the figure their current pricing page states and note the conflict.
Why these five? They are the formation services founders in our reader mail ask about by name, and between them they cover the market's real price structures: a flat agent-first price (Northwest), free-entry subscriptions (ZenBusiness, Tailor Brands), a free package with a paid renewal (Bizee), and the legacy brand (LegalZoom). A provider earns a row by being widely used and publishing its prices, not by having an affiliate program. If a service you are considering is not here, judge it by the same method: find the agent renewal price and multiply out five years.
The comparison table
| Service | Formation packages | Registered agent | 5-year cost* | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent Best value | $39 flat, includes first year of RA, operating agreement, business address | Included year 1, then $125/yr ($100/yr per state for 5+ states) | $539 | Most founders. Flat price, no tiers to game, privacy-first. |
| Bizee | Basic $0, Standard $199, Premium $299 | Free year 1 with every plan, then $149/yr | $596 | The cheapest legitimate entry. Basic plus the free agent year. |
| ZenBusiness | Starter $0 one-time, Pro $199/yr, Premium $299/yr | Not included in any package. $199/yr add-on. | $995 | Founders who want compliance handled and accept the renewals. |
| Tailor Brands | Lite $0, Essential $199/yr, Elite $249/yr | $199/yr add-on | $995 | Founders who also want a logo and brand tools in the same checkout. |
| LegalZoom | Basic $0, Pro $249, Premium $299 | $249/yr add-on | $1,245 | Brand-name comfort and attorney-plan upsells, at the highest agent price here. |
*Five-year cost is our calculation from the published prices above: the entry formation path plus registered agent service for five years. Northwest: $39 plus four renewals at $125. Bizee: Basic $0 plus four renewals at $149 after the free year. ZenBusiness: Starter $0 plus five years of agent at $199. Tailor Brands: Lite $0 plus five years of agent at $199. LegalZoom: Basic $0 plus five years of agent at $249. Subscriptions like ZenBusiness Pro or Tailor Essential cost more and are priced in their sections below.
The same five-year totals, drawn to scale:
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest is a registered agent company that also files formations, and it shows in the pricing: one flat $39 plus state fees for formation, with a year of registered agent service, an operating agreement, and a business address included. There are no tiers to decode. Agent service renews at $125 a year, the lowest renewal on this page, and Northwest makes a point of not having raised it in 20 years. The trade-off is presentation: the site is plain, the upsells are minimal, and the brand work is nonexistent. For a founder who wants the filing done and their home address kept off the public record, it is the strongest value here. Visit Northwest.
ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness sells a subscription, not a filing. Starter is $0 plus state fees and truly one-time, but registered agent service is not included in any package and costs $199 a year on top. Pro at $199 a year and Premium at $299 a year both renew annually, and Starter's Worry-Free Compliance trial renews at $199 a year if you keep it. None of that makes ZenBusiness a bad service; its compliance reminders are genuinely useful, and our compliance guide exists because missed reports are a real problem. It makes ZenBusiness a service to buy with open eyes: the five-year cost of the path most people take is nearly double Northwest's, about 85 percent more. One caution: some older ZenBusiness pages still show Premium at $399 a year. The current pricing page says $299, which is what we print. One more wrinkle on the agent price: ZenBusiness's own registered agent page quotes $99 plus state fees for the first year of agent service, renewing at $199, while its pricing page presents the agent as a flat $199 a year. Our five-year math uses $199, the renewal figure, because that is the price that repeats every year after the first. Visit ZenBusiness.
Bizee (formerly Incfile)
Bizee's Basic package is $0 plus the state fee and includes a full year of registered agent service, which makes it the cheapest way to start with an agent covered. Standard ($199) adds an EIN and an operating agreement (the lifetime compliance alerts in Bizee's FAQ come with every package, Basic included); Premium ($299) adds expedited filing on top. The number to know is the agent renewal: $149 a year after the free year, stated consistently across Bizee's current pricing pages, even though lower figures still circulate in older guides, including some of Bizee's own older pages. At Basic, five years with Bizee costs $596, within sixty dollars of Northwest. The remaining gap is the operating agreement Northwest includes and Bizee's Basic leaves out, plus Northwest's $125 renewal against Bizee's $149. Both put an agent's address on your filing in year one, since Bizee's free agent year does that too. Visit Bizee.
Tailor Brands
Tailor Brands is a branding company with an LLC product attached. Lite is $0 plus state fees with slower processing, Essential is $199 a year, and Elite is $249 a year. Essential adds one-day processing, compliance features, and an operating agreement; only Elite bundles the logo and brand tools the brand is known for. Registered agent service is a $199 a year add-on, and EIN filing is listed at $99, which you should always decline, since the IRS issues EINs free (see our EIN guide). If you were going to buy a logo package anyway, the bundle math can work. If you only need an LLC, you are paying brand prices for a filing. Visit Tailor Brands.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom is the name most people know, and its pricing knows it. Basic is $0 plus state fees for the filing itself, Pro is $249 and Premium $299 with operating agreement, EIN, and bundled tools. Its registered agent service is $249 a year, the highest on this page by fifty dollars, and that renewal runs every year you keep it. What the premium buys is the brand, attorney subscription upsells, and a large support operation. On pure formation economics, it finishes last here, and it is not close. Visit LegalZoom.
The option nobody advertises: file it yourself
Every price above buys convenience, privacy, and reminders. None of it buys a different LLC. Filing directly with your state costs the state fee and nothing else, our step-by-step guide walks through it, and the EIN is free. A service earns its fee if you want a commercial registered agent anyway (the most defensible purchase), if you want your home address off the public record, or if you know you will not track deadlines yourself. Paying a service while also acting as your own agent and tracking your own reports is the worst of both worlds.
Checkout upsells to decline
- EIN filing fees. Any charge for this, at any provider, is a charge for a free IRS form. Decline it everywhere.
- BOI filing services. As of November 2026, US-formed LLCs are exempt from FinCEN (the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, part of the U.S. Treasury Department) beneficial ownership reporting. See the BOI tracker. Anyone selling you this filing is selling you a form the government does not want.
- Compliance trials that renew. Free first years are fine. Calendar the renewal date and price before you accept, because $199 a year surprises are how cheap formations stop being cheap.
- Expedited state processing at state prices. Where the state itself charges for speed, that is real. Where the "rush" fee is the vendor's own, it usually buys a place in the vendor's queue, not the state's.
Common questions
Can I cancel the registered agent service later and keep my LLC?
Yes. The LLC is yours and lives at the state, not at the provider. Cancel the agent service, name a replacement agent (yourself or another provider), and file the change-of-agent form with your state so there is no gap. The state filing is what matters; the provider's subscription is just a contract you can end.
I only need a registered agent, not a formation. Who sells that alone?
All five do, as a standalone service: Northwest at $125 a year, Bizee at $149, ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands at $199, and LegalZoom at $249. That is the comparison on our registered agent guide.
Is the cheapest option always filing it myself?
On state charges alone, yes: the state fee is the whole cost, and the EIN is free. A service earns its money when you want a commercial agent's address on the public record, reminders, or the filing handled. Compare that convenience against the five-year totals above, not the first-year teaser.
Do these services make my LLC any more legitimate?
No. The state issues the same LLC whether you file yourself or a service files for you. What differs is price, privacy of the address on the filing, and how much deadline-tracking help you get.