Registered Agent Price Tracker
What a commercial registered agent actually costs at the five providers we track: the first year, the renewal that repeats forever, and the conflicts hiding between each provider's own pages. Prices checked on the providers' own sites, 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.
The tracker table
| Provider | First year, standalone signup | First year, with their formation | Renewal, per year | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent Lowest renewal | $125 | $0 (included in the $39 formation) | $125 | Flat in every state. $100 a year per state when you have five or more states with them, the only published multi-state discount here. Northwest states the $125 price has not risen in 20 years. |
| Bizee | $149 | $0 (free year with every formation package, Basic included) | $149 | Flat in every state we checked. The free formation year is the real difference between the two columns: hire Bizee as an agent for an existing LLC and year one is $149, not free. |
| ZenBusiness | $99 plus state fees* | $99 plus state fees* | $199 | *Per ZenBusiness's own registered agent page: $99 for the first year when you switch or form with them, renewing at $199. Its main pricing pages present the same service as a flat $199 a year with no discount. Both figures are ZenBusiness's; see the conflicts section. The state fees are your state's change-of-agent filing fee, not a ZenBusiness charge. |
| Tailor Brands | $199 | $199 (sold separately at every tier) | $199 | One flat price, quoted identically on its agent page and pricing page. No separate renewal figure is published, and no formation tier bundles a free year. |
| LegalZoom | $249 | $249 (sold separately at every tier) | $249 | The highest price here by $50. A few of its state pages say "starting at $249"; no higher agent tier price is published. It will handle the change-of-agent paperwork and covers the state's change filing fee. |
None of the five prices varies by state. What varies by state is the state's own change-of-agent filing fee when you switch, which is a state charge, not a provider price. Standalone signup means hiring the provider as agent for an LLC that already exists.
How to read these prices
The renewal is the real price. Year one is discounted, bundled, or free at three of the five providers. The renewal is what leaves your account every year for as long as the LLC exists, and over five years the renewal column is worth $625 (Northwest) to $1,245 (LegalZoom) on its own. Our services comparison builds its five-year totals on exactly that logic.
A free first year is a switching cost, not a saving, if you stay. Bizee's free year with formation is genuinely free, and so is Northwest's included year. Both become ordinary paid service in year two, at the renewal prices above. The time to compare renewals is before the free year starts, not when the first renewal invoice arrives.
"Plus state fees" is not a provider markup. When ZenBusiness quotes $99 plus state fees for a switch, the state fees are your state's change-of-agent filing fee, which the state charges whoever files the change. LegalZoom folds that fee into its $249 by covering it. Either way it is the same state charge underneath.
The conflicts, printed instead of hidden
- ZenBusiness, first-year price: its registered agent page quotes $99 for the first year, renewing at $199. Its pricing and comparison pages present $199 a year flat, with no first-year discount. We print both and do our long-run math on $199, the price that repeats.
- ZenBusiness, bundling: most of its pages state agent service is not included in any package. One of its packages pages lists agent service as included in Premium, and prices that Premium at $399 a year against the $299 its main pricing page states. We follow the main pricing page (not included, $299) and flag the split here.
- LegalZoom, wording: most pages say $249 a year flat; a few state pages say "starting at $249." No higher tier is published anywhere we could find, so we print $249 and note the wording.
- Tailor Brands and LegalZoom, renewals: neither publishes a separate renewal figure distinct from its flat yearly price, so the tracker shows the flat price in both columns rather than inventing a renewal.
Switching agents later
You are never locked in. Every state has a change-of-agent filing, usually online and free or cheap, and our registered agent guide walks through it. The two rules that matter: file the change before the old service lapses, so the LLC is never without an agent on record, and compare renewal prices, not first-year teasers, when you shop the replacement. A founder who formed with a $199 or $249 agent and switches to a $125 one saves that difference every year, forever, for one short state filing.
Common questions
What is the cheapest registered agent service?
On renewal price, Northwest at $125 a year, and it is not close: Bizee is $149, ZenBusiness and Tailor Brands are $199, and LegalZoom is $249. On first-year price for an existing LLC, ZenBusiness's agent page quotes $99, but it renews at $199, so Northwest is cheaper from the second year onward and cheaper over any horizon longer than about sixteen months.
Can I be my own registered agent for free?
Yes, in every state, if you meet the requirements: a physical street address in the state (not a P.O. box), and availability at that address during business hours to receive legal papers. The trade-offs, including your home address landing on the public record, are in the registered agent guide.
I have LLCs in several states. Who discounts that?
Only Northwest publishes a multi-state price: $100 a year per state at five or more states, against its standard $125. ZenBusiness's own pages state it offers no multi-state discount. Bizee, Tailor Brands, and LegalZoom publish none that we could find.
How often is this tracker updated?
Prices are re-checked against the providers' own pages on a monthly cycle, and the checked date at the top of this page moves when a check runs. If you spot a price that has moved before we do, email [email protected] and it goes to the top of the recheck queue.
Sources, all read November 8, 2026: northwestregisteredagent.com (registered agent page and state LLC pages), zenbusiness.com (registered agent page, pricing and products page, comparison pages), bizee.com (change-of-agent page and state agent pages), tailorbrands.com (registered agent page and product pricing page), legalzoom.com (state registered agent pages and comparison pages). Figures are the providers' published prices; five-year and horizon comparisons are our arithmetic from them.