5 Easy Steps to Forming your LLC:
Step 1: Choose a Name
Step 2: Appoint a Registered Agent
Step 3: Organize A Meeting
Step 4: File the Articles of Incorporation
Step 5: Obtain an EIN
Have a Professional Online LLC Service Form an LLC for You
Many professional LLC service agencies offer their services to start an LLC in the United States. These LLC service providers offer services including filing the documents, appointing a registered agent, getting EIN, opening up bank accounts, and so on. Many of these services also offer support in running the LLC after the formation, as well. This is a great way to save on the expensive fees of the attorneys and at the same time to save your valuable time. By hiring their services, you can focus on organizing many other important business activities essential to start a company.
Though there are many LLC service providers ready to help you to start an LLC, selecting the right one to ensure a trouble-free formation process is not so simple. The following reviews of the top 5 best Online LLC Services will help you select the best LLC services to fulfill your specific requirements.
#1. ZenBusiness- Best Overall
ZenBusiness is one of the most popular online LLC services that work towards offering the best experience of forming an LLC to its customers. They offer many unique features to form an LLC at a very affordable price package. Their services also include assisting you in running the LLC, if needed. The unique feature of ZenBusiness is their worry-free guarantee, in which they offer you two free amendments to your annual LLC report.
Affordable
ZenBusiness has designed three standard plans and many different specific offers to serve customers with varied requirements.
Starter Plan
This is the basic plan that includes filing services, registered agent services, and an operating agreement template. ZenBuiness has fixed annual charges of $49 for the starter plan excluding the state fee.
Pro Plan
At $249 (plus state fee) per year, this is the most popular plan of ZenBusiness. Apart from the services offered in the starter plan, the pro plan additionally includes rush filing speed, obtaining EIN, and also offers worry-free compliance to all its customers.
Premium Plan
Over and above the services offered in the pro plan, the premium plan additionally offers you support in getting the business domain name, website, and e-mail address. And for all these additional services they only cost $349 plus the state fee per year.
Specific Services
If you want only a specific service like a registered agent, operating agreement template, or filing annual reports, ZenBusiness provides specific services to cater to your special needs at highly affordable rates.
Fast and Simple
This is how ZenBusiness defines themselves and this is how they are known among their customers. It’s a simple 5-step process that you need to follow to get started and run your LLC at ZenBusiness.
From the selection to the delivery of documents it takes two days to three weeks depending on the plan and the type and location of LLC. For the starter plan, it takes 2-3 weeks, the pro plans offer to deliver documents in 5-8 business days and the premium plan takes 2-4 business days to complete the whole process.
Informative Website
Apart from giving valuable information about the services offered by them, ZenBusiness also provides in-depth information on starting and running the business in different states of the country. The website features highly informative articles on the types of businesses and different requirements of each state including their costs and documentation formality. The website is highly systematic and provides step-by-step methods to register LLC in any of the states in the United States. The website also publishes many articles beneficial for entrepreneurs- newbies and experienced alike.
Additional Legal Support
ZenBusiness offers all the legal support provided by any other LLC service provider. Services related to the registered agent, preparing the operating agreement, obtaining EIN, and filing annual reports are the basic legal support that ZenBusiness provides. Besides the basic legal support, they can also help you in publishing the new company in New York publication.
Excellent Customer Support
All the above features can give effective results only and only if the company has a good customer support system. ZenBusiness has put all channels of customer support in place to ensure the highest level of support to their clients.
You can call or chat with their customer service representative from Monday to Saturday- From 8 am to 8 pm Central Time and From 10 am to 7 pm Central time on Sunday. Besides, you can also e-mail them at their official e-mail address. The team will respond to your query within one working day.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Excellent customer support with the call, chat, and mail options including the weekend assistance | Not the quickest among the top-ranked services |
| Highly informative website with an impressive interface | Not many additional legal assistance services |
| Variety of offers with different services | |
| Highly efficient services | |
| Worry-free guarantee |
#2. IncFile – Best Budget Pick
IncFile is known for its highly affordable prices and quick LLC services. It is the only top-class LLC service that provides free of cost registration of the business. It has a highly informative and user-friendly website covering various aspects for the seamless starting and running of the business.
Basic Plan with Zero Registration Charges
Depending on the services offered, IncFile has the following three packages.
Silver Package
This is a free-of-cost package to register the business. Only the respective state fees are chargeable for registering services with IncFile in the Silver Package. The package includes preparing the filing of the articles of organization, unlimited name searches, and free registered agent service for a year.
Gold Package
The Gold Package has a price of $149 plus the state fee. This package offers all the services of the Silver Package plus EIN, templates for operating agreement, express shipping, dashboard access, telephonic & e-mail support, bank account, and tax consultation, etc.
Platinum Package
The Premium Package is priced at $299 excluding the state fee. It includes all the services of the Gold Package. Besides, it also provides business contract Templates, a facility for expedited filing within two business days, offers FedEx delivery, and support in getting a domain name and business e-mail.
Quick Filing Time
The time of filing depends on the type of request by the client. For the standard filing, they take 15 working days to complete the registration process, and for expedited services, they only ask for two business days. However, the expedited services have an additional cost of $250. The best feature of the company is that for both standard and expedited services, they can provide the estimated time of LLC formation while filing.
User-friendly Process
IncFile has one of the most user-friendly LLC service websites. The information on the website is organized in an orderly manner. It is very easy to search for the relevant information on the page. Once filed, you can track the status online until you get the documents of LLC formation.
Website as a Valuable Knowledge Resource
IncFile has designed a highly valuable website page for their services. Not only does the page include all relevant information about forming an LLC or other business entities in different states, but it also contains a lot of knowledge-based articles equally helpful for the young and experienced merchants. The information about forming LLC has the minutest of details regarding costs, dates, and all other inputs relevant to the process of formation.
Impressive Legal Support Services
Apart from getting the basic legal service that most of the LLC services offer, IncFile offers many other very important legal assistance to all its clients. If you wish to avail yourself of services related to legal documents for running your LLC, IncFile experts can offer you their best services. Besides, they also help in filing IRS and annual tax returns for your LLC.
Impressive Customer Support
You can contact IncFile customer support representatives on phone calls from 9 am to 6 pm on any business day from Monday to Friday. You can also contact them online by filling the customer request form.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Tracking of service status on client’s dashboard | Until the formation, the website does not make the educational material available to the client |
| Highly systematic and neatly arranged website | Very strict refund policy |
| Highly informative and useful webpage | |
| Favorable customer reviews | |
| Perfect for small LLCs |
#3. LegalZoom – Premium Services
LegalZoom is one of the most reliable LLC services, especially from the point of view of fulfilling all the legal requirements of LLC formation. Apart from helping in LLC and other corporate formation, LegalZoom can provide expert assistance on all legal issues related to business or personal matters. The online service company’s only drawback is its high priced packages compared to others on the list.
A Shade Expensive
The planned offers include Economy, Standard, and Express with each catering to customers with different requirements.
Economy Package
The economy package costs $149 plus the state fee per year. It includes filing the Article of Organization and also checking your LLC business name.
Standard Package
The package includes a deluxe organizer apart from the basic services offered in the economy package. At $329 plus the state fee a year, the package also offers expedited filing services to its clients.
Express Gold Package
Express Gold Package is the costliest and the most premium plan offered by LegalZoom. In addition to all the services offered in Standard Package, this package additionally offers rush filling service. The package costs $349 plus the state fee per year.
Fast and User-friendly
LegalZoom offers one of the fastest turnaround-time of 24-hours if you opt for their Express Gold Package. For the Economy and Standard Package, however, the time taken is 15 to 25 business days. If you use their expedited services, LegalZoom can get the documents delivered to you in less than 10 business days.
Apart from quick services, LegalZoom also provides a very user-friendly experience to its software users. They have one of the most impressive interfaces. The webpage is arranged in a very orderly fashion with each step attached with a graphic for clarity. The ease of use further enhances with the explanation of each option of the LLC services.
Comprehensive Online Resource Library
LegalZoom has one of the most equipped online knowledge libraries among all the LLC service providers. The website is filled with plenty of informative and knowledge-based articles including procedures to start and run different business entities. It also includes a quiz to know the best type of business for any individual or a company.
Legal Support- The Core Functional Zone
Legal support is the core function of LegalZoom. So, if you are hiring LegalZoom as your LLC service provider, you can rest assured of complying with all the legal requirements of forming and running any business entity. If other service providers offer one or two legal forms, LegalZoom can make hundreds of legal forms available to you. They can help you in obtaining all the different permits and licenses for your business. Besides, they can also help you with matters related to the trademark and patents.
On-spot Problem Resolution through Screen Sharing
This is one of the most unique features that LegalZoom offers to its clients. You can share your computer screen with the customer support representative. This helps in the immediate resolution of any problem being faced during the registration process thus saving valuable time for you and the service provider.
They are one of the few service providers who also offer customer support during the weekends. From Monday to Friday they offer telephonic support for fourteen hours from 5 am to 7 pm PT and during Saturday and Sunday the timings are from 7 am to 4 pm PT.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Systematically designed and well-organized software with a user-friendly interface | Fees for registered agents are charged over and above the package charges |
| Extensive legal support through long experience in the field | Not suitable for those who want only the basic services |
| On-spot problem resolution through screen sharing | Quite expensive plans |
| Business as well as personal legal assistance | |
| Weekend support |
#4. Swyftfilings
Swyftfilings is the fastest company in our list of top LLC companies. And the best part about them is that they are not only the fastest, but they are also one of the cheapest service providers in the market. They have a very impressive user interface that allows users to navigate through different icons and tabs with great ease. Besides, to showcase their customer orientation, they have a money-back policy for the customers who are not satisfied with their services.
Low-cost Services
Depending on the services, Swiftfilings offers the following three different packages to its customers.
Basic Package
Priced at $49 plus the state fee, Basic Package includes various services like preparing and filing articles of organization, name availability, and lifetime customer support. Besides, with this package, you can also access the documents online and avail the services of business tax consultants and so on.
Standard Package
In addition to the services offered in the Basic Package, Standard Package also helps in obtaining EIN and preparing operating agreements. It is priced at $149 excluding the state fee.
Premium Package
You will have to pay the premium charges of $299 plus the state fee to get the premium LLC services of Swiftfilings that include on-spot delivery of e-document and website over and above the services offered in the Standard Package. The package also has a digital corporate kit and web hosting facility for all its clients.
Fastest Service Providers
Swyftfilings are the quickest when it comes to returning the business documents of the LLC. They claim to have a turnaround of 24 hours if you avail of their rush services. In the normal plan, they have a turnaround of 15 business days.
Simple Process of Registration
The software developed by Swiftfiling is one of the easiest-to-use applications. It is so designed that the client gets continuous help throughout the process of registration. You can get to know your registration completion status, as well, by monitoring the status bar.
Highly Educational Content
Knowing about different requirements related to the business is essential to make the right business decisions. Swiftfiling pretty well realizes these basic requirements of their clients and keeps their website updated with the latest and most relevant information on various business topics. The website includes articles on requirements for starting and managing different business entities. Besides, it also has a dedicated learning center where it publishes articles about different state guides, and about selling or dissolving the business, etc.
All the Essential Legal Services
Swiftfilings are not extraordinary in providing legal services, however, provide all the essential legal support required to form and run the LLC. In addition to the basic legal services, they also facilitate their clients to find out the specific licenses and permits required to run different business entities in different states.
Money-back Guarantee
Swftfiling offers a money-back guarantee to the clients. They guarantee to refund the entire package fee excluding the state fee if the customers are not satisfied with their services.
On the customer support front, Swiftfiling offers weekdays services from Monday to Friday for nine hours from 9 am to 6 pm CT. You can also connect to their customer support team through e-mail, who will respond to any of your queries within one business day.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The very cost-effective basic package that includes services offered in advanced packages of other service providers | The team is not highly skilled in handling legal issues related to LLC formation |
| Perfect for the clients in urgent need of LLC formation | On legal support, it offers only essential services |
| The highly educational content on the website | |
| Money-back guarantee |
#5. Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer is yet another LLC company that is known for its experience in the field of legal services. They have experienced attorneys in their team to respond to any of your legal queries. The website is highly informative and provides you data for making the right decisions during registering the business. By signing for their legal services, you can get the LLC services for free.
Rocket Lawyer Pricing
If you are a Rocket Lawyer member which has a monthly membership fee of $39.99, you get free LLC services. The membership also includes many other benefits including free legal documents, free consultations with an attorney on any new legal matter, and so on. For the non-members, however, the fee is $99 plus the state fee.
Unique Feature- Ongoing Attorney Services
This is one of the major features that sets Rocket Lawyer apart from its competitors. All the monthly members get the attorney services free during the entire LLC formation process. In addition to this unique feature, Rocket Lawyer also provides answers to many questions of the clients by publishing highly informative articles.
Simple-to-follow Process
Though the interface does not seem equipped with the most modern webpage tools, it is still highly user-friendly and has a very simple-to-follow process to register LLC.
Normal to Rush Filing time
Filing time depends on whether you have opted for the normal services by paying standard filing charges of $99 or have applied for the rushed filing services by paying a fee of $260 for expedited services. For the standard package, the filing time is 15-20 business days whereas for the rush filing services it takes only 2-3 business days to file the documents.
Statistical Information along with Knowledge
The website offers continuous guidance throughout the LLC formation process. At each step, the page shows a box linked with relevant information about the specific step. It helps the client to clarify doubts and help them make the right decisions in filing the business.
Legal Services- The Strength of Rocket Lawyer
Offering legal support for the formation and running of an LLC is their most basic service. In addition, they offer a wide range of legal support services. Their most appreciated service “ask a lawyer” provides the member with the facility of asking any of its attorneys a legal question by paying a fee of $49.99. If you pay $59.99, you can get a 30-minute consultation with one of their attorneys on any legal issue. Besides, they have also prepared more than one hundred customizable legal documents. As a client, you can purchase any of these documents as per your specific need.
Dedicated Customer Support
This is a unique service that Rocket Lawyer provides to all its clients during the entire formation process. They provide you with the phone number of one of their customer support representatives. You can contact them at any time during the weekdays from 6 am to 6 pm. PT. Besides, you can also chat with their customer representative during this period. You can also e-mail their customer support team to get any information related to the services provided by the company.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Simple-to-follow registration process with continuous guidance | More expensive than other service providers |
| The reasonable monthly membership fee | Complex price offers |
| The highly educational content on the website | |
| Free trial for seven days |
Top Pick- ZenBusiness
Comparing the features of all the top LLC services in the list, ZenBusiness comes out as our Top Pick. ZenBusiness has got many unique features that set it apart from all others in the category. The best of these features is the worry-free guarantee in which it offers two free amendments in the annual report.
The company offers three highly affordable standard plans along with many low-cost customized services. It allows clients to pick a plan or service, based on their specific requirements.
Apart from the flexibility of plans, it has a very user-friendly interface that makes it easy for the clients to fulfill all required registration formalities in a quick time. Besides, it also allows them to go through a lot of educational material published on their highly useful website to enhance their knowledge base about forming and running a company.
Excellent customer support is also a big plus with ZenBusiness. Connectability through multiple channels and weekend support in addition to the weekdays’ customer support makes it one of the most customer-friendly LLC services.
Overall, ZenBusiness is a wonderful blend of top-class professional services, high convenience, and a large knowledge base at highly affordable rates.
Pros and cons of Using An LLC Service
Pros
- Doesn’t require in-depth knowledge of forming an LLC
- Saves time and energy
- More affordable compared to attorneys
- Multiple services at a single place
- You can pay attention to core business activities
- No need to track legal requirements as the LLC services will take care of the activity
- You can receive a continuous update on the status of registration
Cons
- You may not get the kind of personal touch with a company that you get if you hire an attorney
- You may not get the vital tips and insights to run your business which an attorney can provide you owing to their long experience and your rapport with them
Factors to Consider When Selecting the Best LLC Service
Several factors can impact your decision of selecting the best LLC services. However, there are some crucial factors that you must consider when finalizing the most suitable one for your specific purpose.
Price Packages
Most of the companies offer different plans with different sets of services. Some companies offer a lot of services in their basic plan itself. You need to assess your requirements holistically and select the plan as per your specific requirements within your budgetary plans.
Turnaround Time
The standard time to file an LLC varies from two to four weeks depending on the type and location of the business. Most of the companies also offer expedited or rush filing services for quick filing at an extra charge. Some of them can get it done even within a single day. You need to consider your level of urgency before selecting the type of service.
Quality of Software Application
Different companies offer different types of user-friendly features to facilitate an easy registration process. Besides, they also provide many high-quality knowledge-based articles to enhance the awareness of the clients about different businesses and their registration requirements in different states.
Legal Assistance
Some companies offer only essential legal support to form and run an organization while some others are experts in the field of legal services. You can choose as per your requirement.
Customer Support Services
This can be a big differentiator when it comes to the quality of the services. Different companies offer multiple channels of customer support during the weekdays and some even on the weekends. Some companies even provide dedicated customer support representatives.
Conclusion
So, these were the reviews on the top 5 best LLC services in the United States. If you want to take advantage of different services offered by these companies, you can also select the one among them as per your requirement. We will recommend ZenBusiness if you want to select the one with many unique features. For the best budget, IncFile is the best on the list. However, if you want more support on the legal aspects of the business, LegalZoom, by far will be the best choice for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Do LLC services also handle future LLC requirements?
A: It depends on the services and the plan that you choose to form your LLC. Many online services do assist even after the LLC formation. You may have to pay extra to avail those services if it has not already been included in the plan.
Q: Is there a risk of hiring an online LLC Service?
A: No, none of the LLC companies reviewed here pose any risk. On the contrary, it is safer to form an LLC using their service as these companies have experience in forming several LLC and other business entities. So, they are more aware of the legal and other requirements for forming a company.
Q: How much would an attorney charge to form an LLC?
A: Depending on the business, hiring the services of an attorney can cost you $1,000-$3000 or even more to form an LLC.