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 7, 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 7, 2026. Full disclosure.
On this page
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 7, 2026. Where a provider's pages disagree with each other, we print the figure their current pricing page states and note the conflict.
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.
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 roughly double Northwest's. One caution: some older ZenBusiness pages still show Premium at $399 a year. The current pricing page says $299, which is what we print. 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) and Premium ($299) add speed and extras. 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, with the difference being Northwest's included operating agreement and address privacy from day one. 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, with the upper tiers bundling logo and brand tools. 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 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.