A Limited Liability Company (LLC) is one of the most popular ways to legally structure your small business. There's a good reason for that — forming your business as an LLC helps protect your personal assets from lawsuits against the company or outstanding business debts, plus you get to enjoy certain tax advantages.
You can personally fill out the paperwork to form your LLC, but time is money, and you might also make a mistake. A professional LLC formation service can not only help you register your LLC, but also give you support such as tax guidance, website-building tools and more.
Below, CNBC Select rounded up some of the best LLC formation services for small businesses. We considered factors like processing times, access to basic business tools and a variety of other service offerings. See more on our methodology below.
Compare business registration services
Best for fast processing time
FileNow
Cost
$49 + state filing fees for Starter plan; $199 + state filing fees for Premium plan
App available?
Yes
Standout features
FileNow offers 24-hour processing, which is one of the most expedient timelines in the industry.
Pros
- Fast order processing
- Offers free registered agent for one year
- Offers business contract templates
- Offers unlimited phone and email support
- Boasts a quick 15-minute application process
Cons
- FileNow's overall offerings are not as robust as that of its competitors
- Charges a base price plus state filing fee; some competitors only charge a state filing fee
Who's this for? FileNow boasts a speedy order processing time of just 24 hours. By contrast, most other services can take several days to process your order. According to FileNow's website, the company begins assembling your paperwork as soon as you place an order and has an expert on staff review the work and submit it to the Department of State within the same business day.
Standout benefits: FileNow offers one free year of registered agent access if you sign up for the Premium plan.
Best for access to attorneys
LegalZoom (Small Business Services)
Cost
$0 + state filing fees for Basic plan; $249 + state filing fees for Pro plan; $299 + state filing fees for Premium plan
App available?
Yes
Standout features
LegalZoom offers all sorts of services to help you register your business, fulfill annual reporting and licensing requirements and protect your business with trademarking, copyrighting and assistance from attorneys.
Pros
- For the Basic plan you'll just pay the state filing fee
- Well-known brand in the industry
Cons
- LegalZoom charges additional fees for some services even with the Pro and Premium plans. For instance, LZ Books is free for one year then $9.99/month after; the Business Attorney plan for Premium is free for 30 days then $49/month after
- Registered agent service is quite pricey at $249/year
Who's this for? LegalZoom offers access to business attorneys who can guide you through many legal processes when it comes to your company, including LLC formation. With the Premium Package you can get advice from the attorneys at any time, have them review your contracts, get step-by-step compliance guidance and more. This does come at an additional cost of $49 per month after an initial 30-day trial period.
Standout benefits: LegalZoom offers a few additional features to help you keep your business running even after you've already taken care of registration. It offers over 150 downloadable legal forms and access to customize those forms and the ability to create your own website through Wix.
Best if you also need a website
ZenBusiness
Cost
$0 + state filing fees for Starter plan; $149/year + state filing fees for Pro plan; $299/year + state fees for Premium plan
App available?
Yes
Standout features
ZenBusiness offers a wide selection of services that range from formation offerings to compliance, managing your finances and building a website and logo.
Pros
- Order processing within one business day available for Pro and Premium packages; otherwise order processing takes 7–10 business days
- Offers business document templates (included within the Premium plan only); other plans pay an additional fee for access
Cons
- Charges a base price plus state filing fee for some pricing plans; some competitors only charge a state filing fee
Who's this for? ZenBusiness has several offerings (aside from LLC formation) for helping you get your business off the ground, including website building. This makes ZenBusiness feel more like a one-stop shop for launching your company.
Standout benefits: Another important thing to note with the website-building capabilities of ZenBusiness is that these features come with some additional fees. You can purchase a logo creation kit for $60, while a domain costs $25 per year and the website builder costs $129 per year once you publish your website. These are competitive prices when compared to other external domain hosting and website design platforms.
Best for a registered agent
Northwest Registered Agent
Cost
$29 + state filing fee for LLC formation, corporation and nonprofit
App available?
No
Standout features
Northwest Registered Agent offers mainly business formation services and services for registered agents, trademarking, mail forwarding, EINs, business websites and business emails
Pros
- Simple pricing plan
- Allows for multiple registered agents with a discount of $100/year per additional registered agent state
- Offers website building and business email services
- Offers one free year of Registered Agent service
Cons
- Doesn't offer an app
- Registered Agent service is an additional $125/year after the first year
Who's this for? If you need to hire a registered agent for your business (basically the person in charge of handling all legal and government paperwork), then Northwest Registered Agent can be a huge help. The company charges $125 per year for its registered agent service, and will give you a discounted rate of $100 per year per state if you need that service in five or more states.
Standout benefits: Northwest also offers built-in Privacy by Default® which ensures additional privacy and protection of user data without you having to pay extra or opt-in.
Best basic package
Bizee
Cost
$0 + state filing fee for Basic plan; $199 + state filing fee for Standard plan; $299 + state filing fee for Premium plan
App available?
No
Standout features
Bizee offers several valuable features, including one year free for a Registered Agent service. The platform also offers compliance alerts, business banking, business tax consulting and more.
Pros
- Offers one free year of Registered Agent service
- Offers lifetime compliance alerts included in all packages
- Premium package includes expedited filing
Cons
- Doesn't offer an app
Who's this for? Bizee offers a lot in the way of its most basic package, which doesn't come with any fees other than the state filing fee. The most basic package offers filing for your articles of organization, registered agent service for one year, access to a business tax consultation, and more.
Standout benefits: Bizee has a standard processing time of just one business day, however, your state filing time can take several weeks.
More on our picks for best LLC services
FileNow
FileNow's team of business experts and tax professionals can help you take care of a variety of business formation needs including LLCs, S-Corp, C-Corp and DBAs (Doing Business As). It also helps you register for an Employer Identification Number (EIN), a registered agent service, certificate of good standing and more.
Cost
$49 + state filing fees for Starter plan; $199 + state filing fees for Premium plan
LegalZoom
LegalZoom is a well-known brand in the business formation space. To help determine what services best fit your needs, it has you answer a few simple questions on-screen about your business — like your business name, the state you'll be located in, your experience with running a business and more.
Cost
$0 + state filing fees for Basic plan; $249 + state filing fees for Pro plan; $299 + state filing fees for Premium plan
ZenBusiness
Established in 2017, ZenBusiness offers plenty of support services when it comes to building and maintaining your business's website. Aside from this, premium customers can unlock access to standard LLC filing, compliance, EIN filing, operating agreement filing and business document templates.
Cost
$0 + state filing fees for Starter plan; $149/year + state filing fees for Pro plan; 299/year + state fees for Premium plan
Northwest Registered Agent
Northwest Registered Agent has a fairly bare-bones pricing plan when it comes to business formation services, which may appeal to customers who value simplicity over variety. This company also offers assistance with beneficial ownership information (BOI) reporting, annual reporting compliance and changing registered agents.
Cost
$39 + state filing fee for LLC formation, corporation and nonprofit
Bizee
Bizee was formerly known as Incfile. It has over 20,000 reviews on Trustpilot and an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars.
Cost
$0 + state filing fee for Basic plan; $199 + state filing fee for Standard plan; $299 + state filing fee for Premium plan
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FAQs
Why is an LLC a good idea?
An LLC is a legal structure that allows business owners to separate personal assets and debts from business assets and debts. This protects your personal assets from taking a hit if something were to happen to your business, like getting sued or going bankrupt.
How do you pay yourself with an LLC?
With an LLC, you'll pay yourself through what's known as an owner's draw. You can draw money from your business account by writing yourself a check or transferring funds directly to your personal account.
How much does an LLC cost?
The cost of an LLC can depend on your state's filing fee. This fee can range from around $50 to a few hundred dollars. If you use an LLC formation service, you may also be charged a service fee on top of the state filing fee.
Why trust CNBC Select
At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every article is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of small business products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics. See our methodology for more information on how we choose the best LLC services for small businesses.
Methodology
To determine the best LLC services for small businesses, CNBC Select analyzed several formation services.
We compared each service on a range of features, including:
- Fee structure and pricing plans
- Registered Agent service
- Formation services offered
- Business management features and tools offered
- Customer support
- Customer reviews, when available
Fee structures for LLC formation services are subject to change without notice.
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