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While LegalZoom is a widely recognized platform, particularly for its business formation services, many entities are still seeking alternatives. This is largely because organizations require more than just basic formation services—they also need assistance with various regulatory requirements and ongoing compliance obligations.
Most business owners like to explore all available providers to ensure they're partnering with one whose services best align with their needs. Moreover, business formation is only the first step. To stay in good standing, organizations must adhere to numerous regulations.
This requires ongoing support, including selecting a registered agent and submitting annual reports to regulatory authorities. Before choosing a LegalZoom alternative, ensure it can support your business needs and have a proven track record with other entities.
This article will explore some of the top LegalZoom alternatives, their business formation services, and additional solutions. We'll also introduce Harbor Compliance, whose comprehensive services cater to various regulatory requirements.
LegalZoom provides various services to help businesses at different stages. Their business-focused offerings are divided into three categories:
Business registration services, such as incorporation and LLC formation
Ongoing support, such as business licensing
Legal protection, such as trademark registration
One of the most popular services is LLC formation, particularly because the basic plan is offered at no cost beyond state filing fees. However, the basic plan has its limitations. You'll need to upgrade to a paid plan to access essential services, such as securing an Employer Identification Number (EIN), customizable legal documents, or attorney guidance.
This pattern is consistent across LegalZoom's offerings, where specialized services can only be accessed with an upgrade, leading to higher costs, especially when you only need a few additional features.
As such, entities might consider alternatives that offer a more cost-effective way to access the specific services they need without requiring multiple upgrades. Before selecting an alternative to LegalZoom, it's important to consider the following factors:
The specific features included in the provider's formation services
The additional support they provide, such as registered agent services and filing annual reports
The provider's reputation and track record with other entities
If you're exploring alternatives to LegalZoom, here are some of the top options available on the market.
ZenBusiness is another option for business formation. It offers services that closely mirror LegalZoom's. One of its most popular offerings is an LLC formation service, which is also free except for state filing fees.
ZenBusiness's free plan offers a one-year worry-free compliance service, which handles tasks like filing annual reports and amendments. Its free LLC formation plan processes filings within one to three weeks, while its paid plans expedite this process to one to five days.
Most of ZenBusiness' offerings are available at a flat rate, minimizing the need for costly upgrades to access the additional services that your entity needs. The company also assists in securing EINs and provides ongoing support through:
Registered agent services
Business licensing
New York publication
Operating agreement
While ZenBusiness offers great LLC formation services, some customers have raised concerns about its ongoing support. These complaints typically include challenges with the app experience, such as frequent two-factor authentication requirements and issues with the platform generating invoices that are often marked as spam.
ZenBusiness also doesn't offer certain LegalZoom services, such as attorney consultations, which could be a deciding factor for some businesses.
Bizee, formerly known as Incfile, offers LLC formation services starting at $0, for which you only need to pay the state filing fee. The free plan also includes one year of registered agent services at no additional cost, though the price increases after the first year.
Bizee also offers paid formation services for entities that require additional support, which include:
However, many customers have reported challenges with Bizee’s services beyond entity formation. Common complaints typically include delays in chat and email support responses, which can be inconvenient when quick resolutions are required.
Swyft Filings is another popular option, offering free formation services where customers only pay the state filing fee.
The free plan includes essential features, such as:
However, the filing date for the basic plan can take up to 10 days. To expedite filing and secure additional support, such as obtaining an EIN and custom corporate bylaws, users must upgrade to one of the paid plans.
While Swyft Filings' free and paid plans for LLC and corporation formation are attractive for many users, several clients have reported that their customer service can be slow to resolve issues and occasionally unresponsive. This presents challenges as businesses typically require ongoing support after formation.
Each service provider discussed has its merits, such as free registered agent services for the first year or access to legal forms. Nonetheless, they also have limitations—whether it's pricey add-ons or expedited filing only with the top-tier plan.
These limitations can be a significant hurdle for companies requiring an all-encompassing solution. Entities navigating multistate operations also require a provider who understands various regulatory landscapes and can deliver comprehensive support at every step.
Entity formation is only the first step in starting and running a business. Beyond this, entities must navigate complex requirements to adhere to state regulations and maintain good standing. This is where Harbor Compliance sets itself apart as the multistate compliance provider of choice.
Unlike services that focus solely on setting up new legal entities and leaving businesses to figure out ongoing maintenance on their own, Harbor Compliance emphasizes comprehensive ongoing support. Our solutions are tailored to help organizations grow and thrive by addressing their needs at every stage of their lifecycle.
From navigating the complexities of multistate operations to securing permits and ensuring adherence to diverse regulatory requirements, Harbor Compliance provides reliable services. We are built for businesses whose needs extend beyond basic formation services, offering ongoing support for essential filings, registered agent services, and more.
By choosing Harbor Compliance, you gain a partner dedicated to helping your organization achieve and maintain good standing so you can focus on growth with confidence.
Harbor Compliance's formation services cater to three types of entities:
LLCs
Corporations (profit and nonprofit)
Once you register for our services online, we will prepare and submit your Articles of Organization or Articles of Incorporation to the relevant regulatory authority. We also facilitate nonprofit incorporation, regardless of the state you wish to operate in. We offer the option to expedite state processing for entities that want to fast-track the formation process.
Furthermore, when your entity decides to expand its operations, we'll simplify the transition with our Foreign Qualification services. Our team will file the necessary paperwork, ensuring your business meets the requirements to operate in new states.
The process of ordering our business formation services is simple and consistent across all entity types. To get started, follow these steps:
Decide on the type of entity you intend to form, be it a corporation, LLC, or nonprofit organization.
Provide relevant details about your business, such as the name, number of employees, and state you intend to operate.
Complete your order.
Beyond filing formation documents, there are various regulatory obligations you need to adhere to. One is appointing a registered agent responsible for receiving and forwarding legal documents on your entity's behalf. You have two options when selecting a registered agent:
Appointing an individual in your firm
Partnering with a commercial registered agent like Harbor Compliance
Appointing an individual as your registered agent can present several challenges:
They must always be present at the given address during business hours to receive your legal correspondence.
Their address will appear on public records, which raises privacy concerns.
You'll need to appoint another registered agent and pay additional fees to the state if they relocate.
Harbor Compliance's registered agent services solve these problems in the following ways:
Our offices, which are located throughout the U.S., allow us to receive your correspondence regardless of where your business operates.
We provide our address so you can keep your personal address off public records.
We ensure you don't miss any important updates by sending email notifications for secure document access.
If you receive a service of process, we'll call the primary contact for your account so you can promptly respond to the legal action.
The process of appointing Harbor Compliance as your registered agent includes the following.
Place an order for Harbor Compliance's Registered Agent services.
After placing the order, you'll receive a pre-filled state form containing our address and other relevant information.
Submit the pre-filled form
If you currently have a listed registered agent and would like to appoint a new one, Harbor Compliance offers a Change of Registered Agent service to facilitate this transition. Here's how you can order this service:
Visit our Registered Agent Service ordering wizard.
Select Add Change of Agent.
Complete the checkout process.
We will handle the remaining process for you and notify the relevant authorities of the change.
To help manage the complexities of regulatory requirements, Harbor Compliance offers a proprietary Software Suite alongside our comprehensive services. This software helps monitor the renewal dates of your licenses, stores essential company information, and tracks regulatory obligations.
The table below outlines the tools in this suite and the solutions they provide:
| Tools | Solutions They Offer |
|---|---|
| Entity Manager | It helps you understand your standing with different regulations and tracks deadlines for submission of annual reports. |
| Tax Manager | It stores tax information and certificates. It also maintains registration with revenue departments. |
| License Manager | It keeps track of your firm and individual licenses and renewal dates. It also helps you find regulatory requirements for different licenses. |
| Records Manager | It provides a centralized platform for storing company data, such as leadership and ownership information. |
| Requirements Research Engine | It provides a comprehensive database with detailed information on licensing requirements, responsible regulatory authorities, filing fees, and processing times. |
Beyond registered agent services and business formation, entities have numerous regulatory obligations that must be met. At Harbor Compliance, we offer ongoing support to help you manage essential filings on time and with ease.
The table below outlines different filing categories and the support we offer:
| Category | Filing Support |
|---|---|
| Beneficial Ownership Information (BOI) reporting | |
| Business licensing | |
| Tax registration support | |
| Entity lifecycle management | |
| Nonprofit support | |
| Document retrieval and support |
In this section, we'll answer some frequently asked questions about alternatives to LegalZoom. To learn more, visit Harbor Compliance's information center.
Before partnering with any service provider, consider the features included in their formation services and their additional offerings, such as registered agent services and ongoing support for filings.
Yes. Most service providers provide the option to expedite filing at an additional fee.
Yes. If your business wishes to expand its operations to other states, you can choose a service provider like Harbor Compliance, which specializes in multi-state support.
Although LegalZoom is a reliable provider, it's worthwhile to consider alternatives to see if their services better align with your business needs. While many providers can assist with business formation, opt for those offering ongoing support as your organization grows.
Harbor Compliance's services extend beyond guiding you through the business formation process. We also perform crucial regulatory tasks such as registered agent services and annual report filings and provide software that tracks changing legislation.
To get started, use our free Harbor Compliance Score™ to see which regulations apply in your state. Afterward, you can request a demo session and order our Register Agent Service, business formation, and other services you need. We'll handle the paperwork and necessary filings so you can focus on running your business.
To learn more about registered agent services and requirements in different states, explore our collection of articles listed in the table below:
