Incfile vs. LegalZoom – USA TODAY Blueprint

When you start a business, one of the first things you need to do is register your business with the state (or states) where the business will operate. A common choice for initial business formation is an LLC (limited liability company) because of its liability protection and potential tax advantages. 

To establish an LLC, you need to create documents like articles of organization and an operating agreement. You could go to a lawyer for these services, but, to save money and time, many small businesses use an online service provider. 

To help you make this decision, we reviewed two of the most popular business formation services, Incfile and LegalZoom, based on price, features, customer reviews and customer support. As you read through our guide, you’ll find that LegalZoom offers additional legal support while Incfile offers affordable plans with unlimited customer support. 

Incfile vs. LegalZoom: LLC services

LegalZoom and Incfile offer basic LLC formation services for free. However, if you factor in premium plan features, Incfile is a less expensive way to file your LLC paperwork and maintain your business. Its mid-tier plan is cheaper than LegalZoom’s ($199 compared to Incfile’s $249), while its most expensive tier is the same price for both providers (at $299, plus state filing fees). 

LegalZoom’s free plan comes with access to a free Wix website. However, its plans can also come with additional services that will increase the overall price in time. For example, its highest-tier plan includes unlimited 30-minute attorney consultations, which is only free for a month. After that, you’ll be charged a recurring monthly subscription fee of $49 that renews automatically. 

When you start an LLC, it is a legal requirement that you appoint a registered agent. If you appoint yourself as your registered agent, you must be present in your business office during all regular business hours. There’s no stepping out for a meal or to meet a client. You also run the risk of having embarrassing paperwork delivered to your office in front of customers, since the registered agent address is where such paperwork is served. 

To avoid the above headaches, many companies hire a registered agent service. Incfile offers free registered agent services for the first year when you form your LLC but this added service renews at $119 per year. In contrast, registered agent services costs $299 per year via LegalZoom right out of the gate with no free trial period.

LegalZoom’s additional trial plans end shortly after signup. This put it below Incfile in our ratings of best LLC services, but it still makes the list. Part of the reason for its inclusion is its provision of legal services. For new businesses, this legal support can be extremely helpful, even if it is only offered for free for one month. Just be sure to read the fine print to understand how much additional services will cost you upfront and how to cancel if you wish to opt out. 

Incfile vs. LegalZoom: Registered agent services

Incfile and LegalZoom both provide registered agent services, but Incfile’s are far more affordable. You get the first year free with LLC formation, and after that it’s $119 per year. Incfile provides you with digital uploads of the documents received, email and text notifications when a new document arrives and mail forwarding. 

It’s a different story over at LegalZoom. You have to pay for this extra service from day one, and the price point sits at $299 per year. LegalZoom’s registered agent service features are also not as comprehensive as Incfile’s. You’ll only get email and postcard notifications of new documents received. And, while those documents will be uploaded digitally to your account, there is no mail forwarding, a service Incfile offers for free. 

To learn more about the best registered agent for your business, read our Best Registered Agent Services 2023 guide.

Incfile vs. LegalZoom: Cost

Both Incfile and LegalZoom offer a free LLC formation plan, but that doesn’t mean the service is completely free. While Incfile and LegalZoom won’t charge you for its most basic packages, you still have to pay state filing fees and, in some cases, for other services that are lacking in these free plans but that are required for you to form an LLC or corporation. For example, if you want to hire a registered agent, you must pay an additional fee for these services from day one with LegalZoom. 

Each company’s fee-free package includes completely different perks. With Incfile, you get live phone customer service with every package and free registered agent services for a year. With LegalZoom, you’ll get a free Wix website. However, if you form an LLC with LegalZoom, you will have to appoint a registered agent, which costs $299 per year at LegalZoom.

Incfile’s Gold plan is only $199 versus LegalZoom’s Pro package price of $249. For this extra $50, you get access to phone customer service with LegalZoom and consultations around business needs. Both of these packages contain a similar suite of benefits, with the biggest difference being that Incfile provides a business banking account while LegalZoom provides consultation with business insurance and tax specialists. 

Finally, both companies offer a third-tier plan for a higher price of $299. At this level, you get a domain and business email address with Incfile, but not website hosting like you would with LegalZoom. Incfile will also give you access to a library of business contract templates and next-day business formation filing.

At the third-tier level, LegalZoom provides a 30-day trial of some of its subscription services, like legal consultations, copyright registration and legal form templates. Each of these services will cost you an additional $49 per month if you don’t cancel them before the end of the month trial. 

At the end of the day, Incfile gives you more bang for your buck. Extra services in LegalZoom’s larger packages come with short-term subscriptions and long-term fees. However, if you need extra legal guidance as you get your LLC started, LegalZoom’s free one-month attorney plan may be just what you need. Incfile, however, sticks to essential features, such as registered agent services. Also, its free add-on subscription trials are much longer than LegalZoom’s.

Incfile vs. LegalZoom: Features

Incfile does not have an app, so it’s not the best choice for mobile users. While LegalZoom does have an app, it’s not highly rated. It only receives 3.3 stars with over 380 reviews in the App Store. Also, there is no app in the Google Play store for Android devices. Most users who left complaints about the app addressed the services offered by LegalZoom at large and not app-specific complaints. 

Both services offer free search for business name availability. However, Incfile allows you to use its service for free before signing up for one of its business formation plans and requires only your name and email address. LegalZoom requires a sign-up for at least its free business formation plan before you can access this service. 

With Incfile, you can access your documents online if you pay for a Gold or Platinum package. You won’t get this functionality if you pick the Silver package, which is free but requires you to pay state filing fees for LLC formation. LegalZoom provides online document access at all tiers, but said access is somewhat limited. For LLC formation, it only includes: 

• Articles of organization.
• Bylaws and operating agreement.
• Signing instructions.

Other documents you create via LegalZoom’s services, such as trademark applications, annual reports or business contracts, are not viewable online.

There is no access to free legal consultation with Incfile while LegalZoom does offer this service in a limited capacity. During the first 30 days after signing up for LegalZoom’s Premium plan, you can access unlimited 30-minute consultations with an attorney for new topics and paperwork only. Unless you cancel the service, you’ll be charged $49 per month after the first 30 days.

Incfile vs. LegalZoom: Add-ons

Both LegalZoom and Incfile offer add-on features in their business formation plans that, at some point, are not free anymore. For example, LegalZoom offers a Legal Plan trial for 30 days in its Premium plan. After the 30-day period, it renews at $49 per month. Likewise, Incfile offers free registered agent services in its LLC formation plans that become a $119 per year charge thereafter. 

While some add-on features must be purchased separately in both companies’ free plans, some of these add-ons are included in the providers’ second and third-tier plans. For example, an EIN registration is included in the second and third-tier LLC formation plans of both LegalZoom and Incfile. If purchased as an add-on to each providers’ free plan, however, an EIN through Incfile costs $70 while an EIN purchased through LegalZoom costs $79. 

In addition to add-ons offered in each provider’s plans, each also offers standalone features you can purchase as an add-on to your chosen LLC formation plan. Many of them are required or helpful in forming and maintaining your LLC.

Add-on business products and services offered by Incfile and LegalZoom include:

• Registered agent services: Registered agent services ensure you stay compliant with state and federal laws with reminders, staff to receive correspondence during normal business hours and more. Registered agent services are $119 per year with Incfile and $299 per year with LegalZoom. 
• Virtual address: A virtual address allows you to provide a real business address without publishing your own, then mail is scanned and viewable virtually. A virtual address is $29 per month via Incfile and $9.50 per month via LegalZoom. 
• Doing Business As (DBA) name filing: A DBA is a fictitious or nickname for your business that can be used to enhance your brand. A DBA costs $99 when purchased from Incfile and between $99 and $199 when purchased from LegalZoom. These prices don’t reflect any added state filing fees. 
• Foreign qualification: Foreign qualification allows you to conduct business in a state other than the one in which your LLC was formed. Under Incfile, you will pay $149 plus state filing fees while LegalZoom offers the same filing service for between $299 and $339, plus state filing fees.
• Annual report filing: An annual report must be filed each year with your state and it should give an overview of your business activities throughout the year. Both LegalZoom and Incfile offer annual report filing for $99, plus state filing fees. 
• Trademark registration: With Incfile, registering a trademark to represent your brand’s products or services will cost you $199, plus state filing fees. LegalZoom will charge a hefty $599 plus state filing fees for the same service.
• Legal plan: LegalZoom offers a Legal Plan with attorney consultations and a legal form library. After the 30-day trial offered in its LLC formation Premium plan, it will charge you as if you purchased it as an add-on. You can expect to be charged $49 when using this service as an add-on. This plan is not available through Incfile. 
• Copyright filing: For copyright filing services, expect to pay $114, plus state filing fees if purchased through LegalZoom. Incfile does not offer this service. 

Incfile vs. LegalZoom: Customer support

Customer service looks very similar across both Incfile and LegalZoom. Both services offer live chat, which is available during customer service hours of 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST at Incfile. Weekday customer service hours for LegalZoom are 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. CST, and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST on the weekends. Both sites also offer an extensive library of articles related to LLC formation and maintenance.

The biggest difference is that LegalZoom only offers phone service to Pro and Premium clients, while Incfile’s phone service is available to everyone. Still, other differences exist. LegalZoom offers weekend support whereas Incfile does not. Also, Incfile offers customer support in both English and Spanish, a service LegalZoom does not offer. 

Which company formation service is right for your business?

LegalZoom is an expensive LLC formation option. However, if you want a premium experience, complete with such features as legal and weekend support, and you’re willing to pay a premium price for that experience, LegalZoom may be a good fit. 

Hiroko Nishimura, owner of 24 Villages LLC and creator of AWS Newbies, considered LegalZoom when she was forming her LLC in 2019. “One of the important things for me was the fact that [the company] would deal with being my registered agent, as well,” says Nishimura. Because LegalZoom lacked this feature as an inclusion in its LLC formation plans, Nishima went with another provider with registered agent services included. 

If, like Nishimura, you are looking for an all-in-one option for starting your LLC with little upfront costs, Incfile may be a good fit for you. Unlike with LegalZoom, its plans offer you registered agent services free for one year and free LLC formation services.