When starting a new business, one of the first decisions entrepreneurs face is choosing a reputable LLC formation service to help get their company off the ground. Two of the most popular options are ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent. Both are well-established companies with strong reputations, but they differ in several key areas. In this comprehensive comparison, we'll examine their features, pricing, customer service, and more to help you determine which service is the best fit for your business needs.
💡 Our take: We think Northwest Registered Agent edges out ZenBusiness as the preferred LLC formation service provider. While ZenBusiness offers a free basic package and some useful additional services, Northwest's focus on robust privacy protection, personalized support from dedicated Corporate Guides, and unmatched experience over 20+ years gives them an advantage - especially considering their competitive pricing for registered agent service and strong customer satisfaction ratings. For entrepreneurs who prioritize privacy, premium support, and working with an industry veteran, Northwest is the more compelling choice between these two top-rated companies.
🏆 Our winner: Northwest Registered Agent
👉 Sign up for ZenBusiness here
👉 Sign up for Northwest Registered Agent here
Both ZenBusiness and Northwest offer multiple package options for LLC formation, with varying levels of included features and services. Here's a breakdown of what each company provides:
ZenBusiness Packages:
Northwest Packages:
While ZenBusiness offers a free basic LLC formation (you just pay the state filing fee), Northwest's $39 Basic package is still very affordable. The main difference is that Northwest includes a full year of registered agent service for free, whereas ZenBusiness only provides it for the first year in their Starter package.For more advanced features like operating agreements, EINs, and compliance assistance, you'll need to upgrade to ZenBusiness' higher tiers. Northwest keeps things simpler by allowing you to add on these services a la carte.
🏆 Winner: Northwest Registered Agent
Every LLC is required by state law to have a registered agent - a responsible third-party appointed to receive official documents and compliance notices on behalf of the company. Both ZenBusiness and Northwest can serve as your registered agent.
With ZenBusiness, registered agent service is included for the first year in their Starter package, then renews at $199 per year. Northwest includes a full year for free with any LLC formation package, and subsequent years are just $125 annually - a significant savings over ZenBusiness.
Northwest also offers more robust privacy protection by allowing you to use their address as your business address, keeping your personal information off public records. ZenBusiness does not provide this level of privacy service.
🏆 Winner: Northwest Registered Agent
Outside of core LLC formation and registered agent services, both ZenBusiness and Northwest offer additional services and tools to help businesses remain compliant and operational.
ZenBusiness provides worry-free compliance assistance by sending you customized compliance reminders and filing reports on your behalf. They also offer business website builders, domain names, email addresses, and business document templates depending on which package you choose.
Northwest keeps things simpler by allowing you to add on services like EINs, operating agreements, and annual report filings a la carte as needed. Their virtual office and mail forwarding services provide robust privacy protection.
Typically, we put less emphasis on public review sites, but for this category, many of the options have thousands of reviews on TrustPilot, and the process for incorporating is typically very standardized. This increased our trust in their ratings, and the ‘wisdom of the crowd’, so we’ve taken them into account in our recommendations, but with one big caveat. As we dug into the TrustPilot scores, we noticed some discrepancies. One tool had one 5-star review, but their Trustpilot rating was 3.7. How could this be? We found that the TrustPilot score takes other factors into account like the age of the company and responding to negative reviews. We’ve calculated the TrustPilot score based on a simple weighted average and not taken the headline TrustPilot score. As with all our guides, we’ve tried to be guided by the data.
As you can see in the chart below, ZenBusiness has a TrustPilot score of 4.7 (with over 12k reviews) and Northwest Registered Agent has a TrustPilot score of 3.2 (with 81 reviews). ZenBusiness is the winner when it comes to customer reviews.
🏆 Winner: ZenBusiness
When comparing processing times, there are two elements to consider. The first is how long it takes the service to file with the State for you once you have provided the necessary information. Then there will be the time that it takes for the State governments to process your business filing paperwork. This typically takes 1-2 weeks but depends on the State where you are filing. The government processing time will be the same no matter which service you use.
The typical turnaround time for ZenBusiness is 2-4 business days, but ZenBusiness will prioritize those who choose the Pro and Premium plans.
While Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t market or guarantee their turnaround times, they typically file your paperwork within 1-2 business days.
For turnaround times, Northwest Registered Agent has the slight edge.
🏆 Winner: Northwest Registered Agent
ZenBusiness offers phone support by calling 844-493-6249 which is available Monday to Friday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CST or Sunday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CST in addition to email support.
Northwest Registered Agent offers phone support by calling 509-435-9053 which is available Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. EST in addition to email support.
ZenBusiness has expanded customer service availability including evenings and Sundays, which is rare for the industry. You can reach their support team by phone, email, or web chat.
Northwest's customer service model is more personalized - when you sign up, you are paired with a dedicated Corporate Guide who will be your single point of contact to answer questions and guide you through the entire process. Their Corporate Guides are highly trained business experts.
Both companies respond promptly to inquiries, but Northwest's personal approach gives them an edge for customers who want more hands-on support.
🏆 Winner: Northwest Registered Agent
We think both ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent are solid picks, but we give the edge to Northwest Registered Agent. It will be cheaper to file and maintain your company and has more personalized support.
👉 Sign up for Northwest Registered Agent here
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