The limited liability company is an increasingly popular business structure in America, with thousands of new LLCs being formed every day. The LLC is effectually a hybrid business type, occupying the space between the rigid formalities of a corporation, and the casual nature of a general partnership or sole proprietorship.
If you want to form an LLC in the United States, you will need to designate a registered agent. The role of the registered agent involves the usage of their address as your official business address, which means they’ll receive important document deliveries on your behalf, including court summons and other official correspondence from your state government.
There are many companies that offer LLC formation and registered agent services online, and it’s sometimes difficult to determine which one has your best interests in mind. In this comparison, we’ll take a close look at Harvard Business Services and BizFilings. Which one is the better choice to form your new LLC and provide registered agent service?
30-Second Summary Of BizFilings VS. Harvard Business Services
BizFilings’ entry-level LLC formation price is reasonable, and all of their formation packages include six months of registered agent service. However, their registered agent service is a bit overpriced, and their top two packages vary in price considerably depending on which state you’re forming in.
Harvard Business Services is an excellent provider of LLC formation and registered agent services in the state of Delaware, although they do not provide service in any other state. They provide a full year of registered agent service with all of their formation packages, and they receive great customer reviews.
Overall, we prefer Harvard Business Services, although if you operate a business in any state other than Delaware, BizFilings can certainly help you out.
We Recommend Zen Business
These Services vs Other Options
BizFilings came in at the #6 spot on our LLC guide, and they rank 12th on the registered agent list. As for Harvard Business Services, they rank #7 on our top formation services list, and they came in at #10 for registered agents.
There are plenty of competing services in this industry though. If you want more information about two of the most popular options, check out our Zen Business vs LegalZoom comparison guide. To see our entire comprehensive guide to LLC formation services, this review article runs down our top 14 options, including a spotlight on Zen Business, our top pick.
Pricing & Additional Features
Harvard Business Services:
- LLC formation (starts at $89) – Harvard Business Services includes a business name check, the full preparation and filing of your articles of organization, one year of registered agent service, a digital seal customized with your business info, and compliance coaching.
- Registered agent ($50/year) – Their annual fee of $50 per year is highly impressive, especially when you consider that they guarantee this rate will never increase throughout the entire life cycle of your company. Their registered agent service does not include any additional features, but at this price point, it doesn’t need to.
Who should use their services? If you operate a business in Delaware, their registered agent service is your best option. Their business formation service is a strong offering as well, although it isn’t as obvious of a pick than their registered agent service is. There are still some competitors that can beat their pricing for LLC service.
BizFilings:
- LLC formation (starts at $99) – BizFilings’ Basic package includes a business name availability check, the preparation and filing of your articles of organization, and six months of registered agent service.
- Registered agent ($164/year) – BizFilings provides registered agent service for $164 per year, and they also offer six months for free if you purchase any of their LLC formation packages. They also include their BizComply online compliance monitoring tool, as well as franchise tax and annual report filing alerts.
Who should use their services? We like their LLC formation service because it includes everything you need to get your company up and running, without costing an arm and a leg. Their registered agent service is a bit frustrating though, because we appreciate the additional features included, but feel that their price point is too high.
Total Price for LLC Formation + 1 Year Registered Agent
Harvard Business Services: $89 (plus state fee)
BizFilings: $181 (plus state fee)
Customer Satisfaction
Harvard Business Services: Harvard Business Services has thousands of reviews available online, with most of them appearing on Trustpilot, where they have a sparkling reputation. With nearly 3,000 reviews, they maintain an incredible 99% rate of 4- or 5-star reviews. Their clients often discuss their low prices, excellent customer support, and high ease of use. Customer feedback is definitely a major selling point for Harvard Business Services.
BizFilings: While BizFilings has been around for decades, and they’ve served hundreds of thousands of customers, we were only able to find four customer reviews online. With such a tiny quantity of reviews to work with, it’s impossible to analyze that feedback in any way.
Quality of Customer Service
Harvard Business Services: Harvard Business Services offers customer support through a variety of different mediums, including phone, email, web chat, and Skype. Both in our own experience and according to their customer reviews, Harvard Business Services representatives are helpful and professional no matter how you contact them. Their response times are also quite quick, meaning you won’t have to sit around waiting to hear back from them. We also like how they list their staff members’ direct phone extensions on their website.
BizFilings: BizFilings provides customer support via phone and email. With either option, you’ll receive prompt service from knowledgeable professionals, and their hours of operation are longer than the vast majority of their competitors. You can reach BizFilings support reps from 7am-8pm ET Monday through Friday.
Company Stats and Track Record
Harvard Business Services: Harvard Business Services has formed 190,000+ businesses in the state of Delaware since they opened back in 1981. For their first several years in business, the founder operated the company out of his own home, until the workload became too much to handle, and he expanded the business into a more typical office space.
BizFilings: BizFilings has been around since 1996, and they’ve formed over half a million businesses in that time. The company is a subsidiary of the massive global information services company Wolters Kluwer.
Final Scores and Our Recommendation
We Recommend Zen Business
Harvard Business Services (4.0/5): The only real drawback for Harvard Business Services is that they only deal with Delaware businesses. They have excellent prices and a great reputation, and they’re a top-notch service for any Delaware-based business.
BizFilings (4.1/5): BizFilings doesn’t really excel in any specific way. Their pricing and features are all acceptable, but not overly impressive. We like the way their formation service packages include six months of registered agent, and overall they’re a pretty good choice if your business is not located in Delaware.
Our Favorite – Zen Business (4.9/5): While we appreciate many aspects of what BizFilings and Harvard Business Services have to offer, Zen Business is actually our favorite LLC formation service. For just $39, they’ll provide the full formation process of your LLC, while also including a year of registered agent service. It’s one of the lowest price points in the industry for this combination of services, and you won’t have to sacrifice anything when it comes to features.