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 MyCorporation and BizFilings. Which one is the better choice to form your new LLC and provide registered agent service?
30-Second Summary
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.
MyCorporation receives solid customer reviews, and they also offer good support. However, the issues with MyCorporation start with their $34 shipping fee, which is not added into the advertised price of their packages. This is a rather lofty fee considering all it covers is mailing a few pieces of paper. In addition, they offer “rush processing” for $100 or more, but they don’t indicate how much this speeds up your turnaround time.
While this is a close competition, we prefer MyCorporation for most of our readers, as we feel they offer a bit more value-per-dollar than BizFilings does.
We Recommend Zen Business
These LLC Services vs Other Options
BizFilings came in at the #6 spot on our LLC guide, and they rank 12th on the registered agent list. Meanwhile, MyCorporation holds down the ninth spot in our registered agent guide, and they’re in the #10 spot in our LLC guide.
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 article runs down our top 14 options, including a spotlight on Zen Business, our top pick.
Pricing & Additional Features
MyCorporation:
- LLC formation (starts at $133) – MyCorporation’s Basic package includes only the necessary features to form an LLC, like a business name availability check, and the preparation and filing of your articles of organization. However, for an additional $25, they’ll add one year of managed annual report service.
- Registered agent ($120/year) – MyCorporation charges an annual fee of $120 for registered agent service, which does not include any additional features beyond the basics of registered agent.
Who should use their services? MyCorporation really doesn’t stand out from the pack in any specific way. There’s certainly nothing wrong with purchasing LLC formation or registered agent services from them, but there’s also no real reason to recommend them.
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
MyCorporation: $253 (plus state fee)
BizFilings: $181 (plus state fee)
Customer Satisfaction
MyCorporation: MyCorporation doesn’t have a ton of online customer feedback, but what they do have is mostly positive. Their largest collections of reviews are on Google, where they have 148 reviews and a perfect 5-star rating, and on Trustpilot, where they have 200 reviews and a 3.5 out of 5 star score. Their customers typically discuss how pleased they are with MyCorporation’s customer service department, and they also appreciate how simple they make the formation process.
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
MyCorporation: With MyCorporation, you can access their customer support team via either phone or email. Either way, their support reps are quite responsive, as we’ve never had to wait on hold for long, and they also reply to emails quickly. Their representatives are highly trained, and they’re capable of answering difficult questions. We’re pleased with the quality of their support overall.
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
MyCorporation: Since they opened in 1998, MyCorporation has served over a million clients. They’re based in California, but they provide business services in all 50 states. They offer a wide variety of business services, and we appreciate their level of transparency. You can actually contact their CEO directly on Twitter @deborahsweeney if you have any questions or comments about their service.
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
MyCorporation (3.8/5): MyCorporation has some aspects we appreciate, and they stack up favorably against some competitors due to their solid customer reviews. We’re not fans of all their additional fees, but that doesn’t mean they’re a bad choice for your 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, but MyCorporation’s positive customer feedback is a big advantage over BizFilings.
Our Favorite Service – Zen Business (4.9/5): While we appreciate some aspects of what MyCorporation and BizFilings 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.