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 online LLC registration services 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 Swyft Filings and BizFilings. Which one is the better choice to form your new LLC and provide registered agent service?
30-Second Summary Of BizFilings VS. Swyft Filings
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.
Swyft Filings is a recent addition to the business formation services industry, but they serve a high volume of clients. Their best selling point is their excellent customer feedback, with thousands of reviews and high average rating scores.
Both of these companies have plenty of inviting attributes, and in our eyes they are nearly equal in many key areas. While BizFilings is our preference for LLC formations, we think Swyft Filings has a slight edge for registered agent service.
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, Swyft Filings placed eighth in our LLC service guide, and they ranked #11 on our registered agents list.
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 comparison runs down our top 14 options, including a spotlight on Zen Business, our top pick.
Pricing & Additional Features
Swyft Filings:
- LLC formation ($49) – Swyft Filings’ entry-level formation package includes a business name availability check, as well as the preparation and filing of your articles of organization. In addition, you’ll receive a statement of the organizer, access to a compliance dashboard, and some third-party bonus offers like a free domain name for a year.
- Registered agent ($149/year) – Swyft Filings charges a flat rate of $149 per year for registered agent service. This rate includes regular compliance reminders so that you never miss an important filing due date.
Who should use their services? We typically recommend Swyft Filings to entrepreneurs that don’t need registered agent service. Their LLC formation package is reasonably priced, but it doesn’t include registered agent, and their registered agent service is too expensive to recommend as an add-on.
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
Swyft Filings: $198 (plus state fee)
BizFilings: $181 (plus state fee)
Customer Satisfaction
Swyft Filings: Swyft Filings has more than 26,000 customer reviews online, and almost all of them are highly positive. Their satisfied customers often compliment their support reps for the excellent service they receive, and also comment on how easy Swyft Filings makes the business 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
Swyft Filings: With Swyft Filings, you can access their customer support team via phone, email, or web chat. In our experience, their response times are quite fast, and their representatives are usually able to answer our questions quickly and accurately. They don’t particularly stand out from the crowd in this area, but they certainly hold their own.
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
Swyft Filings: Swyft Filings was created in 2012 by a lawyer, but other than the fact that they’ve helped form tens of thousands of businesses, there is little else on their website regarding their track record.
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
Swyft Filings (4.2/5): Swyft Filings has several advantages when compared to most competitors, like their low LLC service pricing and strong customer reviews. We have a very slight preference for Swyft Filings over BizFilings for registered agent service.
BizFilings (4.1/5): BizFilings doesn’t really excel in any specific way. Their pricing and features are all acceptable, but not overly impressive. They have a slim advantage over Swyft Filings for LLC formations.
Our Favorite Service – Zen Business (4.9/5): While we appreciate some aspects of what Harbor Compliance and Swyft Filings 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.