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 creation 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 Harbor Compliance and Incorporate.com. Which one is the better choice to form your new LLC and provide registered agent service?
30-Second Summary Of Harbor Compliance VS. Incorporate.com
Harbor Compliance offers affordable pricing for registered agent service, which is complemented by a rather robust collection of inviting attributes. However, their pricing for business formation service is far too high for us to be able to widely recommend them to form your LLC.
As for Incorporate.com, they’re one of the oldest companies in the business services industry, but they have poor customer reviews, high prices, and threadbare feature packages. Overall, we prefer Harbort Compliance, and it’s not a close competition.
We Recommend Zen Business
These LLC Services vs Other Options
Harbor Compliance earned the #13 spot on our LLC service guide, and checked into the seventh spot for registered agent service. As for Incorporate.com, they rank #14 in our LLC service guide, and they earned the #15 spot in our registered agent 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 review article runs down our top 14 options, including a spotlight on Zen Business, our top pick.
Pricing & Additional Features
Harbor Compliance:
- LLC formation (starts at $399) – Harbor Compliance’s base formation package includes the basics of LLC formation, including a name availability check, as well as the preparation and filing of your articles of organization. In addition, you’ll receive one year of registered agent service ($99/year after that), a federal tax ID number (EIN), and a customizable LLC operating agreement.
- Registered agent ($99/year) – Their registered agent service is available for $99 per year, although if you pay for more than one year in advance ― or purchase service in at least four states ― Harbor Compliance will provide a discount of up to 10%. Additionally, you’ll receive access to software that helps you track and file your annual reports, making it easy to remain compliant with your state government.
Who should use their services? We really like what Harbor Compliance has to offer when it comes to registered agent. Anyone looking for low prices with great customer support should be interested in their registered agent service. We also appreciate their LLC formation service for entrepreneurs who need some specialized assistance, but their pricing is too high. If they dropped their prices, they would skyrocket their way up our list of best LLC services, but as is, they’re stuck near the bottom.
Incorporate.com:
- LLC formation (starts at $79) – Their base formation package includes only the preparation and filing of your articles of organization. We’ll note that while this price isn’t terrible, their top two formation packages cost $574 and $654.
- Registered agent ($235/year) – Incorporate.com charges $235 per year for registered agent service, with no volume discounts available. In addition, if you want them to file your Change of Registered Agent form with your state, you will also need to pay the state fee, and Incorporate.com also requires you to pay the state expediting fee. As for additional features, they do include access to their CSCNavigator online compliance dashboard that helps you keep track of important filing due dates.
Who should use their services? We would only ever recommend Incorporate.com to people who prioritize longevity above all else. Even then, there are other highly experienced options that provide more bang for your buck than Incorporate.com does.
Total Price for LLC Formation + 1 Year Registered Agent
Harbor Compliance: $399 (plus state fee)
Incorporate.com: $334 (plus state fee)
Customer Satisfaction
Harbor Compliance: We found 77 customer reviews on Google for Harbor Compliance, with an average score of 4.6 out of 5 stars, along with a 4.8-star rating with the Better Business Bureau (19 reviews), and a 4.8 score on Facebook (24 reviews). Their satisfied clients like to point out Harbor Compliance’s excellent customer support, often thanking their representatives by name in their reviews.
Incorporate.com: We found just 19 reviews on third-party sites, with 14 on the FitSmallBusiness website and another five from the Better Business Bureau. Only one of those 19 reviews is positive. Their unsatisfied clients often discuss how high Incorporate.com’s prices are, and also complain that registered agent service is sometimes added onto their formation service orders without the client’s consent.
Quality of Customer Service
Harbor Compliance: Harbor Compliance assigns a dedicated account manager (they call them compliance specialists) to oversee your account. These well-informed employees draw from their considerable knowledge base to help you navigate the nuances of business ownership and compliance. You can reach them via phone or email, or simply fill out the contact form on their website.
Incorporate.com: Overall, we were pleased with the quality of Incorporate.com’s customer support department. They offer support over the phone, via email, or using their online chat function. With all three options, we received efficient responses. Their representatives were pleasant to talk to, while also seeming quite knowledgeable, and expanding upon their answers as necessary.
Company Stats and Track Record
Harbor Compliance: Harbor Compliance is a relatively recent addition to the business services industry, as they’ve served 25,000+ organizations since opening in 2012. There are certainly more experienced online formation services, but Harbor Compliance is finding success as a midsize company.
Incorporate.com: Incorporate.com opened in 1899, and they’ve served 750,000+ clients since then. Over the years, their name has changed several times ― from Corporation Service Company to The Company Corporation to Incorporate.com ― but the core business has stayed the same.
Final Scores and Our Recommendation
We Recommend Zen Business
Harbor Compliance (3.9/5): We’re impressed by Harbor Compliance’s registered agent service, especially considering the strong price point. However, their LLC formation packages are expensive, and they’re only really worth it if you need their top-notch customer support and other advanced features.
Incorporate.com (3.6/5): We’re not impressed with what Incorporate.com has to offer their LLC formation or registered agent clients. Their prices are too high, their customer satisfaction is too low, and they just don’t stand out in any positive way.
Our Favorite Service – Zen Business (4.9/5): While we appreciate some aspects of what Harbor Compliance and Incorporate.com 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.