The limited liability company is an increasingly popular business structure in America, with thousands of new LLCs being formed every day. The LLC is basically 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.
While you can create your own LLC, the process for doing so varies from state to state, so there’s no uniform process for forming one. This can make it complicated and time-consuming. Some entrepreneurs choose to hire a business attorney to form their limited liability companies, but this route can be expensive, costing hundreds or even thousands of dollars in attorney’s fees.
The other option is to hire an LLC service to form your company. There are many companies that offer limited liability company formation services online, and it’s sometimes difficult to determine which one has your best interests in mind. If you’re looking to form your own LLC, but you’re not quite sure where to turn, we hope that our comprehensive reviews can help you decide.
In this review, we’ll take a close look at Incfile, one of the most popular service providers in the industry. Are they the right service to form your new LLC?
About Incfile
Incfile opened for business in 2004, and since then they’ve formed more than 500,000 LLCs and corporations. In 2018, they were named one of the 360 best entrepreneurial companies in America by Entrepreneur magazine.
On their website, Incfile outlines their “5 Really Good Reasons to Choose Incfile!” These reasons include the ability to talk to an incorporation specialist rather than a salesman, the ease of use associated with their platform, the value they provide, their focus on strictly providing business services, and their ongoing support.
A fun fact about Incfile is that they are one of only two companies we’re aware of that offers LLC formation service for free. All you need to pay is your state fee! This isn’t a barebones package either, as it includes a year of registered agent service.
30-Second Summary Of Our Review
Incfile Strengths
- Low price points – Incfile is one of only two companies we’re aware of that offer an LLC formation service package for free. All you need to do is pay your state fee, and they’ll take care of the rest!
- Thousands of positive customer reviews – Incfile has one of the best customer feedback reputations in this industry. They have thousands of positive reviews, and very few negative reviews to be found.
- 15+ years of experience – Many companies in this industry were just formed within the last few years. Incfile, however, has been in business since 2004, and they’ve served 500,000+ customers.
- One year registered agent service included – No matter which one of their formation packages you choose (even the free version), they’ll include 12 months of registered agent at no extra cost.
Incfile Weaknesses
- Platinum package is expensive – Their Platinum package costs $150 more than the Gold plan, but it only adds document templates, an upgraded binder and seal, and expedited filing.
- Lots of upsells – While Incfile’s baseline LLC formation package is free, you’ll have to navigate through plenty of upsells to order it.
Pricing & Additional Features
- Silver (FREE) – Incfile’s Silver package starts with the basics of formation, including the preparation and filing of your articles of organization. This package also includes 12 months of registered agent service and a statement and resignation of the organizer form to help you open a business bank account.
- Gold ($149) – This package includes everything from the Silver package, then adds lifetime access to their company alerts system, a federal tax ID number (EIN), a banking resolution, an operating agreement, and express shipping of all documents. In addition, if you want your LLC to be classified as an S corporation with the IRS, they will file the relevant forms.
- Platinum ($299) – This package includes everything from the Gold package, then adds expedited state filing which dramatically speeds up your turnaround time in most states, a collection of business contract templates written by an attorney, an embossing seal customized with your LLC info, and a third-party offer for a business website and domain name.
Incfile vs Other LLC Services
Incfile is one of the only companies in this industry that offers an LLC formation package that is free of formation fees — all you need to do is pay your own state fee.
Throw in their strong customer feedback, and it’s easy to see why Incfile is so popular. Still, there are lots of good options for formation service, and Incfile might not be the perfect fit for you.
For more information, take a look at our list of the top LLC websites available online.
Online Customer Reviews
Incfile truly shines when it comes to their customer feedback, as they have more than 32,000 reviews available on Shopper Approved, and 99% of them are positive. Their satisfied customers like to talk about how quickly and easily they can leverage Incfile’s services, and they also frequently compliment their support reps.
For customer feedback, Incfile has one of the best reputations in the online formation service industry.
Customer Service Quality
You can access Incfile’s customer support team via email, phone, or chat, and we have experience with all three options. Their response times are fast if you call them, as we’ve never had to wait on hold for more than a minute or two, but their email support unfortunately does not have the same level of responsiveness.
Our only other complaint about their customer service is that they often don’t expand much on their answers, keeping their responses short and to the point.
Main Reasons to Use Incfile
If you’re operating on a tight startup budget, Incfile’s offering of a free LLC formation service package is hard to pass up. In addition, their customer feedback is consistently positive.
Main Reasons Not to Use Incfile
For the most part, we don’t have any great reasons to avoid using Incfile’s services. However, if you want annual report service and other valuable features bundled in with your LLC formation, take a look at ZenBusiness. We also offer a lower first-year price point for registered agent service.
Conclusion