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 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 Northwest and Zen Business. Which one is the better choice to form your new LLC and provide registered agent service?
30-Second Summary Of Northwest Registered Agent VS. Zen Business
We Recommend Zen Business
Northwest has great prices for both LLC formation and registered agent. More notably, they have outstanding personalized customer support.
Zen Business automates several different parts of the business formation process in order to offer their customers the lowest possible price points. Zen Business has only been around for a few years, but they’ve steadily increased their foothold in the online business services industry, with thousands of customers served to date.
Both services are reliable, easy to use, and have some of the best prices available online. We feel comfortable recommending both of these incorporation services. Overall, we do have a slight preference for Zen Business, but it’s a very close competition.
Pricing & Additional Features
Zen Business:
- LLC formation (starts at $39) – Zen Business will form your LLC for just $39 (except for your state fee) with the following features: a business name availability search, the preparation and filing of your articles of organization, registered agent service, and a sample operating agreement.
- Registered agent ($99/year) – Registered agent service from Zen Business costs $99 per year, although you can get your first year for free if you purchase business formation service from them. Aside from the basics of serving as your registered agent, this service does not include any additional features.
Who should use their services? Zen Business is our #1 overall pick for LLC formation service, and they came in second in our registered agent list as well. With that in mind, we strongly recommend them for anyone looking to form a business and/or acquire registered agent service. Especially considering that low $39 price point to combine both services, how can you go wrong?
Northwest:
- LLC formation (starts at $225) – Their baseline formation package includes the preparation of your articles of organization, and they’ll also file these documents with your state to officially form your company. This package also includes 12 months of registered agent service.
- Registered agent ($125/year) – Northwest has a flat rate of $125 per year for registered agent service, although if you require service in five or more states, they’ll drop that rate to an even more affordable $100 price point. Their local scanning is a great selling point, and they also include free online tools like annual report compliance reminders that can be quite helpful.
Who should use their services? Northwest is our #1 pick for registered agent service, and our #3 choice for LLC formation. We think the best reason to use their services instead of Zen Business would be if you think your business could benefit from the highly personalized customer support network provided by Northwest. Their local scanning is also a great way to cut down on your junk mail. Otherwise, Zen Business does have lower prices and equally strong services.
Total Price for LLC Formation + 1 Year Registered Agent
Zen Business: $39 (plus state fee)
Northwest: $225 (plus state fee)
Customer Satisfaction
Zen Business: We found 1,145 Zen Business reviews on Trustpilot, and 97% of them are positive in nature. Their reviewers clearly enjoy their affordable business entity formation service, and they also frequently comment on the ease of use provided by Zen Business.
Northwest: We were able to track down 124 reviews of Northwest Registered Agent’s services ― 100 on Google, and another 24 on Better Business Bureau. Of those reviews, the vast majority are positive. In their positive reviews, Northwest’s customers often point out how helpful their customer support representatives are, and how easy it is to leverage their services.
Quality of Customer Service
Zen Business: You can reach the Zen Business customer support team by phone, email, or web chat. Their hours of operation are a relatively typical 9am to 8pm ET, Monday through Friday. In general, Zen Business has a service department that can compete with most of the other companies in this industry. Their representatives always reply quickly, and they seem to be knowledgeable as well, in our experience.
Northwest: Northwest is well-known for their Corporate Guides, which is what they call their support representatives. Each Northwest client is connected with one of these representatives, and you can contact that person directly if you ever have any questions or concerns.
Their Corporate Guides are quite knowledgeable about a variety of issues that you may come across as a client, and in our opinion they are the best in the industry. In addition, their response times are always impressive, as they respond to all emails and calls quickly, and they’ve provided in-depth answers to every question we’ve ever asked them.
Company Stats and Track Record
Zen Business: Zen Business is a recent addition to the business formation industry, as they just opened in 2015. The Texas-based company is trying to flip the online business services market on its head by offering highly affordable services that still include everything you need to maintain a compliant business entity.
Northwest: Northwest opened for business in 1998. Since then, they’ve helped around two million customers. They also form hundreds of new LLCs and corporations each day, which is an impressive customer volume. Overall, Northwest isn’t one of the industry giants, but they’re not a small mom-and-pop operation either.
Final Scores and Our Recommendation
We Recommend Zen Business
Zen Business (4.9/5): While we really appreciate Northwest Registered Agent, 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 features, and you won’t have to sacrifice anything when it comes to features.
Northwest (4.7/5): Northwest is our favorite registered agent provider, and also one of our top picks for LLC formations. Their outstanding prices and highly personalized customer support truly put them over the top, and their local scanning as your registered agent is a nice bonus. We think you’ll be very pleased no matter which of these companies you use.