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 Rocket Lawyer and BizFilings. Which one is the better choice to form your new LLC and provide registered agent service?
30-Second Summary Of Rocket Lawyer VS. BizFilings
LLC formation and registered agent are just two of many services provided by Rocket Lawyer ― the centerpiece of their offerings is their legal services subscription, which provides access to qualified business attorneys and several other perks. Rocket Lawyer also receives strong customer feedback, indicating that most of their clients are pleased with their service.
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.
Overall, both of these companies have some advantages over the other, and in general we view them as equals. BizFilings has more valuable features in their LLC formation packages, but Rocket Lawyer’s customer feedback is an edge for them.
We Recommend Zen Business
These LLC Services vs Other Options
Rocket Lawyer checked into the #11 spot in our top LLC services guide, while their registered agent service came in at #5. As for BizFilings, they’re essentially the inverse of Rocket Lawyer in our rankings, as we have them at #6 on our LLC guide and 12th on the registered agent 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 review runs down our top 14 options, including a spotlight on Zen Business, our top pick.
Pricing & Additional Features
Rocket Lawyer:
- LLC formation ($99.99) – Rocket Lawyer has just one LLC formation package, and it includes no extra features beyond a business name check, and the drafting and filing your articles of organization. We will note that if you subscribe to Rocket Lawyer’s legal services plan for $39.99/month, they include LLC formation for free, as long as you’re a new client.
- Registered agent ($149.99/year) – They charge an annual fee of $149.99, although customers who subscribe to their legal services plan receive 25% off that rate. Rocket Lawyer’s registered agent is quite basic, providing the essentials but little else.
Who should use their services? For the most part, we recommend Rocket Lawyer to entrepreneurs who want their legal services subscription. Without subscribing to this plan, Rocket Lawyer’s prices are a bit too expensive to recommend. If you do think you’ll find value in the subscription, their offer of free LLC formation is a welcome one.
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
Rocket Lawyer: $249.98 (plus state fee)
BizFilings: $181 (plus state fee)
Customer Satisfaction
Rocket Lawyer: We found nearly 2,800 customer reviews for Rocket Lawyer on Trustpilot, Sitejabber, and Consumer Affairs. They receive far more positive feedback than negative, and above all else, their clients frequently discuss how easy their services are to use. In addition, customers seem quite pleased by the wide variety of services offered by Rocket Lawyer.
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
Rocket Lawyer: With Rocket Lawyer, you can access customer support via phone, web chat, or email. Our favorite aspect of this service is their extended operating hours, which run from 9am to 9pm ET every weekday. Aside from that, their representatives are easy to get in touch with, and they offer knowledgeable and professional service regardless of which medium you choose to reach out.
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
Rocket Lawyer: Rocket Lawyer has been in business since 2008, and they’ve served an impressive 20 million customers since then, although it’s unclear how many of those are business clients as opposed to individual customers. Overall, they’re the largest company in the legal services industry.
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
Rocket Lawyer (4.1/5): Rocket Lawyer provides decent value, although it’s clear that they would rather have customers sign up for their legal services subscription than purchase LLC formation and registered agent services a la carte. They have lots of experience and good reviews, so if you’re interested in their subscription plan they’re worth a look.
BizFilings (4.1/5): BizFilings doesn’t really excel in any specific way. Their pricing and features are all acceptable, but not overly impressive. In general, we prefer Rocket Lawyer’s value-per-dollar compared to BizFilings for registered agent service, although BizFilings has the advantage for LLC formations.
Our Favorite Service – Zen Business (4.9/5): While we appreciate some aspects of what Rocket Lawyer 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.