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 Incorporate.com. Which one is the better choice to form your new LLC and provide registered agent service?
30-Second Summary Of Rocket Lawyer VS. Incorporate.com
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.
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 Rocket Lawyer, and it’s not a close competition.
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 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 comparison 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.
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
Rocket Lawyer: $249.98 (plus state fee)
Incorporate.com: $314 (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.
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
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.
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
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.
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
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.
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 Rocket Lawyer 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.