Somewhere after the first few clients start asking for a W-9 or a contract with a business name on it, most freelancers start looking into an LLC — mainly for the liability separation between personal and business assets, and sometimes for a cleaner path to being taxed as an S-corp later. Actually filing one is no longer a job for a lawyer: a handful of online services will file the paperwork with your state for a flat fee, and the real differences between them show up less in the formation itself and more in what renews every year afterward.
Coming from a consulting background, I default to evaluating pricing structure and long-term cost before comparing features line by line.
What actually matters when comparing these services
- The registered-agent renewal fee, not the formation price — almost every service forms your LLC cheaply (or free) and makes its money on a required registered-agent service that renews annually, often at a much higher rate in year two
- Whether a registered agent is bundled at all in year one — some services charge separately for it from day one, which changes the real first-year cost
- How much the "starter" tier actually includes — an EIN, an operating agreement template, and compliance-deadline reminders are sometimes bundled and sometimes upsells
- Turnaround time, since standard filing without a rush fee can take one to three weeks depending on the state and provider
Quick comparison
| Service | Formation cost | Registered agent | Renewal cost (year 2+) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Registered Agent | $39 + state fee | Included free, year 1 | Flat $125/year | Freelancers who want one predictable price with no upsells |
| ZenBusiness | $0 + state fee (Starter) | Not included — separate add-on | ~$199/year for registered agent | Freelancers who want a fuller dashboard (compliance tracking, banking, bookkeeping tools) |
| Bizee (formerly IncFile) | $0 + state fee | Included free, year 1 | Varies by add-on tier | The lowest-cost way to get an LLC filed with a registered agent included |
| LegalZoom | $0-149 + state fee (tiered) | Not included — separate add-on | ~$299/year for registered agent | Freelancers who specifically want the LegalZoom name and don't mind paying more for it |
Northwest Registered Agent — the flat-rate default
Northwest's pitch is deliberately simple: $39 plus your state's filing fee gets your LLC formed, a free operating agreement, and a full year of registered-agent service included — no tiers, no add-on upsells during checkout. The renewal after year one is a flat $125/year that the company has a track record of not raising on existing customers, which matters more than it sounds once you're comparing five-year costs against a service that renews at $199 or $299. The trade-off is a plainer dashboard than ZenBusiness's — Northwest isn't trying to be a business-operations platform, just a formation and registered-agent service done well.
Best for: freelancers who want the lowest predictable long-term cost and don't need a bundled banking or bookkeeping dashboard.
ZenBusiness — the fullest dashboard, if you use it
ZenBusiness's Starter plan files your LLC for $0 plus the state fee, which is the cheapest sticker price in this comparison — but it doesn't include a registered agent, which most states require, so that gets added separately. Where ZenBusiness earns its higher effective cost is the surrounding platform: compliance-deadline tracking, an operating agreement template, banking referrals, and (on higher tiers) an EIN and bookkeeping tools, all in one dashboard rather than assembled from separate services. The Pro tier ($199/year) and Premium tier ($349-399/year) bundle progressively more of this.
Best for: freelancers who'd genuinely use a compliance-tracking dashboard and don't mind paying more for it being bundled in one place.
Bizee — the cheapest all-in cost for year one
Bizee (formerly IncFile) matches ZenBusiness's $0 formation fee but, unlike ZenBusiness, includes a full year of registered-agent service free — making it the lowest total first-year cost of any service in this comparison once you factor in that most competitors charge for the agent separately. The trade-off shows up in year two, when the registered-agent renewal (and which add-ons you picked up along the way) determines the real ongoing cost, similar to the ZenBusiness calculation.
Best for: freelancers prioritizing the lowest possible cost to get the LLC filed and a registered agent covered in year one specifically.
LegalZoom — the recognizable name, at a premium
LegalZoom's core advantage is brand recognition and a longer track record than some competitors, plus a broader menu of add-on legal services (trademark filing, business contracts) if you need them later. None of that changes the math on registered-agent renewal, which runs roughly $299/year — the highest of the group, and a gap that compounds meaningfully over three to five years compared to Northwest's flat $125.
Best for: freelancers who specifically want LegalZoom's name and broader legal-services menu and are comfortable paying more for it.
Do you actually need an LLC yet?
An LLC mainly protects personal assets from business liabilities and, depending on income and state, can open the door to S-corp tax election later — it doesn't reduce self-employment tax by itself, and sole proprietors can operate perfectly legally without one. It tends to make the most sense once you're carrying real liability risk (client work with potential for costly disputes) or your income is high enough that an S-corp election's tax savings would outweigh the extra payroll administration. Below that point, many freelancers reasonably stay a sole proprietor and revisit the decision as income grows — our business insurance guide covers professional liability coverage, which solves a similar risk problem without the paperwork of forming an entity.
Bottom line
For most freelancers, Northwest Registered Agent's flat $125/year renewal and no-upsell checkout make it the safest default once you look past the initial formation price. Bizee is the strongest pick if minimizing first-year, all-in cost is the priority. Reach for ZenBusiness specifically if you'll actually use its compliance-tracking dashboard, and LegalZoom only if its name and add-on legal services matter enough to you to pay the highest renewal fee in this comparison. Once the entity exists, the accounting side changes too — see our Xero vs QuickBooks comparison for what changes once you're invoicing as a registered business rather than a sole proprietor.
This article is for general informational purposes and isn't legal or tax advice. Whether an LLC or S-corp election makes sense depends on your income, state, and liability exposure — consult a business attorney or accountant for your specific situation. Pricing and plan tiers change frequently; confirm current details directly on each provider's site.