ZenBusiness vs LegalZoom vs Northwest vs Incfile: LLC Formation Service Comparison (2026)

Four Services, One Promise: We Will Form Your LLC

If you are starting an LLC in 2026, you have probably narrowed your options to four services: ZenBusiness, LegalZoom, Northwest Registered Agent, and Incfile. All four dominate search results, all four have thousands of reviews, and all four promise to handle LLC formation quickly and affordably.

They deliver on that promise. Formation is the easy part. The question most founders do not ask until after they have paid is: what happens after the LLC is formed? Specifically, what do these services actually provide when it comes to getting a bank account, establishing a physical business presence, and passing the KYB verification that every bank requires?

This comparison covers what each service does well, where each falls short, and the gap that all four share.

ZenBusiness: Fast Formation, Good Compliance Alerts

Pricing: Starter at $0 (plus state fees), Pro at $199/year, Premium at $349/year.

ZenBusiness has become the default recommendation in most LLC formation guides, and for good reason. Their Starter tier genuinely costs $0 beyond state filing fees. Formation is typically processed within 2-4 weeks on the free tier, with expedited options available at higher tiers.

What ZenBusiness does well:

• Formation filing is straightforward and well-guided
• Compliance alerts remind you about annual reports and other deadlines
• The Pro tier includes an Operating Agreement template and EIN filing
• The Premium tier includes a basic website and domain
• Customer support is responsive and available via chat and phone

What ZenBusiness does not do:

• Does not provide a physical business address for banking purposes
• Does not provide utility bills or proof of commercial occupancy
• The registered agent address they provide is flagged in bank KYB systems
• Does not assist with bank account applications or KYB preparation
• Does not provide a sublease or any document proving physical space usage

ZenBusiness excels at the formation step. But formation is step one. For a detailed breakdown of what happens after ZenBusiness finishes their part, see What Happens After ZenBusiness: The Post-Formation Checklist.

LegalZoom: Brand Recognition, Aggressive Upsells

Pricing: Basic at $0 (plus state fees), Pro at $249/year, Premium at $299/year (includes attorney consultation).

LegalZoom is the oldest and most recognized name in the space. They were the first to make online LLC formation accessible to non-lawyers. That brand recognition comes with a price: LegalZoom is generally the most expensive option for what you get, and the upsell experience during checkout is aggressive.

What LegalZoom does well:

• Strong brand recognition that some founders find reassuring
• The Premium tier includes a 30-minute attorney consultation
• Formation is reliable, though not the fastest
• They offer a wide range of additional legal services beyond formation
• Their Operating Agreement templates have been reviewed by attorneys

What LegalZoom does not do:

• Does not provide a physical business address for banking
• Does not provide utility bills or proof of commercial presence
• Their registered agent address is flagged just like every other RA address
• The checkout process adds multiple paid add-ons by default
• Does not help with bank account applications or address verification

LegalZoom's value proposition centers on legal services beyond formation. If you need ongoing legal support, their Premium tier may be worth considering. But for the core formation-to-banking pipeline, they leave the same gap as everyone else.

Northwest Registered Agent: Privacy-Focused, Transparent Pricing

Pricing: Formation at $39 (plus state fees), Registered Agent at $125/year (free first year with formation).

Northwest takes a different approach from the other three. They are smaller, more privacy-focused, and notably more transparent about pricing. There are no hidden upsells during checkout. They use their own address for registered agent service rather than outsourcing it, and they scan and forward legal documents digitally.

What Northwest does well:

• Most transparent pricing in the industry with no hidden add-ons
• Free registered agent service for the first year with formation purchase
• Strong privacy stance: they do not sell customer data
• Uses their own offices rather than third-party RA addresses
• Document scanning and forwarding is included with RA service
• Customer service is US-based and consistently well-reviewed

What Northwest does not do:

• Does not provide a physical business address for banking
• Does not provide utility bills or commercial occupancy proof
• Their registered agent address, while their own, is still flagged by bank KYB systems due to entity density
• Does not assist with bank applications or KYB preparation
• Does not offer website building or domain services

Northwest is the best choice if privacy and pricing transparency are your priorities. But even Northwest's RA address will fail bank verification. For more on why registered agent addresses get rejected by banks, read Can You Use ZenBusiness Address for a Bank Account?.

Incfile: Similar to ZenBusiness, Budget-Friendly

Pricing: Silver at $0 (plus state fees), Gold at $199/year, Platinum at $299/year.

Incfile (now part of the Tailor Brands family) follows a nearly identical model to ZenBusiness. Free formation at the base tier, with paid tiers adding compliance monitoring, EIN filing, and Operating Agreements. Incfile was one of the first to offer $0 formation, and they process a high volume of filings.

What Incfile does well:

• Free formation tier is genuinely free beyond state fees
• Includes free registered agent service for the first year
• Dashboard is clean and shows compliance deadlines
• Formation processing is generally fast
• Good for straightforward, single-state LLCs

What Incfile does not do:

• Does not provide a physical business address
• Does not provide utility bills or sublease agreements
• Their registered agent address is a known RA location in bank databases
• Does not help with bank account opening or KYB preparation
• Limited customer support compared to the other three

Incfile is a solid budget option for formation. But like the others, their service ends right where the hard part begins.

Side-by-Side Comparison Table

Here is how all four stack up across the features that matter for formation and post-formation needs:

Formation Filing: ZenBusiness $0 / LegalZoom $0 / Northwest $39 / Incfile $0

Registered Agent (Year 1): ZenBusiness $199 (or included in Pro) / LegalZoom $249 / Northwest Free with formation / Incfile Free with formation

Registered Agent (Ongoing): ZenBusiness $199/yr / LegalZoom $249/yr / Northwest $125/yr / Incfile $119/yr

Formation Speed (Standard): ZenBusiness 2-4 weeks / LegalZoom 2-4 weeks / Northwest 3-5 days / Incfile 1-4 weeks

EIN Filing: ZenBusiness Pro tier / LegalZoom Pro tier / Northwest $50 add-on / Incfile Gold tier

Operating Agreement: ZenBusiness Pro tier / LegalZoom Pro tier / Northwest $100 add-on / Incfile Gold tier

Compliance Reminders: ZenBusiness All tiers / LegalZoom Pro tier / Northwest Included / Incfile Gold tier

Annual Report Filing: ZenBusiness Premium tier / LegalZoom Premium tier / Northwest $100 add-on / Incfile Platinum tier

Physical Business Address: ZenBusiness No / LegalZoom No / Northwest No / Incfile No

Utility Bill Provision: ZenBusiness No / LegalZoom No / Northwest No / Incfile No

Bank KYB Assistance: ZenBusiness No / LegalZoom No / Northwest No / Incfile No

The Gap All Four Share

Look at the last three rows of that comparison. Every single service answers "No" to physical business address, utility bill provision, and bank KYB assistance. This is not a criticism of these services. They are formation services. They do formation well.

But formation is not where founders get stuck. Founders get stuck at the bank. And every bank in 2026 runs KYB verification that checks your business address against commercial databases. A registered agent address, no matter which of these four services provides it, will trigger flags in those databases.

The registered agent address exists for one purpose: receiving legal documents like service of process. It was never designed to serve as a business operating address. Banks know this, and their automated KYB tools are specifically programmed to detect and flag RA addresses.

This creates what we call the formation-to-operations gap. You have a perfectly formed LLC with a valid EIN and a competent registered agent. But you cannot open a bank account because you do not have a physical business address that passes KYB verification.

What You Need After Formation

Regardless of which service you choose for formation, here is what you will need to secure independently:

1. A physical business address — not a PO Box, not a virtual mailbox, not a registered agent address. A commercial address where your business has documented rights to occupy space. This typically means a sublease agreement at a commercial location.

2. Proof of occupancy — a signed lease or sublease agreement showing your LLC name, the physical address, and the term of occupancy. This is the document banks use to verify your business has a real location.

3. A utility bill or equivalent — some banks require a utility bill in the business name at the business address. This is harder to obtain than most founders expect.

4. An operating agreement — if your formation service did not include one, you need this before most bank applications.

5. A bank application strategy — knowing which banks are friendly to new LLCs, which ones have strict address requirements, and what order to apply in can save months of rejection cycles.

For a complete walkthrough of what comes after formation, read What Happens After ZenBusiness: The Post-Formation Checklist. For a broader view of what all-in-one LLC platforms tend to miss, see Doola, Firstbase, Incfile: What All-in-One LLC Platforms Miss.

Which Service Should You Choose?

For pure formation value, all four are competent. Here is a simplified decision framework:

• Choose ZenBusiness if you want a free tier with solid compliance alerts and do not need premium support.
• Choose LegalZoom if brand recognition matters to you or you want access to attorney consultations.
• Choose Northwest if you value privacy, transparent pricing, and US-based support.
• Choose Incfile if you want the cheapest possible path and do not need extensive support.

But understand that choosing a formation service is choosing who handles step one. The steps that actually determine whether your LLC becomes operational — address, banking, compliance — are not covered by any of these four services. Plan for that gap before you start, not after you hit the first bank rejection.