Incorporate.com vs LegalZoom: Which Is Right For You 2024?
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($198+ State Fees)
($178+ State Fees)
Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com has a century of experience having been formed in 1899. Since it was established, they have helped form hundreds of thousands of businesses.
A lot of companies have been produced since it was established but this particular company has found a way to remain relevant in the business for so long. We are going to find out how good this service is by comparing it to one of the company’s most popular services.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom was established with an aim of taking legal services online. Two years after its establishment, the company achieved its goal when it launched ten web-based products that focused on business formation services, estate planning, and intellectual property protection.
Because of the variety of services offered, the company has served a million customers in various ways. Limited liability company formation services form the larger part of this number.
Though their business formation services are not one of the cheapest you will find in the market, it is still affordable, particularly the lowest package.
Our Swyft Filings vs LegalZoom comparison focuses on:
- Best overall pricing and value
- Good track record and experience
- Best common features
- Great customer support
- Best ease of use
- Best LLC formation
- Speed of formation
- Best registered agent
| Incorporate.com | LegalZoom | |
| Basic Formation | $198 | $178 |
| Registered Agent | $235 per year | $299 per year |
| Full Formation | $433 | $477 |
| Detail | Read Review | Read Review |
| Link |
Incorporate.com vs LegalZoom – Brand Comparison Details
Best Overall Pricing and Value: LegalZoom
Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com Starter package is their best deal. The package is affordable but will have your articles of the organization prepared and filed on your behalf. However, there are no more features included in this package other than preparation and filing articles of organization and name check.
The registered agent service is included in their top packages that are overpriced. In fact, to get some of the vital features such as Employer Identification Number you will have to purchase the registered agent service. Overall, this service doesn’t offer much value.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom Basic package will cost you a little lower than what the Incorporate.com entry package will cost but include much more features. In addition to name search and preparation and filing of the articles of the organization, LegalZoom Basic package includes lifetime customer support and banking resolution.
The two upper packages, Standard and Express Gold packages are not as expensive as those of the corresponding Inmcorpoarte.com top packages but have better features.
In addition to business formation, LegalZoom also offers legal services. If your business will handle legal documents or will require attorney consultation, this is a great service.
Best Track Record & Experience: LegalZoom
Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com is among the oldest companies in the industry. It opened its door in 1899 and has helped more than 750,000 businesses in various ways. For that reason, they are among the industry leaders when it comes to longevity and customer experience.
However, the company has very little feedback despite being in the industry for that long. Besides, most of the few customer reviews that you will come across online are negative.
LegalZoom
Legalzoom was established ten years after Incorporate.com but boasts a much more customer volume. The company has helped more than 4 million people in various ways, out of which more than 2 million are business formation services.
LegalZoom customer reviews are a mixed bag. You are likely to find as many positive reviews as negative. Besides, there are a lot of reviews online which sounds better than the case of Incorporate.com.
That said, Incorporate.com only boasts industry longevity. LegalZoom has a better customer volume and reviews.
Best Common Features: LegalZoom
Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com ‘s lower package is a barebone with only articles of organization filings service and name availability search. The two top packages tend to include other essential features. These include the registered agent service, operating agreement, EIN, and more.
Though they also offer annual reports and access to online tools features with the middle package, these features are only available to customers who add the registered agent service.
LegalZoom
In addition to name search and preparation and filing of the articles of the organization, LegalZoom Basic package includes lifetime customer support and banking resolution.
The two upper packages, Standard and Express Gold packages will add several essentials to what the Basic package offers. These include membership certificate and seal, expedited filing, and express shipping.
Best Customer Support: A tie
Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com offers email, phone, and direct chat communication options. Both channels guarantee a quick response from their experienced support team. However, for a prompt response. You should use chat and phone calls as the email takes a little longer – but within 24 hours.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom also offers great customer support service. You can reach out to them through phone or email. Even though they respond to phone calls immediately, the email option usually delays. This could be because the company handles a lot of emails. It’s a big company so that is understandable.
Besides, LegalZoom has extended availability time via phone. You can reach out to the support team through weekdays and Saturdays. On the other hand, Incorporate.com is not clear on its availability time.
Best Ease of Use: Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com
Forming and maintaining business with Incorporate.com is quick and simple. They have a compliance tool and annual report service that will help you keep in compliance with the state.
However, be ready to meet not less than seven upsells during your business formation. The company always tries to get you to add a compliance tool, EIN, operating agreement, registered agent service, and FedEx shipping among others. Adding all these upsells will not only delay your formation but you will be shocked with the total price just in your first year.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom’s website is modern and well organized as well. The application process isn’t so detailed and maybe fast.
However, LegalZoom will put you through several upsells as well. Adding all the upsells will cost you more than that of Incorporate.com.
That said, these two services don’t have the best website that you would recommend to someone. However, the Incorporate.com website has a slight edge.
Best LLC Formation: LegalZoom
Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com will prepare and file your articles of organization and still offer you necessary features to keep your LLC noncompliant with the state including a compliance tool.
However, Incorporate.com is not the best for LLC formation because their LLC packages are overpriced. Besides, their entry-level LLC formation package which is a bit cheaper is a barebone, with only name availability search and preparation and filing of articles of organization as the only vital features.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom doesn’t have a good price for LLC formation as well, but their pricing is much better than that of Incorporate.com. Their best deal is the Economy package that will prepare and file your articles of organization, offer name availability search services, and bank resolution at an affordable price.
The company’s major undoing is excluding the registered agent service in all their formation packages. A registered agent is a mandatory requirement for LLC formation in the USA.
Though these two companies are not the best I would recommend for LLC formation, LegalZoom seems to be better than Incorporate.com in this area.
Best Registered Agent Services: Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com
A registered agent is a mandatory LLC formation requirement in the USA. This agent can either be an individual or a business entity. The responsibility of the registered agent is to receive vital documents on the behalf of your company and alert you on important deadlines.
Incorparate.com will serve as your registered agent with their middle package. That means, they don’t include the service in their lowest package. Besides, their charges for the service are high but better than some services.
LegalZoom
LegalZoom on the other hand doesn’t include the registered agent service in any of their packages. To have the service, you will have to purchase it a la carte. The worst part, their charges for this service is to the industry’s expensive end.
That said, given that some top companies will offer you this service for up to one year for free, LegalZoom and Incorporate.com are not the best for someone who is interested in registered agent service. However, Incorporate.com has a slight edge in the area due to the fact that they don’t exclude it totally in their packages.
Best Speed of Formation: Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com bases turnaround time on the state of formation. The estimate for all the 50 states can be found on their websites.
Though they don’t commit to the same-day processing speed that some services will promise you, they guarantee quick filing once you provide the required information. When you reach the bottom of your order form, the company will give you an estimate of your turnaround time for both standard and expedited filing.
LegalZoom
Unlike Incorporate.com, LegalZoom’s turnaround time is based on the formation package you choose rather than the state of formation. Their cheapest package will process your application within 30 business days. The middle package will reduce that by half while the most expensive package will only take 7-10 business days to process your application.
Which Should You Choose?
Your choice will definitely depend on your business needs.
Choose Incorporate.com if:
You can trust a company that has been in the industry for a long time. Incorporate.com has the best longevity in the industry.
Choose LegalZoom if:
Looking for brand power, LegalZoom boasts a great customer volume. Besides, you can save some money because it is cheaper than Incorporate.com.
Final thought
These two companies are popular and have been there for a long time. While both of them offer an average value and have formed several businesses, LegalZoom seems to be the winner here. It is the best option to form an LLC in this LegalZoom vs Incorporate.com because it will form your LLC at a better price point.
But in the larger picture, none of these two services are our top pick. We recommend browsing through our website so that you learn what other services have to offer.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
These two services have several upsells on their sites. However, LegalZoom’s upsells slightly outnumber those of Incorporate.com. Before you even choose the package you would want to purchase, LegalZoom attempts $1,080 worth of upsells.
These two services concentrate on what they do best, that is, business formation. They don’t attempt any offer from a third-party website and therefore don’t share your information.
The biggest advantage of Incorporate.com is its longevity that compares to no other service. The biggest advantage of LegalZoom over Incorporate.com is their reasonable LLC formation pricing.
Unfortunately, neither of these services offer publication services. That said, if you are forming a business in a state that requires publication services such as New York, Pennsylvania, and Georgia, you better look for another service.
