Swyft Filings vs LegalZoom: Business Formation Reviews 2024

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Reviewed by Jazmin Castello - MBA
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swift fillings comparison
Rating
4.0/5

($299+ State Fees)

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legalzoom comparison
Rating
4.0/5

($79+ State Fees)

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Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings was established in 2015 by experienced lawyers who saw the need to automate the business filing process. The aim was to make it easier for consumers and small business owners to launch their businesses without having to find, hire, and pay high-priced and uncertain legal fees.

Their services were specifically designed to help you set up your company in the most affordable way. With their staff consisting of incorporation specialists, the company is capable of helping with every step of incorporation service regardless of the type of business or where it is located.

Today, Swyft Filings has helped thousands of people to set up their businesses. But is it the right one for your business? Let’s find out from our Swyft Filings vs LegalZoom comparison.

LegalZoom 

LegalZoom was established much earlier than Swyft Filings. The aim was not only to help you form a business but to make legal services widely available by taking them online. Two years after it was founded in 1999, the company launched ten web-based products that focused on business formation services, estate planning, and intellectual property protection.

Since then, the company has been commanding large traffic and as of now, it has served more than 4 million individuals and businesses in various ways. Though they don’t focus on business formation alone, they have helped not less than 2 million businesses off the ground. 

Our Swyft Filings vs LegalZoom comparison focuses on:

  • Overall pricing and value
  • Track record and experience
  • Common features
  • Customer support
  • Ease of use
  • Best LLC formation
  • Best registered agent
  • Speed of formation
Swyft FillingsLegalZoom
Basic Formation$84$178
Registered Agent$149$299
Full Formation$680$477
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Swyft Filings vs LegalZoom – Brand Comparison Details

Best Overall Pricing and Value: Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings basic package is one of the cheapest you will find in the market. Their cheaper package, the basic plan, includes all the necessary LLC formation features, including free domain name search, filing of your articles of organization, and more. In addition, the basic package also offers a 30-minute business tax consultation and compliance alert.  

The Standard package is affordable too and will add more features including operating agreement, Federal tax ID, and Banking resolution. 

Though the Deluxe plan adds more features such as a business corporate kit on top of what the Standard package offers, it’s one of the most expensive packages in the market. Besides, the company doesn’t include the registered agent service in any of its packages. But their annual charges for this service are cheaper than that of LegalZoom. 

LegalZoom

Though LegalZoom is a popular LLC service, we realized it doesn’t translate to a better value due to their overpriced packages. For LLC formation, the Economy plan is the best deal because it is a bit cheaper. 

The Economy package includes name availability search, preparation and filing of articles of organization, lifetime customer support, and peace of mind reviews. The two top packages add more features such as custom operating agreement, membership certificates, expedited filing, annual reports, 

That said, both LegalZoom and Swyft Filings don’t include the registered agent service in their packages which is a great setback. But considering SwiftFiling basic package and their cheaper charges on registered agent service, it clearly offers greater value than LegalZoom.

Best Track Record & Experience: LegalZoom

Swyft Filings 

Swyft Filings is still a young company in the space of business formation. The company has only served thousands of businesses since its establishment in 2015. 

Swyft Filings’ biggest strength is the customer feedback. Out of over 21,000 customer reviews we encountered online, around 90% were either 4 or 5 stars. 

LegalZoom

LegalZoom was formed in 1999 and has helped more than 4 million customers in various ways. Though they don’t focus only on business formation services, they have formed more than 2 million businesses. 

However, their online customer reviews aren’t as good as that of Swyft Filings. There are as many 5-star ratings as 1-star on third-party websites. Being a large company, you can expect such mixed reactions from customers. 

Best Common Features: Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings

The company boasts excellent customer support, satisfaction guarantee, and next-day processing speed. Additional LLC services include registered agent service, EIN, and LLC operating agreement. 

LegalZoom

LegalZoom also boasts great customer support and one of the industry’s best satisfaction guarantees. Their processing speed isn’t bad either. 

The company also offers additional services to help keep your business in compliance. These include LLC operating agreement, EIN, annual report, and registered agent as well.

However, LegalZoom packages are more expensive and additional services like registered agent service are charged expensively. 

Best Customer Support: A tie

Swyft Filings

There are three options you can use to reach out to the Swyft Filings customer support team. You can reach out to the support team via phone, email, or live chat. Whichever channel you choose, the company support team is quick in their response.

The company customer support team is available via phone on Monday – Friday from 9 am to 6 pm Central Standard Time.

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, their email address is usually delayed. This could be because the company handles a lot of emails – it’s a big company.

We loved the fact that the company has extended phone availability time. You can reach out to the support team from Monday to Friday from 7 a.m to 5 p.m. PT and Saturday from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT. A big advantage to those who want their issues addressed as they come. 

Swyft filings channels of communication are all effective while LegalZoom has extended availability time. This is why I have settled for a tie here. 

Best Ease of Use: Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings’ website is organized and easy to use. Application is fast and straightforward and will not take you more than 15 minutes as long as you have all the information ready. Though you may meet a few upsells, you can easily skip them and move to the next page. 

LegalZoom

LegalZoom’s website is modern and well organized as well. The application process isn’t so detailed and maybe fast.

However, be ready to go through a series of upsells that may not only delay your application but will raise your total expenditure should you opt for some of them. 

Best LLC Formation: Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings is a great LLC formation service. Their basic formation package is among the cheapest you will find in the market. Despite that, the package includes all the necessary features that you may require to form an LLC. Though they don’t offer free registered agent service to new subscribers, their charges for the service are affordable. 

LegalZoom

As mentioned before, LegalZoom is not a cheap LLC formation service. Their basic package is expensive for LLC formation yet doesn’t include registered agent service. Besides, LegalZoom is a big company that doesn’t focus only on business formation. LLC formation service is just among many other services that they offer and chances are, the processing may delay. 

Best Registered Agent Services: Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings

For you to form an LLC in the US, you must have a registered agent. A registered 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. 

Swyft Filings can act as your registered agent at affordable annual charges. However, this service is not included in their packages. 

LegalZoom

LegalZoom doesn’t include registered agent service in any of their packages. Besides, their annual charges for this service are higher than that of many services out there.

That said, both Swyft Filings and LegalZoom are not the best when it comes to registered agent services. However, I would recommend SwiftFilings over LegalZoom for someone interested in the registered agent service due to their relatively lower charges.

Best Speed of Formation: Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings turnaround time is based on your state of formation processing speed. Even though they promise same-day filing, different states have different processing speeds. That said, it will take a day to several weeks (depending on your state of formation) to have your application processed should you opt for SwiftFilings.

LegalZoom

LegalZoom 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. 

That said, Swyft Filings seem to have a better formation speed should your state of formation have a great processing speed. LegalZoom will have to take longer even if your state processing speed is one day. 

Which Should You Choose?

The service that you will choose will depend on your business needs. That said…

Choose Swyft Filings if:

You are looking to save on your LLC formation – Swyft Filings basic package is affordable. For those who fancy customer feedback, this is a great choice. 

Choose LegalZoom if:

You are looking for a trusted company with a great experience. Legalzoom will also be a great deal if your business will handle legal services along the way. 

Final thought

These are two solid companies that are sure to offer you peace of mind. Based on our Swyft Filings vs Legalzoom comparison, LegalZoom only boasts a track record over SwiftFilings. Swyft Filings is therefore our clear winner.

However, none of these two services top our list of the best LLC services 2021. Browse through our site to learn about some of the best LLC formation services. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the biggest advantage of each service?

LegalZoom’s biggest advantage is its track record. The company has served millions of customers over the years. On the other hand, Swyft Filings’ biggest advantage over LegalZoom is its affordable Basic package.

Do Swyft Filings and LegalZoom have a refund policy?

LegalZoom has one of the best refund policies in the LLC formation industry. You can request a refund within 60 days and get it in five days without questions. SwiftFiling also has a 100% refund policy. However, they haven’t mentioned a time limit for placing your request.

Does either of the services offer publication service?

Swyft Filing offer to handle publication on your behalf. This is a major advantage if you are forming an LLC in states such as Arizona, Nebraska, and New York that require LLC publication. LegalZoom on the other hand provides no publication assistance whatsoever.

Swyft Filings vs LegalZoom: Which service has fewer upsells?

LegalZoom has a high amount of upsells that will not only delay your application but may end up increasing your total amount as you navigate their LLC formation order form. SwiftFilings on the other hand have no upsells, but they do load a few third-party offers.

LegalZoom vs Swyft Filings: which one offers the best-registered agent service?

Though both LegalZoom and Swyft Filings don’t include the registered agent service in any of their packages, Swift Filings offers it at more affordable pricing.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

ABOUT THE REVIEWER

Jazmin Castello holds a Master's degree in Business Management, owns two companies, and has also published a self-help book. When she is not working or writing, she likes to spend time with her family and to travel.

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