Active Filings LLC REVIEW

Are They Right For You? (Pros, Cons & More)

Active Filings LLC Review

In this Active Filings LLC review, I’ll go over some pros and cons, pricing and features, customer reviews and more. Let’s find out if they’re the right fit for your business!

Recommended: Read our review of the best LLC services.

Recommended Step Before Using Active Filings to Form an LLC

It’s important to name your LLC before going through the business formation process with a professional service. TRUiC’s Free LLC Name Generator will help you to do the following:

  • Find the perfect name for your new LLC.
  • Conduct a name search to make sure your desired LLC name is available.
  • Help secure a domain name for your company.

Active Filings Pros & Cons

Pros of Active Filings

  • Starting at $25, Active Filing’s Starter package is a competitive offering that beats almost every other option. When you consider that they include a full year of registered agent service with any LLC formation, it’s a really good rate.
  • Whether you’re a customer or not, they offer a free business name availability search to anyone who fills out the form on their website.
  • If Spanish is your preferred language, Active Filings has a fully translated Spanish-language version of their website.
  • There aren’t many customer reviews of Active Filings, but those we did find are all positive.
  • Active Filings isn’t a huge operation. However, with 60,000+ customers served since 2001, they have the experience to handle your LLC formation with no snags.

Cons of Active Filings

  • Active Filing’s “Finisher” package isn’t a great deal, and its “Sprinter” package doesn’t add much value. Considering you can add the a la carte features you need and leave the others out, those packages don’t save you any money really.

Active Filings Alternative

Incfile is one of the best services to choose if you're forming a business on a budget but are still looking for all the essential features. Read Review

Visit Incfile

Active Filings LLC Pricing & Features

Active Filings offers 3 standard packages for LLC formation — The Starter, The Sprinter and The Finisher— that start around $25 (plus state fee). Take a look at how they advertise these service packages on their website, then we’ll discuss the details.

ActiveFilings Review

The Starter = $25 + STATE FEE

What It Includes: This package includes the basics of formation, including a business name availability check and the preparation, filing and electronic delivery of your articles of incorporation. In addition, you also receive a full year of registered agent service, and electronic delivery of your completed formation papers.

Who It’s Right For: If you’re an entrepreneur who wants all the essentials along with a year of registered agent, the Starter package should be the best for you.

The Sprinter = $125 + STATE FEE

What It Includes: Everything in the Economy package, plus a federal tax ID number (EIN) that allows you to open a business bank account and hire employees, with membership certificates and expedited shipping also included.

Who It’s Right For: If you need an EIN, it makes more sense to get this package. At the Starter package level, you can get an EIN as a $100 add-on, which is exactly the price difference between that option and this one. So you might as well get this package, and have expedited shipping and membership certificates thrown in.

The Finisher = $275 + STATE FEE

What It Includes: Everything in the Sprinter package, along with a Corporate Book, Corporate Seal, and Active Filing’s Corporate Maintenance Plan. That means Active Filings will manage your annual filing requirements while also helping you look the part.

Who It’s Right For: If looking professional is important to you, and you want to maximize your ability to focus on running your business, this package might be worth it for you.

Recommended Package

Personally, I would buy the Sprinter Package. The Starter package is an appealing value at such a low price point, but an EIN number and expedited processing will make your life way easier. At $125, that package is a competitive value worth considering for any business.

Customer Reviews

There simply aren’t many Active Filings reviews to be found, although the ones we did hunt down are quite positive. Their happy customers tend to be pleased with the efficiency of services and with the personalized assistance they receive from Active Filings reps on the phone.

Customer Reviews Section Last Updated 11-28-17
  • Facebook: 4.7/5 out of 26 reviews
  • BBB: A+ with no reviews

Conclusion: While I would like to see a bit more feedback in general, a couple dozen positive reviews are better than no reviews at all. That said, the lack of criticism is a great sign. You’re clearly doing something right if you don’t even make anyone want to complain on the internet!

How Active Filings Compares

Active Filings is a good option for LLC formation service because of their low base rate and bilingual capabilities. Still, it’s always a good idea to check out what the competition has to offer, so let’s take a quick look at my personal favorite, Incfile.

Pricing: Active Filing is $24 cheaper than Incfile at the base rate, with very similar offerings. The more premium the packages go, so do the features.

Features: Active Filing offers an operating agreement in its base package, which Incfile doesn’t. On the other hand, Incfile makes next-day processing and other features you can take advantage of free.

Turnaround Times: Active Filings provides customers with average turnaround times for both regular and expedited filings in all 50 states, ranging from 2 days to about 10 weeks. With Incfile, turnaround is as fast as state government filing will allow, and same-day processing is available.

Businesses Formed So Far: Active Filings has helped over 60,000 customers since 2001. On the other hand, Incfile has helped form 150,000+ businesses since 1998.

HERE’S A QUICK VISUAL

Incfile

Pricing Starts at $49

150,000+ businesses formed so far

Perfect for: Anyone starting a business on a budget and need the best customer support

Active Filings

Pricing Starts at $25

60,000+ businesses formed so far

Perfect for: Anyone wanting a cheap LLC service with bilingual customer support

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I Just Form a Business Myself?

You sure can, but it can be a real hassle if you don’t know what you’re getting into. You need a degree of familiarity with state-specific compliance guidelines with the DIY route, and there’s a good deal of legalese to get through as well. Services like Active Filings can alleviate these concerns, allowing you to focus on running your business. If you do want to form your own LLC, check out our comprehensive how-to guide.

Are There Any Hidden Fees?

Not that I’ve found. Active Filings has easy to understand pricing, and their rates are fair.

Is My Information Secure?

They take your security seriously. Their site is protected by GoDaddy Verify Security encryption service, and by Authorize.Net’s merchant identity verification scans.

Does Active Filings Offer Ongoing Support?

They certainly do. In their own words, Active Filings prides themselves on their “superb post-sales support.” Sounds good to me!