Wondering how to start your own business? Service providers like ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent prepare and file the paperwork in a more secure and structured way than your typical DIY approach.
Our Northwest Registered Agent vs. ZenBusiness review covers the main similarities and differences between the companies, experiences from real customers, and pricing information. Overall, we’ll answer the important question – which is the best limited liability company (LLC) service?
Our Pick: Northwest Registered Agent
Form your LLC quickly and affordably with Northwest’s streamlined service for just $29 plus state fees.
Start NowNorthwest Registered Agent vs. ZenBusiness At a Glance
| Basic Plan Features | Northwest | ZenBusiness |
| LLC Filing | $29* | $0* |
| Registered Agent | Free for 1 year ($125 after) | $199/year |
| Operating Agreement | Free | $99 |
| EIN | $50 | $99 |
| Get Started | Get Started |
*Does not include state fee
What Is Northwest?
Northwest is a well-established LLC formation service known for its personalized customer support and privacy protection. Founded in 1998, the company offers a comprehensive range of services that include LLC formation, virtual office services, registered agent services, and ongoing compliance support.
Northwest stands out for its transparent pricing model with no upsells and its commitment to privacy, using its own address on public documents to protect clients’ personal information. The company is particularly praised for its in-house customer service team, which includes former lawyers, accountants, and entrepreneurs who provide expert guidance throughout the LLC formation process and beyond.
Who Is Northwest Best For?
Northwest ideally suits entrepreneurs and business owners who prioritize privacy protection and personalized, expert customer support throughout their LLC formation process and ongoing business operations.
Read our full Northwest review to learn more.
What Is ZenBusiness?
ZenBusiness is a relatively newer player in the LLC formation service industry, founded in 2015, but it has quickly gained popularity for its user-friendly approach and affordable pricing. The company offers a variety of LLC formation packages that cater to different needs and budgets — often including features like worry-free compliance and a free operating agreement. ZenBusiness leverages technology to streamline the LLC formation process, making it accessible to entrepreneurs with varying levels of business experience. The platform is known for its intuitive online interface, automated annual report reminders, and its commitment to social impact by operating as a public benefit corporation that supports small businesses and entrepreneurship.
Who Is ZenBusiness Best For?
ZenBusiness is ideal for budget-conscious entrepreneurs and tech-savvy small business owners who appreciate a streamlined, user-friendly online process for LLC formation and prefer a range of affordable service packages with useful digital tools.
Read our full ZenBusiness review to learn more.
Launch Your Business With Confidence
Northwest offers affordable, reliable LLC formation services for just $29 plus state fees and a year of free registered agent services.
Get StartedNorthwest vs. ZenBusiness: In-Depth Comparison
While both Northwest and ZenBusiness aim to simplify the process of establishing and maintaining a business entity, they differ in various aspects like pricing structures, service offerings, and customer support models. This comparison delves into the nuances of each service, exploring areas where one might outshine the other and where they stand on equal footing.
Pricing
🏆 Northwest
Despite ZenBusiness’s free formation plan, Northwest is more cost-effective in the long run due to its inclusion of registered agent services in its base package — a feature that many competitors, including ZenBusiness, charge for separately. Northwest also provides a free operating agreement template with its formation service, which is another valuable inclusion that can save business owners money.
Processing Time
🏆 ZenBusiness
When comparing processing times, ZenBusiness generally offers faster LLC formation services than Northwest. ZenBusiness provides expedited processing with the company’s middle-tier and top-tier packages, promising formation times as quick as one to three business days in many states.
User Experience
🏆 Northwest
Northwest offers a more positive user experience with fewer upsells than ZenBusiness. Additionally, while ZenBusiness provides a user-friendly online interface, Northwest sets itself apart with its team of former lawyers, accountants, and entrepreneurs who offer individualized guidance throughout the LLC formation process and beyond. This high-touch approach ensures users can easily navigate complex business formation issues and receive tailored advice.
Plan Customization
🤝 Tie
Both ZenBusiness and Northwest offer comparable flexibility in plan customization, allowing entrepreneurs to tailor their LLC formation services to their specific needs. While ZenBusiness provides tiered packages with the option to add on various services, Northwest offers a straightforward base package with the ability to select additional services à la carte. This approach from both companies enables business owners to choose only the services they require, avoiding unnecessary expenses on features they don’t need.
Legal Services
🤝 Tie
Both Northwest and ZenBusiness offer valuable ongoing compliance services to support businesses after formation, with Northwest’s Corporate Guide service and ZenBusiness’s Worry- Free Compliance. These services aim to help businesses stay compliant with state requirements by providing features like annual report preparation and filing as well as compliance alerts.
While Northwest’s Corporate Guide service is backed by the company’s experienced team of former lawyers and business professionals, ZenBusiness’s Worry-Free Compliance service leverages technology to automate many of these processes.
Experience
🏆 Northwest
Northwest has a significant edge over ZenBusiness in terms of experience forming LLCs, having been in operation since 1998 vs. ZenBusiness’s 2015 founding. This longer history has allowed Northwest to accumulate extensive expertise in handling a wide variety of LLC formation scenarios across different states and industries. The depth of Northwest’s experience is reflected in the company’s ability to navigate complex formation issues as well as offer a comprehensive understanding of state-specific requirements.
Customer Support
🏆 Northwest
While ZenBusiness offers standard customer service, Northwest provides access to a team of Corporate Guides that include former lawyers, accountants, and entrepreneurs who offer expert advice tailored to each client’s specific business needs. This level of specialized support ensures Northwest customers receive more comprehensive and nuanced assistance throughout the LLC formation process and beyond, making it particularly valuable for entrepreneurs who may need guidance on complex business and legal matters.
Banking and Finances
🏆 ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness offers a more comprehensive suite of additional banking and finance services compared to Northwest, making it a potentially better choice for entrepreneurs seeking integrated financial solutions.
These financial offerings, which include features like invoicing and business banking, provide a more holistic approach to managing a new business’s finances. In contrast, Northwest focuses primarily on formation and compliance services without extending significantly into the banking and financial management realm.
Scalability
🤝 Tie
Both ZenBusiness and Northwest offer comparable scalability options for growing businesses, making them suitable choices for entrepreneurs with long-term expansion plans. Both services can assist business owners in forming different business structures in the future, such as transitioning from an LLC to a corporation, which may be necessary for attracting certain types of funding or investors. This flexibility allows entrepreneurs to start with a simpler business structure and evolve their legal entity as their needs change without having to switch service providers.
Educational Resources
🤝 Tie
Both ZenBusiness and Northwest provide valuable educational resources for entrepreneurs, offering comparable support in this area. Each company maintains extensive online knowledge bases, blogs, and guides that cover various aspects of business formation, management, and compliance. These resources offer insights on topics ranging from choosing the right business structure to understanding tax obligations and maintaining good standing.
While the content and presentation styles may differ — Northwest often provides more in-depth, legally-focused articles while ZenBusiness offers more visually engaging, easy-to-digest content — both companies show a strong commitment to educating and empowering entrepreneurs throughout their business journey.
ZenBusiness vs. Northwest: Customer Reviews
Both Northwest and ZenBusiness receive generally positive customer reviews, highlighting their strengths in different areas. Northwest’s customers frequently praise the company’s exceptional customer support with many reviewers mentioning specific staff members who provided personalized, knowledgeable assistance. As a result many customers find the slightly higher cost justified by the quality of service.
ZenBusiness, on the other hand, is often commended for its user-friendly platform and quick formation process. Customers appreciate the step-by-step guidance and the helpfulness of ZenBusiness advisors. However, some users have expressed frustration with frequent upselling attempts. Both companies have loyal customers who praise the overall value and convenience of their services with many highlighting how these platforms simplified the process of starting their businesses.
Here are some verified Northwest reviews (from Trustpilot) by customers who used this formation service to help launch their business:
“Amazing experience. Ben is awesome, friendly, and patient. He stayed on the phone with me as I filed for an LLC creation and even offered some tips.”
“Northwest Registered Agent exceeded my expectations! Their support team is fantastic, and they completed my company formation within 24 hours. They also provide fast scanning of documents, which is incredibly convenient. Definitely worth it for anyone needing reliable and efficient service.”
“The service is great, [I’ve] been with them for 2 years now. [I] really like it. The problem is the website, it is so bad and confusing. Yes it does look good and clean, but in technical jargon their customer journeys are completely messed up, things don’t add up, you don’t know the meaning of certain actions you take, you select something a minute later it is gone. A total mess, really. The website designer should be fired.”
“A very excellent registered agent and company formation service. I have used others and Northwest has been the best. It’s only slightly more expensive than your average provider and entirely worth it. The account area is nice and support is responsive/knowledgeable. The resources on the website are useful. And the registered agent service includes basic mail forwarding (with limitations, which for my business are fine and save me from needing a PO box). I love ’em.”
Here are some verified ZenBusiness reviews (from Trustpilot) by customers who used this formation service to help launch their business:
“Elle was a gift to work with!! Truly, everything my business partner and I could have asked for and more in an advisor while we navigated the process of starting our own LLC using ZenBusiness. She was direct and clear in her communicating important details, presented us with useful options, was kind, patient and had a great sense of humor so we always felt welcome to ask anything and everything that gave us a moment of pause on our journey. Basically, she’s the best and we’re so grateful that she popped into our assistance chat!”
“SO EASY TO USE!! Used it for my LLC formation and DBA filing, and it was so freaking simple.”
“Experience was pretty smooth and easy. Way too much upselling attempts. Nearly constant requests in-app for me to add on additional services, even after I decline them. Then I got cold-called by a rep trying to upsell me on the same addons I’d already declined multiple times.”
“ZenBusiness made starting my new business manageable. Step by step they have been there with me. I highly recommend ZenBusiness for anyone considering a startup. I had my LLC up and running in a day!”
ZenBusiness vs. Northwest: Pricing
ZenBusiness LLC Services
Starter LLC Package ($0 + State Fees)
- Basic LLC formation (two to three weeks)
- Unlimited name availability searches
- Unlimited email and phone support
- Digital dashboard to access business documents
- Free accounting consultation
- Free automatic expense tracking
- Free tax deduction tagging
- Worry-free compliance free the first year (Auto-Renewal Price: $199/year)
Pro ($199 + State Fees)
- Everything in the Starter package
- Rush processing speed (Processes in 1 business day*)
- Employer Identification Number (EIN)
- Operating Agreement
Premium Package ($299 + State Fees)
- Everything in the Starter and Pro packages
- Domain name
- Business email address
- Business website builder
- Business Document Templates
*Processing times are based on receiving complete information. ZenBusiness processing times do not include Secretary of State processing times, which can vary.
Northwest LLC Formation Package
Incorporation Service ($29 plus state fees) includes:
- LLC formation service
- Corporate Guides® (experts) who will take care of the LLC filing
- Premium registered agent services (included for one year)
- Operating Agreement template
- Business address
- Free mail forwarding
- Privacy by Default®
- Free business phone service for 60 days
- Online account to access important business documents
The Bottom Line
Northwest and ZenBusiness are both reliable and affordable business formation services; however, after our in-depth comparison, we concluded that Northwest Registered Agent is the better deal. If you’re looking for excellent customer service, a quick and simple LLC formation process, and a large number of features at an affordable price, Northwest is right for you!
Start Your LLC With Expert Support
For just $29 (plus state fees), Northwest provides hands-on support throughout the entire formation process to ensure your business starts off strong.
Get StartedFrequently Asked Questions
Which company offers an annual report service?
Both companies offer annual report services. These services are designed to assist business owners in maintaining compliance with state regulations by ensuring that their annual reports are filed accurately and on time.
Can I form a limited liability company on my own?
Yes, you can form an LLC on your own. However, consulting a business attorney can provide peace of mind and ensure that all legal aspects are correctly handled. While forming an LLC independently may save money initially, professional guidance can be invaluable, especially in complex situations or for those unfamiliar with business law.
How does Northwest Registered Agent and ZenBusiness compare to other services?
Northwest Registered Agent and ZenBusiness are competitive in the market of LLC formation and registered agent services. They stand out with their affordable pricing, range of services, and customer support. Compared to other services, they often offer more personalized assistance and user-friendly platforms, making them popular choices among entrepreneurs.
Do both platforms offer an expedited service option?
Yes, both offer expedited LLC processing options. ZenBusiness has this option in their Pro Package, which promises 1-2 business days. Northwest also provides similar expedited processing services, ensuring quicker completion of LLC formation and related tasks.
Is Northwest Registered Agent trustworthy?
Yes, Northwest Registered Agent is considered trustworthy by many small business owners. They have built a reputation for reliability, privacy, and quality customer service. Their commitment to offering personal support through their Corporate Guides® and their Privacy by Default® approach has earned them trust in the business community.
Is ZenBusiness really free?
ZenBusiness offers a Basic LLC Package advertised as $0, but this does not include mandatory state filing fees. While the services provided in this package are free, the overall process is not completely free due to these unavoidable state fees. It’s important for a prospective business owner to factor in these additional costs when considering ZenBusiness for LLC formation.
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