ZenBusiness reviews its own products and services and compares them to others in the industry.
Read the Inc Authority vs. LegalZoom LLC review below or get started with ZenBusiness today.
Starts at $0 + state fees and only takes 5-10 minutes
Inc Authority and LegalZoom are two popular companies in the LLC services industry, and we’re confident in their abilities to efficiently form your compliant business entity. Each of these companies has its own advantages when compared to each other.
Inc Authority includes a year of best registered agent service with every LLC formation they process, and LegalZoom doesn’t. However, LegalZoom has much more experience than Inc Authority.
Would you like to learn the details that set these service providers apart, as well as the common characteristics they both share? Read on as we discuss all the relevant information.
1) Affordable: With either LegalZoom or Inc Authority, you’ll save a significant amount of money on your LLC formation compared to hiring a business attorney to handle your formation process.
2) Efficiency: These companies both work quickly, and they can get your formation processed with the state in a matter of weeks or even days.
3) Customer Support: These two services both have customer support networks that can answer your questions. Why go it alone when you can get help from LegalZoom or Inc Authority?
4) Experience: Both Inc Authority and LegalZoom have helped form thousands of businesses over the years, and they both have plenty of expertise. You can trust them to have the experience they need to form your compliant LLC.
5) Trustworthy: These are both legitimate operations with strong track records. These aren’t fly-by-night companies, but rather they’re well-respected entities with plenty of expertise to get the job done right.
6) Additional Services: Both LegalZoom and Inc Authority have many other services that they can provide to your business, from registered agent service to annual reports and much more.
7) Informative: Inc Authority has a blog where they share business tips, information about different entity types, etc. Similarly, LegalZoom’s Knowledge Center has plenty of info regarding legalities and other issues that commonly face entrepreneurs today.
Inc Authority: They offer a free (+ state fee) LLC formation service package that includes a year of registered agent service and EIN acquisition. Inc Authority also sells two premium packages with advanced features like an LLC operating agreement template, faster filing, and personalized business advice, but you’ll need to contact them to inquire about pricing.
LegalZoom: While LegalZoom does offer a $0 (+ state fee) package for LLCs, the number of upsells can get overwhelming — and expensive. They charge $249 per year for registered agent service.
Inc Authority: Inc Authority has been in business since 1989, and they’ve formed more than 130,000 business entities since then.
LegalZoom: LegalZoom has served more than 2 million business customers since it started offering business services online in 2001.
Inc Authority: Inc Authority offers customer support via phone, email, or web chat. With all three options, you’ll receive timely support from friendly and knowledgeable representatives. Inc Authority reps are available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET on weekdays.
LegalZoom: LegalZoom offers phone and email support. We reached out twice via the email form on their site, but it took them a full week to respond. The response we received was generic, thanking us for reaching out but not answering our question.
When we contacted them via phone, our question was answered thoroughly. The representative went into detail about our different options and then sent us an email with their direct extension so that we could reach out directly with questions. Overall, while their customer service via phone is good, their online support could be improved.
Inc Authority: Each state has its own in-house processing times, ranging from a few days all the way up to a couple of months. Inc Authority bases its turnarounds on these state estimates, so you’ll see quite a bit of variety in expected processing speeds between different states. All that said, Inc Authority’s turnaround times are usually competitive with other services.
LegalZoom: Their turnarounds are based on which package you order rather than which state you’re forming in. With their most expensive package, you could receive your finalized business formation documents in 7-10 business days, but their cheaper packages take as long as 30 business days (six weeks).
Inc Authority: Customer feedback is a pro for Inc Authority. They have 23,000+ reviews available online with a 4.9/5 average score on Trustpilot.
LegalZoom: We found 6,000+ reviews for LegalZoom, and while they do have some negative reviews mixed in, a majority of this feedback is positive. Their satisfied customers often talk about how convenient and easy it is to use LegalZoom’s services.
Inc Authority: On the first screen, you’ll choose your entity type (LLC, corporation, nonprofit) and your state. Then, you’ll answer a series of questions about yourself and your business. Next, you’ll enter your name, email address, and phone number, followed by your business name, a short description of your business, and your business address. You’ll then navigate through an extensive series of upsells for an operating agreement template, a legal documents package, a minutes and resolutions feature, web design software, personalized business support, audit and lawsuit assistance, and business banking from Bank of America before finally paying for your order.
LegalZoom: First, you’ll pick your business entity type (LLC, corporation, nonprofit) and which of LegalZoom’s three packages you’d like to purchase. From there, you fill out your business information and payment details over a series of screens that also include upsells for registered agent service, an operating agreement, an EIN, a license research package, ongoing compliance assistance, a tax consultation, ongoing legal guidance, standard or complex tax returns, a legal protection plan, two options for business bank accounts, expedited processing, and an LLC kit and seal.
Inc Authority and LegalZoom offer many of the same services, but they also each have some services the other one doesn’t offer. Specifically, Inc Authority has a business funding service and business credit package that LegalZoom doesn’t provide. However, LegalZoom has more business services available for intellectual property issues, and it also offers a wider variety of personal services like estate planning.
LegalZoom and Inc Authority have plenty of common characteristics that make them two of the most popular LLC formation services available, but they also have some differences that set them apart. If you haven’t yet made up your mind between them, let’s finish this comparison by quickly describing some scenarios that may sway your opinion.
Are you interested in receiving a free year of registered agent service with your free LLC formation? Inc Authority is an option.
Do you place a high value on brand power and customer volume? LegalZoom could be worth a look.
If you’d like to form your LLC with ZenBusiness, we’re here to help. We offer $0 (+ state fee) LLC formations, and we have 12,000+ positive customer reviews. Form your LLC quickly and get more tools to start your dream business.
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In our opinion, Inc Authority’s entry-level LLC formation package is the best one they offer. Not only is it free of charge (except for your state fee), but it also includes a year of registered agent service and EIN acquisition. However, you’ll need to contact them to get pricing info for their premium packages.
Inc Authority doesn’t offer to handle New York publication requirements, and neither does LegalZoom. If you’re looking for a company that will take care of publication requirements on your behalf, check out our New York publication service.
LegalZoom has an extensive series of upsells throughout its order form, and it would add more than $1,000 to your order if you bought all of them. Inc Authority includes quite a few upsells throughout their order form, but they’re a bit less obtrusive than LegalZoom’s.
On Inc Authority’s website, they specifically mention that they won’t grant any refund requests for any reason. LegalZoom has an advantage in this category thanks to its fantastic satisfaction guarantee. It’s nearly identical to the ZenBusiness refund policy.
If you’re not entirely pleased with their services, you have 60 days from the date of your initial purchase to request a refund, and they will grant it. No questions asked, no cancellation fees!
You can. In fact, quite a few entrepreneurs do choose to form their own LLCs without any assistance. However, the do-it-yourself route doesn’t provide the peace of mind we get from hiring a professional service. In addition, each state sets its own rules and regulations for LLC formations, so it’s not always easy to figure out what your state requires.
Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
Written by Team ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness has helped people start, run, and grow over 800,000 dream companies. The editorial team at ZenBusiness has over 20 years of collective small business publishing experience and is composed of business formation experts who are dedicated to empowering and educating entrepreneurs about owning a company.
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