Inc Authority vs. Rocket Lawyer key differences

Rocket Lawyer and Inc Authority are two of the most 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 the other.

First and foremost, Inc Authority offers LLC formation service for free, as long as you pay your own state fee. By contrast, Rocket Lawyer charges $99.99 to form your business. Furthermore, Inc Authority includes one year of registered agent service with each of their formation packages, while Rocket Lawyer charges $149.99 to add it on. That said, Rocket Lawyer has 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.

7 Things They Have in Common

1) Affordable: With either Rocket Lawyer 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) Positive Customer Feedback: Both of these companies receive high average rating scores in their customer reviews, which indicates a strong level of client satisfaction.

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 Rocket Lawyer or Inc Authority?

4) Efficiency: With either Rocket Lawyer or Inc Authority, you’re getting a service provider that’s capable of processing an LLC formation quickly. If you’re in a hurry, they both have options available that can speed up your formation (for an additional fee, of course).

5) Experience: Both Inc Authority and Rocket Lawyer 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.

6) Additional Services: Do you need assistance with other popular business services like federal employer ID number (EIN) acquisition, foreign qualification, or LLC operating agreements? Inc Authority and Rocket Lawyer provide many additional services, making them one-stop shops for your LLC.

7) 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.

Inc Authority vs. Rocket Lawyer Comparisons

Pricing

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.

Rocket Lawyer: Rocket Lawyer only offers one LLC formation service package. It costs $99 (+ state fee) and includes no features beyond the basics. However, it offers this package for free for new members to its $39.99/month legal services subscription.

Experience

Inc Authority: Inc Authority has been in business since 1989, and they’ve formed more than 130,000 business entities over the years.

Rocket Lawyer: Rocket Lawyer has been in business since 2008, and they’ve served 25+ million customers since then, although it’s unclear how many of those are business clients as opposed to individual customers.

Customer Support

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.

Rocket Lawyer: Rocket Lawyer offers phone, chat, and email support, with operating hours from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday. We’re pleased with the responsiveness and helpfulness of their phone and email support. The chat feature is a bit convoluted in its presentation (it starts as more of a searchable FAQ before connecting you with a representative) but it does work once you figure it out.

Turnaround Times

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.

Rocket Lawyer: If you’d like to get an estimate for turnaround times for your state of formation, click through the order form to the page where you decide whether or not to expedite your order. On this page, you can access estimates of the number of days required for both expedited and standard processing times. It would be nice to have these turnaround times listed in a more convenient spot, as opposed to several pages into the order form.

Customer Reviews

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.

Rocket Lawyer: This company receives solid customer feedback. We found nearly 10,000 reviews on reputable third-party review sites, and the majority of them were positive.

Ease of Use

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.

Rocket Lawyer: Ordering business formation with Rocket Lawyer can be easier or harder than other services, based on your perspective. They don’t have tiered packages as many of their competitors do. Instead, you walk through a handful of add-ons before checking out. Still, it only took us about 10 minutes to walk through the form, make our selections, and reach the checkout screen.

Additional Services

Inc Authority and Rocket Lawyer offer many of the same business services. For example, either of them can help you with registered agent service and trademark protection. However, Inc Authority provides a couple of services Rocket Lawyer doesn’t, like their business funding and business credit services.

On the other hand, Rocket Lawyer has a vast array of personal services that Inc Authority doesn’t offer. They can assist you with real estate matters, including lease agreements and quitclaim deeds, and they also offer help with family and personal issues, like last will and testament, divorce settlement agreements, child care authorizations, and more.

Which is the best LLC service for you?

Rocket Lawyer 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.

➥ Choose Inc Authority if:

Are you interested in getting your LLC professionally formed for free? Does receiving a year of registered agent service at no additional charge appeal to you? If so, Inc Authority is an option.

➦ Choose Rocket Lawyer:

Is experience a major factor for you? Are you interested in their legal services subscription? These are a couple of the main reasons why customers choose Rocket Lawyer.

🎉 Choose ZenBusiness if:

If you’d like to form your LLC with ZenBusiness, we’re here to help. We offer LLC formations starting at $0 (+ state fee), and we have more than 12,000 positive customer reviews available online. Form your LLC quickly and get more tools to start your dream business.

ZenBusiness LLC Packages

Compare Packages

Identify the LLC package and services that fit your needs and then get started.

Starter

Premium

Starter

$0

Premium

$349/yr

Starter

File in 2 to 3 weeks **

$0

PLUS STATE FEES

Premium

File in 1 to 5 days **

$349/yr

PLUS STATE FEES

Top Features

More InfoWe do everything needed to file your application with the state and make your business official. Standard LLC Filing
More InfoWe’ll file your paperwork quickly and accurately. If there are any errors with your filing, our team will do what’s needed to make it right. 100% Accuracy Guarantee
More InfoKeeps you compliant with all state-required annual report and amendment filings to maintain LLC protections and avoid fines. Worry-Free Compliance
More InfoThis essential document is like the constitution for your business. Operating Agreement
More InfoOur fastest service puts you to the front of our line of filings. Our Fastest Filing Speed
More InfoOur team will secure your EIN from the IRS so you can open a business bank account, hire employees, and pay taxes. EIN
More InfoIncludes over 25 templates for contracts, service agreements, waivers, and more. Business Documents
More InfoGet online with a website builder tool optimized for traffic and customers. Business Website Builder
More InfoBuild and protect your brand by registering a private domain name that matches your business name. Domain Name with Privacy
More InfoStay organized and give your business more credibility with a business email. Business Email Address

File in 2 to 3 weeks **

1 year free, then $199/yr*
+$99
+$79
+$99
+$99
+$15/mo
+$35/yr
+$25/yr

File in 1 to 5 days **

*SPECIAL OFFER – Get Starter for $0 plus state fees. Includes one optional free year of Worry-Free Compliance that renews at $199/yr.
**These filing times are averages and include our processing times and Secretary of State turnaround times which vary by state.

Frequently Asked Questions About Inc Authority and Rocket Lawyer

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. If you choose Rocket Lawyer, you only have one choice of LLC formation package.

Inc Authority doesn’t provide any help with New York publication requirements. Rocket Lawyer charges a $350 publication fee to take care of that requirement, plus government fees and the cost of newspaper advertising. If you’d like to save some money, we’ll provide this service for $200 plus government fees and advertising costs — see our New York publication service page for more details.

While these companies both have upsells, we’ll say that Rocket Lawyer has fewer of them. The only real upsell we ever notice from Rocket Lawyer is the way they heavily promote their $39.99/month legal services subscription plan. Inc Authority includes quite a few upsells throughout their order form, but since they’re a free service to begin with, it doesn’t bother us too much.

Rocket Lawyer has a straightforward refund policy that states that any customer who requests a refund within 30 days of their initial purchase date will receive one. There’s no sneaky fine print, and they don’t charge a cancellation fee.

Unfortunately, it’s a different story for Inc Authority. On their website, they specifically mention that they won’t grant any refund requests for any reason.

These two sites have turnaround times that are quite similar due to the fact that they both base their processing speeds on each individual state’s ability to process formations. This means your turnaround time might be as quick as just a few days in some states but could take several weeks in others.

You can. In fact, thousands of American entrepreneurs form their own business entities each year. While there’s nothing wrong with doing this, we will caution that, because each state is allowed to create its own rules regarding how LLCs are formed, there is some variance from state to state regarding how an LLC is formed. Furthermore, we appreciate the peace of mind we receive from hiring a reputable company to form our businesses.

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.

zenbusiness logo

Written by Team ZenBusiness

Start Your LLC Today