Does Direct Incorporation Have Good Customer Support?

Direct Incorporation keeps their support in-house, which is a big advantage compared to some competitors who outsource their customer service to anonymous call centers. You can reach Direct Incorporation’s helpful service reps from 9am to 6pm ET on weekdays.

Is Direct Incorporation Legit?

Direct Incorporation has been around since 2003, and they’ve served more than 80,000 customers over the years. They only have about 30 customer reviews available online, and although they’re somewhat mixed between positive and negative feedback, a majority of their reviews are positive.

Do They Have a Refund Policy?

In their own words: “If an order for any of our services is canceled after we have received payment then the full amount will be refunded less a $40.00 processing fee.”

Can I Form an LLC on My Own?

Sure, you always have this option. In fact, quite a few entrepreneurs choose to form their own LLCs. The issue with this is that it can be quite time-consuming, especially once you figure out your formation state’s unique rules and regulations. On the other end of the spectrum, some entrepreneurs hire a lawyer to form a new LLC, but this is usually much more expensive than online LLC services.

Should I Reserve My LLC Name Before Forming an LLC?

There are only a couple of scenarios where this is a necessary step. First, if you’re not yet ready to enter the formation process itself, you can reserve a name to use at a later date when you form your business. The other scenario is if you’re forming a business in Alabama, where reserving a name in advance is a requirement to form an LLC. Other than that, you most likely do not need to reserve a name in advance.

Can I Form an LLC Without Physically Being in the United States?

Yes, you can. Not only do you not need to be physically present in the United States to form an LLC, but you also don’t need to be an American citizen or resident. Part of the reason the LLC is such a popular business entity is the fact that the requirements regarding who can form one are so loose.

How Does Direct Incorporation Compare to Other LLC Providers?

It’s totally fine to be uncertain about which online LLC formation service is the right choice for your unique business. After all, there are a ton of options out there, and each of them has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. However, we’ve done countless hours of research on this topic, reviewing and comparing all of the best LLC formation services. Beyond that, we invite you to check out some of our comparison guides, which take a head-to-head view of the competition between Direct Incorporation and their top competitors: Direct Incorporation vs LegalZoom, Direct Incorporation vs IncFile.

Does Direct Incorporation Do New York Publication or Alabama Name Reservation?

We called Direct Incorporation to find out whether they tackle state-specific compliance requirements or not, and unfortunately, the answer was no. If you’re forming a business in a state that requires publication or other unique steps, you’ll need to handle those yourself. If you’re looking for a company that will take care of publication requirements on your behalf, check out our guide to the best New York publication services. They do, however, take care of name reservations in Alabama if that’s a service you require.

What’s the Direct Incorporation Support Phone Number & Email?

You can contact Direct Incorporation’s support reps by calling 1-877-281-6496. If you want to email them, they don’t have a general support email address listed on their website, but they do have each employee’s email address posted on the “Our Team” page. You can select the employee whose job description best fits your needs and email them directly.

Does Direct Incorporation Share My Information With Third Parties?

Even though Direct Incorporation offers a wide variety of services and features, they provide nearly everything in-house and therefore don’t have many areas where they would share your info with other entities. However, if you take a look at their privacy policy, you’ll find the following note in the fine print: “Our website clients may from time to time be contacted by a third-party merchant card service to discuss merchant card services and accepting credit cards.” Other than that though, they pledge that your information “will not be shared, traded, or sold to any other private organization.”

Other Than LLC Formation, What Else Can Direct Incorporation Do?

Direct Incorporation has an exhaustive list of additional business services, including doing business as (DBA) names, foreign qualifications, amendments, dissolutions, 501(c)(3) nonprofit applications, business compliance assistance, annual reports, tax programs, trademark protection, copyright service, logo design, and web design.

I’ve Heard LegalZoom Has a Lot of Upsells. Does Direct Incorporation?

On one hand, Direct Incorporation does have plenty of opportunities for you to upgrade to their more expensive LLC formation packages. On the other hand, they’re never pushy about it, and once you’ve made your choice they don’t try to force anything extra on you. Overall, we don’t have a problem with Direct Incorporation when it comes to upsells, especially when compared to LegalZoom’s LLC service.

Is There a Promo Code or Discount for Direct Incorporation?

Unfortunately, we are not aware of any discount codes for Direct Incorporation. Trust us, it’s not for a lack of searching. We looked far and wide hoping to find a way for our readers to save money with Direct Incorporation, but we came up empty. Direct Incorporation has reasonable pricing, but it’s disappointing that there aren’t any ways to knock their rates down a bit.

Does Direct Incorporation Offer Assistance With Ongoing Compliance Issues?

Every package offered by Direct Incorporation has six months of free registered agent service. It will cost $159 per year when the trial expires. They also offer annual report services for $97.

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Best LegalZoom LLC Service Alternatives

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What This Service Is Best Known For: Great low rates, feature-packed formation packages, and a dedication to giving back.

We opened our doors in 2015 and have a unique approach to business formation services thanks to our use of automation to speed up and simplify several parts of the process. Let’s see how we stack up when compared to LegalZoom.

Both ZenBusiness and LegalZoom offer free LLC formations. All you have to pay is your state’s required fee.
If you like seeing positive customer reviews, you’ll love ZenBusiness. With more than 12,000 reviews available online, it’s difficult to find more than just a small handful of negative reviews.
As a company, ZenBusiness has a commitment to giving back. We’re a public benefit corporation that provides $5,000 grants to help our customers kickstart their businesses.

If you want to use a socially conscious provider and get exceptional value, choose ZenBusiness.

Northwest Registered Agent

What This Service Is Best Known For: Personalized customer support and a focus on registered agent service.

Northwest was formed in 1998, and with thousands of LLC formations since then, they’re an experienced and reliable option. If you’re looking for a solid mid-size company, they might just be a good fit for you. How do they compare to LegalZoom?

Northwest offers LLC formation service at the price point of $225, which is much higher than LegalZoom’s free (+ state fee) package.
Northwest’s claim to fame is its customer support network. While some competitors outsource their support to anonymous call centers, Northwest keeps it all in-house, with knowledgeable reps providing personalized service.
As you may have guessed from reading their name, Northwest Registered Agent focuses on offering registered agent service, and they include a year with any formation package. Furthermore, Northwest was the first major registered agent provider that locally scans each and every document they receive on your behalf.

Want to learn more? See our Northwest review.

Incfile

What This Service Is Best Known For: Free LLC formations that still come with valuable features.

Incfile opened in 2004, and they’ve served more than 1 million businesses since then. Their popularity can be attributed to a number of positive qualities, from their low prices to their strong customer feedback. Let’s take a look at how they compare to LegalZoom.

Offering a free package that only requires you to pay your state fee, Incfile matches the price point offered by LegalZoom and ZenBusiness.
One of Incfile’s advantages over LegalZoom is the features included in that LLC service package. Incfile provides a year of registered agent service with any LLC formation, while LegalZoom only offers a third-party business website package from Wix.
Customer feedback is a strong point for Incfile. They have more than 75,000 reviews available online, and they maintain high average ratings.

Want to learn more? See our Incfile review.

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*SPECIAL OFFER – Get Starter for $0 plus state fees. Includes one optional free year of Worry-Free Compliance that renews at $199/yr.
**The filing times presented are averages. Filing times vary by state so we’ll provide an accurate filing time after you select your state.

Customer Feedback Comparison

One of the most important aspects of any LLC formation service is the customer feedback the company receives. To help you analyze each company’s customer reviews, we created this customer feedback comparison section that breaks down how these companies stack up next to each other in this crucial area.

ZenBusiness: 12,456 reviews / 4.6-star average score
Northwest Registered Agent: 779 reviews / 4.7-star average score
Incfile: 75,223 reviews / 4.7-star average score
LegalZoom: 6,067 reviews / 4.5-star average score

Final Thoughts

ZenBusiness, Northwest, Incfile, and LegalZoom are all highly popular LLC and incorporation service providers. Depending on your preferences and the unique needs of your business, you may find that one of them meets your requirements better than the others can. When it comes down to making a choice between these services:

ZenBusiness has a well-rounded service offering that combines free LLC formation service (just pay your state’s fee) with outstanding customer feedback.
Northwest can be a good option if you want personalized customer support and are willing to pay extra.
Incfile could be worth a look if you want a free LLC formation service and reasonably priced add-ons.
LegalZoom is an option if you prioritize using the most popular and experienced company.

Frequently Asked Questions About LegalZoom and its Alternatives

How does LegalZoom compare side-by-side with other services?
If you’d like to see how these LLC formation websites compare side-by-side, check out our comparative reviews:
Do any of these services handle requirements like publication?

ZenBusiness is the only one of these four services that offer state-specific publication service, which is a nice advantage for us if you’re forming a business in a state that requires it. Northwest provides instructions to help you complete your own publication requirement but doesn’t offer to take care of it on your behalf, while Incfile and LegalZoom don’t provide any form of assistance with publication.

If you need help with NY publication requirements, check out our New York publication service for more information.
Are any of these services faster than the others?

Northwest bases its turnaround time estimates on the actual processing speeds of each state. As for Incfile and ZenBusiness, processing speeds also vary by state, and you can speed things up by purchasing a higher level of LLC service (or opting for rush processing as an add-on feature).

With LegalZoom, turnaround times vary based on which LLC package you purchase. 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).
Which service has the best refund policy?

LegalZoom and ZenBusiness have nearly identical refund policies that are among the best in this entire industry. These satisfaction guarantees give you 60 days from your initial purchase date to request a refund, and you’ll receive it with no questions asked and no convenience fees charged. The other companies in this guide have refund policies of varying quality (Incfile has a very strict policy, while Northwest has cancellation fees), but LegalZoom and ZenBusiness are the best options in this regard.
Can I form an LLC on my own, without a service?

You can, and many entrepreneurs do form their own LLCs every day. However, we appreciate the peace of mind we receive from using a reputable formation service. In addition, each state has its own rules and regulations for LLC formations, so there can often be more legwork than people might expect.

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.

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