Northwest Registered Agent vs. Incorporate.com

Do Northwest and Incorporate.com offer good value?

Northwest Registered Agent and Incorporate.com are both respected companies in the LLC formation services industry. They’re both capable of forming your compliant LLC quickly, with minimal hassle and effort for you. Still, Northwest Registered Agent has some distinct advantages.

First off, Northwest Registered Agent receives mostly positive customer feedback, whereas Incorporate.com has very little feedback at all. In addition, Northwest includes a full year of registered agent service with any LLC service package, a feature that Incorporate.com charges extra for. However, Incorporate.com has lower prices for LLC services. If you’d like some more info, read on to get all the relevant details on these two LLC service providers.

6 Things They Have in Common

1) Affordable: With either of these companies, you’ll receive LLC formation service at a reasonable price. They can both save you quite a bit of money over hiring a lawyer to draft and file your Articles of Organization and because the LLC isn’t terribly complicated as a business structure, you may not need the attorney’s expertise anyway.

2) Customer Support: While it’s nice to save money, you don’t want to be on your own if you have any questions or problems. Northwest Registered Agent and Incorporate.com both have customer service departments that can answer your questions quickly and accurately.

3) Experience: It’s always preferable to use a service that has plenty of experience, and both of these companies have it. Incorporate.com and Northwest Registered Agent have each formed thousands of businesses, and they have the know-how to get the job done right.

4) Efficiency: Do you need your LLC formed in a hurry? That’s no problem for these service providers. Northwest Registered Agent and Incorporate.com can expedite your formation (for an additional fee, of course), cutting your turnaround time from weeks down to just a few days in many states.

5) Additional Services: These companies both offer many other business services beyond just forming your LLC. Whether you need a federal employer ID number (EIN), an LLC operating agreement, a foreign qualification, or many other services, these providers have it covered.

6) Educational: Whether you’re a customer or not, these companies both have helpful information on their websites. Incorporate.com has a learning center with loads of valuable info, and Northwest Registered Agent has a selection of how-to guides that cover many common business topics.

Side-by-Side Comparisons

Pricing

Northwest: At $225, their price point is high compared to many competitors. Still, the inclusion of a full year of their registered agent service is a good feature that makes their pricing more attractive. Once the first year is up, the registered agent service will renew at $125 per year.

Incorporate.com: Their pricing starts at $99 (+ state fee) for a package that only includes the basics. Even though they have some valuable features, Incorporate.com’s two premium packages, priced at $634 and $734, are too expensive for what you get.

Experience

Northwest: Northwest Registered Agent has been around since 1998, and since then, they’ve served 2+ million customers.

Incorporate.com: Incorporate.com opened in 1899, and they’ve served 750,000+ clients since then. Over the years, their name has changed several times ― from Corporation Service Company to The Company Corporation to Incorporate.com ― but the core business has stayed the same.

Customer Support

Northwest: Northwest offers phone and email support. We first tested their email support, and while it took nearly 24 hours to receive an email back, the response was detailed, and the rep went beyond simply answering our question and checking off an email response. We also called and received similarly impressive service. The representative who answered the phone took the time to ask for details so that he could give us the most accurate answer.

Incorporate.com: They provide support by phone, email, or chat. We tried all three options and had similar experiences with all of them. Incorporate.com’s representatives responded in a relatively efficient manner and accurately answered our questions. We couldn’t find any info about their hours of operation, however.

Turnaround Times

Northwest: When you select your state from the dropdown menu of the application, an estimated turnaround time will display on the screen. Most states have expedited service available for an additional fee, so you’ll see two turnaround times on the order form.

Incorporate.com: When you reach the bottom of your order form, Incorporate.com gives you turnaround time estimates for both standard and expedited processing. Incorporate.com bases its turnaround times on each state’s processing speeds.

Customer Reviews

Northwest: Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t have a ton of customer feedback, but they do have around 800 reviews, and they’re mostly positive.

Incorporate.com: Despite being in business since the 19th century and boasting nearly a million customers, there is little customer feedback available online for Incorporate.com. We found just a small handful of reviews on third-party review sites, and a large percentage of them were negative.

Ease of Use

Northwest: The application process with Northwest is streamlined and easy to follow. You simply enter your personal info and business details and pay for the order. There aren’t any upsells, and Northwest only offers one LLC formation service package.

Incorporate.com: The ordering process is pretty simple with Incorporate.com. After you select your state and entity, you’ll choose from Incorporate.com’s three LLC formation packages. Then, depending on which package you selected, you’ll see a screen with a few upsell attempts. From there, you just need to fill out your personal contact info and business details, then you can review your information and pay for the order.

Additional Services

With either of these companies, you’ll have access to a variety of additional business services to help you start and maintain your business. Both Northwest Registered Agent and Incorporate.com can help you with registered agent service, annual reports, EIN acquisition, mail forwarding, and more.

However, Northwest offers comprehensive virtual office services, while Incorporate.com only offers basic mail forwarding. On the other hand, only Incorporate.com can help you with reinstating a dissolved business, as this is a service that Northwest doesn’t provide to its customers.

Which is the better service to form your LLC?

With Northwest Registered Agent and Incorporate.com, we’re looking at two popular LLC formation service providers. They can both make your life easier while also saving you money. Whether you end up choosing one of these companies or a top competitor, we wish you the best of luck with your new business.

➥ Choose Northwest Registered Agent if:

Do you want a year of registered agent service bundled in with your formation? Do you appreciate strong customer reviews? These are a couple of the reasons you might consider Northwest.

➦ Choose Incorporate.com if:

Are you seeking the company with the most experience and longevity? Incorporate.com is an industry leader in this area. In general, they’re a decent Northwest alternative.

🎉 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 also have 12,000+ positive customer reviews. Form your LLC quickly and get more tools to start your dream business.