ZenBusiness reviews its own products and services and compares them to others in the industry.
ZenBusiness reviews and compares Northwest Registered Agent and Swyft Filings. Both brands can help you start and manage a business, but Swyft Filings’ lack of accreditation from the Better Business Bureau and Northwest Registered Agent’s mixed customer reviews might have you looking for alternatives.
Starts at $0 + state fees and only takes 5-10 minutes“Northwest Registered Agent” is the registered trademark of Northwest Registered Agent, LLC “Swyft Filings” is the registered trademark of Swyft Filings, LLC
Last Updated: September 29, 2025
*Mr. Cuban may receive financial compensation for his support.
If you’re looking to start a registered business, then you might be considering using a business formation service like Swyft Filings or Northwest Registered Agent. These business formation companies (and others like them) can be very helpful if you feel overwhelmed by all the business paperwork you’re facing.
But in the Northwest Registered Agent vs. Swyft Filings matchup, who comes out on top? Are there any alternatives you should consider instead? In this guide, we’ll review both Swyft Filings and Northwest Registered Agent, comparing how these two options compete in terms of value, customer service, customer reviews, and more.
Let’s get started.
At first glance, Northwest Registered Agent and Swyft Filings look quite similar — both companies provide services to help entrepreneurs start and manage their businesses. That said, each brand has its own history and focus areas that set it apart.
Swyft Filings was founded in 2015 and is based in Houston, Texas. The company is relatively new compared to some competitors. But in their short lifespan, the brand has already worked with more than 600,000 businesses. Their services cover standard filings such as LLC formations, amendments, and S corporation elections, along with other basic compliance tasks. Unlike some competitors, Swyft Filings focuses exclusively on business-related services and does not offer personal legal solutions.
Northwest Registered Agent, as the name suggests, built its reputation on registered agent services — its original core offering. Over time, the company has expanded into business formations, compliance filings, and additional support services. Established in 1998, Northwest Registered Agent remains family-owned and is known for a straightforward approach, going so far as to advertise that they’re “not just annoying.”
Both Swyft Filings and Northwest Registered Agent have a lot of common ground since they’re both business formation service companies. But they do have their own key differences, too. We’ll dive into the nitty-gritty of how these brands differ throughout this guide, but here’s a quick glance at these companies.
In our assessment of Northwest Registered Agent and Swyft Filings, we evaluated each company on the basis of several different categories: business formation services, registered agent service, additional service offerings, customer feedback, and customer support.
Let’s take a closer look at those categories.
Both Northwest Registered Agent and Swyft Filings can help you form a limited liability company, corporation, or nonprofit. But how much will it cost you? For most small business owners, cost is a very important question to answer.
In this section, we’ll compare how much it costs to start an LLC with these brands. An LLC isn’t the best business structure for every new small business, but it’s a popular choice among entrepreneurs. That makes it a great comparison point for a guide like this. But if you’re planning on starting a corporation or nonprofit, keep in mind that the pricing may vary from what you see listed here.
Let’s start with Swyft Filings. Swyft Filings offers a few different LLC formation packages to choose from:
We’ve seen Swyft Filings run a sale for $50 off their Standard and Premium packages (at the time of this writing, one such sale is about to expire). It’s possible to get a deal on these higher-tier packages, but it’s unclear how often they run these sales. You’ll want to check their website to see the most up-to-date pricing information.
Meanwhile, Northwest Registered Agent takes a slightly different approach. Rather than offering tiered packages, the brand keeps things simple with one package option: for $39 plus state fees, they’ll file your LLC paperwork. The package also includes one year of free registered agent service. On top of that, you’ll receive access to several trial-based extras, such as a business address service, a website builder, and domain registration tools.
It’s important to note that these extras are only temporary perks. Most of these trials renew within 90 days to a year, which means you’ll need to keep an eye on renewal dates and cancel anything you don’t want to continue using. If you don’t, the low upfront cost could quickly grow into a much higher bill once the trial periods expire.
In our opinion, both of these brands have intriguing offerings for starting an LLC. We like that Swyft Filings has a free LLC formation service package (plus state filing fees); we even offer the same free package (plus state fees) ourselves. But even though Northwest Registered Agent charges a low price point for their package, they do throw in a year of free registered agent service, so it’s still a competitive deal.
Every registered business entity, whether an LLC or a corporation, must designate a registered agent — an individual or service responsible for receiving service of process and other official state communications on behalf of the business. While it’s possible to act as your own registered agent, there are strict conditions: you must be a resident of the state, maintain a physical street address there, and be available at that address during all regular business hours.
For most business owners, those requirements are difficult to maintain consistently. That’s why many choose to hire a professional registered agent service instead. Both Northwest Registered Agent and Swyft Filings provide this service, allowing business owners to stay compliant without taking on the responsibility themselves.
Northwest Registered Agent gives you a free year of registered agent service if you use them to form your business. After that first year, the service costs $125 per year; they even have some bulk discounts if you hire them as your agent in multiple states. Meanwhile, Swyft Filings charges $149 per quarter for registered agent service. That comes to almost $600 per year, making their service very expensive.
Both Swyft Filings and Northwest Registered Agent provide more than just formation services, giving entrepreneurs the option to manage multiple business needs under one roof. However, each company has its own distinct set of offerings. We won’t cover every single detail here — this Swyft Filings vs. Northwest Registered Agent review would be far too long if we did — but here’s an overview of the main services available.
Swyft Filings centers its services on business filings and compliance tasks. Beyond LLC and corporation formations and registered agent service, they provide business license research, annual and initial report filings (where required), EIN acquisition, and assistance with business conversions or dissolutions, to name a few. Their catalog is smaller compared to many competitors, but it covers the fundamental services most new business owners need to start and stay compliant.
Northwest Registered Agent is best known for its registered agent service, but their offerings extend into a wider range of business support tools. They assist with annual report filings, EIN applications, and S corporation elections. They also provide resources for building an online presence, such as website builders, web hosting, SSL certificates, and domain registration. Mail forwarding is included in their registered agent service, and they also offer virtual office services in select states, along with trademark registration support. Additionally, Northwest gives customers access to free legal forms like LLC operating agreements and resolutions, adding value for small business owners.
When evaluating service providers, we like to turn to third-party platforms like Trustpilot and the Better Business Bureau since they offer a more objective look at customer feedback. With that in mind, we examined reviews for both Swyft Filings and Northwest Registered Agent.
Swyft Filings, while relatively new to the market, has built a noticeable reputation on Trustpilot. At the time of this writing, the company has more than 7,000 customer reviews with an average rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars. Positive reviews often highlight helpful customer support and smooth experiences with business filings. On the other hand, some negative reviews mention unexpected charges for add-on services and challenges with canceling subscriptions. It’s also worth noting that Swyft Filings is not accredited by the Better Business Bureau, and their profile does not currently include a BBB rating. If you value BBB accreditation, you’ll want to look elsewhere.
Northwest Registered Agent, in contrast, has a much smaller footprint on Trustpilot, with only 135 reviews available at the time of writing. The ratings are highly polarized: roughly half of reviewers gave five stars, while a large portion rated the company just one star. This divide shows that while many customers are pleased, a significant number are dissatisfied with their experiences. Common complaints include confusing or unclear pricing, being billed for services they didn’t intend to purchase, and difficulties with customer support.
At some point, you’ll likely have questions — whether about your business, a service you’ve purchased, or something else. When that happens, reliable customer support can make a big impact on your experience. That’s why we took a look at the customer support channels available with these brands.
Northwest Registered Agent offers support through phone and an email contact form. However, they don’t publish specific support hours, which makes it difficult to know the best times to reach out. In our own test during standard business hours, we received clear, detailed responses, including an email reply within one business day. That said, customer reviews indicate mixed results with support. While some customers report smooth, helpful interactions like ours, others describe slow responses or unhelpful representatives, suggesting the level of service might be a little inconsistent.
Swyft Filings provides support by phone, email, and a live chat tool on its website. When we tested the chat function, we received a response in about ten minutes, though it took a few back-and-forth messages to get the answer we needed (the first response was a form answer, and then we got a more customized answer when we asked additional questions). Email responses were mixed; one interaction took more than one business day, but in another interaction, we got a response within two hours.
Customer reviews generally highlight good experiences with the support team, but there are also recurring complaints about billing disputes and difficulties canceling services. Swyft Filings lists its support hours as Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT, though the footer on their site still shows outdated hours.
Both of these LLC filing companies can help you form and maintain a business. But is either brand the right service for you? Perhaps you like that Northwest Registered Agent will give you one year of free registered agent service with their formation package, or maybe you like that Swyft Filings has a free LLC formation package (plus state fees).
But perhaps Swyft Filings’ lack of BBB accreditation or Northwest Registered Agent’s polarized feedback has you looking for alternatives. If that’s you, check out ZenBusiness. We’re proud to offer our customers the best value and service. Like Swyft Filings, we’ll form your LLC for free (plus state filing fees). But we can also provide you with reliable registered agent service at a great value ($99 for your first year and $199/year afterwards). Plus, we’re BBB accredited, and our customer feedback is fantastic: out of 25,256 Trustpilot reviews, we’ve got a 4.8/5 average score. We pride ourselves on providing excellent customer support whenever you need it.
Recommended article: Inc Authority vs. Swyft Filings
Here at ZenBusiness, we pride ourselves on providing reliable services for a variety of small business needs at a great value. Whether you need registered agent service for a good price, help starting your LLC, a Money Pro app for managing your business finances, or something else, we’ve got your back. We’ll help handle the red tape for you so you can focus on what you love: running your dream business.
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Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t currently promote a variety of packages. Instead, they offer one LLC service for $39 plus state fees. That said, you can add on services as needed, so in a way, you can build your own package.
Northwest Registered Agent and Swyft Filings’ service listings don’t include publication services for states like New York, so it doesn’t appear that they offer these services. ZenBusiness does, though. If you need help with NY publication requirements, check out our New York publication service for more information.
Both Northwest Registered Agent and Swyft Filings have some upsells throughout the LLC formation process. When we used Swyft Filings’ form, we even discovered that customers are automatically subscribed to the brand’s annual compliance service without much notice during the business filing process — you have to manually remove it yourself if you don’t want it. It’s pretty sneaky.
Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t have as many upsells as some competitors, but they present a few. With either brand, you should carefully read the fine print for all the services and trials you opt into. That way, you won’t be surprised by renewal fees.
Swyft Filings has a somewhat vague refund policy. They say that they do offer some refunds, but they must be requested within 60 days of purchase; a processing fee might be deducted, too. Additionally, their refund policy states that their obligation ends after they’ve filed paperwork with government agencies, so practically speaking, you’d have to request a refund within a few days.
Northwest Registered Agent’s stated refund policy is also a bit confusing. The policy states that refunds can only be given if you request one within 90 days of purchase. Even then, their terms of service page doesn’t promise any refunds; the site explicitly states that all refunds are granted at their sole discretion, so refunds come on a case-by-case basis (if they happen at all).
Northwest Registered Agent bases their turnaround speeds on the actual requirements of your formation state. So it’s tough to say exactly what your processing time will be.
Meanwhile, Swyft Filings offers standard processing by default, which gives you formation within seven to ten days. Upgrading to their express processing speed cuts that to three to five days, and same-business-day processing (included in the top-tier package) will have your LLC formed that day (or the next day, if you file after 3 p.m. CT).
You absolutely can form an LLC on your own. Using LLC services can be really helpful, though. Services like ZenBusiness, Swyft Filings, and Northwest Registered Agent can all take some of the paperwork off your plate. These services can also help you navigate your state’s business compliance rules and regulations, which might be trickier than you expect.
Swyft Filings’ biggest advantage is their free LLC formation package (plus state fees). Meanwhile, Northwest Registered Agent’s biggest advantage is that they include a free year of registered agent service in their affordable LLC formation service.
Northwest Registered Agent charges $125 per year for registered agent service. They also offer an annual report service for $100 plus state filing fees. Meanwhile, Swyft Filings charges $149 per quarter for registered agent service, while their annual report filing service costs $99 plus state fees.
Northwest Registered Agent Comparisons
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 ZenBusiness Editorial Team
The ZenBusiness Editorial Team has more than 20 years of combined small business publishing experience and has helped over 850,000 entrepreneurs launch and grow their companies. Our writers and business formation experts are dedicated to providing accurate, practical, and trustworthy guidance so business owners can make confident decisions.
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