Rocket Lawyer vs. LegalZoom

Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom are both reputable companies offering LLC formation services. They’re both experienced and capable of forming a compliant LLC. Each has some advantages over the other.

LegalZoom has a free (+ state fee) LLC formation service package, while Rocket Lawyer charges $99.99. However, Rocket Lawyer is the most experienced company in this industry, even more so than LegalZoom. In general, Rocket Lawyer is a decent LegalZoom alternative.

6 Things They Have in Common

1) Affordable: LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer both fill the gap between the do-it-yourself option and hiring a lawyer. You won’t be on your own, and you’ll still save hundreds of dollars over hiring a business attorney.

2) Customer Support: Speaking of not going it alone, one of the biggest benefits of hiring an LLC formation service is that they have customer service reps who are available to help solve your problems. If you have questions or concerns, they’re just a phone call or email away.

3) Experience: Both Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom have customers that number in the millions. They both have a ton of experience and impressive customer volume.

4) Additional Services: After your formation is complete, these companies still have a lot to offer entrepreneurs. From registered agent service to tax ID numbers, from licensing to ongoing compliance, Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom can provide many services your company might need.

5) Guaranteed Services: LegalZoom has a 100% satisfaction guarantee that you can leverage at any time within 60 days of your purchase, while Rocket Lawyer has a similar guarantee that covers you for 30 days. Some of their competitors offer you no such assurances.

6) Educational: If you require additional assistance or just want to learn more about the business world, both of their websites include information on all sorts of issues that might affect your company down the road.

Side-by-Side Comparisons

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.

LegalZoom: While LegalZoom does offer a $0 (+ state fee) package for LLCs, the number of upsells can get overwhelming — and expensive. They charge $199 per year for registered agent service.

Experience

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.

LegalZoom: LegalZoom has served more than 2 million business customers since it started offering business services online in 2001.

Customer Support

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.

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.

Turnaround Times

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.

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).

Customer Reviews

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.

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.

Ease of Use

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.

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.

Additional Services

These companies offer many of the same business services, as they both provide registered agent services, foreign qualifications, LLC operating agreements, and more.

In addition, LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer both offer many personal services, like last will and testament, divorce papers, and power of attorney. They can also set up an attorney consultation. Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom offer more services than most of their competitors, which is a nice bonus if you’re looking for a one-stop shop.

Which is the LLC formation service for you?

Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom are two popular LLC formation services, and they have a bunch of features in common. Of course, there are also quite a few differences that may sway your opinion one way or the other. Along those lines, let’s finish by reviewing some scenarios that might lead you toward choosing Rocket Lawyer, LegalZoom, or us at ZenBusiness.

➥ Choose LegalZoom if:

Looking for a free (+ state fee) LLC formation service package? Interested in their extended customer support hours? LegalZoom could be worth a look.

➦ Choose Rocket Lawyer if:

Are you impressed by Rocket Lawyer’s legal services subscription plan? If so, this company might be a good choice.

🎉 Choose ZenBusiness if:

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.

Get Started with ZenBusiness

Starts at $0 + state fees and only takes 5-10 minutes