ZenBusiness vs BizFilings
ZenBusiness reviews its own products and services and compares them to others in the industry.
ZenBusiness reviews and compares ZenBusiness and Active Filings for LLC formation. ZenBusiness offers free formation (plus state fees) with extensive positive customer reviews and has served 850,000+ customers while Active Filings has very few reviews available and confusing premium package pricing.
Starts at $0 + state fees and only takes 5-10 minutes
“Active Filings” is the registered trademark of ActiveFilings LLC
Last Updated: February 13, 2026
*Mr. Cuban may receive financial compensation for his support.
Are you looking to form a new limited liability company (LLC), but you’re not sure which of the many LLC formation services can best assist you? Companies like ZenBusiness and Active Filings can do the heavy lifting for you, but how do you know which one you should use? In this ZenBusiness vs. Active Filings LLC service comparison, we’ll walk through these companies’ main commonalities and differences.
ZenBusiness and Active Filings are both reliable LLC formation services, and either can form a compliant entity. However, we have a few advantages, starting with our strong customer feedback reputation. We have thousands of mostly positive customer reviews available online, whereas Active Filings has very few reviews at all.
Another important difference is that we have considerably more experience, with 850,000+ LLC formations compared to 100,000+ for Active Filings. If you’d like to learn more about these two service providers, read on to discover all the relevant details.
ZenBusiness: We offer LLC service for free (just pay your state’s fee). If you’re looking for some advanced features, our $199 Pro package adds ongoing compliance assistance, an operating agreement template, an employer identification number (EIN), and faster processing. You also might like our $299 Premium plan, as it adds a business website builder, a domain name, a business email address, and 25+ business document templates.
Active Filings: With Active Filings, The Starter package costs $0 (+ state fee) and includes one year each of registered agent service and ongoing compliance assistance. For $100, The Sprinter package adds an employer ID number (EIN) and business address, along with faster processing. However, the $250 Finisher package only adds a three-ring binder and decorative seal, making it hard to justify at this price point.
ZenBusiness: We were founded in 2015 in Austin, Texas. Since then, we’ve served 850,000+ customers. We’re a public benefit corporation that provided grants to help our customers kickstart their businesses.
Active Filings: Active Filings was founded in Miami, Florida, in 2001. On its website, Active Filings says that it has served more than 100,000 customers with business services over the years.
ZenBusiness: We provide access to our customer service team by phone, email, or web chat. We have expanded availability that even includes Sundays — very few competitors have any weekend availability. We pride ourselves in continuously improving the quality and responsiveness of our customer support, and we believe we compare favorably to the vast majority of competitors in this area.
Active Filings: Overall, we have no complaints about the quality of Active Filings’ phone or email support, as we’ve received prompt, courteous, and knowledgeable assistance from their reps. However, their hours of operation are very short (9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays).
ZenBusiness: With us at ZenBusiness, all formation speeds vary based on state capabilities. Also, if you’re in a hurry, you can choose one of our premium packages to speed things up a bit. When compared to other formation services, we’re usually either just as fast or slightly faster. To find out your turnaround time, simply plug in your state and immediately see your estimated processing speed.
Active Filings: With Active Filings, turnaround times depend on two things. First, each state has its own timelines for processing LLC formation paperwork. Secondly, Active Filings processes LLC formations a bit quicker if you order one of their premium packages as opposed to the free version.
ZenBusiness: We excel when it comes to customer feedback, as we have 27139 reviews available online, and nearly all of them are positive. Our clients are clearly satisfied with our services, and they frequently praise our efficiency, along with the general ease of use provided by our platform.
Active Filings: We were unable to find many reviews of Active Filings’ services, as we only dug up a few dozen reviews on any given site.
ZenBusiness: Forming a new business entity is simple with ZenBusiness. You’ll start by selecting your formation package, then you’ll provide us with some basic information about yourself and your business. After that, we’ll take care of the rest. It doesn’t get much easier than this.
Active Filings: The process of ordering LLC formation services from Active Filings is pretty simple. You’ll start by selecting your state and your business entity type (LLC, corporation, or nonprofit). Then, you choose which of Active Filings’ three LLC formation packages you’d like to purchase. From there, you only have one screen left to complete, where you’ll enter some basic information about yourself and your business and pay for the order.
With either Active Filings or ZenBusiness, you have access to a selection of additional services that can help you grow and maintain your business. As you might expect, these companies offer many of the same services, as either can help you with ongoing compliance assistance, operating agreement templates, registered agent service, and more.
However, there are also some services that are only available from one company or the other. For instance, we provide our customers with invoicing tools and business funding information, which are features that Active Filings lacks. However, Active Filings offers buy-sell agreements, which we don’t.
Recommended: LegalZoom vs. Active Filings
Active Filings and ZenBusiness have many similarities regarding LLC services but also differ in a few key ways. Furthermore, depending on your specific needs and priorities, your preference may vary. If you’re not yet decided between Active Filings and ZenBusiness, let’s review a couple of scenarios that may sway you in one direction or the other.
If you want a free LLC formation service package that includes ongoing compliance assistance, Active Filings could be worth a look, just pay the state fee.
If you’d like to form your LLC for free (+ state fee), we’re an excellent choice. We also have a much higher volume of positive customer reviews than Active Filings. 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
Compare ZenBusiness Plans
$0
+ state fees | does not renew
Starter
Standard
$199
+ state fees | renews at $199/yr
Pro
Most Popular
$399
+ state fees | renews at $399/yr
Premium
Best Value
Starter
Pro
Starter
Standard
Pro
Most Popular
Premium
Best Value
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*Processing times are based on receiving complete information. ZenBusiness processing times do not include Secretary of State processing times, which can vary.
**Starter includes one optional free year of Worry-Free Compliance (renews at $199/yr). Pro includes one optional free year of Advanced Compliance (renews at $99/yr)
† SPECIAL OFFERS – By keeping the box(es) selected, you agree to the offers in your package. After the initial period ends, these services automatically renew at their regular price. You can cancel these services at any time before or after the introductory period ends.
The ZenBusiness package for you depends on whether you want simple formation, faster filing, or more ongoing support and tools for your business.
Our Starter Package is popular because it starts at $0 plus state fees and covers the basics to form your business. It includes a name availability search, preparation and filing of your Articles of Organization, access to your electronic documents, a personalized dashboard with unlimited storage, our 100% accuracy guarantee, Worry‑Free Compliance free for the first year, lifetime support, compliance alerts, access to Velo (our AI assistant), our mobile app, partner offers from companies like Bank of America, 1-800Accountant, and Next Insurance, and a 30‑day trial of our website, domain, and email tools (renews at $15 per month).
If you want faster filing and more tools, our Pro Package starts at $199 plus state fees. It includes everything in the Starter Package, plus 1‑day rush processing, an operating agreement template, an EIN, and a logo builder. The Pro Package renews at $199 annually.
For the most support, our Premium Package is $399 plus state fees and renews at $399 annually. It includes everything in the Pro Package, plus business document templates, registered agent service, Advanced Compliance Protection, a business advisor consultation, and a 60‑day trial of ZenBusiness Money Pro (renews at $30 per month).
Yes, both ZenBusiness and Active Filings can handle extra state requirements like New York publication, but pricing and details are handled differently for each company.
ZenBusiness offers a New York publication service. You can see current pricing and details for this service on our pricing page, listed as Publication or NY Publication.
Active Filings also offers New York publication service, but you will need to contact Active Filings directly to get a pricing quote and to confirm what is included.
Both ZenBusiness and Active Filings offer refund policies, but the details are different for each company.
Active Filings offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee for 90 days, meaning you can request a refund within the first 90 days and they will grant it.
ZenBusiness also has a satisfaction-based refund policy. For full details on what is covered, how timing works, and any exceptions, please review our official refund policy here: /support-terms/#refund-policy.
We think we compare favorably to any competitor in this industry. Check out the comparison reviews below if you’d like to see how we stack up to other popular LLC service websites.
The faster LLC formation option depends on your state’s processing speeds and which paid package you choose with ZenBusiness or Active Filings.
With ZenBusiness, all formation speeds vary based on state processing times. If you are in a hurry, you can upgrade from our free Starter Package to the Pro or Premium Package to get 1-day processing on our end.
Active Filings’ turnaround times are also based mainly on each state’s formation speeds. Active Filings offers faster internal processing for customers who purchase their premium package instead of using their free option, but you will still need to pay the state fee.
You can form an LLC on your own without using a formation service, and many people do this every day. The main challenge is learning your state’s specific rules, forms, and filing steps, which can take time and effort.
If you prefer help, the ZenBusiness Starter Package can form your LLC starting at $0 plus state fees. This includes the preparation and filing of your formation documents, our 100% accuracy guarantee, Worry‑Free Compliance free for the first year, access to Velo AI assistant, your personalized dashboard for document storage, lifetime support, a 30‑day trial of website, domain and email (renews at $15 monthly), and partner offers.
In our opinion, Active Filings’ offering of ongoing compliance assistance with every LLC formation package is an advantage over many competitors. As for us at ZenBusiness, we have a far better customer feedback reputation than Active Filings, with thousands of positive reviews available online and only a small handful of critical feedback.
ZenBusiness offers more paid support for ongoing compliance requirements than Active Filings by providing both registered agent service and annual report filing as separate services.
We offer registered agent service for $199 per year, and we can also file your annual report for $100 each. Active Filings offers a year of registered agent service and annual reports in each LLC formation package, and it also sells registered agent service separately for $99 per year.
ZenBusiness Comparisons
Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. For specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.
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