Direct Incorporation vs. ZenBusiness
ZenBusiness reviews its own products and services and compares them to others in the industry.
ZenBusiness reviews and compares Northwest Registered Agent and ZenBusiness for LLC formation. ZenBusiness offers free formation (plus state fees) with extensive customer reviews while Northwest charges $225 with one year of registered agent service included and offers more personalized support.
Starts at $0 + state fees and only takes 5-10 minutes
“Northwest Registered Agent” is the registered trademark of Northwest Registered Agent, LLC
Last Updated: February 13, 2026
*Mr. Cuban may receive financial compensation for his support.
ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent are both popular and reputable LLC formation services. Either can easily form your compliant LLC, and both have reasonable rates, especially compared to hiring a lawyer. However, each has its advantages.
We offer LLC formations starting at $0 (+ state fee), while Northwest charges $225. Furthermore, we have 27108 positive customer reviews available online, while Northwest has about 800. In other words, there’s a reason we’re such a popular alternative to Northwest Registered Agent.
Would you like to get some more info before making your decision? Read on to find out everything you need to know about these two LLC formation service providers.
1) Affordable: With either ZenBusiness or Northwest Registered Agent, you’ll save a significant amount of money on your LLC formation compared to hiring a business attorney to handle your formation process.
2) Great Customer Feedback: Although we have a higher volume of reviews than Northwest does, both of these companies receive high average customer review ratings.
3) Valuable Features: Both companies have feature-rich LLC formation service packages that include advanced features.
4) Customer Support: These two services both have customer support networks that can answer your tough questions. Why go it alone when you can get help from ZenBusiness or Northwest?
5) Efficiency: These companies both work quickly and can get your formation processed with the state in a matter of weeks or even days.
6) Additional Services: Both Northwest and ZenBusiness have many other services to help you focus more on building your business and less on paperwork.
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.
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.
ZenBusiness: We were founded in 2015 in Austin, Texas. Since then, we’ve served over 850,000 customers. We’re a public benefit corporation that provided grants to help our customers kickstart their businesses.
Northwest: Northwest Registered Agent has been around since 1998, and since then, they’ve served 2+ million customers.
ZenBusiness: ZenBusiness provides 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.
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.
ZenBusiness: With 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 are 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.
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.
ZenBusiness: ZenBusiness excels when it comes to customer feedback, as we have 27108 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.
Northwest: Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t have a ton of customer feedback, but they do have around 800 reviews, and they’re mostly positive.
ZenBusiness: It’s important to us to make the LLC formation process as simple as possible. All you have to do is choose your LLC package from our three options, provide us with some information about yourself and your business, select which add-on services you’d like, and pay for the order. It doesn’t get much easier than this.
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.
Both ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent provide access to many additional business services, and there’s a considerable amount of overlap between these companies’ offerings. For instance, either can help you with employer identification number (EIN) acquisition, annual reports, foreign registrations, and more.
However, each has some services that the other doesn’t provide. ZenBusiness offers bookkeeping and accounting services, which Northwest doesn’t. On the other hand, only Northwest provides its customers with virtual office services.
ZenBusiness and Northwest Registered Agent are two popular online LLC formation services, and both can efficiently and effectively register an LLC. If you’re still undecided between these companies, let’s look at a couple of scenarios that might help you determine which one to choose.
Do you want registered agent service packaged in with your LLC formation, and you’re willing to pay a bit extra to get it? Northwest could be worth a look.
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 have 27108 positive customer reviews available online. 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
START STRONG
STAY PROTECTED
STRENGTHEN AND GROW
ZENBUSINESS ADVANTAGE
*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 right ZenBusiness package depends on how fast you want to file and how many tools you want included to support your business.
Our Starter Package starts at $0 plus state fees. It includes a name availability search, preparation and filing of your articles of organization, electronic document access, 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 AI assistant, our mobile app, partner offers, and a 30‑day trial of 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 adds 1‑day processing, an operating agreement template, an EIN, and a logo builder. The Pro Package renews at $199 annually.
For the most complete bundle, our Premium Package is $399 plus state fees and renews at $399 annually. It includes 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).
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.
Both ZenBusiness and Northwest registered agent offer refunds, but the refund rules are different for each company.
Northwest registered agent charges a $25 convenience fee for processing refunds, which they call a “You changed your mind fee.”
ZenBusiness has a clear refund policy that is designed to be straightforward and customer friendly. For full details on what is and is not refundable, please review our official refund policy here: /support-terms/#refund-policy.
The biggest advantage of ZenBusiness is our free business formation with the Starter Package (you only pay state fees), while Northwest Registered Agent’s biggest advantage is its longer track record and experience.
With ZenBusiness, you can choose the Starter Package that starts at $0 plus state fees. It includes the preparation and filing of your formation documents, our 100% accuracy guarantee, Worry‑Free Compliance free for the first year, access to Velo (our AI business assistant), your personalized dashboard with unlimited document storage, lifetime support, compliance alerts, a 30‑day trial of website, domain, and email (renews at $15 monthly), our mobile app, and partner offers from companies like Bank of America, 1‑800Accountant, and Next Insurance.
Northwest Registered Agent’s main advantage is its experience in the industry, as it has been operating longer and has formed more businesses overall.
ZenBusiness offers more help with ongoing compliance requirements than Northwest Registered Agent, mainly because ZenBusiness includes Worry‑Free Compliance with certain formation packages in addition to optional compliance services.
With ZenBusiness, you can purchase registered agent service for $199 annually in any state. ZenBusiness also offers annual report filing service for $100 plus the applicable state fee.
Northwest Registered Agent offers registered agent service for $125 per year and annual report service for $100 plus the applicable state fee. However, Northwest Registered Agent does not include a service like Worry‑Free Compliance in a formation package.
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.
Ready to form now?
Scan to download
the ZenBusiness app
