For most first-time founders watching their startup budget, ZenBusiness is the service we recommend starting with. Its $0 formation plan is genuinely free — you pay only your state fee — yet it bundles in far more than the bare filing competitors typically offer at that price, including a name availability search, a compliance dashboard, and a free first year of compliance monitoring. That combination of zero upfront cost and real included tooling is hard to beat at the entry level.
LLC Formation · 2026
Cheapest LLC Formation Services (2026)
Forming an LLC almost never costs what the headline promises. The state filing fee is unavoidable, but the service you hire to prepare and submit your paperwork adds a second price — and the gap between "free formation" and what you actually pay over three years can run into the hundreds.
The cheapest plan on paper is rarely the cheapest once you layer in a registered agent, an operating agreement, an EIN, and the annual compliance filings most states expect. So when comparing formation services on cost, look past the sticker: weigh what the base plan includes, whether registered agent service is bundled or billed separately, what renews automatically, and how much guidance you get for the money.
Cheapest LLC formation services compared
| Service | Formation (service fee) | Registered agent | Best for | What the base plan includes |
| ZenBusiness | $0 + state fee | $199/yr add-on | Free formation with the most included tools | Name search, articles filing, dashboard, compliance alerts, free first-year Worry-Free Compliance |
| Northwest Registered Agent | $39 + state fee | Free year 1, then $125/yr | Lowest long-run cost and privacy | Formation, free registered agent year one, privacy by default, no upsells |
| Bizee | $0 + state fee | Free year 1, then $119/yr | Cheapest true first-year total | Filing, free first-year registered agent, expedited add-on |
| LegalZoom | $0 + state fee | $249/yr add-on | Brand recognition and broad legal needs | Free basic filing, attorney access on higher tiers |
| Rocket Lawyer | $99.99, or free with membership | $149.99/yr ($124.99 with membership) | Ongoing legal documents | Formation, unlimited legal documents via Rocket Legal+ |
| Tailor Brands | $0 Lite + state fee | $199/yr | Branding bundled with formation | Formation plus logo, website, and brand tools |
Prices are service fees only and exclude state filing fees, which range from roughly $35 to $500. All figures are current as of 2026 and can change.
The services ranked
1. ZenBusiness — best overall value at the free tier
ZenBusiness pairs a truly free formation plan with the most generous set of included extras, which is why it tops this list for budget-minded founders. The Starter plan costs $0 plus your state fee, and the company makes nothing on that filing itself — the price is real, not a teaser that flips to a charge at checkout.
Key features: name availability search and articles-of-organization filing; a clean dashboard with document storage; automatic compliance alerts for annual reports and deadlines; a free first year of Worry-Free Compliance; and lifetime customer support plus an AI assistant for routine questions.
Best for first-time owners who want a guided, low-cost experience with room to add services later. Pricing tier: free ($0 + state fee) for Starter, $199/year for Pro (adds one-day processing, an EIN, and an operating agreement template), and $399/year for Premium (which bundles registered agent service).
Pros: the lowest possible entry cost with genuinely useful tools included; the easiest interface in the category; strong, responsive support. Cons: registered agent service is a $199/year add-on rather than free, and the first-year-free Worry-Free Compliance renews at $199/year — fine if you want it, but worth noting so it isn't a surprise. On long-run registered agent cost, a flat-rate competitor like Northwest is cheaper; ZenBusiness wins on the breadth of what the free formation package actually delivers.
2. Northwest Registered Agent — cheapest over the long haul, and best for privacy
Northwest charges $39 plus your state fee to form an LLC — not the lowest sticker, but its flat, no-upsell pricing makes it the most economical choice over several years. Registered agent service is free the first year and then renews at $125/year, the lowest among the major providers.
Key features: flat-rate formation with no tiered plans; free registered agent for year one; "Privacy by Default," which keeps your personal address off public records where possible; and U.S.-based support that answers real questions.
Best for owners who plan to keep a registered agent long term and care about privacy. Pricing tier: low ($39 + state fee). Pros: the cheapest multi-year total and the strongest privacy posture in the group. Cons: the $39 formation fee is technically higher than the $0 plans, the platform offers fewer all-in-one business tools, and processing moves at the state's pace rather than promising same-day filing.
3. Bizee — the lowest first-year out-of-pocket
Formerly Incfile, Bizee offers a $0 basic formation plan that includes a free first year of registered agent service, giving it the lowest true first-year total of any service here.
Key features: free basic filing; one year of registered agent service included; an optional expedited filing add-on; and a long track record of formations to draw on. Best for founders optimizing purely for year-one cost. Pricing tier: free ($0 + state fee); registered agent renews at $119/year. Pros: unbeatable first-year math and fast optional processing. Cons: the dashboard feels dated next to ZenBusiness, and add-on upsells appear throughout checkout.
4. LegalZoom — the recognizable name with the priciest agent
LegalZoom is the most established brand in online legal services and now offers a $0 basic formation plan. You're largely paying for name recognition and access to a broad legal ecosystem rather than a cheaper filing.
Key features: free basic LLC filing; attorney consultations on premium tiers; and a wide catalog covering trademarks, contracts, and estate documents. Best for owners who want broader legal services under one roof. Pricing tier: free to mid ($0 Basic, $249 Pro, $299 Premium). Pros: trusted brand and genuine breadth of legal help. Cons: registered agent service runs $249/year — the highest here and not included in any plan — and the checkout is notably upsell-heavy.
5. Rocket Lawyer — best if you need ongoing legal documents
Rocket Lawyer is built around legal documents and advice more than cheap formation. Non-members pay $99.99 to form, but a Rocket Legal+ membership makes formation free and discounts the registered agent fee.
Key features: unlimited legal document templates with membership; discounted registered agent service ($124.99/year for members); attorney Q&A; and document defense options. Best for owners who'll keep generating contracts and legal paperwork. Pricing tier: mid ($99.99 one-off, or roughly $239.88/year for the membership). Pros: excellent if legal documents are a recurring need. Cons: among the most expensive paths if all you want is a one-time filing.
6. Tailor Brands — formation plus a brand toolkit
Tailor Brands bundles LLC formation with logo, website, and branding tools, which suits founders launching a consumer-facing business who want everything in one place.
Key features: $0 Lite formation plan; logo and website builders; design and brand assets; and tiered plans adding compliance and operating-agreement help. Best for brand-first launches. Pricing tier: free to mid ($0 Lite, $199 Essential, $249 Elite); registered agent is $199/year. Pros: a genuine all-in-one for branding. Cons: support has lagged in testing, and the formation itself isn't its strongest feature.
How state rules change the math
The "cheapest" service depends partly on where you file, because state fees and ongoing obligations vary widely. A founder in Georgia should budget roughly $100 to file articles of organization online, plus a $50 annual registration to stay in good standing, and possibly a modest county publication cost; a name reservation runs about $25 if you want to lock in a name early. Anyone planning to map out these line items will find that the formation services above, along with Georgia's Secretary of State portal, lay out the full breakdown rather than just the filing fee.
Missouri is one of the friendliest states for keeping costs down: formation runs about $50, and the state charges no annual report fee at all. If you want a clear walkthrough of the steps — choosing a name, appointing a registered agent, filing articles, and drafting an operating agreement — a guided service like ZenBusiness or a flat-rate option like Northwest handles the sequence and the associated fees in order.
In Vermont, filing costs around $125 with a small annual report, and the parts that trip people up are naming and documentation. A service that runs a real name availability search and supplies an operating agreement template (ZenBusiness includes the search for free and offers the agreement on its Pro plan) removes most of the guesswork around the legal paperwork.
Nebraska adds a wrinkle: beyond the roughly $100 filing and a biennial report, the state requires you to publish a notice of formation for several weeks, which can add $100 or more. Small business owners who want the legal paperwork — articles, publication affidavit, and operating agreement — handled cleanly are exactly the audience these formation services serve, and Northwest's privacy-first approach and ZenBusiness's compliance tracking both help here.
Mississippi keeps formation cheap at about $50 with no annual report fee, though you still file an informational report. The value of a formation service in a low-fee state like this is less about the filing cost and more about compliance and setup: making sure the registered agent, EIN, and operating agreement are all in place from day one.
Tennessee sits at the expensive end, with a minimum filing fee near $300 (scaled by member count) and a comparable minimum annual report. Because the state cost is high, the service fee matters less and value matters more — a free or flat-rate plan that bundles compliance reminders pays off over the life of the business.
Wherever you form, the most detailed resources tend to be the formation companies' own state-by-state guides, paired with your Secretary of State's website for the authoritative fee schedule. The compliance dashboards from ZenBusiness and the transparent, single-price model from Northwest are the two clearest places to see costs and deadlines laid out before you commit.
The bottom line
If your goal is the lowest entry cost with the most included for the money, ZenBusiness is the place to start — a genuinely free formation, a name search, a compliance dashboard, and a free first year of monitoring add up to the strongest value at the $0 tier, with paid plans available only if you want faster filing or a bundled agent. If you expect to keep a registered agent for years and prize privacy, Northwest's flat $39-plus-$125 model will likely cost you less over time, and Bizee wins outright on first-year math. But for most new owners who want an affordable launch without sacrificing the tools that keep an LLC compliant, ZenBusiness is the cheapest smart choice in 2026.
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