Much of a business’s success depends on the quality of its partnerships. Startups that are looking to establish a long-term relationship with their legal services provider will value LegalZoom’s support for companies at every stage of their operation: from startup to industry mainstay.

With LegalZoom’s Basic offering, there’s little incentive for businesses to complete and file the necessary paperwork on their own. For only filing fees, LegalZoom will prepare your articles of organization, confirm that your preferred business name is available and provide a “welcome packet” with a step-by-step guide to post-formation actions.

Once your LLC has gotten up and running, you can upgrade to the Pro plan from LegalZoom to add compliance assistance, business guidance and customizable legal forms. The company’s high-end Premium package comes with a 30-day subscription to its services offering legal advice, document reviews and one copyright registration per month.

LegalZoom offers three plans for forming and maintaining an LLC in Michigan. The Basic package charges only the state’s filing fees, which are $50 for articles of organization and $25 for the annual statement. As you grow your business, you can step up to LegalZoom’s Pro and Premium plans ($249 and $299 plus state fees, respectively) that offer compliance support and other business services.

While LegalZoom’s prices for LLC services are comparable to those of other vendors we assessed, the company has a reputation for upselling at every opportunity. For example, when we selected the Basic package, the sign-up wizard promoted an operating agreement for $99 and two bundles of an operating agreement plus employment identification number (EIN) for $178, and operating agreement plus EIN and e-signature capability for $307.

The sign-up wizard also recommended the company’s $199 compliance service, checking account and small business credit card, expedited processing for $99 and safe storage of business documents (Founder’s Kit) for $99.

LegalZoom’s customer support staff can be reached by telephone and live chat from 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT, Monday to Friday, and from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT on weekends. The support page features a lengthy list of FAQs on topics such as business structures, intellectual property and e-signatures. The company’s learning center provides legal forms and articles on legal topics.

As one of the best-known names in legal services for individuals and businesses, LegalZoom has a track record like few of its competitors. Since 2001, the company has assisted in the creation of more than 4 million businesses. Comments posted on popular user review sites report helpful interactions with LegalZoom’s support staff.

Learn more: Read our full LegalZoom review .

Most Flexible LLC Packages

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness offers some of the most flexible LLC packages we’ve seen, with three plan options that business owners can modify by adding only the features they need à la carte. For example, while the free plan only includes standard LLC filing and a year of compliance services, all of the features in the upper-tier plans, such as operating agreements, business documents, expedited filing, a business email address and a business website builder, can be added on to any lower-tier plan.

Features that are not included with any of the plans, such as business banking, bookkeeping and tax advice, can also be added. With these customization options, ZenBusiness stands out as a flexible option for small business owners who only want to pay for the services they’ll actually use.

As mentioned, ZenBusiness offers three plan options: the free Starter plan (plus the $50 Michigan filing fee), the Pro plan ($199 per year plus the $50 Michigan filing fee) and the Premium plan ($299 per year plus the $50 Michigan filing fee). It’s important to note that all of these plans are billed annually. Some services, such as Bizee, only charge you once.

The cost of the features you need can help you decide whether it makes sense to upgrade to a more expensive plan. For example, creating an operating agreement costs $99. If this is the only additional service you desire, it will probably make sense to stick with the free plan and add it on. However, if you want an operating agreement, an employer identification number (EIN) and expedited filing, you will probably decide that the Pro plan, costing $199 per year, is a better deal than purchasing these three services à la carte for a total of $277.

ZenBusiness does not include registered agent service with any of its plans. You will need to purchase it separately, if desired, for $199 per year.

One benefit of choosing ZenBusiness is that you’ll be able to speak with a live agent over the phone six days per week. The sales team is accessible 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. CT, Monday to Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT on Saturdays. Live chat is also available during these times with the sales or customer service teams.

The sales team can also be reached using live chat on Sundays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT. If preferred, you can also send an email, which the company promises will be answered within one business day.

ZenBusiness was founded in 2017. It hasn’t been around quite as long as some of the other LLC services but still offers a wealth of experience.

Overall, small business owners who have worked with ZenBusiness seem satisfied with their decision to do so. It boasts a 4.8 rating on Trustpilot, with thousands of reviewers contributing to the high score.

Learn more: Read our full ZenBusiness review .

Northwest Registered Agent

We found Northwest Registered Agent’s state-specific LLC formation guides of note, with helpful information on specific Massachusetts requirements such as publication requirements when forming an LLC. For this reason, we think it’s best for business owners who plan to expand their LLC across state lines.

However, it only offers one LLC formation plan. In addition to filing your paperwork with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs: Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau, this plan includes a free year of registered agent services, an operating agreement, a domain, website, business phone number, business email address and a Privacy by Default guarantee to protect your personal information.

Northwest Registered Agent does not share information about how long its processing times are.

Northwest Registered Agent’s plan is affordably priced at $39 (plus the $50 Michigan filing fee), especially considering it includes a year of free registered agent services, an operating agreement, a website, an email address and a phone number. After the first free year of registered agent services, the price increases to $125 per year.

While no legal services are included with any of Northwest Registered Agent’s plans, as they are with some other providers, you do have the ability to add on legal services for $99 per hour, as needed. For more basic legal questions, there is also an option to sign up for Law on Call for $9 per month.

Phone support is available from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday, and live chat support is available from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday. We tried accessing the live chat feature around 2 p.m. ET on a Friday but found a message saying that live chat was not currently available due to it being after business hours or because all available agents were assisting other customers. About 30 minutes later, chat was available.

During our chat conversation, the agent informed us that the phone lines have been very busy recently, making it sound like live chat may be a better way to get support when needed.

Founded in 1998, Northwest Registered Agent has been around for longer than many other LLC services. However, despite its long tenure, the company does not have as many customer reviews as other services with a more limited operating period. Customer reviews on Google are overall positive, with the company earning an average rating of 4.7 stars with over 1,000 reviews.

Those on Trustpilot, on the other hand, are not as glowing. Here, Northwest Registered Agent has an average rating from nearly 100 reviews. The 1-star ratings from almost 40% of reviewers on Trustpilot—citing issues with customer service, billing and questionable business practices—seem to have pulled the rating down quite a bit.

Learn more: Read our full Northwest Registered Agent review .

BetterLegal

In the rush to get your LLC off the ground, thoughts about complying with Michigan regulations related to LLC management and operation may be tossed aside. However, the time to consider compliance is well before you receive overdue or noncompliance notices from the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs: Corporations, Securities & Commercial Licensing Bureau.

BetterLegal’s compliance service gives LLCs one less thing to worry about by handling all the paperwork required to maintain your company’s good standing with the state.

BetterLegal sells a single LLC formation package priced at $299 plus state fees. The product bundles the features a business needs to create and maintain an LLC: an EIN, operating agreement and a banking resolution for establishing bank accounts, as well as a website that supports e-commerce, a business checking account and a business tax analysis.

The company’s Michigan compliance services are sold separately, however. Also provided at an extra cost are BetterLegal’s registered agent service and permit and license search. You can also purchase a range of LLC filing services individually, including changing the LLC’s name or registered agent and adding or removing members and managers.

As comprehensive as the standard $299 LLC formation package is, many companies will need to supplement its features with BetterLegal’s Michigan compliance and registered agent add-ons, each of which costs $10 or month or $90 a year.

The website, business checking account and tax analysis bundled with the package are provided by third-party partners of BetterLegal. Another add-on that many LLCs will find worthwhile is the company’s $125 permit and license search service.

Among the articles is a guide to maintaining an LLC in Michigan and a step-by-step tutorial for creating an LLC in Michigan.

Learn more: Read our full BetterLegal review .

The Premium plan includes everything that comes with the basic package and adds a full year of registered agent service. You also get other critical pillars of an LLC such as an EIN, an operating agreement and a banking resolution, enabling you or an employee to open a bank account in the name of the new company. Also, all of the added features built into the Premium plan can be added to the Starter plan for an additional fee.