Features

While LegalZoom covers all bases across its plans, its higher-tier plans offer extra features that are ideal for small businesses that are growing and that have more complex legal needs.

LegalZoom’s basic features found across all the LLC formation plans include a name check service, a customizable website and certificate of formation preparation and filing with the Washington Office of the Secretary of State, Corporations & Charities Division. All plans also include a digital welcome packet with a checklist outlining the important tasks your business should take after getting your LLC registered in Washington.

The Pro and Premium plans add in features such as an employer identification number (EIN), an operating agreement and phone consultations. With the most expensive Premium plan, small business owners will also receive personalized advice and consultations with business attorneys. This plan also allows business owners to make changes to their LLC formation documents free of charge for the first 30 days.

Along with many other LLC services, LegalZoom offers a free LLC formation plan where you only pay the $200 filing fee set by the state of Washington. However, this free plan only includes the most basic features.

The Pro and Premium plans cost $249 and $299, respectively (plus the $200 Washington LLC filing fee). While these plans require more of an investment, you may decide that they are worth the cost because of the additional services they include. If you want to consult with an attorney about more complex needs, the Premium plan for $299 could be the best fit.

It is important to note that none of LegalZoom’s plans include registered agent service. It is available for $249 per year as an add-on to any of the free or paid plans. The cost is a bit pricey for this service, as some competitors offer it for free for the first year, and several others charge $200 or less per year.

Customer Service

While LegalZoom does not offer 24/7 customer support, it has live agents available every day (5 a.m. to 7 p.m. PT, Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. PT, Saturday and Sunday). There is also a live chat feature on the website for more basic questions or times when you would prefer not to speak over the phone. LegalZoom customers can also explore the Forms & eSign Knowledge Base to locate answers to more common questions on their own.

LegalZoom is a well-known and well-trusted LLC formation service. More than 4 million business owners have used it to incorporate their companies. The company has a high rating on Trustpilot, showcasing the overall satisfaction of the majority of customers. To offer additional peace of mind, LegalZoom also guarantees its services and promises to correct any mistakes on its end at no cost to the customer.

Learn more: Read our full LegalZoom review .

Features

Customer Service

Learn more: Read our full .

Northwest Registered Agent

Features

We found Northwest Registered Agent’s state-specific LLC formation guides of note, with helpful information on specific Washington 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.

Northwest Registered Agent only offers one LLC formation plan. In addition to filing your paperwork with the Washington Office of the Secretary of State, Corporations & Charities Division, 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. It also offers business formation services that allow you to form your LLC and expand to states anywhere in the country, including Washington, D.C.

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

Northwest Registered Agent’s plan is inexpensively priced at $39 (plus the $200 Washington filing fee), especially considering all it includes. 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.

Customer Service

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 using 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 good, with the company earning an average rating of 4.7 stars with over 1,000 reviews at the time of writing.

Those on Trustpilot, on the other hand, are not as glowing. Here, Northwest Registered Agent has an average rating from nearly 100 reviews. The one-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 .