It’s important that you choose the best LLC service in New York for your limited liability company.
The right LLC service will have your business operational in just a few days, filing your articles of organization with the New York Secretary of State and applying for the necessary business licenses with local authorities as well.
The wrong LLC service will neglect to file the right paperwork with the right agencies, which will interrupt business operations and delay the launch of your limited liability company (LLC) for weeks, or even months.
To make sure you find the best LLC service for New York business, I’ve reviewed and rated the 10 best LLC services in New York using a four-stage investigation process and a five-factor rating system. Here are the results of my investigation into the best LLC services in New York.
1. Northwest Registered Agent: 9.45/10 (Best Overall LLC Service)
Northwest Registered Agent covers all the services that LLC owners need. It has great pricing and one feature that no other LLC service provides: small business advice.
Pros
Northwest Registered Agent puts in the work to get your LLC up and running smoothly.
It files your articles of organization with the New York Secretary of State and provides free registered agent service for a year, worry-free compliance (notifications to remind you about annual reports), and a simple-to-navigate online portal to store your documents.
It also offers a ton of extras, like a free consultation with an accountant to ensure your payment processing system is properly configured, a free operating agreement template, and a 90-day trial of its VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service.
You can also purchase other services for additional fees, like a Certificate of Good standing, a federal tax ID number or employer identification number (EIN), and state-certified copies of your formation documents.
But the service that truly sets Northwest apart from other formation services is its Corporate Guides. Northwest Registered Agent doesn’t have a generic, under-trained customer service team that’s only equipped to help you reset your password or get you updates about your filing submissions.
Instead, it has a team of US-based experts who are all former lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, and small business owners that make up its excellent customer service team. These expert guides will answer all the questions you have about running your New York LLC, not just about getting through the formation process.
But the last reason Northwest is at the top of my list of the best LLC services in New York is its price.
Northwest’s regular rate for its basic package is $225, which is great when you consider all the extra services. But I’ve negotiated a discount exclusively for BoostSuite readers. If you use my special sign-up link, you’ll get an 82% discount, which makes your total cost for LLC formation services only $39.
Like I said, Northwest’s regular price of $225 is reasonable, but this 82% discount down to $39 made it an easy decision to put it in my #1 spot.
Cons
The only limitation I could find with Northwest Registered Agent is that it doesn’t offer any services to help you create an online presence for your new business. Some LLC services offer premium features that include things like web hosting, domain name registration, Google advertising credits, and even free website builder tools. These services can cost $299 or more. Northwest doesn’t offer any of these website services.
But when you take into account that Google offers $500 in advertising credits to every new business, premium website builders (such as Squarespace) cost around $15/month, and domain name registration typically costs less than $12, it becomes evident that you can afford to pay for these services with the money you save with Northwest Registered Agent, and then some.
Overall
I chose Northwest Registered Agent as my top performer because it provides all the basics that small businesses need, and it has an outstanding US-based customer service team full of experts that can help you with any obstacle your business will inevitably face.
If you want an LLC formation service that will go out of its way to provide excellent support for your New York business and the best customer support of any of the New York LLC services, and you want to take advantage of the 82% discount I’ve negotiated for my readers, check out Northwest Registered Agent today.
2. ZenBusiness: 8.25/10 (Best Essentials LLC Service)
There’s no competition when it comes to ZenBusiness’ $0 price. But its lack of small business advice or free registered agent service is costly in the long run.
Pros
ZenBusiness’ essential LLC services start at $0. For that price it will double-check the accuracy of the information on your documents, run a business name availability search, and file your formation paperwork.
For $199 with its Pro plan, ZenBusiness provides expedited filing (approximately four to six days) as well as helping to create your operating agreement. For $299 with its Premium Plan, you get a number of tools to establish your company’s online presence, like a custom website-building tool, a domain name, and a business email address.
ZenBusiness’ customer service team is available during extended hours on weekdays, as well as Sundays, which is an unexpected but welcome luxury.
Cons
Although for $0 it will provide all of the services you need to get your LLC established in New York, if you need any other services you’ll have to pay additional fees for them. ZenBusiness charges $199 for registered agent service, and it doesn’t provide free registered agent service for your first year either. This means that you’ll be stuck with the full price the first year.
ZenBusiness’ customer service team is sufficient to answer your questions about the formation process and help you with password resets, but if you have questions about HR or logistics issues, they can’t help you with that.
Overall
ZenBusiness is a good choice if you want a company that will supply essential LLC formation services. It will help you fill out your formation documents and file them with the proper authorities for you.
Registered agent service is a feature that comes with additional fees, but features like a 100% accuracy guarantee and worry-free compliance will help you relax.
If you only require the essentials, you can check out ZenBusiness’s website.
3. Harbor Compliance: 7.15/10 (Best Premium LLC Service)
Harbor Compliance provides a dedicated account manager that addresses your questions and concerns. However, this service comes at a price.
Pros
Harbor Compliance provides all the services that small businesses expect from New York LLC services.
It submits your articles of organization to the New York Secretary of State, makes sure that your business name is available, helps you draft an operating agreement template, helps you apply for your EIN, and even throws in a year of free registered agent service, which regularly costs $99.
But its best service is its account managers.
You don’t have to call or email some random customer service agent who doesn’t know anything about your business, let alone the one they work for. Instead, you’re provided with a dedicated account manager that’s familiar with your business and circumstances, so they can give you advice that’s relevant to your particular situation.
Cons
The catch is that these services aren’t cheap.
Harbor Compliance charges $399 for its basic package and $799 for its Compliance package (meaning if you want compliance services to remind you about annual services, you’ll have to pay through the teeth for it). This means Harbor Compliance charges twice Northwest’s regular rates, and 10 times the special rate I negotiated.
It’s undoubtedly nice to have a personal account manager, but is it nice enough to pay an additional $360 for?
Overall
Harbor Compliance isn’t the best New York LLC service, but it is a trustworthy service that offers all the services and features that business owners want, and it sets itself apart in the New York LLC service industry by providing dedicated account managers to guide you through the formation process.
Of course, $399 is 10 times the price I’ve negotiated with Northwest Registered Agent, but Harbor Compliance is still a solid choice.
If you’d like the additional personalized support that a dedicated account manager can provide, and you don’t mind paying extra for it, then check out Harbor Compliance here.
4. Rocket Lawyer
Surprisingly few people know that Rocket Lawyer provides LLC services because it’s a big name in the business world, well known for its legal services.
Rocket Lawyer offers online legal services, which is a feature that many other New York LLC formation services don’t deliver. But Rocket Lawyer will also file your articles of organization with the New York Secretary of State, check the availability of your business name, and more with its $99 basic formation package.
In addition to its formation services, you’ll get a 30-day free trial of Rocket Lawyer’s online legal services (usually $99). These legal services include access to a vast library of legal documents that you can customize to suit your needs, a 30-minute consultation with a lawyer about any topic, an attorney to verify your documents, and attorney protection should any of your legal documents be challenged in court.
Unfortunately, Rocket Lawyer doesn’t provide any of the additional services and extras that Northwest Registered Agent provides with its $39 basic package. Your company won’t get registered agent service unless you’re willing to pay $149/year for it. It also doesn't provide VoIP service or compliance alerts to remind you of annual report filing.
All you have to do is sign up for a free account and subscription to access Rocket Lawyer’s legal services. So, there’s nothing stopping you from signing up for Northwest Registered Agent’s industry-leading and low-priced LLC formation services and Rocket Lawyer’s legal services to boot.
If you’d like to know more about the products and services that Rocket Lawyer provides, click here to read my full Rocket Lawyer review.
5. Swyft Filings
Swyft Filings was established in 2012, which makes it new to the New York LLC formation service industry.
It offers a surprising number of features with its $49 basic package. Of course, like most LLC filing companies, Swyft Filings will file your articles of organization with the New York Secretary of State, provide you with an online portal to access your documents, and give you a 30-minute business tax consultation and a business domain name.
But rather than offering a free year of registered agent service like Northwest does, Swyft Filings charges $149 per year for registered agent service. This means you’ll pay a lot more in the long run.
If you want to know more about Swyft Filings, you can check out my Swyft Filings review.
6. MyCompanyWorks
MyCompanyWorks is inconsistent when it comes to the quality of its services.
It has a basic LLC formation service package that includes your articles of organization, an operating agreement, an online document portal, and compliance alerts.
However, the only way to get a free year of New York registered agent service is if you spring for the $279 premium package. Given that Northwest offers a complimentary year of registered agent service with its $39 basic package, MyCompanyWorks isn’t the best choice.
7. Inc Authority
When you first look at Inc Authority, it seems like another budget option. But when you examine it more closely, it becomes clear that Inc Authority’s services are anything but “budget.”
It’ll help you fill out and file your formation documents for free (except for state filing fees), but if you need any other services (like registered agent service or compliance alerts), then you’ll have to pay a lot of expensive additional fees.
Inc Authority has a $399 basic package, which includes an LLC operating agreement, an EIN, and a company seal. Its $799 premium package is the only package that includes a year of free registered agent service.
If you’re low on cash and simply want your formation documents filed with the appropriate New York government agencies, then ZenBusiness is the better alternative.
8. Incorporate Fast
Incorporate Fast is an LLC formation service that offers a $99 basic package.
Some of the services offered in this package include the filing of your articles of organization, free registered agent services for a year, help drafting your operating agreement, and several sample business documents that can be helpful when forming an LLC.
It doesn’t offer any extra goodies, like a document storage portal or business tax assessment consultations, but you can get help applying for an EIN if you choose the $199 package.
Incorporate Fast’s unique feature is that it’ll process any new business filing it receives the same day. There aren’t any other New York LLC formation services that can make that promise, so if you’re in a hurry to get your business established, no matter the cost, then Incorporate Fast may be a good option for you.
But if you’d rather choose a quality New York LLC service with the best customer support and prices around, then you should choose Northwest Registered Agent instead.
9. BizFilings
This is yet another LLC formation service with a $99 basic package.
With its basic package, BizFilings will file your formation documents and provide a complimentary year of registered agent services, as well as compliance notifications. But because you won’t get any extra services like help with your operating agreement, accounting consultations, or an online document storage portal, you’re ultimately paying more for LLC formation services in the long run.
10. LegalZoom
Continuing the trend of LLC formation services with $99 substandard basic packages, LegalZoom doesn’t offer much with its basic package. In fact, the only two services it offers for that price are filing your formation documents and providing a banking resolution so you can open a business bank account, but that’s it.
If you’re already using LegalZoom for its legal services or registered agent services, then it may make sense for you to use it, due to the convenience and peace of mind that can come from using one company to take care of all your business concerns. Otherwise, it doesn’t make sense to choose LegalZoom simply for its LLC formation services.
If you’d like to read more about LegalZoom’s products and service offerings, then read my thorough LegalZoom review here.
Other LLC Services
There were seven other LLC formation companies that I checked out during research for my best LLC services list, but they were so mediocre that I didn’t feel they deserved full reviews. Here they are in no particular order.
11. Incorporate.com
Like some of the other LLC formation companies on my list, Incorporate.com offers a basic formation package for $99. The only two services you get for that price are online document storage and filing your articles of organization.
12. CorpNet
CorpNet has a $108 basic LLC formation package, but for that price, it’ll only file your formation documents and issue compliance alerts. That’s it.
13. MyCorporation
MyCorporation charges $133 for its LLC formation service, which consists of filing your articles of organization and helping you draft your operating agreement. If you want any other services, you’ll have to pay extra for them.
14. Direct Incorporation
Direct Incorporation offers the same services as MyCorporation (filing your formation documents and helping you with your operating agreement), as well as an EIN and banking resolution to help you open a business bank account. But it charges $147 (plus state fees) for these limited services.
15. InCorp
InCorp has a $117 basic package, which provides you with formation document filing and operating agreement assistance. But if you want anything else, you’re going to have to pay extra fees.
If you’d like to learn more about InCorp’s services, you can check out my full InCorp review.
16. Nationwide Incorporations
Nationwide Incorporations offers the same LLC formation services as MyCorporation (filing your formation documents and drafting your operating agreement), but it charges $200 for them (plus state fees).
17. SunDoc Filings
The only LLC formation service you get with SunDoc Filings’s $79 (plus state fees) basic package is filing your formation documents. It has a $99 “key” package that includes help drafting your operating agreement, and a $279 premier package that features assistance applying for your EIN. In short, you’ll pay more for SunDoc Filings’s LLC formation services over time than it’s worth.
The Best LLC Service in New York Review Summary
Out of the 10 best LLC services in New York, Northwest Registered Agent is the best service provider for most businesses.
It has a $39 (plus state fees) basic package that covers all the services you need to legally establish your LLC and get it up and running, as well as superior customer support and business advice from its experienced Corporate Guides. Such services could cost as much as $5,000/day from a consulting firm.
If you’re ready to establish your LLC and want an LLC formation service that provides all the services you need, as well as high quality customer support that can help guide your company through any of the struggles it may face, head to Northwest Registered Agent today.
Best LLC Service Review Methodology
This is the method I used to choose the best LLC services.
Why You Should Trust Me
You should trust me to make quality LLC formation service recommendations because I know more about the LLC service industry than nearly anyone else, even some people working in the industry.
I began my journey by using three different LLC services for my three New York businesses. Yes, I actually had to use three. This was because two of the companies didn’t cover all the services I needed. I’m not going to list these services here because they’ve improved their services over time, and I don’t feel that you should make a decision about these companies based on inaccurate information.
I used the third service to create this website. It has exceeded my expectations and definitely provided me with more services and better quality than I paid for. That’s why Northwest Registered Agent is my top pick for the best LLC service in New York.
But my knowledge isn’t limited to my own experience as a business owner. I’ve also gained loads of experience from helping other business owners find the right LLC service to meet their business needs. I’ve helped over 1,000 different people find the best formation service for their businesses since I first started BoostSuite. And distributing all this advice has provided me with a wealth of knowledge because I had to study the industry extensively to provide it.
How I Selected the Best LLC Service
I used a four-stage investigation process to choose the best LLC service in New York.
Stage 1: Reviews
I began my investigation by reading online reviews of major LLC formation companies in New York. It’s common practice among the biggest LLC formation companies on the market to encourage customers to leave positive customer reviews. A few of the companies have amassed over 4,500 positive customer reviews online!
This online customer feedback gave me a good general idea about each company. It also gave me enough information to weed out the inferior formation companies.
Stage 2: Website Analysis
After I’d learned a bit about the leading companies from online reviews, it was time to dig into the information presented on their websites. So, I read their titles and headlines to find out about their services and prices, as well as the claims they made.
This also gave me the opportunity to understand how each company viewed its services and position in the market.
Stage 3: Speaking With Real Customers
After I learned how each LLC formation company viewed its market position and found out about the claims it made, it was time to find out how well it actually lived up to those claims. Sometimes you can get this information from online reviews, but customers often don’t leave online reviews unless they’ve had either a really good or a horrible experience with a company. This means that online customer feedback is skewed to the extremes, and if you base your opinions of a company on online reviews alone, you won’t get the whole picture.
I decided to reach out to actual customers who could talk to me about their experience with LLC formation companies. I did this by reaching out to friends I knew who had used formation services, customers to whom I’d made LLC service recommendations, and visitors to my site.
This customer feedback gave me a more balanced idea of what it’s like to work with each company. The customers told me all about the positive and negative aspects of their experiences.
This stage allowed me to understand the customer experience that each company provides, and it propelled my investigation toward the last stage.
Stage 4: Speaking With Their Sales Teams
The last stage of my investigation involved talking to each company’s customer support and sales team over the phone.
I gathered all the information and customer feedback I’d collected during my investigation and pushed the sales and customer support teams for answers about these negative customer reviews.
This last stage allowed me to learn a great deal about each company because it showed me how it reacts to negative customer reviews and criticism.
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Rating Factors
I used five different rating factors to evaluate each New York LLC service.
Factor 1: Offerings
It became apparent quite early on that the first factor I should consider was the services offered by each company.
Some online LLC filing services will simply file your formation documents and won’t provide you with anything else unless you pay an arm and a leg for the additional services. Other companies will provide you with assistance with your operating agreement, a business tax consultation with an accountant, and a year of free registered agent services.
I started my evaluation here because of the wide difference in the types of services offered by LLC services in New York.
Factor 2: Price
I also had to consider price when rating LLC services. Some companies charge $0 (plus state filing fees), while others won’t even file your formation documents for under $399.
I combined this price discrepancy with the discrepancy in services to determine the cost per service of each provider and used that as a factor for rating each service.
Factor 3: Ease of Sign-Up
Another important factor I chose to evaluate each company according to was how easy it was to sign up with them.
Some companies will provide you with pre-filled forms and only require a signature from you. Other companies will hand you a stack of standard forms and require you to fill in all the necessary information (even though you’ve already given them the information) and make you provide the same information in several sections of the form.
Nobody has time for an LLC service that wastes their time with a complicated sign-up process, so, to save you some time and headache, I rated each company according to how quick and painless signing up is.
Factor 4: Ease of Use
One important factor that many people skip over is how easy it is to use an LLC service’s system.
Some LLC services have confusing, glitchy, out-of-date systems that look like they were designed and built during the 90’s by a high school coding class. Then there are others that spend millions of dollars and untold effort to deliver a sleek, top-of-the-line, easy-to-use system with the latest servers, and focus on the customer experience.
Obviously, the user-friendly and updated system with great servers is preferable to the outdated, confusing system. To save you from dealing with an archaic, clunky system, I rated each LLC service based on how easy and streamlined its systems are.
Factor 5: Customer Service
It doesn’t matter how much time and money were put into a system, you’ll eventually encounter a problem or need to ask a question, and it’s during these times that customer support really matters.
Some LLC services establish their customer service centers in foreign countries and then staff them with unskilled locals who haven’t ever been to the United States, let alone have experience with owning a business in the States. Then there are other companies, like Northwest Registered Agent, who provide a US-based team of professionals made up of former lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who have the experience to not only handle your customer service issues and answer questions about the formation process but also walk you through any problem your business entity may face.
I’m not the only one who puts high value on customer service, either. If you check out the customer reviews of many customers online, lots of feedback tends to center around customer support and whether it was stellar or lackluster.
So because of the difference in customer service quality I experienced with LLC formation services in New York, I knew I had to use this as a rating factor.
In Conclusion
Northwest provides all the basic services you need to get your new business entity established, like filing your articles of organization, providing an online document storage portal, and giving you a free year of registered agent service.
It also offers all the services you want. Northwest will provide you with an operating agreement template, a consultation with its accounting team to make sure your payment system is set up properly, and a trial of its VoIP service.
Northwest’s real standout service is its Corporate Guides.
Its US-based Corporate Guide team is made up of former lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who can guide you through the LLC formation process. They also have the experience necessary to answer questions about business management and give you advice about your business.
Northwest doesn’t offer any premium services to help you establish an online presence for your new business, but thanks to the 82% discount I’ve arranged for Boost Suite readers ($39 plus state fees), you’ll have more than enough money leftover to buy these services with the money you save.
If you’re ready to start your new business, then visit Northwest Registered Agent today.
While you’re learning about LLC formation services, it’s a good idea to choose a registered agent, as well. A registered agent is a person or business entity that accepts service of process, mail, and legal documents on behalf of your business. To find out more about what a registered agent can do for you, check out my article Best Registered Agent Services.
