The 10 Best LLC services in Michigan: Reviewed and Ranked

Finding the best LLC service in Michigan is critical to the success of your business. 

The right LLC service will set up your limited liability company within a matter of days and make sure that all your paperwork has been properly drafted and filed with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs.

The wrong LLC service will delay your registration process for weeks, charge you an absurd amount of money for substandard services, and exclude such crucial services as compliance alerts, which could cause your LLC in Michigan trouble with the law.

I’ve reviewed and ranked the 10 best LLC services in Michigan through a four-stage, five-factor analysis. Here are my results:

1. Northwest Registered Agent: 9.45/10 (Best Overall LLC Service)

Northwest Registered Agent is the best LLC formation service on this list. It takes care of all the basics and it’s the only LLC service on this list that provides small business advice as part of its formation services.

Pros

Northwest Registered Agent’s $39 formation package will assist you with preparing and filing your articles of organization with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. It’ll also help with drawing up your limited liability company’s operating agreement, provide a 90-day free Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service so that you can make cheap phone calls using your internet connection, and will also make sure that your Michigan LLC receives compliance alerts so that you don’t miss any important filing deadlines.

On top of that, it provides a business tax consultation with its in-house accounting department, an online document storage portal, and a free year of registered agent service (also known as resident agent service).

Northwest also has additional services such as access to state-certified copies of your formation documents, assistance with applying for an employer identification number (EIN), and a Certificate of Good Standing available for purchase when needed. 

However, the key feature that differentiates Northwest Registered Agent from other Michigan LLC services on this list is its customer service.

Northwest’s customer support, called Corporate Guides, is made up of US-based former small business owners, lawyers, and accountants with years of experience in running a successful business. They’re available every weekday during normal business hours to answer questions about running a business in the state of Michigan. 

Most often, this type of assistance can cost an arm and a leg, especially challenging for a business that’s starting out. It’s good to come across a resident agent that has this feature in its formation service.

The standard price for its formation package is $225 but I’ve managed to get a sweet deal for BoostSuite readers in which you can get an 82% discount when you use my dedicated link to Northwest’s sign-up page. This brings the cost down to an affordable $39.

Cons

Northwest’s only drawback is that it does not provide any services that assist your business in achieving an online presence, such as a personalized business website, an email service, or a domain name registration.

However, you can get these services from online website-building tools with companies like Squarespace and Wix, so this is not a major concern.

Overall

Northwest Registered Agent is my choice for the best LLC formation service. It offers all the basic LLC formation services you would expect from a Michigan resident agent at the most affordable price, coupled with a support team of highly experienced former small business owners that go above and beyond to make sure you get all the information you need to start and run an LLC in Michigan.

Its LLC service’s $39 price is affordable and offers good value for your money. So if you need an LLC formation service that provides affordable and reliable services coupled with amazing customer service, visit Northwest Registered Agent today and get an 82% discount on LLC formation.

2. ZenBusiness: 8.25/10 (Best Essentials Service)

You’re not going to find a better price than ZenBusiness’ $0 (plus state fees), but because it doesn’t offer free registered agent services or small business advice, you’ll just end up paying more for it in the long run. 

Pros

ZenBusiness’ biggest draw is that it will provide the essential LLC service for only $0 (plus state fees). It will make sure that all of the information on your formation documents is correct and that your business name is available, as well as file your documents with the Secretary of State’s office. 

This provider also offers a Pro plan for $199 that includes help with your operating agreement and expedited filing that takes around four to six days, as well as a $299 Premium plan that includes a custom website building tool, domain name, email address, and rush filing in as little as one to two days. 

Furthermore, its customer service is available to customers during extended hours on weekdays and on Sundays. 

Cons

ZenBusiness’ $0 fee may be a little deceptive because that only covers the basics, and if you need anything more than that you’ll have to pay additional fees for it. 

The “free registered agent service for the first year” promotion that some LLC services offer is popular for a reason. It’s a great value! But ZenBusiness doesn’t offer this promo, which means you’ll have to pay full price the first year. Boo! 

Though ZenBusiness’ customer service team is able to answer your questions about the formation process and help you with changing your password, they don’t offer small business advice. So, if you have a business question or need legal advice, they’re not the provider for you. 

Overall

ZenBusiness really can help you establish your LLC for only the cost of the state fees. It will not only file the paperwork for you, but help you fill it out, and its customer service team is there to support you throughout the process. 

If you want registered agent service, then that’s going to cost you more than the initial $0. But they have worry-free compliance and a 100% accuracy guarantee that provides peace of mind. 

If you want a company to provide you with all of the services you need, you can read more about ZenBusiness on its website.

3. Harbor Compliance: 7.15/10 (Best Premium LLC Service)

Harbor Compliance is the best premium LLC service on this list. Just like Northwest Registered Agent, it offers top-class customer service but this, as you’ll learn, comes at a cost.

Pros

Harbor Compliance’s LLC formation service includes basics like an operating agreement template, drawing up and filing your articles of organization with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, an office address in the state, assistance with applying for an EIN, and a full year’s worth of resident agent services (valued at $99).

However, the major difference between Harbor Compliance and Northwest is in their customer service approach. With Harbor Compliance, you get your own personal representative who understands your business’s challenges and will offer advice tailored to your personal situation.

Cons

Being a premium LLC service, the Harbor Compliance LLC formation package will set you back $399, while its Compliance package costs around $799. This is more than ten times the amount Northwest Registered Agent charges for its formation package.

Overall

Harbor Compliance is a premium LLC formation service in Michigan that provides reliable formation services, such as filing your articles of organization with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and it even provides a full year of registered agent services. 

It also provides a personal support representative who will provide assistance during your business formation process.

At $399, its formation service is quite expensive compared with other services on this list, but it does offer good value for money with its personalized services.

If you are content with paying $399 for a few services you need plus a personal representative who will help you get your Michigan LLC running and offer advice when you need it, please visit the Harbor Compliance website.

4. Rocket Lawyer

Rocket Lawyer ranks third on my list because apart from offering reliable LLC formation services, it also provides legal assistance to its customers.

Rocket Lawyer’s $99.99 LLC formation package provides a variety of basic services, such as filing your articles of organization with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, and you also get an automatic seven-day membership of its legal services membership, which includes a wide array of fully customizable legal documents, and a 30-minute consultation with a lawyer on any pressing legal matter.

Additionally, your legal documents will be reviewed by a lawyer, and you’ll be subject to attorney protection in case your business’s legality is questioned.

Due to its continued focus on legal services, Rocket Lawyer does not provide more comprehensive services. For instance, it doesn't include a free year of registered agent services (you’ll have to pay $149 per year for this service), a phone service, or compliance alerts in its LLC formation package.

Northwest, in comparison, provides all these services in its highly discounted $39 LLC formation package.

Rocket Lawyer is a good alternative if you require ongoing legal support and services after starting a Michigan LLC. This platform is particularly beneficial for first-time business owners who are unfamiliar with the state's business regulatory requirements. However, if you want more comprehensive services, Northwest offers a wide range of critical LLC services (including a free resident agent service for 12 months) in its $39 package.

5. Swyft Filings

In 5th place is Swyft Filings. It’s a full-service LLC service whose $49 basic package gets you all the services you’d expect from a Michigan LLC formation provider.

This includes an online portal to access your important documents, assistance with filing your articles of organization, a business address in the state of Michigan where you can receive mail and Service of Process from the Secretary of State’s office, a free 30-minute tax consultation with its in-house accountants and a registered domain name for your business. 

The only issue with Swyft Filings is if you need a full year of registered agent service, you need to part with $149. This makes them three times more expensive than Northwest Registered Agent.

To learn more about its services, read my full Swyft Filings review here. 

6. MyCompanyWorks

MyCompanyWorks offers basic LLC formation services at a cost of $79. This package includes an online portal where you can access your important documents, assistance with filing your articles of organization, help with drawing up your operating agreement, a business address in the state, and compliance alerts so you don’t miss any important filing deadlines

Its customer service ranks as high as its two main competitors (Northwest Registered Agent and Harbor Compliance) and, out of 3,500 online reviews, it has garnered an average score of 4.5/5.

If you want its registered agent service, you'll have to upgrade to the Premium package, which costs $279.

Choosing MyCompanyWorks as your LLC formation provider will surely leave a dent in your pockets, but if you’d like to give them a try, please visit the website and find out more about its service. 

Otherwise, Northwest Registered Agent is a better option given that it offers the same basic services, including a full year’s worth of LLC services for just $39.

7. Inc Authority

Inc Authority is another expensive LLC formation provider that tries to sell itself as a budget option. It offers assistance with filing your articles of organization at no charge but that is where the freebies end.

If you need help with applying for an EIN, an operating agreement template, or even a company seal, you’ll need to fork out $399 (plus state fees) to pay for its basic services. Also, if you need to upgrade to its premium service, which includes a full year of registered agent service, you’ll have to part with $799. 

If all you need is to file your formation documents with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, you are better off choosing ZenBusiness over IncAuthority.

8. Incorporate Fast

Incorporate Fast prides itself on being the only LLC formation provider that processes every new LLC filing within the first 24 hours. 

For just $99, it will process and file the articles of organization with the Secretary of State within one day, assist with your operating agreement, give you a free year of registered agent service, and provide a couple of sample legal documents to help set up your Michigan LLC.

The reason why it’s fallen to eighth place on this list is that it does not provide free tax consultations or an online portal to store your documents. But if you purchase its $199 Premium package, it assists you with applying for an EIN.

9. BizFilings

BizFilings is an LLC formation provider that offers a basic package at a cost of $99. For that, you get assistance with filing your articles of organization, a free year of resident agent services, compliance alerts so you don’t miss key deadlines, and a business address in the state.

Unlike Northwest Registered Agent, BizFilings doesn’t provide you with any extra services, such as an online portal to store your documents, operating agreement templates, or business tax assessment services. 

10. LegalZoom

LegalZoom’s online legal services are its primary business, but it also dabbles in basic LLC services. Its only features include filing your articles of organization with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs and a banking resolution for your LLC. It charges $99 for these services, which sounds like a lot compared with other resident agent services such as Northwest Registered Agent.

If you require online legal support for your Michigan LLC you can visit LegalZoom’s website for more information. 

Other Michigan LLC Services

I have investigated seven other LLC service providers as part of my review, but unlike the 10 services mentioned above, the services listed below do not warrant a full review. Here they are:

11. Incorporate.com

Just like Rocket Lawyer and LegalZoom, Incorporate.com doesn’t offer much in terms of LLC services. The only services it provides are an online portal for your important documents and assistance with filing your formation paperwork.

12. CorpNet

For $79, CorpNet will only file your formation paperwork and offer compliance alerts so you don’t miss any key filing deadlines such as the one for filing your annual report with the Michigan Secretary of State.

At that price, you are better off choosing Northwest Registered Agent as your LLC formation provider and getting all the above services and more for just $39.

13. MyCorporation

MyCorporation charges $133 (plus state fees) to prepare your operating agreement and process your articles of organization. If you need more comprehensive features like those you get from Northwest Registered Agent, you’ll incur extra costs.

14. Direct Incorporation

Unlike MyCorporation, Direct Incorporation help you obtain an EIN and a banking solution for your Michigan LLC as part of its formation service. It is, however, the more expensive of the two with a price tag of $147.

15. InCorp

As part of its LLC formation service, InCorp assists with drafting both your articles of organization and your operating agreement for $117. If you need additional services, you have to dig deeper into your pockets.

16. Nationwide Incorporations

Nationwide Incorporations is just a more expensive imitation of InCorp. It offers the same services but at a cost of $200.

17. SunDoc Filings

SunDoc Filings’ basic package costs $79 and for that you get your articles of organization filed with the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Its $99 package offers assistance with drafting your operating agreement and its $279 premium package provides you with an EIN.

The Best LLC Services Review Summary

After hours of analyzing multiple LLC services in Michigan, I concluded that Northwest Registered Agent is the best LLC service in the state.

As part of its basic package, it provides all the necessary elements:

• A business address in Michigan
• Assistance with drafting your operating agreement
• Assistance with filing your articles of organization
• Compliance alerts so you don’t miss key filing deadlines
• A 30-minute free consultation with its in-house accountants
• A free year of registered agent service
• A 90-day free trial of Voice over Internet Protocol service
• An online document storage portal

Its $39 price tag offers the best value compared with any other LLC service in the state of Michigan. If you need an LLC service that will get your Michigan LLC up and running with no hassles, head to Northwest Registered Agent now.

*All prices quoted are on a per state, per year basis, except for one-off purchases.

Best LLC Service Review Methodology 

This is the procedure I used to establish the best LLC service in the state of Michigan.

Why You Should Trust Me

You should put your trust in me because I have spent more time reviewing LLC formation providers than just about anyone out there.

My journey started when I was setting up my first limited liability company. Because I was new in the field, I did not have the knowledge necessary to understand the process involved in drafting my articles of organization. Therefore, I decided to entrust this process to a professional LLC service.

Regrettably, the LLC service I chose proved to be both expensive and limited in the scope of services that it offered. (I won’t name them here because it was years ago and I believe you shouldn’t judge a business based on old information.)

During my second foray into the business world, I settled on Northwest Registered Agent as my LLC service and, this time around, the process was hassle-free and it was able to provide all the support I needed.

I later sold my second business and began looking for a new business opportunity and, after securing significant capital, I decided to seek the services of a premium LLC service. I settled on Harbor Compliance. The personal support representative walked me through the entire process of establishing my limited liability company and eventually, the service they delivered was beyond my expectations.

My experience, however, isn’t limited to using only these two LLC services. While looking around for a new business opportunity, I had a chat with random small business owners about the challenges they faced when starting their businesses and they all echoed the same message—there is a great deal of small business advice out there, but the problem is sifting through it to find what is relevant and best for your particular situation.

This is the reason I launched BoostSuite—to help business owners access the best business advice. Since then, I’ve helped over 1,000 people find the best LLC service for their new businesses.

How I Selected the Best LLC Service

I used a four-stage process to determine the best LLC formation provider in Michigan.

Stage 1: Reviews

The first step was to sift through the thousands of online reviews of the leading LLC services in Michigan. This meant visiting websites such as Google Business, TrustPilot, and the Better Business Bureau to create a summary of the type and quality of services offered by the different LLC formation services in the state of Michigan.

Stage 2: Website Analysis

After isolating the serious players from the list of underperformers, I logged onto each major LLC service provider’s website so that I could make sense of the services it offered. This process included checking out the service costs and whether any additional or comprehensive services would set them apart from the general competition.

Stage 3: Speaking With Actual Customers

After I understood how each LLC service tried to position itself in the market, the next stage of the process was to speak to actual clients to see if these companies lived up to their claims.

I reached out to friends and people to whom I’d previously recommended a formation service and asked about their experiences with that particular recommendation, how intuitive its website was, and how effective its customer service team was. This gave me an in-depth understanding of each service provider’s offerings.

Stage 4: Speaking With Their Sales Teams

The last stage in this process was to get in touch with their customer service teams and push them for answers regarding the criticisms that had been meted out to them in the online review sections that I had looked at earlier. This helped me understand how well each company dealt with negative feedback. 

Rating Factors

During my analysis, I ranked each LLC service on the five factors listed below.

Factor 1: Offerings

The first factor I used to assess each LLC service was the type of services it offered. Some companies offer just the bare minimum services such as filing your articles of organization and a business address in Michigan and then leave you to figure out the rest for yourself.

Others, like Northwest Registered Agent, offer more comprehensive services such as assistance with filing for an EIN and access to a certified accountant who is available for consultation. Because of the disparity in available services from each company, my analysis began with this factor.

Factor 2: Price

Cost per service was the second factor I used to rate these formation providers. Some LLC services charge next to nothing to set up your Michigan LLC while others will cost you an arm and a leg for even the most basic services.

To make sure that you get exactly what you pay for, I organized this list so that the services that offer the best value for your money were in the top half of the list while those that don’t remained in the bottom half.

Factor 3: Ease of Sign-Up

The third factor I used in my analysis was how easy it was to sign up to an LLC service website.

Some companies have outdated websites that appear to have never been updated since the advent of the internet, while others are so sleek and intuitive that even a five-year old could maneuver around them without any issues. 

I examined every Michigan LLC service website on this list to find out which ones required the least amount of effort when signing up.

Factor 4: Ease of Use

After signing up, I went on to examine how easy it was to navigate through the websites of each Michigan LLC service. I did this by filling out forms for a fictional LLC and sending them over to the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. 

I found out that while some websites offered pre-filled forms for a quick and seamless process, others provided blank forms that required me to fill out the same information I had provided during previous stages of registration. This repetition is not only annoying but also a waste of precious time.

Factor 5: Customer Service

My final factor in this analysis is the quality of customer service offered by these LLC services. 

Some companies on this list have outsourced their customer services to call centers in developing countries where they are staffed with untrained locals who know next-to-nothing about how to do business in Michigan, or anywhere in the US for that matter.

I contacted the customer support departments of each Michigan LLC service through every conceivable means (email, phone calls, and even their online chat forums) to try and test their response times and how focused they are on customer satisfaction.

In Conclusion

After assessing the 10 best Michigan LLC services through my four-stage, five-factor analysis, I concluded that Northwest Registered Agent is the best LLC service in Michigan.

For $99, it’ll cover all the basics, including a business address in Michigan, assistance in drafting your operating agreement, filing of your initial formation paperwork, a free 30-minute session with its in-house accounting team to make sure your business accounting system is properly set up, a 90-day free trial of VoIP service, an online document storage portal, and a full year’s worth of resident agent service.

Northwest’s Corporate Guides are a team of business experts who provide assistance with your business formation process and offer top-notch business advice that will help you through your entire business journey. If you are ready to start your business in Michigan, head over to Northwest Registered Agent now and receive an 82% discount on LLC formation.