The 10 Best LLC Services in Vermont: Reviewed and Ranked

It’s absolutely imperative that you choose the best LLC service when starting your new business in Vermont.

The right LLC service will file all the right paperwork, get the proper business licenses to establish your LLC with the Vermont Secretary of State, and quickly get your business running. 

The wrong LLC service won’t file your articles of organization correctly, or any other necessary formation documents, with the Vermont Secretary of State or other relevant government agencies, which could delay the launch of your business by weeks or even months. 

I’ve reviewed and rated 10 of the best LLC services in Vermont using a four-stage, five-factor rating process so that you choose the best LLC formation service for your limited liability company (LLC). Here are the results of my investigation into the best LLC service in Vermont.

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

Northwest Registered Agent received my #1 recommendation because it checks all the boxes and provides all the services your Vermont LLC needs, as well as great pricing, and it’s the only Vermont LLC formation service to offer small business advice.

Pros

There are a lot of benefits to enjoy with Northwest Registered Agent, which handles all the work to get your Vermont business running. 

Northwest will file all of your formation paperwork with the appropriate government agencies , provide free registered agent service for a year, send compliance alerts to remind you to pay federal taxes or state income taxes, and provide an online document storage system that allows you to manage and view your documents using an online account. 

Some of the other services that Northwest offers include a free consultation with accountants to ensure your payment processing system is properly configured, a 90-day trial of VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) service, and a Vermont LLC operating agreement template. 

There are also a number of optional add-ons that you can choose at check out, such as a federal tax identification number (also known as an employer identification number), state-certified copies of your formation documents, and a Certificate of Good Standing for your Vermont LLC. 

Northwest’s most impressive feature is its Corporate Guides. 

Rather than the standard customer service, Northwest has a team of US-based professionals made up of former lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who know what it’s like to establish a business entity in Vermont. 

Because they’ve either been through the LLC formation process themselves or helped guide countless other business owners through the process, these guides can answer any question you may have about not only the formation process, but also about running and managing your new business entity, as well as any obstacle you may encounter along your business journey. 

No other LLC formation service in Vermont offers this sort of business advice. In fact, this type of consultation typically costs around $5,000 per day from business consulting firms, so Northwest’s Corporate Guides make it a great value. 

The last reason I chose to put Northwest at the top of my list is its price. 

Its standard rate of $225 is great when you consider that this includes its Corporate Guide service. But I’ve been able to negotiate a special price for Boost Suite readers. If you use my link to sign up, you’ll get an 82% discount, which means you can get Northwest Registered Agent’s LLC services for an astounding $39 (plus state filing fee). 

With all the great services offered by Northwest, $225 is more than a fair price, but with an 82% discount, there really was no competition for the #1 spot. 

Cons

The only drawback to using Northwest Registered Agent’s LLC formation service to set up your LLC in Vermont is it doesn’t come with any services to help you establish an online presence. You can find LLC services that offer tools to set up your website among their premium service options, which usually start at $299 or more. Some options include a free website builder, Google advertising credits, web hosting, and a free year of business name domain registration. 

But the thing is, Google provides $500 in advertising credits to every new business entity anyway, premium website building platforms like Squarespace typically cost around $15/month, and business domain name registration is usually less than $12. This means that with the money you save using Northwest’s LLC formation services, you’ll have enough left over to pay for these services, and then some. 

Overall

Northwest Registered Agent is my #1 recommendation for the best LLC service in Vermont because it offers everything you need to properly establish your LLC in Vermont, and it has an incredible team of US-based Corporate Guides made up of people who know what the LLC formation process is like in Vermont and can help you with all the challenges that your Vermont LLC will inevitably face.

If you want not only the best LLC formation service in Vermont, but also a company that will go beyond your expectations to support your Vermont LLC, with an  82% discount, head over to Northwest Registered Agent today. 

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

ZenBusiness’ $0 price is the best rate you’ll find on the market, but the cost can pile up if you need extra services.

Pros

ZenBusiness supplies all the essential tools you need to set up your LLC. For just the price of the filing fee, ZenBusiness will run a business name availability check, make sure all of the information you’ve listed on your documents is accurate, and file them on your behalf. 

If you want expedited filing (four to six days), you can upgrade to its Pro plan, which also includes assistance creating an operating agreement. For even faster filing, you can sign up for its $299 Premium plan to take advantage of its rush filing (as little as one to two days), which also includes a business domain name, an email address, and a custom website builder. 

Another bonus is that its US-based customer service team keeps extended hours on weekdays and on Sundays. 

Cons

Although ZenBusiness’ basic LLC services are pretty much free, if you need anything beyond the essentials you’ll have to pay extra for them. 

ZenBusiness doesn’t include a year of free registered agent service with any of its plans. It charges $199 per year for it, and you’ll be charged that full price from the first year. 

It doesn’t provide small business advice, either. So while its agents can quickly and efficiently solve most common customer service issues (like password changes and updates to billing information), they can’t provide you with solutions to HR or logistics problems or give you tax advice. 

Overall

ZenBusiness is a good option for getting basic LLC formation services. For $0 (plus filing fee) it will make sure that your information is listed correctly on your documents, that your business name is available, and that your paperwork is filed promptly and correctly. 

It will cost you extra if you need registered agent service, but because it supplies things like a 100% accuracy guarantee and worry-free compliance, you can rest easy. 

If you’re looking for just the basics, get more information about ZenBusiness.

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

Harbor Compliance offers dedicated account managers to help with all your questions and problems, but it comes at a cost. 

Pros

Harbor Compliance offers all the basic formation services that you need for your LLC in Vermont. 

It will make sure the business name you’ve chosen for your Vermont LLC is available, file your articles of organization with the Vermont Secretary of State, provide you with a template for your operating agreement, and assist you with obtaining an employer identification number. 

Harbor Compliance will even kick in free registered agent service for a year (a registered agent in Vermont to accept service of process and legal documents during normal business hours on behalf of your business, as well as a physical address in Vermont), which will save you $99. 

The best part of Harbor Compliance’s Vermont LLC formation services is its personal guides, who are there to guide your Vermont LLC through every step of the formation process. 

Rather than calling the standard customer support line and reaching a random customer support agent that you’ve never spoken to previously, you’re assigned a personal Harbor Compliance representative that knows about your situation and the circumstances your LLC in Vermont faces, and can therefore offer you advice tailored to your specific situation. 

Cons

The downside to Harbor Compliance’s services is that they’re expensive. 

It charges $399 for the formation package, and $799 for the Compliance package that provides compliance alerts for things like your annual report, income taxes, and business entity tax filing. This means that Harbor Compliance costs twice as much as Northwest’s standard rate, and 10 times more than the special rate I’ve negotiated. 

Though it’s incredibly helpful to have a dedicated account manager, is it really worth paying an extra $360 to get one?

Overall

Harbor Compliance isn’t the best overall LLC service in Vermont, but it does cover all the essential formation services that Vermont businesses need, and it stands out by offering dedicated account managers. 

Though its $399 LLC formation service package costs 10 times as much as the special rate I’ve negotiated with Northwest Registered Agent for Boost Suite readers, Harbor Compliance is still one of the best LLC services in Vermont. 

If you’d like a dedicated account manager for your LLC in Vermont and you don’t mind paying more for the service, then check out Harbor Compliance.

4. Rocket Lawyer

One of the things that make Rocket Lawyer’s Vermont LLC formation services unique is it offers online legal services, which is something that most of the other LLC formation companies on my list don’t provide. With its $99 formation package, Rocket Lawyer will file your articles of organization with the Vermont Secretary of State, confirm the availability of your business name, and more.

On top of the LLC formation services, you also get a 30-day trial of its online legal services, which usually costs $99. Rocket Lawyer’s online legal services include access to its expansive library of customizable legal documents, a 30-minute legal consultation with a lawyer on any topic you choose, attorney document verification, and an attorney protection guarantee if any of your documents are ever challenged in court. 

You won’t get any of the additional services with Rocket Lawyer that Northwest Registered Agent provides along with its $39 basic package. Unless you pay $149 per year for it, your company won’t get Vermont registered agent service (this means you won’t have a registered agent in Vermont to accept service of process, legal notices, and mail on behalf of your company, or a physical address in Vermont). 

It seems ridiculous to pay so much for registered agent services when there are other LLC formation companies that provide a year of free registered agent service with their formation packages. And for Rocket Lawyer’s exorbitant fee, you won’t get VoIP service, an operating agreement template, or compliance alerts to warn you about upcoming deadlines for things like your annual report.

If you’d like to learn more about Rocket Lawyer’s services and prices, read my complete Rocket Lawyer Review. 

5. Swyft Filings

Swyft Filings is new to the LLC formation company scene, launching in 2012. 

You’ll get a lot with its $49 (plus filing fees) basic package. Services in the basic package include filing your articles of organization with the Secretary of State and providing an online portal to access your documents, a free 30-minute business tax consultation, and a year of free business domain name registration. 

But you’ll notice that registered agent service isn’t included on that list. That’s because if you want registered agent services from Swyft Filings, it charges an additional $149 per year. In the long run that makes its Vermont LLC formation services too expensive. 

If you want more information about Swyft Filings, read my Swyft Filings Review here. 

6. MyCompanyWorks

MyCompanyWorks is a weird one. 

When you pay for the $79 basic package, MyCompanyWorks will file your articles of organization with the Secretary of State, assist you with drafting the operating agreement for your Vermont LLC, provide you with access to all of your documents on an online portal, and issue compliance alerts. 

But there’s a downside to MyCompanyWorks’ formation services. 

MyCompanyWorks provides free registered agent services, but you only get access to free registered agent services if you pay for its pricey premium package, which is $279. Since Northwest Registered Agent provides a free year of registered agent service with its $39 basic package, it really doesn’t make sense to pay $279 for these services, so I can’t recommend MyCompanyWorks.

7. Inc Authority

Upon first glance, Inc Authority’s services seem to be provided at budget prices, but when you investigate the company more thoroughly, you come to see that its prices are anything but “budget.” 

Inc Authority will file your articles of organization for free, but if you require literally any other services, then you’re going to pay through the teeth for them. 

The basic package (not its free service option) costs $399 plus state filing fees and provides assistance with applying for an EIN from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), help drafting an operating agreement for your LLC in Vermont, and a company seal. And the $799 premium package is the only one to feature registered agent service. 

If you’re strapped for cash and simply want someone to file your formation documents and get your Vermont LLC properly established, ZenBusiness is a better choice. 

8. Incorporate Fast

Incorporate Fast charges $99 for its basic formation package. 

For that price, you’ll get a formation service to file your articles of organization, help writing the operating agreement for your LLC in Vermont, some customizable sample documents that can be helpful to any Vermont business during the formation process, and a year of free registered agent service. 

Beyond that, it doesn’t offer any additional services, such as an online document storage portal or a free tax consultation. However, if you pay for the $199 package, it’ll help you apply for an EIN. 

Incorporate Fast’s best feature is it processes all new business filings the day they’re received. No other LLC formation service on my list does this, so if you’re in a hurry to form your LLC in Vermont as fast as possible and you don’t care how much it costs to do so, then Incorporate Fast may be a good option for you. 

But if you want loads of great services, as well as outstanding customer service and an unbeatable price, then Northwest Registered Agent is the better choice. 

9. BizFilings

BizFilings is another LLC formation service company that charges $99 for its basic package. 

The $99 package includes filing your articles of organization, compliance notifications, and a year of free registered agent service. That’s it. 

You don’t get any of the other perks that Northwest offers with its $39 basic package, like help creating your operating agreement, a business tax consultation, or online document storage. This means that ultimately, you’re paying more for less with BizFilings. 

10. LegalZoom

LegalZoom is another company that continues the trend of charging $99 for substandard services that don’t live up to the price point. 

The only services that come with the $99 basic package are filing your formation documents and a banking resolution so that you can open a business bank account. 

If you happen to be a small business owner who is already using LegalZoom’s online legal services or registered agent service, then it may make sense to also use its LLC formation services so that all of your business concerns are handled by one company. But I can’t think of any reason to use LegalZoom solely for its LLC formation service because it’s so expensive. 

If you’d like to know more about LegalZoom and the services it provides, check out my comprehensive LegalZoom review. 

Other LLC Services

There were seven other formation services that I investigated during my process, but their services and pricing were so mediocre that I didn’t feel they deserved thorough reviews. Here are the rest of the Vermont LLC services, in no particular order.

11. Incorporate.com

Like both LegalZoom and Rocket Lawyer, Incorporate.com offers a $99 basic package. But you don’t get much for that price. You’ll get basic formation services that include filing your documents and getting your Vermont LLC established, as well as an online document storage portal. But that’s it. You won’t get access to a number of crucial formation services that small businesses need, like Vermont registered agent service. 

12. CorpNet

CorpNet’s LLC formation package costs $108 (plus filing fees), and it only includes filing your formation paperwork and issuing compliance notifications (to let you know when to file paperwork and pay taxes). But you won’t get anything else for that price.

13. MyCorporation

MyCorporation will only file the necessary formation paperwork for your Vermont LLC and help you draft your operating agreement. But if you want any other services, like Vermont registered agent service, it charges steep additional fees. Considering its basic package is $133 (plus state filing fees), Mycorporation isn’t worth it. 

14. Direct Incorporation

Direct Incorporation offers the same services as MyCorporation (filing formation documents and drafting the operating agreement for your Vermont LLC), with the addition of helping you get an EIN and providing a banking resolution so you can open a business bank account. But these minimal services cost $147 (plus filing fees), which pales in comparison to the $39 price of Northwest.

15. InCorp

InCorp charges $117 for its formation package, which only includes filing your documents and creating an operating agreement for your LLC. 

If you’d like to learn more about InCorp, you can read my full InCorp review here. 

16. Nationwide Incorporations

Nationwide Incorporations offers the same abysmal service offerings as MyCompanyWorks, but it charges a whopping $200 (plus state filing fees) for them. 

17. SunDoc Filings

The only service you get with SunDoc Filings’ $79 basic package is filing your articles of organization. With the $99 Key package, you get assistance with your operating agreement, and with the $279 Premier package you’ll get assistance with your EIN. But since you can get all these services for less money elsewhere, I don’t feel I can recommend the company. 

The Best LLC Service in Vermont Review Summary

Out of the 17 best Vermont LLC formation services, Northwest Registered Agent is the best overall option. 

It only costs $39 to sign up for Northwest’s basic package (with the discount I’ve negotiated), and it covers all the services that small business owners in Vermont need, as well as a customer service team made up of Corporate Guides who provide business advice that would cost $5,000/day if you hired a consulting firm instead. 

If you’re ready to start your Vermont business today and want a company full of experienced professionals who can guide you through any business challenges you may face, head over to Northwest Registered Agent today.

Best LLC Service Review Methodology

Here’s how I chose the best LLC services. 

Why You Should Trust Me

You should trust any LLC formation service recommendation I make because I have more knowledge and experience in the LLC formation service industry than nearly anyone else. 

My experience with the industry started when I had to use three different formation services to get my three businesses up and running. That’s right—it really did take three! This was because no one company provided the services and support I needed. I’m not going to list these companies here because they’ve updated their services and prices since then, and I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about them based on outdated information. 

The third company I partnered with covered all my needs, and surpassed my wildest expectations when I used it to start my website. It provided me with services far more valuable than the price I paid for them, and that’s why Northwest Registered Agent is at the top of my list. 

My experience isn’t limited to these three companies. I’ve also extensively advised other people to help them find the best LLC service to meet their needs. Since starting this website I’ve made recommendations to more than 1,000 business owners to help them find the right formation services. This, combined with my personal experience has provided me with more experience and knowledge than probably anyone else in the industry-including some people who work for the companies on my list. 

How I Selected the Best LLC Service

I used a four-stage investigative process to choose the best LLC service in Vermont. 

Stage 1: Reviews

The first investigative stage was reading online reviews. 

I hit major online review platforms to analyze online reviews of each company. There’s a long-standing tradition among most LLC services of asking customers to leave online reviews. Now some of these companies have amassed more than 4,500 online reviews! 

Analysis of these online reviews allowed me to determine which companies offered sufficient services and which ones I could eliminate from the competition because they offered substandard services or rates. 

Stage 2: Website Analysis 

After eliminating the subpar companies from my list and learning general information about the remaining contenders, the next stage was to head to their websites. As part of my investigation, I read the headlines and titles, and checked out the advertisements and claims that each company made. 

This allowed me to learn about the services that each company offers and how it presents its services and company in the market. 

Stage 3: Speaking With Real Customers

Once I’d learned about the claims each company made, it was time to find out how well it actually lived up to those claims. You can find some of that information from online reviews, but the problem with online reviews is that customers tend to only leave reviews if they’ve had either a spanking good or an achingly bad experience with a company, which means that each review tends to be the polar opposite of the last. 

I decided to reach out to real customers to find out more about each company. I did this by reaching out to friends, customers I’d made recommendations to, and visitors to my site. These real customers were able to tell me both the positive and negative aspects of working with each company and provided me with a more complete picture of each company. 

These conversations gave me a more complete understanding of each LLC service and furthered my investigation. 

Stage 4: Speaking With Their Sales Teams

The last stage of my investigation was calling the sales and customer service teams of every company and pressing them for answers about various problems I’d found with their services. 

I gathered all the problems and negative online reviews and feedback that I’d found throughout my investigation and asked the sales and customer service teams about them. 

This last stage was important because it allowed me to see how each company handles criticism, and it shows their true colors. 

Rating Factors

After completing my four-stage investigative process, I rated each company based on five different factors. 

Factor 1: Offerings

The first ratings factor I used was the services that each company offered. 

There are some LLC formation services that will simply file your articles of organization, and refuse to further do business with you or offer you anything else unless you pay expensive additional fees. Then there are other formation service companies that will not only file your formation paperwork, but will also provide you with a free business tax consultation, online access to your documents, free registered agent service for a year, and assistance drafting your operating agreement. 

This variation in the types of services offered by LLC formation services made it obvious that I should start my ratings with their service offerings. 

Factor 2: Price

The second factor I considered was price. There are some LLC formation services that will file your documents for as little as $0 (plus state filing fees), while there are others that won’t consider doing business with you for less than $399.

When you take this into consideration along with the wide service disparity, the second factor I used to rate each company was the value per service offered by each company. 

Factor 3: Ease of Sign-Up

The third rating factor was how easy it was to sign up with each company. 

There are some LLC formation companies that provide you with forms that are pre-filled with all the necessary information and merely require a signature from you. Then there are others who hand you standard forms and require you to fill out the same information in multiple places, even though you’ve already provided the company with the information already. 

Because no one wants to waste their time during the sign-up process, I used this factor to rate each company. 

Factor 4: Ease of Use

Unfortunately, if you encounter design and operation issues with a system during the sign-up process then you’re likely to continue experiencing them throughout the onboarding process. 

There are some LLC formation services that provide complicated, antique systems that look like they were designed decades ago by a high school coding class. Then there are other companies that provide sleek, stylish, easy-to-navigate systems that make establishing your company a breeze. 

Because no one wants to deal with an overly complicated system, I considered ease of use as a rating factor. 

Factor 5: Customer Service

The last factor I considered was customer service, and it’s another area where I found loads of quality disparity. 

Many services establish a customer service team in a foreign country, then staff it with locals who don’t have the slightest clue what it’s like to do business in the United States, let alone how to form an LLC in Vermont. 

Then there are other services, like Northwest Registered Agent, that create a US-based team of Corporate Guides made up of former accountants, lawyers, small business owners, and entrepreneurs who have the knowledge and experience to advise you on any business problem you may have. 

Because of the vast differences in customer service quality, I chose this as a rating factor. 

In Conclusion

I analyzed 17 different LLC formation services using my four-stage, five-factor process, which led me to identify Northwest Registered Agent as the best LLC service in Vermont. 

Northwest provides all the basic services you need, like filing your paperwork with the proper government agencies, setting you up with an online document portal, and providing you with a year of free registered agent service. 

You’ll also get a number of quality-of-life improvements, like a free accounting consultation to ensure your payment processing system is properly configured, a free operating agreement template, and even a free trial of Northwest’s VoIP service. 

If you need certain add-ons, like an EIN, state-certified copies of your documents, or a Certificate of Good Standing, then you have the option to add them to your cart at checkout. 

The best part of Northwest’s services is its Corporate Guides. 

This Corporate Guide team is made of US-based former lawyers, accountants, entrepreneurs, and small business owners who have the knowledge and experience to help you through the formation process and beyond. 

While it doesn’t offer any services to establish your online presence, with the 82% discount you’ll get with my special discount (which makes the basic formation package only $39), you’ll have more than enough money left over in savings to afford premium website builders. 

If you’re ready to start your Vermont LLC, head to Northwest Registered Agent today.