Best LLC services in Rhode Island (2026)

How are Rhode Island LLC services ranked?

Our list runs by rating, highest first, with ties kept in editorial order. The rating has three parts (customer satisfaction, services and dashboard, and plan value), and none of them changes by state; how we rate gives the weights.

What does change by state is the money. Each first-year figure below adds the Rhode Island filing fee to the plan we compare, and each second-year figure adds the report fee and the yearly tax to the plan's renewal. Items that bill after a trial are left out of both.

Two pairs share a rating. Bizee (formerly Incfile) and ZenBusiness both sit at 8.0, and BizFilings and Rocket Lawyer both sit at 6.8.

Second year: the recurring Rhode Island report fee as the state lists it (some states charge it every two years) plus the plan's renewal, if it renews. In Rhode Island that includes the $400 yearly LLC tax. Registered agent renewals are extra unless the plan includes the agent for good.

Read the second-year column as a floor. Several providers show $450 there, which is exactly the two state charges, because their compared plan is a one-time fee. Plans billed yearly sit higher. Tailor Brands Elite reaches $699 and ZenBusiness Premium reaches $749. The $747 shown for doola Starter assumes the plan renews at today's price, but doola's terms say only that fees renew at the rates then in effect (renewal price not stated), so that figure is an estimate. Rocket Lawyer's membership renews at $149/yr, so its second year is $599. Registered agent renewals after a free period are not in the column. The providers ordered by cost across both years uses the same method nationally.^{4, 5}

Which Rhode Island LLC service fits which need?

The picks below follow from published facts, one need at a time. A provider that leads on one need can trail on another, so start with the cost or service you care about most.

• Lowest first-year total in Rhode Island: Inc Authority, Free LLC, $150 with the state fee.
• Lowest two-year total in Rhode Island: Inc Authority, Free LLC, $600 over two years with state fees. Full list
• Fastest filing: Tailor Brands, 1 business day stated on Elite. Full list
• Best for first-time founders: Tailor Brands, all three supports included in a plan (annual report filing, coaching, AI guidance). Full list
• Best all-in-one platform: Tailor Brands, sells 9 of the 10 business service types we track, with an online dashboard. Full list
• Best for non-U.S. founders: Tailor Brands, highest-rated provider whose own pages say it serves founders outside the U.S. Full list

Each line is decided by the published fact it names. First-time founder support counts an annual report filed for you, business coaching and AI guidance; the all-in-one count is the business service types a provider sells nationally.

Lowest first- and second-year totals

Inc Authority Free LLC totals $150 in year one and $450 in year two in Rhode Island. The first figure is the lowest on the list, the second ties the floor, and both are state charges only. The plan includes a registered agent for the first year, and that agent then renews automatically at $249/year, which the second-year figure leaves out. Its refund terms are a 60-day money-back guarantee on initial online purchase, less state/third-party filing fees. The Inc Authority profile lists what it sells separately.^{6, 7}

Northwest Registered Agent comes next at $189 in the first year and $450 in the second, and its included agent renews at $125/yr. If you keep the agent into year two, Northwest's renewal costs less than Inc Authority's. The cheapest services list shows the national order by price.⁸

First-time founders

We count three supports for a first company: an annual report filed for you, business coaching from a person, and AI guidance. Tailor Brands includes all three supports in a plan, with mandatory report filing on Essential and Elite, its Business Coaching Program on every plan, and its AI assistant Navi, built into every plan. ZenBusiness includes all three supports, with filing of state-required annual reports on Pro and Premium, Personal Velo AI guidance on every plan, and a one-on-one consultation on Premium. doola includes two of the three supports, among them its AI Co-Founder assistant.^{9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14}

Those plans describe annual report filing in general terms and don't name Rhode Island's report. The minimum tax is a separate payment to the Division of Taxation, and no plan we compare says it pays that. The first-time founders list compares every provider on the three supports.

Fastest stated filing

Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness both state 1 business day on their compared plans, and Inc Authority states 24 hours. The state then takes 1 to 3 business days, and our Rhode Island record shows no state expedite option, so the provider's own time is the only part that differs by service. The fastest services list orders providers by stated time.¹

A resident agent in the plan

Rhode Island calls the registered agent a resident agent, and every LLC needs one under R.I. Gen. Laws § 7-16-11. The plans below include one. doola lists it as a plan item with no end date, while the others include it for a set period.¹⁵

• doola lists Registered Agent Service in Starter, a yearly plan that auto-renews, with the renewal price not stated.^{4, 16}
• Bizee (formerly Incfile) gives a free first year with any Bizee formation package, then charges $149/year.^{17, 18}
• Northwest Registered Agent includes the first year, then $125/yr.⁸
• BizFilings gives 3 months free, then $220/yr.^{19, 20}

Tailor Brands sells its agent separately at $199/year, and ZenBusiness offers 50% off the first year ($99) with formation. The registered agent included list has every provider whose plan includes one.^{21, 22}

One provider for later services

Of the 10 business service types we track, Tailor Brands and LegalZoom each sell 9, and Bizee (formerly Incfile) and ZenBusiness each sell 7. Selling a service doesn't mean the plan includes it, so check the plan contents. The all-in-one platforms list ranks every provider on this count.

Founders outside the U.S.

doola states that it accepts non-U.S. founders, and its Starter plan includes a US business address. LegalZoom says it delivers an EIN without the need for a Social Security Number, though the page that says so doesn't tie it to a current plan. Tailor Brands links a separate sign-up flow for non-US citizens but publishes no eligibility details, and Northwest Registered Agent charges $200 for an EIN without a Social Security number. More detail is on the non-U.S. founders list.^{23, 24, 25, 26}

What does Rhode Island charge whether or not you use a service?

Rhode Island charges $150 to file the Articles of Organization, a $50 annual report fee and a $400 minimum annual tax. No plan price includes any of the three.^{1, 2, 3}

• Formation filing fee: $150
• Recurring report: due February 1 to May 1 each year, $50

The minimum tax is the cost no service removes. It goes to the Rhode Island Division of Taxation, it is not pro-rated, and it is owed even without business activity or profit. A plan that files your annual report still leaves this payment to you unless the provider says otherwise.³

The report has its own small costs. Filing online adds a $2.50 Enhanced Access Online Fee, and a late report brings a penalty of $25 applied June 1. The state says LLCs file starting the calendar year after they register their business, and the second-year totals above count that first report. The tax page doesn't say in which year the first minimum tax falls, so the totals place it in year two as well.²

What do the totals leave out in Rhode Island?

The totals count the plan price and the state charges, nothing else. Three kinds of cost can come later.

Trial items bill after the trial ends. Tailor Brands Elite includes a bookkeeping trial that then bills $39/month. LegalZoom lists business advisors in Managed Service for a trial period that then auto-renews at $49/mo, cancel anytime. Swyft Filings includes a ComplianceGuard trial, then $199/year auto-charged unless cancelled.^{27, 28, 29}

Agent renewals start after a free period, as in the agent list above.

Annual report filing is a separate product at some providers. Northwest Registered Agent sells it at $100 + state fees, charged at filing, and the state's $50 report fee comes on top of it. The LegalZoom pricing page and the ZenBusiness review list what each tier bills after its first year.^{2, 30}

Is filing a Rhode Island LLC yourself enough?

Often, yes. Rhode Island takes the Articles of Organization (Form 400) online, by mail or in person in Providence, where it accepts cash, credit card, or check, and the filing itself costs the $150 fee and nothing more.^{1, 31}

What you give up is help with the steps around it: naming a resident agent (you can serve if you live in Rhode Island), getting an EIN, and remembering the report window and the tax each year. The Rhode Island formation guide covers each filing, and the LLC cost calculator shows what a plan adds over the state charges.