Best LLC services in Texas (2026)

How are LLC services for Texas ranked?

The list below is ordered by our rating, highest first, and ties keep our editorial order.

Each row adds the Texas filing fee for the Certificate of Formation to the price of the plan we compare for that provider, so the first-year column is a Texas figure, not a national sticker price. It leaves out items that start billing after a trial.

Two pairs tie. Bizee (formerly Incfile) and ZenBusiness both rate 8.0, and BizFilings and Rocket Lawyer both rate 6.8; each pair appears in editorial order. The rating itself has three parts (customer satisfaction, services and dashboard, and plan value), and none of them depends on the state. How we rate explains the weights.

Second year: the recurring Texas report fee as the state lists it (some states charge it every two years) plus the plan's renewal, if it renews. Registered agent renewals are extra unless the plan includes the agent for good.

The second-year column reads "Can't total" for every provider. Texas charges its recurring cost through the franchise tax, and what an LLC owes depends on its revenue (none is due at or below $2,650,000), so there is no single state figure to add. Plan costs across the first and second year are still comparable before state fees. Tailor Brands Elite comes to $498, ZenBusiness Premium to $598, doola Starter to $594 and LegalZoom Managed Service to $249. Those figures count only the plan itself, so trial items that bill afterwards (covered below) and agent renewals after a free period are not in them. The list ranked by cost across both years orders every provider on that basis.³

Which Texas LLC service fits which need?

Each heading below names one need and the providers whose published facts bear on it. None of these is a pick for every reader; the right one depends on which cost or service you care about most.

• Lowest first-year total in Texas: Inc Authority, Free LLC, $300 with the state fee.
• 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.

First-time founders

A first-time founder often wants three things covered: the recurring state filing handled, a person to talk the business through with, and quick answers to setup questions. We count three supports for that: an annual report filed for you, business coaching from a person, and AI guidance. Tailor Brands includes all three supports in a plan: report filing on Essential and Elite (mandatory report filing), its Business Coaching Program on every plan, and Navi, its AI assistant (Every plan comes with Navi built in). ZenBusiness also includes all three supports: report filing on Pro and Premium (state-required annual reports), Personal Velo AI guidance on every plan, and a one-on-one consultation with a business advisor on Premium only. doola includes two of the three supports: Annual State Report Filing on its higher plans and its AI Co-Founder assistant. In Texas the recurring filing is the Comptroller's franchise tax report with a Public Information Report, so the notes below cover who files it. The first-time founders list shows how every provider offers each support.^{4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10}

One company for formation and what comes after

Some founders want one provider for the services that follow formation, such as a business address, a website, bookkeeping or legal documents. 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 is not the same as including it: most are paid add-ons or trials, so the plan table above shows what each plan includes. The all-in-one platforms list orders every provider by this count.

Lowest first-year total in Texas

Inc Authority Free LLC totals $300 in Texas, the same as filing alone. The catch is year two. Its registered agent is free for the first year, then renews automatically at $249/year. 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 the add-ons it sells separately, and the cheapest services list shows the national order by plan price.^{2, 11}

Northwest Registered Agent is the next lowest at $339, with a registered agent that renews at $125/yr.¹²

Fastest stated filing

Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness both state 1 business day on their compared plans. Inc Authority states 24 hours. These are the providers' own stated processing times, and the Secretary of State's review is a separate step. Texas sells faster review through Texas Express, starting at Standard Expedited $50 per document, so a service's speed claim covers only part of the wait. The fastest services list orders providers by stated processing, and the LLC timeline guide separates the two clocks.¹³

Registered agent included, and for how long

Every Texas LLC has to keep a registered agent with an office at a Texas street address (Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.201). Several plans include one, but most only for a limited time.¹⁴

• Bizee (formerly Incfile): Free first year with any Bizee formation package, then $149/year.^{15, 16}
• Northwest Registered Agent: free for the first year, then $125/yr.¹²
• BizFilings: 3 months free with formation, then $220/yr.^{17, 18}
• doola: Registered Agent Service is part of Starter, which bills yearly.¹⁹

Tailor Brands sells its agent separately at $199/year, and ZenBusiness offers 50% off the first year ($99) when you form with it. The registered agent included list lists each provider with a plan that includes one, cheapest first.^{20, 21}

EIN included

An EIN is the federal tax ID number the IRS issues for free. LegalZoom lists EIN (federal tax ID) in Managed Service, ZenBusiness lists EIN in Premium, and doola lists Employer Identification Number (EIN) in Starter. The EIN included list orders providers whose plans include one, cheapest plan first, and what packages include shows which items are included for good and which for a limited time.^{8, 19, 22}

Founders outside the U.S.

doola states that it accepts non-U.S. founders, and its Starter plan includes a US business address. Tailor Brands links a separate sign-up flow for non-US citizens from its formation page but publishes no eligibility details. Northwest Registered Agent charges $200 for an EIN when the owner has no Social Security number. See the non-U.S. founders list.^{23, 24, 25}

What does Texas charge no matter who files?

Texas charges the same $300 filing fee whether you file yourself or through a service, and any faster review or name hold is extra. No provider's plan price includes the filing fee.¹

• Formation filing fee: $300
• Faster state processing: Texas Express: Standard Expedited $50 (typically 2 to 3 business days), Next-Day $500, Same-Day $750 per document, plus the filing fee
• Recurring report: due May 15 each year (franchise tax report with Public Information Report, filed with the Comptroller)
• Optional name reservation: $40 for 120 days (Form 501)

Texas Express is the state's own rush option. Its lowest tier, Standard Expedited $50, typically brings review down to 2 to 3 business days. The Next-Day $500 and Same-Day $750 tiers cost far more, and every tier is charged per document on top of the filing fee. Bizee (formerly Incfile) lists Expedited Filing in its compared plan without saying whether that covers a Texas Express fee. Ask any service whether it pays that fee for you or only submits faster on its side.^{13, 26}

The franchise tax report is the cost a service doesn't remove. Texas applies the franchise tax to LLCs, but none is due at or below $2,650,000 in revenue for the current report years, and the report is still required each year. Filing late brings a $50 penalty per report, even with no tax due.³

Who files the Texas report, and whose name goes public?

Texas has no Secretary of State annual report, so a plan that lists annual report filing may not cover the report Texas LLCs actually file.

Tailor Brands Elite lists mandatory report filing, and ZenBusiness Premium lists filing of state-required annual reports. Neither provider's published pages say whether that covers the Comptroller's franchise tax report and Public Information Report. Ask before relying on it.^{4, 7}

The Public Information Report is where names go on the record. For a domestic LLC it lists all managers (and all members if member-managed), the registered agent name and office address, and the address where the entity's records are kept. A registered agent service puts its own address in the agent field, and Northwest Registered Agent, for example, notes that Northwest's address is listed on public filings instead of the owner's. That doesn't hide the managers or members the report names. Tailor Brands' terms add that its agent address cannot be used as the business location in public materials, and it sells a separate Virtual Address product for keeping a home address off public records.^{27, 28, 29}

Trial items deserve a look too. Tailor Brands Elite includes a bookkeeping trial that bills $39/month afterwards, and LegalZoom Managed Service notes that its Business Advisor Plan auto-renews at $49/mo after 30 days. The LegalZoom pricing page lists what each LegalZoom tier bills after its trial, and the ZenBusiness review does the same for ZenBusiness.^{22, 30}

Is filing a Texas LLC yourself enough?

It can be, because Texas takes filings straight from owners. You can file the Certificate of Formation to Limited Liability Company (Form 205) yourself, online through SOSPortal, by mail, or by delivery in person, and pay only the $300 state fee. A service adds preparation, sometimes an agent, EIN or operating agreement, and its own fees.¹

Filing yourself means naming a registered agent on your own. Under Tex. Bus. Orgs. Code § 5.201 that can be a Texas resident (you, if you live there) or an organization other than the LLC. It also means tracking the Comptroller report each May without a reminder. The Texas formation guide walks through each filing, and the cost calculator shows what a plan adds over the state fee in each year.¹⁴