LLC services with the lowest two-year cost (2026)

How is the year-two cost list ordered?

Each provider is placed by its lowest plan cost for the first and second year together, before state fees. A plan billed yearly counts twice; a one-time fee counts once.

1. Tailor Brands

   Lite: $0 over two years; after a trial period: Bookkeeping (trial*) (then $39/month)

   Our rating 8.7/10 · Trustpilot 4.8/5

   Sources: Tailor Brands website; Trustpilot

   See Tailor Brands plans

2. LegalZoom

   Basic: $0 over two years

   Our rating 8.1/10 · Trustpilot 4.6/5

   Sources: LegalZoom website; Trustpilot

   See LegalZoom plans

3. Bizee (formerly Incfile)

   Basic: $0 over two years; after a trial period: Registered Agent (1st year included) (then $149/yr), Virtual Address (1st month included) (then $29/mo)

   Our rating 8.0/10 · Trustpilot 4.8/5

   Sources: Bizee (formerly Incfile) website; Trustpilot

   See Bizee (formerly Incfile) plans

4. ZenBusiness

   Starter: $0 over two years; after a trial period: Worry-Free Compliance (one optional free year) (then $199/yr), Business website builder (30-day special offer) (then $15/mo, auto-renews)

   Our rating 8.0/10 · Trustpilot 4.8/5

   Sources: ZenBusiness website; Trustpilot

   See ZenBusiness plans

5. Swyft Filings

   Basic: $0 over two years; after a trial period: Trial of ComplianceGuard (one free annual report, one business amendment, corporate minutes manager tool) (then $199/yr, auto-renews), Access to 250+ customizable legal & business documents (Swyft Legal Suite trial) (then not stated on site), Personalized guidance from a business attorney in your state (Swyft Legal Suite trial) (then not stated on site)

   Our rating 7.7/10 · Trustpilot 4.7/5

   Sources: Swyft Filings website; Trustpilot

   See Swyft Filings plans

6. Inc Authority

   Free LLC: $0 over two years; after a trial period: 1-year of FREE Registered Agent Service ($249 value) (then $249/yr, auto-renews until cancelled), FREE Custom Website (then a monthly website fee (amount not stated))

   Our rating 7.1/10 · Trustpilot 4.9/5

   Sources: Inc Authority website; Trustpilot

   See Inc Authority plans

7. Northwest Registered Agent

   Northwest LLC formation: $39 over two years; after a trial period: Registered agent service (free for first year) (then $125/yr), Real business address (then Included with Registered Agent Service at $125/yr)

   Our rating 6.9/10 · Trustpilot 4.1/5

   Sources: Northwest Registered Agent website; Trustpilot

   See Northwest Registered Agent plans

8. InCorp Services

   LLC Formation Service: $99 over two years

   Our rating 7.0/10 · Trustpilot 4.7/5

   Sources: InCorp Services website; Trustpilot

   See InCorp Services plans

9. BizFilings

   Basic: $99 over two years; after a trial period: 3 months free Registered Agent Services (then $220/yr, auto-renews)

   Our rating 6.8/10 · Trustpilot 4.5/5

   Sources: Information provided by BizFilings; Trustpilot

   See BizFilings plans

10. Harbor Compliance

    Standard Formation: $99 over two years

    Our rating 5.1/10 · Trustpilot 3.1/5

    Sources: Harbor Compliance website; Trustpilot

    See Harbor Compliance plans

11. Rocket Lawyer

    Standard membership: $298 over two years

    Our rating 6.8/10 · Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Sources: Rocket Lawyer website; Trustpilot

    See Rocket Lawyer plans

12. doola

    Starter: $594 over two years

    Our rating 7.2/10 · Trustpilot 4.5/5

    Sources: doola website; Trustpilot

    See doola plans

Each card names the items on that plan that begin billing after a trial, with the later price where the provider states one. Those charges are named rather than added, since whether they bill depends on whether the buyer keeps each item.

When two providers reach the same total, our rating decides. The six free plans run from Tailor Brands at 8.7 to Inc Authority at 7.1. Bizee (formerly Incfile) and ZenBusiness share a rating of 8.0 and follow the editorial tie order, which places Bizee (formerly Incfile) first. Three providers list a $99 plan, which the list counts once: InCorp Services (7.0), BizFilings (6.8) and Harbor Compliance (5.1), in that order.³

Yearly billing moves two providers to the bottom. Rocket Lawyer sells a membership, so its Standard membership counts as $298. doola rates 7.2, above several providers placed ahead of it, but its plan renews at the "rates then in effect", with no renewal price stated, so the figure for year two assumes the price stays the same.⁴

What do the free plans start billing in year two?

Five of the six free plans include something that turns into a paid subscription after a trial or a first year. The sixth, LegalZoom Basic, lists no trial items but leaves out the registered agent.

Timing differs a lot. The Tailor Brands bookkeeping trial and the Swyft Filings ComplianceGuard trial end within weeks, so they bill inside year one if left running. The agents bundled by Bizee (formerly Incfile) and Inc Authority bill around the first anniversary; Inc Authority's page says "Your card will be charged ($249) approximately 1-year from date of incorporation."¹⁴

Some of these providers also say the formation fee itself is one-time. ZenBusiness lists Starter as one that "does not renew", and Bizee (formerly Incfile) says "our formation fee is one-time".^{7, 11}

How much does a registered agent add after the first year?

Unless you act as your own registered agent, the agent becomes a recurring bill by year two at every provider here except doola, whose Starter plan includes an agent and bills as a whole every year.

This is why the order on the list can flip once an agent is counted. Northwest Registered Agent's one-time fee is small, but its included registered agent renews at $125/yr after year 1. Swyft Filings prices its agent by the quarter, so a full year at that rate comes to $596/year. The list of services that include a registered agent covers agent terms in more depth, and the registered agent guide explains when you can serve as your own.^{2, 17}

What does the year-two figure leave out?

It counts plan charges only. State fees, an EIN, the annual report and the speed of each plan sit outside it, and each can change which plan is cheapest for a given owner.

State fees come first. The filing fee has a median of $100 across the states, and many states also charge a recurring report fee. The state fees table lists both, and a state page such as forming an LLC in California walks through the second-year bill there.

The EIN, the federal tax ID, comes straight from the IRS at no charge (free; the IRS never charges a fee for an EIN). Several providers sell EIN filing as an add-on when a plan doesn't include it, for example LegalZoom at $79, Bizee (formerly Incfile) at $70 and Inc Authority at $49 (standalone service).^{25, 26, 27, 28}

The "lowest true cost" pick on the home page uses a different sum: the first-year total with a registered agent and an EIN at the median state fee. State pages such as the Texas services page add that state's fees to each provider's compared plan, and the LLC cost calculator adds up any combination.

Speed is outside the figure too. Several free plans are the slowest tier a provider sells; the fastest filing list sorts by stated processing time instead, and the cheapest plans list sorts by the entry price alone.