Tailor Brands vs LegalZoom: LLC formation compared (2026)

Tailor Brands and LegalZoom in one table

Our rating compares Tailor Brands Elite with LegalZoom Managed Service, each company's fullest plan at or under the price cap on how we rate. The table shows those two, every other published tier, and the agent and refund terms.

Auto-renewal, cancelling and refunds are as each provider states them for its registered agent and subscription services.

The state's filing fee is extra with both, since each lists plan prices before it. The state fee table has the amount for your state, and every plan side by side shows how these tiers compare with other providers' tiers.

What separates Tailor Brands from LegalZoom?

Billing is the biggest split: Tailor Brands charges a yearly plan fee, and LegalZoom charges once and then offers monthly subscriptions. Speed, annual report filing and what counts as included follow from there.

• Lower two-year plan cost: LegalZoom: $249 vs $498
• Faster stated processing: Tailor Brands: 1 business day vs 5 to 14 business days (standard processing)
• More services included for good: Tailor Brands: 7 vs 4
• Higher Trustpilot score: Tailor Brands: 4.8/5 vs 4.6/5
• First-time founders: Tailor Brands: 3 of 3 supports included (annual report filed for you, business coaching, AI guidance) vs 0 for LegalZoom

What each plan keeps

LegalZoom lists Basic at $0, Managed Service at $249 and Expert Service at $299, with no yearly plan price. LegalZoom lists Managed Service as keeping an EIN, an operating agreement, a business licenses & permits report and a customizable website built on Wix. That makes 4 counted items for good.¹

Tailor Brands lists Lite at $0, then Essential at $199/yr and Elite at $249/yr. Elite keeps 7 counted items while the plan is paid, including annual report filing, an operating agreement, funding search and branding tools. That count includes a legal document library that Tailor Brands supplied and its public plan cards don't list. Its plan cards don't list an EIN. Essential and Elite also come with an Amazon Gift Card, which we don't count.^{2, 4}

What keeps billing after the LLC is formed?

Both can keep charging you, in different ways. Tailor Brands repeats its yearly plan price, while LegalZoom's formation fee is paid once and its trial items turn into a monthly subscription.

LegalZoom lists the legal forms library, eSignature, the business advisors for setup, compliance, and coaching and the advisor's filing review (not an attorney review) as included with Managed Service for a trial. The advisor plan then auto-renews at $49/mo after 30 days unless you cancel it. On Expert Service the trial covers an advisor, attorney, and accountant, and the follow-on charge is $99/mo. A year of either subscription would cost more than the plan fee it came with.¹

On Tailor Brands, bookkeeping is the trial item: the free trial expires after 30 days and the price becomes $39/month. The plan fee itself also repeats, at $199/yr for Essential or $249/yr for Elite. The LLC cost guide adds the state's yearly fees.^{2, 4}

Who files the annual report?

Tailor Brands files it as part of Essential and Elite; LegalZoom sells filing separately, either once per report or as a yearly subscription.

The Tailor Brands plan cards describe annual compliance as mandatory report filing & updates. Lite doesn't include it, and Tailor Brands doesn't say whether the plan also pays the state's report fee. LegalZoom sells a single annual report filing at $99 + state filing fees, billed once. Its Compliance Filings subscription, which auto-files reports, starts at $199/year and renews on its own. LegalZoom says the automatic filing excludes Indiana, Maryland, Wyoming. None of LegalZoom's LLC packages includes this subscription, so it is always an extra purchase on top of the formation fee.^{2, 5, 6}

So in year two, annual report filing comes inside the Tailor Brands fee and costs extra at LegalZoom. If you file the report yourself with the state, LegalZoom's one-time plan fee has nothing comparable to renew.

How long does each take to file?

Tailor Brands states 1 business day on Essential and Elite, listed as 1 day expedited processing with no extra charge, and 14 business days on Lite. LegalZoom lists 5 to 14 business days of standard processing and expedited processing for $99.^{2, 3, 4}

It gives those figures, and a rush price, on a comparison page that still uses the old Pro/Premium plan names, so they aren't tied to a current tier. Rush, the page says, can get documents to the state in as little as one business day. It adds that these are service processing times, not state approval times, which holds for both companies, because the state reviews the filing after either one submits it. The LLC timeline guide covers both stages.³

What does a registered agent cost with each?

Neither company's formation plans list a registered agent, so both sell it separately. LegalZoom lists $249/year, and Tailor Brands supplied a price of $199/year that isn't yet on a public page.^{7, 8}

LegalZoom's price is for first-time registered agent customers. Its terms say the service auto-renews at the purchase rate each year until you cancel, with the rate subject to change. Tailor Brands also supplied that its agent renews at the same price, which isn't on a public page either.^{7, 8}

Received papers are handled online at both. Tailor Brands' agent terms promise to scan and upload copies of all Legal Mail received at the Registered Address, where you read them in the dashboard. LegalZoom scans legal documents too and lists other mail uploaded to account and emailed.^{7, 9}

Ending the service differs. LegalZoom takes cancellations by phone or online, but proof of new RA may be required. Tailor Brands asks you to cancel by notifying Tailor Brands and completing the required steps. On refunds, LegalZoom's agent terms say prepaid fees are refunded only when LegalZoom terminates the service, and its general guarantee covers subscriptions within 30 days of initial subscription purchase. Tailor Brands' terms say all fees are non-refundable, and a $29 service fee comes off any refund it does issue.^{10, 11, 12}

Can you use either from outside the U.S.?

LegalZoom states that it forms LLCs with no Social Security number, residency, or travel required, and that it files for the EIN without the need for a Social Security Number. Tailor Brands links a sign-up flow for non-US citizens but doesn't publish what it includes.^{13, 14}

LegalZoom's claims come from an Australia-targeted country page, which also says it will help open your account with providers within days of formation. LegalZoom lists the EIN on Managed Service and Expert Service, not Basic, and the country page doesn't name a current tier for the bank help. Founders abroad can compare other providers on our list of services for non-U.S. founders.¹³

Which one fits which founder?

The lines below match a need to the fact that decides it. Where both companies tie, as they do on the number of service types sold, there is no line.

• For the lower plan cost by year two, LegalZoom Managed Service at $249 against $498 for Elite, as long as the advisor trial is cancelled before it bills $49/mo.¹
• For the shortest stated processing without a rush fee, Tailor Brands Essential or Elite at 1 business day.
• For annual reports filed inside the plan, Tailor Brands Essential or Elite. LegalZoom sells the same work separately.
• For a first-time founder, Tailor Brands includes all three supports we count: report filing, a 12-week accelerator with a trainer giving one-on-one guidance, and Navi, an AI assistant that tracks filings and deadlines and recommends next steps. LegalZoom includes none of the three supports in a plan and sells annual report filing separately.^{15, 16}
• For attorney and accountant access, LegalZoom Expert Service, on a trial that becomes $99/mo.¹
• For forming from abroad, LegalZoom, whose Australia-targeted page states it serves founders outside the U.S. and gets an EIN without an SSN.
• For email support, LegalZoom, which lists phone, chat, email. Tailor Brands lists phone and chat, with no email channel published.^{17, 18}
• For a cheaper EIN bought alone, LegalZoom at $79; Tailor Brands doesn't publish its EIN price.¹⁹

Satisfaction is close, 9.6 for Tailor Brands and 9.2 for LegalZoom, and both score 9.2 on services and dashboard. Plan value separates them, 5.5 to 3.8. More detail is on the Tailor Brands review, the LegalZoom review, Tailor Brands pricing and LegalZoom pricing. The LegalZoom alternatives and Tailor Brands alternatives pages list other providers by our rating.