Tailor Brands vs ZenBusiness: LLC formation compared (2026)

What actually separates Tailor Brands and ZenBusiness?

They tie on Trustpilot score and paid-plan speed, so the split comes from yearly price, which services stay in each plan, and how each one handles coaching, agents and refunds.

• Lower two-year plan cost: Tailor Brands: $498 vs $598
• More services included for good: Tailor Brands: 7 vs 6
• All-in-one platform: Tailor Brands: sells 9 of 10 business service types we track vs 7
• Founders outside the U.S.: Tailor Brands states it serves non-U.S. founders; ZenBusiness doesn't say

Both bill every year

Neither company sells a one-time paid plan. Tailor Brands Essential is $199/yr and Elite is $249/yr. ZenBusiness Pro is $199 up front and renews at $199/yr; Premium renews at $299/yr. Both free plans, Lite and Starter, are $0 plus the state fee.^{1, 2}

At the middle tier the two cost the same. The difference sits at the top, where Elite is cheaper than Premium each year. Tailor Brands' pages show its prices only as yearly amounts, with no separate renewal wording, so the year-two figure assumes the price holds.

What the paid tiers keep

Each middle plan files your annual report (the recurring report many states require to keep an LLC in good standing) and includes an operating agreement. ZenBusiness Pro adds an EIN, the federal tax ID a bank asks for, plus up to 2 amendments per year. Tailor Brands describes its compliance item as mandatory report filing & updates, and adds a funding search that matches grants, loans and tax credits plus an Amazon gift card worth $30 on Essential or $50 on Elite.^{1, 3, 4, 5}

Tailor Brands' plan cards don't list an EIN. Its formation page says it will help you get your EIN, and it sells an EIN filing service without a published price. ZenBusiness sells the EIN on its own for $99 one-time.^{6, 7}

At the top tier, ZenBusiness Premium adds a domain, a business email, a document library and a one-on-one consultation. Elite adds website and branding tools and a 1-year free domain. Elite's legal document library is a fact Tailor Brands supplied and is not yet stated on the public pricing page, so treat it as unconfirmed.^{1, 2, 8}

How do the two compare line by line?

The table lines up the plan our rating compares for each company, then every published plan, cost before state fees, trial items, agent terms, cancelling and refunds.

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

Neither price includes the state's filing fee. Look yours up in the state fee table, or let the LLC cost calculator add it to either plan. Every plan from every provider sits on one page if you want a wider view.

Which one gives a first-time founder more help?

Each company offers every first-time founder support we track (report filing, coaching from a person and AI guidance) somewhere in its plans, but Tailor Brands puts coaching on every plan, while ZenBusiness keeps its one-on-one session for Premium.

Tailor Brands describes a 12-week accelerator with a business trainer and says it comes included with any plan purchased. It also offers free access when you form an LLC for $0 + state fee, so the free Lite plan gets it too. ZenBusiness offers a one-on-one consultation on Premium only, and its stated purpose is partly to check you have the services you need.^{2, 9}

AI help is on every plan at both. ZenBusiness calls it Personal Velo AI guidance. Tailor Brands says every plan comes with Navi built in, an assistant that tracks filings and deadlines. Annual report filing is where the free plans split. ZenBusiness Starter includes one optional free year of Worry-Free Compliance, which then renews at $199/yr. Tailor Brands Lite does not include report filing, and Tailor Brands doesn't publish a standalone price for it. ZenBusiness sells single filings at $100 per report.^{2, 3, 7, 10}

What starts billing after a free period?

Every plan at both companies carries at least one item that is free only at first, so the plan price is the floor for year one, not the ceiling.

On Tailor Brands, bookkeeping comes as a Free 30-day trial on every plan and then costs $39/month. Elite's 1-year free domain has no published renewal price. On ZenBusiness, the website builder is free for 30 days and then bills $15/mo unless cancelled. Over a full year, the Tailor Brands bookkeeping charge is the larger of the two if it is left running.^{1, 2, 5}

Which files faster?

Both state 1 business day on their paid plans, so speed only separates them on the free tier.

Tailor Brands Lite states 14 business days and lists 1 day expedited processing only on its paid plans; it doesn't publish a paid rush option for Lite. ZenBusiness Starter states 7 to 10 business days and sells rush for $79. These are each company's own processing times. The state's review comes after, and our LLC timeline guide explains how the two add up.^{1, 2, 5}

How do agent service, mail and refunds compare?

Neither company's plans list a registered agent, the company that accepts legal papers for your LLC. ZenBusiness charges $199/year for one and gives 50% off the first year ($99) when you form an LLC.^{7, 11}

Tailor Brands doesn't publish an agent price on its public pages; the figure in the table above was supplied directly by the provider, so treat it as unconfirmed. Both scan legal mail into an online dashboard: Tailor Brands lists documents scanned and uploaded to the business dashboard, and ZenBusiness scans too, with originals forwarded only if they can't be copied.^{12, 13, 14}

Address rules differ in wording. ZenBusiness says that "by using our address instead of your personal or business address, you keep your information private." Tailor Brands' terms say "you must not designate or otherwise refer to the Registered Address as your business location in any public materials," and it sells a separate Virtual Address product to keep your home address off public records, without a published price. With any agent, only the agent field changes; your principal office and the people named on the filing follow your state's rules.^{11, 13, 15}

Cancelling and refund terms are where the two read most differently.

• Tailor Brands' terms set an automatic renewal option by default for subscriptions. You end the agent service by notifying Tailor Brands and completing the required steps, and the account itself by visiting your account settings.^{15, 16}
• ZenBusiness agent service is cancelled by contacting customer support by phone.¹⁴
• Tailor Brands' terms say all fees are non-refundable, and where it does refund, it keeps a $29 service fee.¹⁶
• ZenBusiness refunds the agent service only if the service has not yet been used; on yearly subscriptions cancelled after 30 days, no prorated refunds will be issued.¹⁴

Which reader does each one fit?

Each line names the published fact that decides it. Where both meet a need equally, the line says so.

• Lowest top-tier plan cost by the end of year two: Tailor Brands Elite, $498 against $598 for ZenBusiness Premium, if the Elite price stays the same at renewal.
• An EIN inside the plan price: ZenBusiness Pro or Premium. Tailor Brands' plan cards don't list one.
• Coaching from a person without buying the top plan: Tailor Brands, whose coaching program is on every plan. ZenBusiness limits its consultation to Premium.
• A free plan with fast filing: ZenBusiness Starter, which states 7 to 10 business days and sells rush for $79. Lite states 14 business days.^{1, 2}
• The most kinds of business services from one company: Tailor Brands, at 9 of the 10 types we track against 7, including a funding search.
• Forming from outside the U.S.: Tailor Brands links a separate sign-up flow for non-US citizens from its formation page but states no eligibility or pricing details. ZenBusiness doesn't publish a position.¹⁷
• Annual report filing on a free plan for year one: ZenBusiness Starter, with its optional free year.
• Paid-plan speed and AI help: either. Both state 1 business day and include an AI assistant on every plan.

For more, see the Tailor Brands review, the ZenBusiness review, Tailor Brands pricing and ZenBusiness pricing. If neither suits you, ZenBusiness alternatives lists other providers in rating order.