ZenBusiness vs Northwest Registered Agent: LLC formation compared (2026)

What does each company put in its LLC package?

Northwest publishes just its formation package while ZenBusiness publishes Starter, Pro and Premium, so the table pairs Northwest's only offer with ZenBusiness Premium, the plan our rating compares. The rows also cover what lasts, what expires, agent prices and refunds.

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

Northwest's total across both years, $39, counts the formation fee only. Its formation service page lists the first agent year as free and then $125/yr, so keeping Northwest as your agent adds that charge from year two. Neither price includes the state's filing charge; the state fee table lists it for every state, and the cost calculator adds it to a plan.¹

Where do ZenBusiness and Northwest part ways?

The gap is about what happens after the filing. ZenBusiness folds yearly compliance into a plan that renews; Northwest charges little up front and bills the agent and each report as you go.

• Lower two-year plan cost: Northwest Registered Agent: $39 vs $598
• More services included for good: ZenBusiness: 6 vs 3
• Higher Trustpilot score: ZenBusiness: 4.8/5 vs 4.1/5
• First-time founders: ZenBusiness: 3 of 3 supports included (annual report filed for you, business coaching, AI guidance) vs 0 for Northwest Registered Agent
• All-in-one platform: ZenBusiness: sells 7 of 10 business service types we track vs 6

Two items in that list deserve a closer read. Northwest's lower cost over both years leaves out its own agent renewal, covered above. And the count of services kept for good, 6 for ZenBusiness against 3 for Northwest, depends on which ZenBusiness tier you buy, since the count is for Premium and Starter has no EIN, operating agreement or document library. Our package contents guide explains how we count them.

How does the registered agent year compare?

Northwest's formation service page lists a free first year of its agent, while ZenBusiness sells it as an add-on at a first-year discount for new LLCs. After the first year, Northwest's agent costs $125 per year and ZenBusiness's costs $199/yr.^{2, 4}

A registered agent is the person or company that accepts lawsuits and state notices for the LLC at an address in the state. Northwest's formation service page lists a year of that service, then $125/yr. One caution comes from Northwest's own pages. The included year appears on its formation service and corporation pages, while its LLC page doesn't say the agent is part of the price, so check the checkout summary before you count on it.¹

ZenBusiness charges $99 for the first agent year when you form with it, then $199/yr. Its terms say the service renews on its own.⁴

Northwest also lists a business address with the agent service, so the address on your filings can be Northwest's rather than your home. ZenBusiness says it lists its own address as agent too; for other fields, such as the principal office, your state decides what has to be shown. Our registered agent guide covers what an agent does and doesn't hide.

Who files the annual report each year?

ZenBusiness Pro and Premium file the state annual report as part of the yearly renewal. Northwest files it too, but as a separate charge of $100 + state fees, charged at filing, and agent customers are signed up for that automatically.⁵

Northwest's auto-pay terms place agent customers in its compliance service, so the report gets filed and billed each time unless you opt out. To stop a charge, the terms say you must cancel at least one business day before next charge date. With ZenBusiness the filing is covered only while Pro or Premium keeps renewing. Starter comes with one optional free year of Worry-Free Compliance. After that, or after cancelling a paid plan, ZenBusiness sells the filing for $100 per report, or through Worry-Free Compliance at $199/year. The annual report guide explains what states ask for.^{6, 7, 8}

What happens to the mail each agent receives?

Both scan what they receive and post it to an online account. They differ on volume and on originals.

Northwest scans legal papers and also normal business mail, up to 5 docs per year free. Its document storage terms add a fee for legal documents above a 15 per year limit, and they say mail is destroyed 30 days after scanning, which leaves the scan as your copy. When a scan fails, you can ask for the original for a fee, within 30 days of original receipt. For steady mail it sells a forwarding service at $20/month in select states.^{2, 9, 10}

ZenBusiness scans documents to its dashboard, with originals forwarded only if they can't be copied. It doesn't publish a limit on how many documents its agent will scan in a year.¹¹

How do cancelling and refunds differ?

Northwest lets you cancel online, at any time, with no cancellation fee. ZenBusiness asks you to cancel its agent service by contacting customer support by phone.^{11, 12}

On refunds, Northwest says purchases are final and non-refundable after 90 days, and its terms add that state filing fees are non-refundable. ZenBusiness takes refund requests for its agent service only if the service has not yet been used. Its general terms add that once 30 days have passed on a yearly subscription, no prorated refunds will be issued. Our cancel or switch guide covers moving an agent between companies.^{6, 11}

Which reader does each company fit?

Each line names the published fact that decides it. Where the two publish the same thing, we leave the category out.

1. Lowest outlay at formation with a paid agent: Northwest, at $39 + state fees, if the free agent year on its formation service page applies to your LLC. ZenBusiness Starter is $0 plus $99 for a first agent year.^{1, 3, 4}
2. A stated filing time: ZenBusiness, whose Pro and Premium plans state 1 business day; Starter states 7-10 business days with rush at $79. Northwest's processing time is not published.³
3. First-time founders: ZenBusiness Premium includes all three supports we look for (report filing, a person to ask, AI guidance). Northwest includes none of the three supports and sells 1 of them at a price, the per-filing report service.
4. One company for many business services: ZenBusiness, which sells 7 of the 10 types we track against 6 for Northwest.
5. Higher Trustpilot score: ZenBusiness at 4.8 / 5, 32,795 reviews, against 4.1 (306 reviews) for Northwest.^{13, 14}
6. Email as a support channel: Northwest, which lists Phone, email, contact form and says a real person picks up the phone or types out a response. ZenBusiness has no email support, though it answers by phone and chat at weekends (Sat-Sun 9am-6pm CT).^{15, 16}
7. An EIN for a founder without a Social Security number: Northwest publishes a price of $200 for that service. ZenBusiness doesn't publish a position on founders abroad, and neither says outright that it forms LLCs for them; see services for non-U.S. founders.¹⁷

The ZenBusiness review and Northwest review go deeper, and ZenBusiness pricing and Northwest pricing list every fee. For other options, see ZenBusiness alternatives or Northwest alternatives.