Getting the best limited liability company (LLC) formation service for your business in Georgia is crucial.
The right LLC service will offer affordable services with excellent customer support, streamline your business formation process by submitting your articles of organization to the Georgia Secretary of State, and remind you to file your annual reports.
The wrong LLC service will overcharge you for subpar services, mishandle your paperwork, and compromise your data security.
I’ve investigated the 17 major LLC formation services in Georgia through a four-stage, five-factor process to identify the 10 best and determine which one stands above the rest.
1. Northwest Registered Agent: 9.45/10 (Best Overall LLC Service)
Northwest Registered Agent offers the most affordable formation plan and top-notch customer support.
Pros
Northwest Registered Agent’s discounted $39 formation package includes all the essential services to start your business. This package covers filing your articles of organization with the Georgia Secretary of State and assisting in drafting your operating agreement. Additionally, it includes a business tax consultation with their in-house accountants.
You’ll also benefit from a 90-day trial of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service and a free year of registered agent service. This service includes a business address in Georgia and compliance alerts to remind you of annual report filings.
Northwest also offers additional services (for an extra fee) such as certified copies of your formation documents, an employer identification number (EIN), and a Certificate of Good Standing.
The standard cost for Northwest’s formation package is $225. However, A Platform for Good readers can access an 82% discount by following my dedicated link, reducing the price to a budget-friendly $39.
The standout feature of Northwest is its exceptional customer service.
Unlike companies that outsource their customer support to foreign call centers, Northwest Registered Agent employs a team of US-based Corporate Guides. This team is comprised of former business owners, lawyers, and accountants who understand the intricacies of running an LLC in Georgia.
These Corporate Guides not only assist during your business formation process but also provide valuable business advice to help you navigate challenges throughout your business journey.
Cons
The only drawback with Northwest is the absence of online tools to help establish your business’s online presence, such as a customized business website, email service, or domain name registration.
However, these services are available at a reasonable cost from various websites like Wix and Squarespace, so this shouldn’t be a significant issue.
Overall
Northwest Registered Agent is the best LLC service in Georgia, thanks to its affordable formation package that includes a wide range of services and exceptional customer support.
For only $39, Northwest provides all the essential services needed to establish your LLC in Georgia. Their experienced Corporate Guides offer valuable business advice that will be beneficial as you grow your business.
If you’re looking for an LLC formation service with great customer support and affordable pricing, follow my dedicated link to Northwest Registered Agent’s sign-up page and get an 82% discount.
2. ZenBusiness: 8.25/10 (Best Essentials LLC Service)
ZenBusiness offers an impressive starting price of $0 (plus filing fees), but keep in mind that the free plan doesn’t include some important services, which can add up.
Pros
ZenBusiness will handle the basic steps to form your LLC at no cost. They will check the availability of your business name, help you complete the necessary formation paperwork, and file it with the appropriate agencies.
For $199, you can upgrade to the Pro plan, which includes expedited filing (taking about four to six days) and assistance with your operating agreement.
Their Premium plan costs $299 and provides rush filing (as fast as one to two days), a business domain name, an email address, and a website-building tool.
Cons
While ZenBusiness offers basic filing services for $0, any additional services will cost you.
None of the ZenBusiness packages include a year of free registered agent service. If you want registered agent services, it will cost $199 per year.
ZenBusiness’ customer service is adequate but not exceptional. They can help with typical issues like password resets and account updates, but they don’t offer extensive small business advice. If you have questions about operational matters, they won’t be able to assist you.
Overall
If you only need someone to file your documents, ZenBusiness is a strong choice due to its competence and $0 filing fee. They will help you complete your forms and check your business name’s availability.
For those who prioritize cost over comprehensive service, ZenBusiness is worth considering. You can find more information on their website.
3. Harbor Compliance: 7.15/10 (Best Premium LLC Service)
Harbor Compliance stands out as the top premium LLC service and ranks second overall, largely due to its exceptional customer support, similar to Northwest Registered Agent.
Pros
Harbor Compliance differentiates itself from Northwest Registered Agent through its customer service approach. While Northwest connects you with one of their Corporate Guides, Harbor Compliance assigns you a personal support assistant who understands your specific business needs and provides tailored assistance.
Their formation package includes essential services such as an operating agreement template, help with filing your articles of organization, obtaining an employer identification number (EIN), and a full year of registered agent services valued at $99.
Cons
As a premium service, Harbor Compliance’s pricing is steep. Their Starter package costs $399, and the Compliance package is priced at $799. This is nearly 10 times what Northwest Registered Agent charges for comparable services.
Overall
Harbor Compliance is the leading premium LLC formation service in Georgia.
For $399, their starter package offers all the necessary services to establish a Georgia LLC, along with the added benefit of a personal support assistant to guide you through the registration process.
If you’re willing to invest $399 for personalized support and expert guidance in setting up your Georgia LLC and navigating business challenges, visit the Harbor Compliance website today.
4. Rocket Lawyer
Rocket Lawyer is primarily a legal services company that also provides LLC formation services for $99.
For nonmembers, Rocket Lawyer’s LLC formation service fee is $99.99. This includes filing your articles of organization with the Georgia Secretary of State, access to a variety of legal documents, a 30-minute consultation on any new legal matter, and attorney representation if your official documents are contested in court.
Additionally, you can get discounts on other attorney services and registered agent services, which come with an online document storage portal, a business name, and a physical address in Georgia.
Rocket Lawyer’s customer support team is made up of highly qualified lawyers who are available to assist you throughout your LLC formation process and to answer any legal questions you might have.
However, Rocket Lawyer’s primary focus on legal services means it lacks some key LLC services, such as obtaining an EIN, providing compliance alerts, or offering a free year of registered agent services, which typically costs $149 per year. It’s also relatively expensive compared to Northwest, which includes all these services in its significantly discounted $39 LLC formation package.
Since its inception in 2008, Rocket Lawyer has served over 20 million entrepreneurs and has more than 3,000 reviews on TrustPilot, making it a reliable company.
It is an excellent option for those who are unfamiliar with Georgia’s business regulatory environment and need ongoing legal support. However, for comprehensive LLC services, Northwest remains a superior choice.
5. Swyft Filings
Swyft Filings offers a $49 LLC formation service package that includes all the essential services needed to establish a Georgia LLC. This package includes an online portal for accessing important documents, assistance with filing your articles of organization, a 30-minute tax consultation with in-house accountants, and a registered domain name for your business website.
The drawback with Swyft Filings is that if you require its registered agent services for a full year, it will cost you $149. This makes it more than three times the price of Northwest Registered Agent.
Therefore, unless you’re willing to pay significantly more for the same services that Northwest Registered Agent offers, Swyft Filings is not the most economical choice.
6. MyCompanyWorks
For $79 (including state filing fee), MyCompanyWorks assists with filing your articles of organization and drafting your operating agreement. It also provides access to your important documents through an online portal and sends compliance alerts.
While it does offer a free year of registered agent service in its premium package, the cost is a steep $279. Given that Northwest Registered Agent charges $39 and includes a free year of registered agent service, MyCompanyWorks does not offer the best value for your money.
7. Inc Authority
Inc Authority attempts to present itself as a budget-friendly option but falls short with its high costs. It offers free assistance with filing your articles of organization, but that’s where the free services end.
Its more comprehensive package, which includes a draft operating agreement template, access to an EIN, and a company seal, costs $399. Additionally, a free year of registered agent service is only included in the $799 premium package.
Even if you’re tight on funds and only need to file your articles of organization, ZenBusiness is a much better choice than Inc Authority.
8. Incorporate Fast
Incorporate Fast differentiates itself by claiming that if you sign up for its $99 package, it will process your articles of organization the same day they receive them.
The reason it’s ranked eighth is that it doesn’t provide a free tax consultation or an online portal to store your documents. However, if you purchase its premium plan for $199, it will apply for an EIN on your behalf, saving you some time. But remember, you can easily apply for an EIN yourself on the IRS website.
9. BizFilings
BizFilings provides a basic package for $99, which includes assistance with filing your articles of organization, one free year of registered agent services, and compliance alerts to ensure you meet key filing deadlines.
However, BizFilings does not offer additional services like an online portal for document storage, operating agreement templates, or a business tax assessment, which are available through Northwest Registered Agent.
10. LegalZoom
LegalZoom, known primarily for its online legal services, also offers basic LLC services.
Its $99 package includes assistance with filing your articles of organization and a banking solution. If you need more comprehensive services, it’s advisable to choose a more inclusive LLC service that offers a broader range of services for a better value.
Other Georgia LLC Services
As part of my investigation, I reviewed the following seven LLC services. While they don’t offer much in terms of standout features, they are included here for the sake of thoroughness. These services are listed in no particular order:
11. Incorporate.com
Incorporate.com offers similar services to Rocket Lawyer. For $99, you get an online document storage portal and assistance with submitting your articles of organization.
12. CorpNet
CorpNet’s $79 basic formation plan includes compliance alerts and assistance with filing your articles of organization. It does not offer any additional services.
13. MyCorporation
MyCorporation charges $133 to file your LLC formation documents with the Georgia Secretary of State and provides assistance with drafting your operating agreement.
14. Direct Incorporation
Direct Incorporation provides the same services as MyCorporation but also includes an EIN and a banking resolution. However, it charges $147 for these minimal services.
15. InCorp
InCorp charges $117 for assistance with submitting your articles of organization and drafting your operating agreement. Additional comprehensive services will incur extra costs.
16. Nationwide Incorporations
Nationwide Incorporations provides the same minimal services as InCorp but charges $200.
17. SunDoc Filings
SunDoc Filings offers three packages. The $79 Starter package includes filing your business documents with the Georgia Secretary of State. The $99 Key package adds assistance with your operating agreement, and the $279 Premier package includes obtaining an EIN.
The Best LLC Service Review Summary
My evaluation of the 11 top LLC incorporation services led to the conclusion that Northwest Registered Agent is the best LLC formation service in Georgia.
Northwest’s $39 formation package includes all the essential services for a Georgia LLC: assistance with filing your articles of organization, a draft operating agreement template, a 90-day free trial of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service, a business tax consultation, and a full year of registered agent service, which includes an online document storage portal and compliance alerts.
For those needing additional services like an EIN, a Certificate of Good Standing, or state-certified copies of formation documents, these are available at an extra cost.
Northwest’s team of experienced Corporate Guides provides support throughout your business registration process and offers ongoing business advice for any challenges you might face. If you’re looking for an affordable, reliable LLC formation service that offers top-tier small business advice, visit Northwest Registered Agent today.
Best LLC Service Review Methodology
Here’s the process I used to identify the best LLC formation service in Georgia.
Why You Should Trust Me
You should trust my LLC service recommendations because I have invested considerable time and effort into understanding the LLC services industry, more than most would dare to.
My journey started when I formed my first limited liability company. Lacking the necessary knowledge about filing my articles of organization, I hired an LLC service provider. Unfortunately, this provider was overpriced and delivered subpar services, turning the entire process into a nightmare.
My second attempt at establishing a business was much smoother. This time, I chose Northwest Registered Agent for its affordable basic package. Their team of Corporate Guides provided invaluable assistance throughout the business formation process.
After selling my second business, I sought a new venture and opted for a premium LLC service. I chose Harbor Compliance, which provided me with a personal support representative who guided me through the setup process and offered excellent business advice whenever needed.
But my experience isn’t limited to just using these services. While searching for my third business opportunity, I spoke with several friends about their startup experiences. A common theme emerged: there is a plethora of business advice available, but much of it is either technical jargon or too contradictory to be useful.
To address this, I created A Platform for Good to help entrepreneurs choose the best LLC formation service. Since then, I’ve assisted over 1,000 small business owners in successfully starting their businesses.
How I Selected the Best LLC Service
I reviewed these best LLC formation services through the following four-stage investigative procedure.
Stage 1: Reviews
The first phase was to analyze the online reviews of all LLC services in Georgia. This involved spending days searching review sites like TrustPilot, Google Business, Facebook, and the Better Business Bureau. Most LLC services in Georgia encourage their customers to share their positive or negative experiences on these pages.
This approach allowed me to distinguish between LLC services that offered substandard services and those that were legitimate and provided high-quality services.
Stage 2: Website Analysis
After filtering out the second-rate services, I visited the websites of the remaining Georgia LLC service providers. I analyzed their offerings, claims, and disclosures, which enabled me to understand the services each company provided and how they positioned themselves in the market.
Stage 3: Speaking With Real Customers
In this step, I reached out to actual customers to verify whether these companies were delivering on their promises. While online reviews provided some insights, they often leaned towards extreme positive or negative experiences.
I spoke with friends who had used LLC formation services, visitors to my website, and people I had previously referred to these services. This allowed me to gather firsthand accounts of their experiences with these companies.
This provided a clear picture of what it was like to use each Georgia LLC service.
Stage 4: Speaking With Sales Teams
In the final stage, I contacted the sales and customer service teams of each LLC service. I pressed them for answers regarding some of the negative feedback they had received on various online review platforms.
This allowed me to evaluate how their support teams performed under pressure and how effectively they handled criticism.
If you’re looking for Best Registered Agent Services in Georgia, Check out our list here.
Rating Factors
While conducting the four-stage review process, I used the following five factors to rate these LLC formation services.
Factor 1: Offerings
Some LLC formation services include a wide range of offerings in their basic packages. These can include help with filing your articles of organization, an operating agreement template, a business name and address in the state, an employer identification number (EIN), online access to your important documents, and a full year of their registered agent service.
Other LLC services only cover the basics involved in setting up your business and either omit additional offerings from their base plan or include them only in more expensive packages. I ranked these companies lower to highlight those that provide more comprehensive services.
Factor 2: Price
The next factor I considered was the cost. Spending your entire start-up capital on an LLC formation service in Georgia is counterproductive if you then lack funds to run your business.
Some LLC services charge $0 for their basic services, while others can go up to $400. This analysis helped me identify which services offered the best value for money and which did not.
Factor 3: Ease of Sign-Up
The third factor I used to evaluate these services was the ease of registration.
Some services have outdated systems that look like they were created in the late 1990s, while others feature sleek, user-friendly interfaces that simplify the process of starting a business entity in Georgia.
I registered with each of these business formation services to go through their sign-up process, ensuring they had addressed any bugs or glitches in their data collection procedures.
Factor 4: Ease of Use
I extended my review of the sign-up process to other sections of each website to assess how easy they were to navigate. This involved registering a fictitious business and submitting my formation documents to the Georgia Secretary of State.
This allowed me to distinguish between LLC formation services with intuitive and easy-to-use systems from those that were cumbersome and required more time and effort to navigate.
Factor 5: Customer Service
The fifth and final factor I used in my review process was the quality of customer service. This is where I noticed significant differences in how LLC services handle their clients.
Some services outsource their customer support to call centers in other countries, staffed by individuals unfamiliar with the American business start-up process. This can lead to wasted time as you try to explain your specific challenges.
In contrast, other LLC service providers, like Northwest Registered Agent, have a US-based customer service team comprised of former accountants, lawyers, and small business owners who have experienced the same challenges. They are always available to offer reliable advice throughout your business journey.
I contacted every customer support department through various channels (online chats, emails, and phone calls) and asked detailed questions about the services they offer.
In Conclusion
After evaluating 17 formation services through my detailed four-stage, five-factor process and narrowing them down to the top 10, I determined that Northwest Registered Agent is the best LLC service provider in Georgia.
Northwest’s highly discounted $39 basic package includes all the essential services needed to establish your LLC in Georgia. This package covers assistance with filing your articles of organization, a draft operating agreement template, and a complimentary business tax consultation with their accounting team.
Additionally, you receive a 90-day free trial of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) service and a full year of registered agent service, which includes an online document storage portal, compliance alerts, and a business name and address in the state.
Should you require state-certified copies of your formation documents, an EIN, or a Certificate of Good Standing, these are available for an additional fee.
The standout feature of Northwest is its Corporate Guides. They offer support during your business formation process and provide ongoing, expert small business advice throughout your entrepreneurial journey. If you are seeking a Georgia LLC service provider that delivers affordable and top-notch customer support, visit Northwest Registered Agent today to take advantage of an 82% discount on its LLC formation package.