I formed my Texas LLC in 2022. It took me about 20 minutes on the Secretary of State website. I paid the $300 state filing fee, answered a few questions about my business name and registered agent address, and clicked submit. Three days later, I had my Certificate of Formation in my email.
If I had used LegalZoom, the same paperwork would have cost me at least $379 for their Basic plan plus the state fee. More realistically, once I added the operating agreement they recommend ($99 on Basic), the EIN they offer to file for me ($79, which is free from the IRS), and the registered agent service they push hard ($249/year), I'd have been looking at $600+ in year one — for a result identical to what I got in 20 minutes by myself.
LegalZoom is the Bluehost of LLC formation. The name is everywhere, the Google ads are unavoidable, and the brand recognition is real. But when you look at what you're actually paying for versus what you get, the math doesn't favor them for anyone willing to spend half an hour on a government website.
30-Second Verdict
LegalZoom is a legitimate service that will correctly file your LLC paperwork. The problem isn't quality — it's value. You're paying a premium for brand trust and convenience on a process that most states have made straightforward to do yourself. The upsells are aggressive, the annual registered agent fee is above market rate, and the things they charge extra for — EIN filing, operating agreements — are either free or cheap elsewhere. It makes sense if you genuinely want someone else to handle the paperwork and don't mind paying for that comfort. For everyone else, it's a brand tax.
What LegalZoom Actually Does
At its core, LegalZoom's LLC service does one thing: it files your Articles of Organization (or Certificate of Formation, depending on the state) with your state's Secretary of State office. That's the document that legally creates your LLC. Every state has a slightly different form, and LegalZoom fills it out based on your answers to their online questionnaire.
The questionnaire asks for your LLC name, your state, the names and addresses of members, your registered agent information, and your management structure (member-managed or manager-managed). In my experience, these are the same questions the state website asks you directly. LegalZoom isn't translating complex legal language here — they're filling in the same blanks you would fill in yourself.
Beyond filing, the higher-tier plans include extras like an operating agreement template, an EIN filing, and a "business formation kit" that's basically a branded binder with your documents. The Standard plan ($249) includes the operating agreement and EIN. The Premium plan ($399) adds a consultation with a business attorney, which is genuinely useful if you have specific questions about liability protection or partnership structures — but that's a very different value proposition from "filing your paperwork for you."
Pricing: The Layers Add Up
LegalZoom recently restructured their pricing. The Basic plan is now listed at $0 plus state filing fees, which looks competitive until you see what "Basic" actually means. You get the formation filing and a name availability check. That's it. No operating agreement, no EIN filing, no registered agent service.
What the real cost looks like for a Texas LLC across the three tiers:
| Plan | LegalZoom Fee | State Fee (TX) | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 | $300 | $300 |
| Standard | $249 | $300 | $549 |
| Premium | $399 | $300 | $699 |
The Basic plan at $0 looks identical to what you'd pay filing directly with the state. But the moment you add anything — and LegalZoom will strongly suggest you add things — the price climbs. Registered agent service is $249/year. The EIN filing, which you can do for free at irs.gov in about 5 minutes, costs $79 as an add-on to the Basic plan. The operating agreement template, which you can download for free from dozens of legal template sites, costs $99 on Basic.
By the time a Basic plan customer adds the things LegalZoom recommends, they're spending $400-500 for services that cost $300 to do independently. And that $249 registered agent fee recurs every year.
The Upsell Gauntlet
This is where LegalZoom lost me. During the checkout process for my test order, I counted seven separate upsell screens before reaching payment. Registered agent service. Business license compliance package. A "worry-free guarantee" subscription. An operating agreement. EIN filing. A website builder partnership. A logo design service.
Each screen is designed to make declining feel like a risk. "Protect your business with registered agent service" makes it sound like you're leaving your LLC unprotected if you skip it. The reality is that you need a registered agent, but you don't need LegalZoom's. Northwest Registered Agent charges $125/year. Incfile includes it free for the first year. You can even serve as your own registered agent in most states if you have a physical address and are available during business hours.
The EIN upsell is the one that genuinely bothers me. Getting an EIN from the IRS is free. You go to irs.gov, fill out the online application, and get your number instantly. It takes about 5 minutes. LegalZoom charges $79 for this on the Basic plan. I understand that some people don't know the IRS offers this for free — but charging $79 for a free government service, without clearly disclosing that it's free, feels like taking advantage of that ignorance.
LegalZoom's registered agent service auto-renews at $249/year. If you sign up during LLC formation and forget about it, you'll be charged annually. Canceling requires calling their support line, and you'll need to designate a replacement registered agent with your state before the old one lapses. It's not scammy — it's just designed to be sticky in a way that benefits LegalZoom more than you.
What Happens If You Just Do It Yourself
I want to walk through exactly what I did to form my LLC without LegalZoom, because the process is genuinely less intimidating than the marketing makes it seem.
I went to the Texas Secretary of State website, navigated to their SOSDirect portal, and clicked "Domestic Limited Liability Company" under the formation section. The form asked for my LLC name (which I had already checked for availability using their free name search), my registered agent name and address (I used myself — same street address as my home office), my management structure (member-managed), and my organizer information. I paid the $300 filing fee with a credit card.
Three business days later, my Certificate of Formation arrived by email. Total time on the website: about 20 minutes, and half of that was me double-checking my address formatting.
Next I needed an EIN. I went to irs.gov, navigated to "Apply for an Employer Identification Number," answered the online questionnaire, and received my EIN immediately. Time spent: maybe 6 minutes.
For the operating agreement, I used a free template from the Texas State Law Library and customized it with my name, LLC name, and management provisions. It's a single-member LLC, so the agreement is mostly just formalizing things for liability protection purposes. A lawyer friend reviewed it over coffee and said it was fine. Total cost: a flat white.
The entire process — formation, EIN, operating agreement — cost me $300 (the state fee) and roughly 45 minutes of my time. LegalZoom's Standard plan would have cost me $549 for the same result, plus $249/year going forward for registered agent service I don't need because I'm my own registered agent.
I'm not saying this to brag. I'm saying it because the LLC formation industry has built a mystique around a process that most states have intentionally made simple. The government wants you to form a business. They've made the forms straightforward. You don't need an intermediary for this.
Who LegalZoom Actually Makes Sense For
Having said all of that, I recognize there are people for whom LegalZoom provides genuine value. Here's who I'd actually recommend it to:
People who freeze up on government websites. This isn't a character flaw. Some people get anxious about filling out official forms, especially when the form says things like "registered agent for service of process" without explaining what that means. If the prospect of navigating a state government portal makes you want to close the laptop and deal with it tomorrow — and tomorrow becomes next month — LegalZoom removes that friction. The $249 for the Standard plan is worth it if the alternative is never forming the LLC at all.
People forming in an unfamiliar state. If you're forming a Wyoming or Delaware LLC for asset protection or tax reasons and you don't live in that state, a service makes more sense because you'll need a registered agent in that state anyway. LegalZoom's registered agent fee is overpriced compared to alternatives, but the bundled formation plus agent service simplifies a multi-state process.
People who want the Premium plan's attorney consultation. If you have genuine legal questions — maybe you're forming a multi-member LLC, or you need to understand how LLC formation affects your side hustle taxes, or you want to discuss liability protection specifics — the Premium plan's 30-minute attorney consultation is arguably worth the $399 on its own. An attorney consultation independently would run $150-300. Bundled with the formation, it's reasonable. This is the one scenario where LegalZoom's premium pricing makes financial sense.
Everyone else — especially single-member LLC filers in their home state — should either do it themselves or use a cheaper service like Incfile, which offers free formation plus a free year of registered agent service.
Final Take
LegalZoom is not a bad company, and their LLC formation service works as advertised. The paperwork gets filed, the state approves your LLC, and the result is legally identical to what you'd get doing it yourself or using a cheaper competitor.
The problem is the price-to-value ratio. You're paying for a brand name, extensive advertising budgets, and a checkout experience that's designed to add services you could get cheaper or free elsewhere. The EIN upsell at $79 for a free IRS service is the clearest example, but the pattern extends through registered agent pricing, operating agreement fees, and the compliance packages they push during checkout.
If you value convenience and brand trust, LegalZoom delivers on both. If you value getting the same result for less money — and you have 45 minutes to spare — file it yourself. The government made it easy on purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does LegalZoom charge to form an LLC?
LegalZoom's Basic plan is $0 plus state filing fees, but it's stripped down — no operating agreement, no EIN filing. The Standard plan at $249 plus state fees includes those. Most people end up spending $300-600+ once state fees and add-ons are factored in. The registered agent service, at $249/year, is a recurring cost on top of that.
Can I form an LLC myself without LegalZoom?
Yes, and it's easier than the marketing makes it look. Most states let you file Articles of Organization online in 10-30 minutes. You pay only the state filing fee — $300 in Texas, $70 in California, $100 in Wyoming. I did mine in 20 minutes.
Is LegalZoom's registered agent service worth it?
At $249/year, it's above market rate. Northwest Registered Agent charges $125/year, and Incfile includes a free year with formation. You can also be your own registered agent in most states if you have a physical address and are available during business hours. You need a registered agent, but you don't need LegalZoom's.
Does LegalZoom file my EIN for me?
They charge $79 for this on the Basic plan. The IRS issues EINs for free at irs.gov, and the online application takes about 5 minutes. You get your number instantly. I'd skip this add-on.
Is LegalZoom better than Incfile for LLC formation?
For most side hustlers forming a simple single-member LLC, Incfile offers better value. Free formation, free first year of registered agent service, and the end result is the same LLC paperwork filed with the same state. LegalZoom has better brand recognition and the Premium plan's attorney consultation is genuinely useful, but for straightforward filings, it's hard to justify the price gap.
For the broader comparison: LegalZoom vs Bizee vs ZenBusiness 2026 — three formation services side by side.
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Pay for the brand recognition. Cheaper alternatives exist — see Bizee comparison.
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