Forming an LLC is a form, a fee and a wait. Every state publishes the form, the fee is the state's and not a vendor's, and the wait is shorter than the time most people spend choosing who to pay for the paperwork. LegalZoom's prices start at nothing for exactly that reason, and the question the pricing page raises is what the $249 tier is selling.
Everything below was read from LegalZoom's LLC pricing page on September 27, 2026, with one comparison figure from Bizee's own site, and the sources are listed at the end.
The Three Plans, Priced
| Plan | Price | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | $0 plus the state filing fee | Articles of organization prepared and filed, business name check |
| Pro | $249 plus the state filing fee | Operating agreement, EIN, 30 days of attorney consultations, 150+ legal documents for a year, eSignatures, a website builder |
| Premium | $299 plus the state filing fee | Bookkeeping tools for six months, unlimited proposals and invoices, income and expense tracking |
The fee the state charges is shown as an addition rather than folded into the number, which is the honest way to present it. What the state charges varies: Bizee states on its own site that filing fees run from about $10 to $500, and that keeping an LLC alive usually costs at least $100 a year and rarely more than $1,000.
What the Free Tier Actually Does
The $0 plan is not a sample. It prepares and files the articles of organization, which is the document that creates the LLC, and it checks that your chosen name is available. If the goal is a formed LLC with your name on the state's register, the free tier finishes the job.
What it does not include is the paperwork people are told to keep. An operating agreement is a document that says who owns what and how decisions get made; for a single-member LLC it is closer to a formality than a shield, and templates are widely available. An EIN is a tax ID number the IRS issues free on its own website, usually the same day. Both are worth having. Neither is worth $249 on its own.
The Two Things No Plan Includes
Two services matter more than either of those, and neither is part of any formation tier. The first is a registered agent: every state requires an LLC to have one, and it can be you if you have a stable address and are reachable during business hours. The second is the annual report, the filing that keeps the LLC in good standing in most states, which is usually a short form on the state's website with a small fee attached.
Both appear in LegalZoom's own list of compliance services, sold alongside the formation rather than inside it. That is not dishonest, since the pricing page does not claim otherwise, and it is the reason the number people report paying after checkout tends to be higher than the number they saw on the pricing page.
The Subscriptions That Start Later
The paid tiers each include something that turns into a subscription, and the pricing page prints both renewal prices plainly:
- Pro: unlimited 30 minute attorney consultations for 30 days, then $49 a month, cancel anytime.
- Premium: bookkeeping tools for six months, then $9.99 a month, cancel anytime.
Both are printed with the renewal terms rather than buried, which is more than many products at this price do. The habit worth keeping is simpler than the disclosure: after any formation purchase, open the account settings and look for what is scheduled to renew, because an attorney subscription at $49 a month is $588 a year, and it starts by itself.
Who Should Skip It
Skip it if the LLC is simple and your state's website is workable. Filing directly costs the state fee and an evening, and the result is identical: the same articles, the same register, the same LLC.
Skip the Pro tier for the EIN. Seventy-nine dollars or a line item on $249 for a number the IRS issues free is the clearest example of paying for convenience in this category.
Skip any tier if you will not check what renews. The two subscriptions above are disclosed and they still renew unless cancelled. If you are the person who finds a charge in month four and does not remember agreeing to it, the paid tiers are the wrong shape for you.
Skip it if you want the annual filings handled. That is a separate service from the formation, priced separately, and worth pricing against a local accountant or the state's own reminder system before paying for it.
Who It Fits
A first-time founder who wants a walkthrough. The value is a guided flow that produces the right form the first time and a support line when a field makes no sense. That is a real service, and it is what the $249 buys.
Someone forming in a state with a fiddly portal. A handful of states make the direct filing annoying enough that paying for a service is rational. The comparison is against your evening, not against a principle.
A business that wants documents on file. The operating agreement, the document library and the eSignature access in the Pro tier are conveniences for someone who would otherwise be downloading templates and hoping.
How This Score Works
The criteria below were written before this product was scored, and they are the same five on every review here. Each one takes only inputs you can check yourself on a vendor page: what a plan includes, where it caps you, what processing costs, what is sold separately, and what is printed versus quoted. Nothing in the score depends on how the software feels to use, because that is not something this page can evidence.
| Criterion | 2 points | 1 point | 0 points |
|---|---|---|---|
| What the entry plan includes | The cheapest paid plan does the product’s core job without an upgrade, and nothing a solo user needs monthly sits a tier up | Core job works, but at least one routine monthly need is only on a higher tier | The cheapest paid plan cannot do the core job without an upgrade or a paid add-on |
| Where the caps bite | No hard cap a one-person business would hit in a year | A cap exists but sits above ordinary solo use | A cap sits inside ordinary solo use |
| Cost of getting paid | Processing rates published, and a bank transfer path under 1.5% or capped | Rates published, but card only or the bank path is 1.5% or higher | Rates not published anywhere public |
| Add-on load | Nothing routine is sold separately; add-ons are genuinely optional | One routine need is priced as an add-on | Two or more routine needs are add-ons, or a required add-on costs half the plan again |
| Price transparency | Every plan price and the renewal price is printed, and promotions state what they renew at | Plan prices printed, but a material cost needs a call, a login or a quote | The entry price only exists as a promotion, or key prices are not public |
8 points available across the 4 criteria that apply to this product, scaled to five: 6 ÷ 8 × 5 = 3.8. The one left out is named in the table above with the reason. A high score means the pricing is honest and the plan you buy is the plan you keep. It does not mean the product is the best one for you.
The Score
| Criterion | Score | Why, from the printed facts |
|---|---|---|
| What the entry plan includes | 2 / 2 | Basic is $0 plus the state filing fee and it does the legal work: the articles of organization are prepared and filed, and a name check is included. The operating agreement and the EIN that the $249 tier adds are a document you can write or download and a number the IRS issues free, so the free tier completes the formation rather than stopping short of it. |
| Where the caps bite | 2 / 2 | No cap is printed on formations, members or filings. The product is a one-time filing plus optional annual services, and nothing in the plans meters how many of those you can do. |
| Cost of getting paid | n/a | Does not apply: The product does not process payments for the customer, so there is no rate to publish |
| Add-on load | 0 / 2 | Two routine needs are sold as separate services rather than being part of any plan: a registered agent, which every state requires, and the annual report filing that keeps the LLC in good standing. Both appear in LegalZoom’s own list of compliance services instead of in the formation tiers. The paid tiers also carry subscriptions that start when the included period ends: attorney access renews at $49 a month and the bookkeeping tools at $9.99 a month. |
| Price transparency | 2 / 2 | The three formation prices are printed with the state filing fee shown as an addition rather than rolled in, and both auto-renewing subscriptions print their renewal price and the word cancel anytime beside them. What each tier adds is listed line by line on the same page. |
| LegalZoom LLC formation | 6 / 8 | 3.8 out of 5 |
Six out of eight, or 3.8 out of 5. The free tier does the actual legal work, the formation prices are printed honestly as a fee plus the state's charge, and the two subscriptions that start after the included period print their renewal prices next to the word cancel anytime.
The zero is on add-ons, and it is the point of this review. A registered agent and an annual report are the two things an LLC has to keep doing, and both sit outside every plan. Add the attorney subscription at $49 a month and the bookkeeping tools at $9.99 a month, both of which renew by default, and the distance between the price on the page and the price in the account is where this product makes its money.
What the score cannot capture is whether the paperwork comes back correct, which is the only thing that matters and the one thing no pricing page can evidence. The state's own confirmation, a few days later, is the review that counts.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does LegalZoom charge to form an LLC?
Three tiers, all printed as a fee plus the state filing fee: Basic at $0, Pro at $249, and Premium at $299. Basic files the articles of organization with a business name check. Pro adds an operating agreement, an EIN, attorney consultations and legal document access. Premium adds bookkeeping tools, invoicing and expense tracking.
Can I form an LLC for free with LegalZoom?
Yes, and the free tier is not a demo. Basic prepares and files the articles of organization, which is the document that creates the LLC, and includes a name availability check. The state filing fee is still yours to pay, and it varies by state.
What does the state filing fee cost?
It depends on the state, and LegalZoom does not print a table of them; the checkout shows the fee for the state you pick. For scale, Bizee states on its own site that state filing fees run from about $10 to $500, and that the annual cost of keeping an LLC is usually at least $100 and rarely over $1,000.
What is not included in any LegalZoom plan?
Two things most LLCs need. A registered agent, which is required in every state and which LegalZoom sells as a separate service, and the annual report filing that keeps the LLC in good standing. Both are listed in LegalZoom’s compliance services rather than in the formation tiers.
What happens when the included subscriptions end?
They renew unless you cancel, and the prices are printed on the plan page. The attorney consultations included with Pro run for 30 days and then renew at $49 a month. The bookkeeping tools included with Premium run for six months and then renew at $9.99 a month. Both lines say cancel anytime.
Why does this page have no score for the payment criterion?
The scorecard asks what a product charges to get you paid. LegalZoom files formation paperwork; it does not process customer payments, so there is no rate to publish. This site marks a criterion not applicable before scoring rather than inventing a number, so this review is scored out of the four criteria that apply.
Sources
Prices, plan contents and quoted wording were checked against these pages on September 27, 2026.
- LegalZoom LLC pricing, for the $0, $249 and $299 tiers, what each includes, the state filing fee shown as an addition, and the $49 a month and $9.99 a month renewal terms
- Bizee pricing, for the stated range of state filing fees and the annual cost of keeping an LLC in good standing
For the same decision compared across providers, see Incfile vs LegalZoom and LegalZoom vs Bizee vs ZenBusiness. For whether the LLC is worth forming at all, see Do you need an LLC for a side hustle.
