How Does ZenBusiness Compare to Doing Your Own LLC Paperwork?

The short answer

According to ZenBusiness's LLC pricing page, the Starter plan is $0 plus the state fee, Pro is $199 a year and Premium is $299 a year. Its registered agent service is a separate $199 a year on every tier, including Premium. That fee drops to $99 for the first year when you form with ZenBusiness. Filing yourself costs the state fee and your time. The EIN costs nothing on either path, because the IRS issues it free once the LLC exists with the state.

Filing yourself is the better call if you are forming a simple LLC in one state, can meet your state's registered agent requirement on your own, and are comfortable completing a state form. ZenBusiness makes more sense if you want the paperwork handled for you, or if you need a registered agent anyway and would rather buy one alongside the filing. Starter with no add-ons costs the same in dollars as doing it yourself. For most people, the real question is whether the registered agent and the higher tiers are worth their yearly cost.

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The costs side by side

What doing it yourself involves

Filing yourself means dealing with your state's business filing office directly. You choose a name that meets your state's rules and complete the formation document, which many states call articles of organization. You name a registered agent and pay the state's fee. The SBA's guidance on registering your business covers this step and directs you to your state for the specific form and fee.

Once the state has accepted the filing, you apply for an EIN. The IRS says to form the entity with the state first, and the EIN itself is free. Many states also require a periodic report after formation, with its own fee and deadline. Your state's filing office publishes both. That ongoing obligation exists whether or not you use a service.

The work is mostly careful form-filling. The part that trips people up is the registered agent. Whether you can serve as your own agent, and what address that requires, is set by your state. If you can meet that requirement yourself, the do-it-yourself path has almost no cost beyond the state fee.

What ZenBusiness adds, and what it costs over time

What you buy from ZenBusiness is the paperwork being handled. The state's review and the resulting LLC are the same either way. The cost picture depends on whether you add the registered agent, which is a separate charge on every tier. Adding the tier price to the agent price from ZenBusiness's published figures, before the state fee, gives the following.

ZenBusiness lists what Pro and Premium add beyond Starter on its LLC formation page. Compare that list against what you would actually use before paying for a higher tier. If any package you consider bundles an EIN, remember that the IRS issues EINs for free and advises against paying a third party for one.

This site earns a commission on some links, including ZenBusiness. That does not change which option this page recommends.

When filing yourself is the better call

Doing it yourself fits best when you are forming one LLC in one state, you can act as your own registered agent under your state's rules, and you are willing to track your state's periodic report deadline yourself. In that situation, the do-it-yourself total is the state fee alone. The closest ZenBusiness equivalent is Starter, which costs the same until you add the agent. After that, the gap is $99 in the first year and $199 in each later year.

When ZenBusiness is the better fit

ZenBusiness earns its cost when you need a registered agent anyway. That could be because you cannot or would rather not serve as your own, or because you want the formation and the agent from one provider. It also fits if you simply prefer not to handle state forms. For that reader, Starter plus the first-year agent discount at $99 is the lowest-cost way in. Pro or Premium make sense only if what those tiers add matters to you.

Ownership reporting

FinCEN states that companies formed in the United States are exempt from federal beneficial ownership information reporting. Neither path requires a federal BOI filing for a US-formed LLC. New York's LLC Transparency Act likewise applies only to LLCs formed under the law of a foreign country.

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