Best LLC formation service for a one-person business—including filing it yourself.
There is no honest universal winner. A straightforward one-person LLC may need only a state portal and IRS.gov. A home address, weekday availability problem, desire for guided compliance, or genuinely complex facts can justify paying more.
Cheapest legitimate route: file directly with your state. Best support and privacy/address route: Northwest, if its address is accepted in the fields you need. Lowest service-fee formation with first-year agent: Bizee Basic. Best guided ongoing system: ZenBusiness, if you will use the paid workflow. Best when facts are complicated: an attorney—not a formation-service premium tier.
F = your state’s required formation fee. A = required year-two state annual-report, franchise-tax, or similar charge. Those government amounts are not provider revenue and differ dramatically by state. “Year 1” below excludes optional rush fees, publication, licenses, tax advice, and other add-ons unless named.
Compare the whole obligation
| Route | Best for | Year 1 | Year 2 | Documents/EIN | Cancellation/refund reality |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DIY | Simple one-owner home-state LLC | F | A | Self-prepare; EIN free from IRS | No vendor to cancel; state correction/dissolution rules still apply |
| NorthwestCheck current official offer → | Support, agent coverage, eligible business-address use | F + $39 | A + $125 if agent retained | Operating agreement/resolutions included; EIN $50 add-on | Confirm service-specific refund; change agent with state before stopping |
| Bizee BasicCheck current official offer → | Lowest initial provider fee plus first-year agent | F | A + $149 if current agent renewal retained | Paid Standard adds EIN/agreement; IRS EIN is free | Usually only refundable before government/third-party payment, often within 24 hours |
| ZenBusiness StarterCheck current official offer → | Guided platform without a paid formation fee | F; agent extra | A; agent/compliance subscriptions extra | Pro bundles EIN/agreement; Starter does not | 60-day formation guarantee minus state/third-party fees; subscriptions separate |
| Attorney | Risk, ownership, investors, IP, regulated or cross-border facts | F + quote | A + continuing work if needed | Tailored drafting and advice | Engagement letter controls; scope and deliverables must be clear |
Cheapest legitimate route: file directly
DIY is the real price benchmark, not a consolation prize. Use your Secretary of State’s official portal and instructions. Check name availability, management structure, organizer, registered agent and consent, business/principal/mailing addresses, effective date, and any state-specific provisions. Pay F directly. Save the stamped articles and receipt. Then prepare the right operating agreement, get the EIN free from the IRS if needed, open the account, and calendar A and every filing.
DIY stops being cheapest if an avoidable error delays a contract, exposes an unacceptable home address, or creates owner conflict. It also stops being appropriate when you do not understand the choices on the state form. Clerical uncertainty can justify a service; legal uncertainty justifies counsel.
Which paid service fits which one-person owner?
Northwest: best support and privacy/address route
Northwest’s $39 service includes a first year of registered agent and markets use of its business address on public formation filings where allowed. The $125 renewal is currently lower than the compared ZenBusiness and Bizee renewals. It fits a home-based owner who values address handling and wants to talk to a Corporate Guide. Confirm what ordinary mail is included and which state fields can use its address.
Check Northwest →Bizee Basic: best lowest-entry service
Bizee charges $0 plus F and advertises first-year agent service. That makes it a strong filing-day value. The control is year two: current checkout says $149 agent renewal, and the cancellation policy can become non-refundable after government/third-party payment. Fit: an owner who wants the filing transmitted and can actively manage renewals and separate address needs.
Check Bizee →ZenBusiness: best guided ongoing system
Starter makes formation $0 plus F, but professional agent service is separate. Pro/Premium turn the relationship into an annual platform with documents, compliance, templates, and other tools. Fit: the owner who wants that operating system and values it at the recurring price. Poor fit: someone buying a $199 package mainly for the free IRS EIN.
Check ZenBusiness →The best “service” can be an attorney
Use counsel when a generic workflow cannot safely answer the question: multiple owners or unequal economics; investor or option plans; valuable IP that must be assigned; licensed or regulated services; professional-entity rules; minors or vulnerable customers; foreign owner/responsible party; operations in several states or countries; high-consequence contracts; real estate; estate-planning ownership; planned venture funding; an S corporation election intertwined with payroll; or a dispute already exists.
Ask for a scoped quote: entity choice, state choice, filing, operating agreement, IP assignment, initial resolutions, contracts, licenses, tax coordination, and registered-agent recommendation. A higher formation package still does not create attorney-client privilege or individualized legal advice.
Use this checkout test
- Write F and A from the official state site.
- Decide whether you can be your own agent and accept the address/availability result.
- Price service fee, agent renewal, compliance, address, domain/email, annual-report service, and tax add-ons separately.
- Cross out the EIN price if you can use IRS.gov directly.
- Name each included document and whether it matches one owner or multiple owners.
- Read the cancellation trigger, refund cutoff, auto-renewal date, and replacement-agent process.
- Compare first-year and second-year totals.
- If a question requires judgment rather than data entry, get legal or tax advice.