Comparing ZenBusiness and Bizee on 10 Features

Are you deciding between ZenBusiness and Bizee (aka IncFile) for LLC formation services? We know, it can be confusing. But don’t worry! Read our helpful comparison guide below, to learn which company is best for you.

LLC service providers all seem to offer the same services, but is price the only thing you should consider? We think user experience, including friendliness of website language and customer support, are really important too. That’s why we tried out their websites to see what it’s like to start your LLC with ZenBusiness or Bizee, and we called their customer support teams multiple times to help you select the best company to form your LLC.

Both ZenBusiness and Bizee have reputations as business formation companies that offer extra help to their customers, but which is the best fit for your business? We compared ZenBusiness vs Bizee on 10 different features of their business formation services.

Winner: This was a close comparison. ZenBusiness and Bizee both have several strengths, and match each other in several areas. If we had to choose, we’d pick ZenBusiness for their ease-of-use and higher quality service bundles. However, Bizee offers some unique services for small business owners starting a Limited Liability Company (LLC) that certain customers may prioritize.

About ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness is a filing company that also offers incorporation and LLC formation service. ZenBusiness can help you set up a Limited Liability Company in any state. In addition to helping you form your business entity, they can also be your Registered Agent service and provide templates of important business documents.

About Bizee

Bizee is an LLC formation company and Registered Agent service.

(They used to be called IncFile. It’s the same company – same staff, same services – with a new name.)

They offer compliance services like LLC Annual Report filing, as well as other business filing services like DBAs and trademark applications.

Founded in 2004, IncFile (now “Bizee”) has helped start over 500,000 businesses. Their company focuses on helping small business owners, and primarily offers features for people starting new businesses.

LLC Formation Services: ZenBusiness vs. Bizee

The Basic LLC Package: What do you get?

We compared the features offered in the basic LLC formation package at each company. What else do you get besides the actual Articles of Organization filing with the state?

ZenBusiness

The basic package (called “Starter”) includes:

• an Operating Agreement template
• 1 free year of Registered Agent service
• 1 free year of Worry-free Compliance Service
• an Accounting Consultation, and
• a Google Ads credit match.

Bizee

The basic package (called “Silver”) includes a free name search, and one free year of Registered Agent service. Nothing else.

Winner: ZenBusiness

Why? ZenBusiness offers more features in their basic LLC formation services package – but check out the detailed prices below.

Business Formation Pricing

Sometimes the state fees listed on the company site don’t match what you see on the state websites. However, we know from our experience in the LLC formation industry that the price difference between the state fees is due to online processing charges. And some states – like Alabama – require you to reserve your LLC name for a fee before filing. The companies just don’t tell you that – and their customer support doesn’t seem to know, either.

We called ZenBusiness and Bizee to see how much their customer service agents really knew. Neither of their representatives could tell us why the discrepancy exists. But we have that all documented in our free lessons on how to start an LLC in all 50 states.

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness offers the Starter package for $0 + state fee, the Pro package for $199, and the Premium package for $299.

The Starter package is good value for an LLC service. But be careful: it contains an annual compliance service subscription that auto-renews at $119 per year. Plus, it signs you up for ZenBusiness’s Registered Agent service that auto-renews at $199 per year.

The Pro package has expedited filing and a few extras, but it isn’t worth $199. And the only upgrade in the Premium package is web hosting, which we don’t think is worth an extra $100.

Bizee

Bizee also offers 3 LLC formation packages:

• the Silver package for $0 (you only pay state filing fees),
• the Gold package for $149, and
• the Platinum package for $299.

The Silver package is a great deal, since you get your LLC formed and a free year of Registered Agent service, all without having to pay IncFile any service fees. You only pay the state filing fee.

The Gold package is also a pretty good value, since it includes a variety of extra features.

We don’t think the Platinum package is worth it, though. The only things you get with Platinum that you don’t get with Gold are the contract templates and a business website domain name.

• Related article: How to Get a Business Domain Name

Winner: Bizee

Why? Bizee has better package prices.

LLC Service Turnaround Time

• Related article: How long does it take to get an LLC?

ZenBusiness

Usually it takes 2 business days for ZenBusiness to send your documents to the state. That’s pretty quick compared to their competitors.

Pro and Premium packages include expedited processing times. This means ZenBusiness will get your paperwork sent to the state right away. And, for an extra fee, the state will expedite your LLC’s approval time.

Bizee

Bizee promises to file your documents with the state within one business day. That’s one of the fastest times in the industry.

However… Several customer reviews online say this claim isn’t accurate and that IncFile took a long time to process their filings.

Winner: This was a tie

Why? Both companies offer quick turnaround times.

Upsells: Neither Distracting, Nor Aggressive

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness offers many upsells with their LLC formation services, but not in a distracting way. Although many of these additional services are things you can do yourself at home (and for free), we appreciate that ZenBusiness isn’t aggressive about them.

Bizee

Bizee offers a variety of additional services that you can select for your new business. Many of them are easy to do yourself, but some business filings are better left to the professionals.

We think Bizee offers good value if you need these items:

• $99 Business License Search
• $99 DBA (Fictitious Name) filing
• $199 Trademark application filing

Winner: IncFile

Why? This was a close one. Both companies offer quality services, but Bizee offers more features that you can’t easily DIY.

Confusing Language

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness makes sure every product is clearly explained and easy to understand – even for people new to starting a business. However, some of their service costs aren’t super clear, and it can be confusing trying to figure out which items are annual subscriptions.

Bizee

Bizee has some misleading language about their refund policy, and isn’t clear about which companies they work with to provide certain features. We like to know whether our information is being sold to other companies.

Winner: This was a tie

Why? Both companies generally have clear language except for specific issues (subscription pricing and affiliate programs).

Customer Service

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness’s customer service is reliable. And they can be reached by phone or online chat. We were also happy that they didn’t use pushy sales techniques.

However, they didn’t go out of their way to provide additional guidance. They instead just answered what we asked. That isn’t bad, but other companies we’ve reviewed have offered more helpful suggestions.

Bizee

Bizee offers phone support or email. When we spoke to Bizee’s customer support representatives, they were all helpful and honest. None really went the extra mile to give us advice or suggestions, but they did accurately answer our questions.

Winner: ZenBusiness

Why? ZenBusiness customer support was a little better quality and easier to access.

User Experience and Website

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness excels at providing a simple, pleasing user experience. Their website uses an automated chat to walk you through the steps. This is helpful because it gives an explanation of each item in the business formation process.

After you form your company, ZenBusiness offers a user-friendly dashboard for your compliance needs. This is useful for filing annual reports and managing your Registered Agent service.

Bizee

Bizee’s user experience offers a simple, streamlined formation process that lets you get through the order quickly. We like that they show a “live” price based on what add-ons you select.

After formation, Bizee’s user dashboard is well-organized and easy to use when you need to order other filings or find documents.

Winner: ZenBusiness

Why? ZenBusiness’s website is more helpful.

ZenBusiness vs Bizee: Registered Agent Services

• Related article: What’s a Registered Agent for an LLC?

Registered Agent Service Price Per Year

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness offers Registered Agent service for $199 per year.

Bizee

Bizee (formerly IncFile) charges $119 per year for Registered Agent services, which is about average for the industry. We like that Bizee includes free Registered Agent service for 1 year with any LLC formation package.

Winner: Bizee

Why? This was a close one, but Bizee has better Registered Agent prices.

Mail Forwarding and Service of Process

ZenBusiness

ZenBusiness scans and uploads legal mail sent to your LLC (including Service of Process). You can access your mail through the same dashboard ZenBusiness uses for their business formation features.

Bizee

Bizee scans and uploads any legal mail they receive for your LLC. They send an email notification about any new document, which you can then access in your account dashboard.

Winner: This is a tie

Why? Both companies offer the same service.

ZenBusiness vs IncFile: Who’s the winner?

When you compare ZenBusiness vs Bizee (aka IncFile), Bizee is the winner, but this was a close one!

Here’s why:

Both companies offer a free ($0) basic package. ZenBusiness includes more features in their basic package, but Bizee has better pricing overall if you wanted to add other services.

While both companies offer upsells, neither is pushy about them. Bizee also has some specialized filings at good prices (like DBAs, business license research, and trademark filings), but many small businesses don’t need these.

Both companies offer quick processing times of 1-2 days, so if you need your LLC on a tight turnaround, either can accomplish that for you.

ZenBusiness and Bizee have good websites, but ZenBusiness’ site is more user friendly. Neither company’s website scored top marks in the clear language category. They both have confusing parts. Figuring out which ZenBusiness products are auto-renewing subscriptions can be difficult. And state fees listed in both companies’ packages don’t always exactly match the ones listed on the Secretary of State’s sites.

Lastly, the Registered Agent prices are only slightly different between the two companies, but Bizee is in fact cheaper.

Overall, if you’re choosing between ZenBusiness and Bizee, Bizee is the way to go if you’re willing to spend a little more money for more included services.

File yourself with our free LLC guides

If neither ZenBusiness nor Bizee seems like the right fit, and you want to save money, you can form your LLC yourself. And we can help!

At LLC University®, we offer step-by-step guides that teach you how to form your LLC yourself. You just pay the state filing fee.

Get started here: How to start an LLC in all 50 states.

The Hybrid Approach: Hire ZenBusiness or Bizee and DIY the little things

And even if you do hire ZenBusiness or Bizee to file your LLC, you can still save money in other ways. There are several upsells that you can skip and DIY instead:

Instead of paying for an LLC Operating Agreement, you can download our free LLC Operating Agreement template.

If you see an upsell for LLC Membership Certificates, you can skip it. We provide free LLC Membership Certificates here.

If you see an upsell for a Banking Resolution (aka financial account authorization letter), you can ignore it. This document isn’t actually needed to open an LLC business bank account. Banks will provide their own form.

If you’d rather not pay for someone to file your LLC Annual Report, you can do that yourself. Go to our LLC Annual Report page and select your state.

And you don’t have to hire someone to be your LLC’s Registered Agent. Instead, you can be the Registered Agent for your LLC. Check out our Registered Agent page for more details. All you need is a physical address in the state where you form your LLC. Being your own Registered Agent can save you more than $100 per year.

Matt Horwitz

Founder & Educator, LLC University®

Matt Horwitz has been the leading expert on LLC education for the past decade. He founded LLC University in 2010 after realizing people needed simple and actionable instructions to start an LLC that other companies weren't offering. He's cited by Entrepreneur Magazine, Yahoo Finance, and the US Chamber of Commerce, and was featured by CNBC and InventRight.
 
Matt holds a Bachelor's Degree in business from Drexel University with a concentration in business law. He performs extensive research and analysis to convert state laws into simple instructions anyone can follow to form their LLC - all for free! Read more about Matt Horwitz and LLC University.