ZenBusiness vs. Bizee

Sarah Brady

BLUEPRINT

Updated 3:30 p.m. UTC May 14, 2024

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Via ZenBusiness' website

Pros

Free plan available.
Each plan includes 30 minutes of tax advising.
60-day money-back guarantee.
Free worry-free compliance service for one year.

Cons

Most plan details aren’t provided online.
Registered agent service is $199 after the first year.
Add-ons can get pricey.

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Via Bizee's website

Pros

Offers three competitive LLC plans.
Free year of registered agent services on all plans.
High ratings from past customers.
Only pay for the service once as opposed to yearly.

Cons

24-hour processing is only on the highest plan.
Business contract templates only on the highest plan.

Featured LLC service offers

ZenBusiness

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LegalZoom

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Northwest Registered Agent

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ZenBusiness and Bizee (formerly Incfile) are among several companies that offer free LLC formation plans. Before signing up, compare their complimentary features and add-on prices, including the cost of their registered agent services. In doing so, you’ll find that ZenBusiness offers premium features you can try risk-free and Bizee offers essential services with no upfront costs. In this guide, we compare each providers’ features, customer support and costs.

Note: As of December, 2023, Incfile has rebranded to Bizee.

ZenBusiness vs. Bizee: LLC services

Both ZenBusiness and Bizee have LLC formation plans starting at $0 (not including state fees). However, while Bizee’s free plan comes with a unique set of features, including a tax consultation, next-day business filing and free registered agent services for the first year, ZenBusiness’s free LLC formation plan offers other complimentary features, such as its worry-free compliance service for one year complete with filing alerts and an annual report.

When it comes to paid plans, ZenBusiness’s LLC services stand out for its premium services and 60-day money-back guarantee. The refund applies to ZenBusiness service fees, not state fees. In contrast, Bizee stands out for its customer service and no upfront costs. Across review sites such as Trustpilot (where Bizee earns a 4.7 out of five-star rating), the provider is consistently praised for its knowledgeable and friendly customer service representatives.

ZenBusiness vs. Bizee: Registered agent services

ZenBusiness offers three business formation packages, but its plans no longer include complimentary registered agent services. If you’re looking for a registered agent through ZenBusiness, you’ll have to pay $199 a year on top of your plan fees. Like Bizee, its registered agent services are available in all 50 U.S. states.

Bizee includes registered agent services with every LLC formation plan for the first year. After that, the cost increases to $119 a year. Unlike ZenBusiness, when Bizee receives a document on your behalf, not only is it scanned and uploaded to your online portal, but the hard copy is also forwarded to you. ZenBusiness does not offer mail forwarding services.

If you’re looking to start a business with little upfront costs and want to work with a service that has great customer service and keeps meticulous records of your hardcopy documents, Bizee is the better choice for you.

ZenBusiness vs. Bizee: Cost

	BASE PLAN	MID-TIER PLAN	HIGH-TIER PLAN	REGISTERED AGENT SERVICE*
ZenBusiness	$0	$199	$349	$199
Bizee	$0	$199	$299	$119 after first year

At $199 Bizee and ZenBusiness charge the same price for their mid-tier company formation plans, both of which offer the best value compared to their more expensive plans. The key difference with Bizee is that it only charges a one-time fee for its services — unlike the annual cost of ZenBusiness. However, both offer three plan tiers, with Bizee’s ranging from free to $299 and ZenBusiness’ ranging from $0 to $349 per year for ZenBusiness’s.

When you choose ZenBusiness’s mid-tier Pro plan, you’ll get an operating agreement, expedited filing speed, annual report filing and EIN filing services. The value of those features, if purchased as separate add-ons, is equivalent to a one-time fee of $496. To access this plan, you’ll pay only an annual fee of $199 for bundled LLC filing and compliance services.

For the same price as ZenBusiness’s Pro plan, you can get Bizee’s mid-tier Gold Package. It comes with an EIN, operating agreement, business banking account and a business tax consultation. Bizee even comes with lifetime compliance alerts so you can always be sure that your dealings are monitored for legality.

ZenBusiness’s mid-tier plan provides customers with banking and tax consultations, an annual report each year and compliance alerts, making it a great option for companies that need ongoing support for a wide range of business processes. In contrast, Bizee is best for companies that already work with an accountant and just want business formation and registered agent services at an affordable price.

ZenBusiness vs. Bizee: Features

	NAME AVAILABILITY SEARCH	ONLINE DOCUMENT ACCESS	FREE NEXT-DAY FILING	MOBILE APP	COMPLIMENTARY TAX CONSULTATION	REFUND POLICY
ZenBusiness	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	30 minutes	60-day money-back guarantee
Bizee	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	30 minutes	Approx. 1 day, with $30 cancellation fee.

Where Bizee stands out is in the valuable features included in its free business formation plan, including free next-day business filing, name search and registered agent services for the first year.

Overall, ZenBusiness offers fewer features with its free plan but it does have a generous 60-day refund policy and no cancellation fees for its paid plans. Both companies provide a complimentary 30-minute tax consultation. However, ZenBusiness consultations are conducted by certified public accountants (CPAs) and Bizee consultations are conducted by specialist accountants. CPAs must go through more education and training and meet higher experience and certification standards than specialist accountants to reach their level of expertise.

In either case, the consult may feel a bit like a sales pitch. With Bizee, the accountant will suggest a monthly accounting/bookkeeping package and help you set up a subscription. Subscriptions are priced at $90 and $180 a month. With ZenBusiness, the CPA will make an assessment and recommend paid services that are tailored to your business.

All in all, both companies offer valuable features that will entice different businesses. If you’re looking for fewer upfront costs, consider Bizee’s free plan. Bizee offers free next-day filing and registered agent services for a year. If you want a premium experience and are willing to pay for it, ZenBusiness may be a good option. ZenBusiness provides users with online document access, a CPA consultation, a generous money-back guarantee, complimentary annual reports, filing deadline alerts and mobile apps for iOS and Android devices.

ZenBusiness vs. Bizee: Add-ons

	ANNUAL REPORT FILING	ARTICLES OF ORGANIZATION	DBA	ACCOUNTING/BOOKKEEPING	EIN	OPERATING AGREEMENT	BUSINESS BANK ACCOUNT
ZenBusiness	$100 (free for first year in free plan)	$49 or included in free plan	N/A	30 min free	$99 or included in Pro plan	Included in paid plan	$5 per month
Bizee	$99	Included in free plan	$99	$90 per month	$70 or included in paid plan	Included in paid plan	Included in paid plan

Whether you go with a free plan from ZenBusiness or Bizee, you’ll likely need to purchase add-ons. Bizee and ZenBusiness only include an operating agreement in their paid plans, and none of ZenBusiness’s plans include a registered agent.

Both providers offer unique add-ons. For example, ZenBusiness offers website-related add-ons that Bizee doesn’t. And, Bizee offers trademark registration services as an add-on (for $199, plus state fees), while ZenBusiness does not.

To make a decision between these providers, first make a list of the services your business still needs, such as business accounting, registered agent services and trademark registration. Then, look at each provider to find the one that offers the most add-ons to meet your needs.

Tip: Add-on services can quickly add up. Be sure to review what the paid LLC formation plans include. Bizee’s mid-tier plan includes many services you’d add to LLC filing with other providers at a competitive price.

ZenBusiness vs. Bizee: Customer support

	24/7 CUSTOMER SUPPORT	PHONE SUPPORT	LIVE CHAT	KNOWLEDGE BASE
ZenBusiness	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Bizee	No	Yes	Yes	Yes

If you need customer support, ZenBusiness offers more availability than Bizee, but neither company is available 24/7. Their business hours are as follows:

ZenBusiness phone and live chat support is available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. CT.
Bizee’s phone support is available Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT.

Here is an overview of each customer support channel offered by ZenBusiness and Bizee:

Email: You can contact both companies via email. ZenBusiness reports that it will respond to all emails within one business day. Bizee does not offer an email-support response-time guarantee.
Live chat: Both ZenBusiness and Bizee offer live chat support during normal weekday business hours. ZenBusiness also offers live chat support on Sundays.
Phone: Both providers offer phone support during their normal weekday business hours. ZenBusiness also offers phone support on Sundays.

Both companies are rated “excellent” on Trustpilot. Customer reviews for ZenBusiness revolve around the high quality of customer support, and Bizee reviews tend to mention the speed and ease of service.

Overall, both Bizee and ZenBusiness have standout features. If your business needs weekend support, consider ZenBusiness, which provides more support hours than Bizee. However, Bizee may be the better choice for friendly, knowledgeable support. It has higher customer support ratings and goes the extra mile by ensuring that all staff members are fluent in English and Spanish to serve more people.

Which company formation service is right for your business?

While ZenBusiness’s prices are higher than Bizee’s, it offers premium features Bizee does not, such as CPA consultations, a 60-day money-back guarantee, complimentary annual report filing and filing deadline alerts and a mobile app. However, you’ll get a better bang for your buck with Bizee, especially considering the fact it only charges a one-time fee vs. yearly like its competitors.

Its free LLC formation plan includes a free year of registered agent services and next-day business filing, and its paid plans include many features you’d need to pay extra for with ZenBusiness. It also has excellent user reviews that repeatedly mention great customer support.

Bizee is best for startups that want few upfront costs and essential business formation services with friendly support.

Featured LLC service offers

ZenBusiness

Learn More

Via ZenBusiness’ website

Free version available

Yes

Lowest published package price

$199

Live chat

Yes: Human

LegalZoom

Learn More

Via LegalZoom’s website

Free version available

Yes

Lowest published package price

$249

Live chat

Yes

Northwest Registered Agent

Learn More

Via Northwest’s website

Free version available

Lowest published package price

$39

Live chat

Yes

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Blueprint has an advertiser disclosure policy. The opinions, analyses, reviews or recommendations expressed in this article are those of the Blueprint editorial staff alone. Blueprint adheres to strict editorial integrity standards. The information is accurate as of the publish date, but always check the provider’s website for the most current information.

Sarah Brady

BLUEPRINT

Sarah Brady is a personal finance writer and educator who's been helping individuals and entrepreneurs improve their financial wellness since 2013. Sarah's other publications include Investopedia, Experian, the National Foundation for Credit Counseling (NFCC), Credit Karma and LendingTree and her work has been syndicated by Yahoo! News and MSN. She is also a former HUD-Certified Housing Counselor and NFCC-Certified Credit Counselor.

Alana Rudder

BLUEPRINT

Alana is the deputy editor for USA Today Blueprint's small business team. She has served as a technology and marketing SME for countless businesses, from startups to leading tech firms — including Adobe and Workfusion. She has zealously shared her expertise with small businesses — including via Forbes Advisor and Fit Small Business — to help them compete for market share. She covers technologies pertaining to payroll and payment processing, online security, customer relationship management, accounting, human resources, marketing, project management, resource planning, customer data management and how small businesses can use process automation, AI and ML to more easily meet their goals. Alana has an MBA from Excelsior University.