ZenBusiness vs. IncFile (Honest Review): Which One Should You Choose?
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With so many LLC formation services to choose from, picking the right LLC formation company can be a tricky decision. Each come with their pros and cons, but some are definitely better than others. Zenbusiness and Incfile are two of the most popular LLC formation companies out there, and for good reason. Depending on the needs of your business, one of these might be the better option for you. This article outlines what each can offer to help make the process of making a decision as easy as possible.
Pricing is obviously a huge factor to consider, as many new businesses may not have a huge budget, so it is important to get the LLC formation service as affordable as possible. You should also consider the ease of use and the speed of a potential LLC formation service, as if you need your LLC formed fast, some services work much more quickly than others, and some may also include an expedited service if you are willing to pay a small fee. Lastly, you need to consider if the company provides you with any additional features, such as registered agent service or anything else you feel would come in handy when starting a business.
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- Jump to Comparison Chart
- Key Comparison Criteria
- Short Comparison of ZenBusiness & IncFile
- Main IncFile & ZenBusiness Features Compared
- Additional Services
- Comparison Chart
- When Should You Use ZenBusiness and When IncFile?
- Key Takeaway & Overall Winner
- Other Customer Reviews From Trustpilot
- FAQs
- Read Our Other LLC Service Reviews Apart From ZenBusiness & Incfile
Key Comparison Criteria
There are several key factors that need to be compared to find out which company will be better for you to use overall. Customer support plays a large impact in how good a company is, as if you have a question or a problem, you are going to want to know that you can go straight to the customer service team, and get your answers quickly and efficiently.
Short Comparison of ZenBusiness & IncFile
Both Incfile and Zenbusiness are very similar when it comes to what they can offer their customers, which makes them tricky to compare. They are both very affordable, two of the most affordable services in the market, with Incfile coming out that little bit cheaper. Incfile has more customer feedback online, the majority of which is very possible, but they both showcase through their reviews what a great job they do.
Both companies offer a full year of registered agent service with even their most basic package which is a real perk, both also have good customer service. Zenbusiness may be a little bit better when it comes to customer service, as they tend to get back to you a little bit quicker, and will do their utmost to help you out with any questions or problems you may have. Both companies provide a quick and efficient service, although Incfile may be a little bit quicker, aiming to file your paperwork within 24 hours of submitting an order.
Customer support
When it comes to customer support, both businesses tend to perform well. Zenbusiness gives you the option to contact them via email or phone, plus chat support Monday to Friday 9am to 9pm, with shorter hours on the Sunday. The response is usually very quick, and the team will do all they can to help you. For example, if you send them an email, then they will reply to you within 1 business day, and you won’t be waiting longer than a few minutes to speak to someone on the phone or via the chat feature.
The IncFile customer support is still good, they just tend to take a little longer to get back to you. You can get in contact with them via phone or email, so don’t have the added live chat feature that some people prefer to use. The employees are very helpful and will usually provide plenty of information.
Pricing
For many people, the pricing structure is one of the biggest factors to consider. It is very hard to beat IncFile when it comes to cost, as they will form your business for you for free. If it wasn’t for IncFile however, Zenbusinesses would be one of the most affordable options, charging just $39 to form the LLC. It is not really surprising that people would prefer to pay nothing rather than even a small fee, but just remember, pricing is not everything, and in general, you get what you pay for.
With Zenbusiness, they will provide everything you need to firm your business successfully, even in their cheapest package. If you want to step up to the next package, you’ll be paying $149, which is a pretty good deal considering you’ll be getting an annual report service, compliance monitoring, a federal tax ID number and banking resolution template thrown in too. If you want to go up to the next level paid package with Incfile, you’ll be paying $149 for their Gold package, and for this, you can expect to get a range of extra features to improve your LLC formation, such as business documents and an EIN.
Registered Agent Service
Both companies provide a year of registered agent services with even their most basic package. Seeing as every single LLC in America is required to have a registered agent, this is a very important factor. A registered agent is a person or company who is in charge of receiving all of your important business documents, such as your service of process, from the government of your state. The registered agent will let you know they have received the documents, and then forward them on to you. The reason for a registered agent is so that the state can rest assured that they have a reliable means of contacting the business at any time if they need to. The rules about who can be a registered agent are pretty flexible.
Both companies offer this registered agent service for free with all of the LLC formation packaged. If you order a registered agent separately if you are not also forming an LLC, then you should expect to pay $99 a year from ZenBusiness and $119 a year from IncFile.
Experience
Zenbusiness is a relatively new company in the industry, only starting out as an LLC formation company in 2015. Incfile on the other hand has been around for a lot longer, forming in 2004. Despite the fact that Zenbusiness is the newer of the two companies, they have already formed thousands of new LLCs successfully, and have racked up thousands of great reviews online to help back up what a great job they do. Incfile has also formed a lot of businesses, 500,000 or more, and also have some incredible customer feedback across a number of reliable platforms. Both companies do very well in this category, but Incfile has been around longer and has a lot more good customer reviews.
Ease of use
For many, the process of forming an LLC may be very daunting, so may be looking for an LLC formation service company that is as easy and straightforward to use as possible. With Zenbusiness, the process is very quick and efficient. To get started, you’ll have to pick the package that best suits your needs and then fill out the form, which gives them all the information they need to form your LLC for you. The process with Icfile is also pretty simple. You have to fill out an order form to start with, and they will start to personalize the steps of your orders depending on the type of business entity that you are forming and which state you are forming it in.
Both of the company websites strive to make the process as easy to understand and quick to order as possible, with neither going overboard when it comes to upsells and other third party orders. Zenbusiness is just slightly more user friendly.
Speed of LLC Formations
Some business owners will want their LLC formed quicker than others, and this is where the speed of the formation may play a large role in the decision making of which LLC formation package to go with. Incfile claims that they will submit all the documents needed for your formation in just one business day to the state, which is a pretty quick and efficient service. After that, the speed of the service is out of their hands, as it really depends on how quickly the state can process the business formation. This can range from a couple of days all the way to seral weeks. If you don’t mind paying, you can opt for the expedited service which can help to speed up the whole process.
Zebusiness on the other hand chooses to base the speed of the process on the package that you choose with them, or if you go with the rush filing option or not. In general, they are a pretty quick company to work with, and are either just as fast or faster than many other similar companies out there. When you enter what state it is you will be forming a business in, you will be able to see how long it will roughly take you.
Main IncFile & ZenBusiness Features Compared
If you compare the two entry level packages of both Incfile and Zenbusiness, you will see that they are near enough identical. Both provide you with everything you will need to form a business successfully. Both will fully prepare and file your articles of organization for you, and both will also provide registered agent service for a full year.
The differences start to appear when you start to look at some of their more expensive LLC formation packages. Here Zenbsiness gets the upper hand a little.
To make it a little easier to see what both companies offer in their most basic plan, we have created this table.
| Zenbusiness | Incfile | |
| How long it takes to proess an order | Usually this will take between 2-3 weeks | As short as next business day |
| Their registered agent service | Is free for one year and then $99 every year after that | Free for one year and then $119 every year after that |
| Operating agreements | Included | Will have to pay an additional $40 for this feature |
| Annual compliance | $110 a year | Free alerts for the business’ lifetime |
| EIN registration | $70 extra | $70 extra |
Additional Services
Both companies provide a huge range of other services and features in addition to their LLC formation packages. Both provide registered agent services, EIN acquisition, a range of business templates, operating agreements and more. Zenbusiness has the upper hand here however as they will also deal with the publication requirements in states where it is needed, such as New York. Incfile does not provide this service. They also provide what they call a Worry Free Compliance Guarantee, which is a great option for busy entrepreneurs. It is all too easy to get lost in the day to day happenings of the business, and forget to do things that are needed to keep your business compliant. The worry free guarantee has been designed to stop this from happening, as it includes annual filing report alerts, documents submitted on your behalf, you can change your filing twice a year and it covers the cost that is required to regain good standing if you should accidentally miss any deadlines.
Comparison Chart
We have created this chart for you to use to get a quick overview of the two companies.
| Zenbusiness | Incfile | |
| Overall rating | 4.8/5 | 4.3/5 |
| Pricing structure | 4.3 | 4.8/5 |
| Customer service | 5/5 | 4.2/5 |
| Speed | 4.5/5 | 4.6/5 |
| Ease of use | 4.5/5 | 4/5 |
| Other additional features | 4.6/5 | 4.5/5 |
As you can see, Zenbusiness is just above Incfile in most of the categories, so although they are both great LLC formation companies to consider, Zenbusiness seems to come out on top more often than not.
When Should You Use ZenBusiness and When IncFile?
The situation you are in may help you make a decision about what formation service to go with.
Zenbusiness
You should go with Zenbusiness if you are looking for an LLC service that offers the best overall value. Although Incfile may be cheaper, Zenbusiness is the best value overall, with cheaper additional features further down the line.
$0 + State Fees
Rating: 4.8/5
Review count: 4830+
Form an LLC today with ZenBusiness for only $0 + State fees. They Have 98% customer satisfaction rating and over 4830+ verified reviews.
Incfile
You should pick Incfile if you want a company that has a proven track record, and plenty of customer reviews.
$0+State Fees
Rating: 4.8/5
Review count: 3900+
Form an LLC today with IncFile starting from $0 + state fees. They Have 97% customer satisfaction rating and over 3900+ verified reviews.
Key Takeaway & Overall Winner
After considering all the answers in this comparison, it is clear that Zenbsuienss is a clear winner, taking top position in the majority of categories. They have very low priced packages to consider, some great customer reviews and are very easy to use. Incfile is also very good and affordable, but Zenbsiness offers more relevant products for less, without all the hassle.
Other Customer Reviews From Trustpilot
Zenbusiness Customer reviews
“I just go off the phone talking with ZenBusiness for the first time. I had some questions that were answered by CR in a very patient and professional manner. I wear hearing aids and sometimes have trouble hearing what is being said. He took the time to help me understand without making me feel like an idiot. Well done! From reading other reviews, I expect this kind of service is common. I will be signing up.”
“I recently purchased package from them business and it was absolutely the most wonderful experience I’ve ever had with any business. I would definitely recommend them for anyone starting a new business it’s easy very informative step and user friendly.”
“I was completely intimidated by the prospect of setting up my LLC. ZenBusiness literally did ALL of the work for reasonable price and it was 100% worth it for me no to be liable for mistake I may have made. Super responsive and fast!”
Incfile Customer reviews
“Filed my new LLC and within minutes I had the package delivered and within 24hrs I had the EIN and ready for banking relationships. Tremendous response time, service and ease of use on the website. I will recommend Incfile to antone and everyone establishing a new entity. Thank you!”
“I love incfile! Help me file for my llc quicker than expected! Great communication $ customer service. Sent me all of my documents via PDF files and by mail in a nice binder. I’m very satisfied. Also thank you Diego from incfile for being so kind and patient answering all of my questions. I recommend incfile to all of my family and friends starting a business.”
FAQs
Do I need to use an LLC formation service?
You don’t have to use an LLC formation service at all when it comes to filing your LLC, as it is possible to go through the whole process yourself. Although this may end up saving you money in the long run, it can be very time consuming, and there is always the worry of you missing a step of getting something wrong, which could result in fines or issues further down the line.
Can I get a refund after placing an order?
It is not very easy to get a refund from either of these companies. Zenbsuienss will not give a refund at all once they have filed your documents with the state, however, if you manage to contact them before the filing has taken place, you may get a refund after paying the $50 cancellation fee. Incfile has a similar policy, but has a $30 cancellation fee, and again it has to be done before they submit payment to the state, which is usually within 24 hours of you placing your order.
How do I know which package to choose?
When picking a package, there are a few things you are going to need to consider. Budget is a big consideration, as if you don’t want to spend much, then you should only be looking at the cheapest formation packages. You should also look at the needs of your business, as for some, it may be worth spending a little more to get a little more. This is when you should look at some of the more advanced packages.
Which service has fewer upsells?
Upsells can be annoying, especially if the company are pushy about them. Incfile doesn’t have many upsells at all, and those that they do have, they don’t push in their customer’s faces, such as asking them to add some unnecessary features. Zenbusiness is very good and doesn’t go overboard either, although in general, they have a few more than Incfile does, just not enough to be annoying.
Which company offers more when it comes to ongoing compliance requirements?
When it comes to ongoing compliance requirements, both companies can help, and will help your business stay in good standing even after the initial formation process. Zenbusiness charges $99 every year while Incfile charges $199 every year. If you want an annual report service, you can get this from both companies too. Incfile charges $88 for this service and Zenbsuiness you will only have to pay $75.