LegalZoom vs SwyftFilings Comparison

Business entity formation is a crucial element of launching a business, and because it’s often complex and tedious many entrepreneurs hire a professional to do the job right. 

Two of the leading online services are LegalZoom and Swyft Filings. To help you determine which is best, and which might be best for you and your business, we have thoroughly reviewed their services by putting ourselves in the shoes of an entrepreneur. Read on to make the choice that will put your business on the highway to success. 

Features and Services Overview

LegalZoom is an industry leader when it comes to LLC formation services. They offer three business plans, with one-time fees ranging from $79 to $349, plus state fees. Their Economy Plan is great value for what’s included and they have great customer service.

LegalZoom’s services are easy to use and they offer great customer experience. LegalZoom is more expensive than some competitors but they do offer a wider variety of legal services and have been in business for more than 20 years. Overall, they’re a great one-stop shop for all of your business formation and legal needs.

Swyft Filings has three business formation packages and a variety of a la carte services. Package prices range from $49 to $299 plus state filing fees, and are sold for a one-time expense. 

Swyft Filings is known for speed, as their signup process is quick and they have faster turnaround times. Their business formation packages are also a great value. 

Plans Pricing

The LegalZoom “base” plan costs $79 and provides a business name availability search through the state database, your business’s formation, and full customer support. It also offers a few extras, including a digital welcome packet and a business newsletter. You’ll also have access to your formation documents online at any time.

LegalZoom’s “middle” plan costs $329 and includes all the services in the “base” plan plus a founder’s kit, personalized business embosser, and membership certificates.

The LegalZoom “top-tier” plan offers all of the services listed above plus expedited filing and express document shipping, making it a better value than the “middle” plan.

Swyft Filings’ “base” plan costs $49 and provides the verification of your company name, preparation of the articles of organization, and document filing with the state. You’ll get online access to your documents and lifetime customer support. This plan comes with a one-hour business tax consultation to help you prepare for your first tax season, and company compliance alerts so you never miss a deadline. 

Swyft Filings’ “middle” plan is $149 and includes all the services included in the “base” plan, but with the addition of a custom operating agreement and a federal tax ID, or EIN. You’ll get access to custom banking resolution services and custom organizational minutes, which is a form that helps you set up your very first meeting as an LLC.

For $299, the Swyft Filings “top-tier” plan offers everything in the “middle” plan with the advantage of expedited filing, as well as a business website and web hosting services. You also get a digital LLC kit, which includes a digital company “seal”, a ledger for tracking transfers of ownership, and customized stock certificates.

Economy Plan vs Basic Package

Swyft Filing’s Basic Package, at $49, is a better value than LegalZoom’s Economy Plan as you get the added benefit of their Compliance Guard service — and at a lower price. The only additional benefits of the LegalZoom Economy Plan are a digital welcome packet, a digital tracker, and a business newsletter. 

However, Swyft Filings’ registered agent services cost double those of LegalZoom.

	LegalZoom	Swyft Filings
Price	$79	$49
Turnaround time	Standard	Standard
Registered agent	Not included but can be added for $299 annually	Not included but can be added for $149 quarterly
Operating agreement	Not included	Not included
Worry Free compliance	Not included	Compliance Guard company alerts
EIN	Not included	Not included
Website	Not included	Not included
Legal Advice	Not included	Not included
Customer Support	Included	Included
One hour tax consultation	Not included	Included
Digital LLC welcome packet	Included	Not included
Digital formation tracker	Included	Not included
Business newsletter	Included	Not included

Standard Plan (LegalZoom) vs Standard Package (Swyft Filings)

The LegalZoom Standard Plan is more than double the cost of the comparable Swyft Filings’ plan, and you get fewer benefits. Swyft Filings offers an operating agreement and an EIN with their plan, as well as a banking resolution and customized organizational minutes. 

The Swyft Filings plan is clearly a better value. 

	LegalZoom	Swyft Filings
Price	$329	$149
Turnaround time	Expedited	Standard
Registered agent	Not included but can be added for $299 annually	Not included but can be added for $149 quarterly
Operating agreement	Not included	Included
Worry Free compliance	Not included	Compliance Guard company alerts
EIN	Not included	Included
Website	Not included	Not included
Legal Advice	Not included	Not included
Customer Support	Included	Included
One hour tax consultation	Not included	Included
Digital LLC welcome packet	Included	Not included
Digital formation tracker	Included	Not included
Business newsletter	Included	Not included
Deluxe Founder’s Kit	Included	Not included
Personalized business embosser and ownership certificates	Included	Not included
Banking resolution	Not included	Included
Organizational minutes	Not included	Included

Express Gold Plan vs Premium Package

While these plans are closer in price than the middle level plans, LegalZoom’s Express Gold Plan still falls short of the benefits offered by Swyft Filings. With the Swyft Filings Premium Package you even get a website.

Again, Swyft Filings gets the win. 

	LegalZoom	Swyft Filings
Price	$349	$299
Turnaround time	Expedited	Expedited
Registered agent	Not included but can be added for $299 annually	Not included but can be added for $149 quarterly
Operating agreement	Not included	Included
Worry Free compliance	Not included	Compliance Guard company alerts
EIN	Not included	Included
Website	Not included	Included
Legal Advice	Not included	Not included
Customer Support	Included	Included
One hour tax consultation	Not included	Included
Digital LLC welcome packet	Included	Included
Digital formation tracker	Included	Not included
Business newsletter	Included	Not included
Deluxe Founder’s Kit	Included	Not included
Personalized business embosser and ownership certificates	Included	Not included
Banking resolution	Not included	Included
Organizational minutes	Not included	Included
Express shipping	Included	Included

Customer Service

We tested the customer service experience of both services from every angle. Here’s what we found. 

LegalZoom

User Experience – What to Expect 

When you first go to the LegalZoom site, you’ll be able to explore products and pricing from the menu at the top, or you can just click “start my business” and select the business entity type you want to form.

However, it’s difficult to find the service package prices and information. They do not appear on the site menu. In fact, we had to do a Google search, “LegalZoom business formation plans”, in order to get to that part of their website. 

How Is the formation process?

When you start the formation process by selecting LLC as your entity type, you’re asked a series of questions about your business. Then the site automatically offers you products, such as registered agent services and the operating agreement. You can accept or decline any of the services.

One of the products offered is a total compliance service, which does not appear in their products menu. This service helps you meet all your LLC’s requirements, such as annual report filings. 

The service is free for 10 days, which is a rather short period, and then costs $280 per year. This seems expensive since you can purchase their annual report a la carte for $55 per year. 

You’re also offered tax services, including “tax prep essentials” for $99 a month and a “full-service tax and accounting plan” for $159 per month. Then you’re offered a legal protection plan, which includes legal guidance and documents, for $49 per month.

Then you’re finally presented with their packages, so you can choose the Economy, Standard, or Express Gold. Once you make your selection, you get offers for special deals from Bank of America and Earth Class Mail. 

Lastly, you get to your total cost. Note that anything that has an annual fee, such as registered agent services, is not included in this initial total, so you’ll need to be prepared to incur those charges later. 

You can pay your initial total all at once, or you can choose to make three monthly payments. Note that if you do choose to make payments, you’ll pay a bit more due to the $2 monthly installment fee. 

In Summary

Overall, the process was very smooth. Yet it was also very much a sales process, as they hope to get visitors to spend as much money as possible. 

It would be nice if all their service offerings and packages were easily accessible on the site before you start the process. Still, everything was made clear during the formation process and it only took a few minutes. 

Customer Support

We tested all three forms of LegalZoom’s customer support, as detailed below. 

Chat support

Phone support

 

Email support

Swyft Filings

User Experience – What to Expect 

When you first go to the Swyft Filings site, enter your entity type (LLC) and the state of formation and then click the Get Started button to begin your filing.

Next, you’ll be prompted to enter your desired business name and the state of incorporation once more. You’ll then get a confirmation message that your name is available, along with another Get Started button. The following screen prompts you to enter in your contact information. Once you’ve entered your information, click Get My LLC.

The next screen asks what type of business your LLC will be. Begin typing your description and choose an option from the drop down menu. If none of the options fit, you can type a custom description in your own words. You’ll then be asked to enter how many employees you expect to have. 

At this point, you’ll have a chance to add registered agent services to your filing for an additional $149 per quarter. Click your appropriate choice to move to the next step.

Next, you will be asked if you’d like to add a business license and compliance package for an additional $99. Make your selection to move to the next screen, which is where you will get to review the three service packages offered.

Review the packages and what’s included in each and click the Select button underneath your choice. The next screen asks if you want to add a business bank account with Bank of America. You can accept or decline.

Finally, you’ll get a chance to review all of your information before making your purchase. You also have the option to pay in monthly installments or pay the full amount.

Click the Confirm button to move forward with payment and complete your filing.

How is the formation process?

Overall, the initial process to begin formation was quick, easy, and straightforward. However, one downside was not being able to see all the details of the three plans until you actually begin your filing. It would be helpful to be able to compare pricing and packages beforehand so you can truly assess if Swyft Filings is right for you upfront.

You are also continuously upsold through the process and provided with several a la carte services, all before you get a chance to review the three available packages. There is also no option to save your information in case you want to come back to your filing later on. You have to complete the entire process in one sitting or else you’ll need to start over from the beginning.

In Summary

Overall, the site is easy to use if you’re ready to go and just want to complete the process. Otherwise, information can be difficult to find to form an LLC on your own. 

Swyft Filings lives up to its name in terms of speedy processing times. However, the biggest drawback is that they don’t include registered agent services in any of their packages. Additionally, the registered agent service is $149 per quarter, whereas most other LLC formation services either charge an annual fee or bundle it with other offerings.

Incfile is better for entrepreneurs on a budget, as their Silver Package covers the basics and includes a free year of their registered agent service. Other LLC formation services like LegalZoom and ZenBusiness have a more robust suite of services, but they are also more expensive.

Customer Support

We tested all three forms of Swyft Filings customer support, and detail our findings below. 

Chat & Email support

Phone support

Customer Reviews

We wanted to know how real customers feel about both services, so we thoroughly explored customer reviews at the Better Business Bureau and Trust Pilot. Below we’ve summarized our findings. 

LegalZoom

Better Business Bureau

LegalZoom has no rating from the BBB, but they are an accredited business, with 5,559 reviews and 4.55/5 stars. They have been an accredited BBB business since 2011. They have received 903 complaints in three years, all of which have a closed status.

Many of the positive reviews for LegalZoom revolved around their exceptional customer service, such as this one: “I had an issue and was able to call the company and have it resolved within a matter of minutes.”

“LegalZoom has been our trusted agent for several years now,” said another review. “The care and coordination we’ve received allows us to run a challenging business successfully and ensure compliance remains consistent each quarter.”

Some of the negative reviews were about not receiving services as expected:

“I ordered an expedited filing mid-May. It sat, and sat, and sat while nothing was filed with the state. I had to call every day to try to move the needle on this filing and this ‘expedited filing’ is still not completed. I still do not have an EIN number and it is almost July.”

Others complained about not being able to get through to customer service by phone. Many of the negative reviews were about difficulties with cancellation.

You can read reviews on the BBB website. 

Trustpilot 

The Trustpilot score for LegalZoom is 4.5/5 stars with 1,644 reviews. 

The LegalZoom reviews from Trustpilot have the following range:

• Excellent 77%
• Great 3%
• Average 2%
• Poor 1%
• Bad 17%

Many positive reviews were again about the great customer service and the ease of use. 

“Easy and affordable. Things got a bit chaotic on my end (auto-correct made changes I didn’t authorize & then there were licensing questions on my part) but all was handled with ease, patience and in a timely manner. I highly recommend, as this is the second time I’ve used LegalZoom and both times went very smoothly for usually stressful events (divorce, new business owner).”

“LegalZoom has helped me with several legal processes and they have always been highly professional and helpful.”

Some negative reviews were about not getting the services paid for and not being able to get a refund. One person said LegalZoom failed to form her business and she ended up going to the state herself to make the filing. 

Another complained: “I paid for the most expensive package (Express Gold) for my LLC. I am beyond disappointed with LegalZoom. Not only did they register the wrong name for my LLC – causing me more time and money – for months they have refused to send me the physical items that were included in that package. I literally have sent over 20 emails and have been on hold and called several times explaining my situation. They just send me a link to my digital documents. That is not what I’m missing and requesting. I have sent pictures and explained ad nauseam with no avail.”

You can read reviews on the TrustPilot website.

Swyft Filings

Better Business Bureau

Swyft Filings is not accredited with the BBB, but has 4.44/5 stars from 355 customer reviews. They closed 129 complaints in the last three years, including 58 in the past year. 

Positive customer reviews highlighted the politeness of staff members and being helpful to new entrepreneurs. People also said they appreciated the thoroughness of customer service, especially over the phone. 

Some customer service representatives were mentioned by name and customers who made mistakes during the filing process mentioned that problems were quickly addressed and remedied.

Negative reviews and complaints mentioned a lack of responsiveness, especially over email. There were also complaints regarding Swyft not honoring the money-back guarantee.

Swyft Filings also recently changed their registered agent services from an annual fee to a quarterly fee, which came as a surprise to many existing customers, signaling a potential lack in communication.

You can read reviews on the BBB website. 

Trustpilot 

The Trustpilot score for Swyft Filings is 4.7/5 stars with 4,856 customer reviews. 

The Swyft Filings reviews from Trustpilot have the following range:

• Excellent 87%
• Great 6%
• Average 2%
• Poor <1%
• Bad 5%

Positive reviews under Trustpilot were similar to those at the Better Business Bureau. Customers were pleased with the helpfulness and patience of customer service representatives and mentioned some of them by name. Other reviews mentioned the user-friendly website and quick turnaround times. 

Some of the negative reviews focused on undisclosed extra fees, being charged for services without consent, and that the process “felt like a scam”. People also complained about feeling nickeled and dimed for extra services and how they ultimately wound up spending more than they had anticipated.

You can read reviews on the TrustPilot website.

Pros and Cons

LegalZoom

Swyft Filings

Verdict

After a thorough assessment, we have determined that Swyft Filings offers the better value. With Swyft Filings you’ll save money and likely receive great quality customer service and faster turnaround times. The main advantage of LegalZoom is in its name — if you expect your business to need considerable legal guidance, that might be the right choice for you. 

Our approach

As an entrepreneurial advisory site, we take our responsibilities seriously. We understand that countless entrepreneurs, and potential entrepreneurs, rely on our judgments and insights, particularly when it comes to creating their business.

As a result, our writers do their utmost to gain a comprehensive understanding of the services offered and the actual customer experience. In this case, we:

• Examined every single page of both the LegalZoom and Swyft Filings websites
• Reviewed all of their offerings, from a la carte products to packages
• Put ourselves in the customer’s shoes, creating accounts
• Communicated with customer service via chat, email and phone
• Gained a full understanding of the customer experience and service value

Thanks to this full immersion in the actual customer experience, our reviewer and team are able to provide the most complete and insightful comparison of LegalZoom and Swyft Filings LLC formation services.