Bizee vs ZenBusiness vs LegalZoom Compared

All three sell a $0 formation tier, and all three make their money on renewals. On price over the first two years Bizee is the winner, because its $0 tier includes a full year of registered agent service and renews at roughly $119 a year. ZenBusiness sits in the middle with a friendlier dashboard and a compliance subscription that auto-renews around $199. LegalZoom is the most expensive of the three and the weakest choice for a non-US resident, mainly because its EIN workflow is built around the IRS online application.

Bottom line

• Cheapest real two-year cost: Bizee.
• Best interface and bundled tooling: ZenBusiness.
• Brand comfort and attorney access, at a premium: LegalZoom.
• None of them is built for founders abroad the way doola or Firstbase are.

Quick comparison

Prices move constantly in this category. Confirm on each vendor’s pricing page before you pay.

The only number that matters is year two

Every one of these companies will file your articles of organization for $0 plus the state fee. That part is commoditized. What differs is what you pay every year afterward.

Run it for a simple single-member LLC:

• Bizee: $0 plus state fee in year one with registered agent included, then roughly $119 a year. Add the state’s annual report.
• ZenBusiness: $0 plus state fee, then roughly $199 for registered agent if you bought it, plus roughly $199 for Worry-Free Compliance if you let the included first year renew. Two separate recurring charges is the trap.
• LegalZoom: $0 plus state fee, then roughly $249 a year for registered agent.

Over three years, Bizee is typically the cheapest by a wide margin, and LegalZoom the most expensive. If you want the full arithmetic including state fees, see what a US LLC actually costs for a non-resident.

Check Bizee’s current tiers and renewal price

Upsells to watch, at all three

The checkout flow is where the margin lives. Refuse these unless you have a concrete reason:

Operating agreement for $99. You do need one, especially for banking. You do not need to pay $99 for a template. A single-member LLC operating agreement is a short document and free versions from your state’s small business resources are adequate for most owners.

“Compliance” subscriptions. These file your annual report and email reminders. Useful if you will forget; unnecessary if you put one date in a calendar. New Mexico does not require an annual report from LLCs at all, which makes the product close to worthless there.

Expedited state filing. This is sometimes worth it and sometimes theater. Some states are genuinely faster with an expedite fee paid to the state; a provider’s “rush” often only means they handle your paperwork sooner. Ask which it is.

Business licenses and permit reports. Sold as a scary-sounding bundle. For a non-resident running an online business with no US employees or physical location, this usually yields a generic report.

Domain, email and website builders. You will buy hosting and email elsewhere for less. See hosting options for your LLC’s site.

Anything about beneficial ownership reporting. Current FinCEN rules exempt companies formed in the United States and apply only to foreign-formed companies registered to do business in a state. Check fincen.gov/boi before paying a fee for a BOI filing.

Which works for a non-US resident

This is where the three separate hard.

Bizee will form an LLC for a non-resident and its cheap registered agent renewal is genuinely attractive. The friction is the EIN: if the responsible party has no SSN or ITIN, confirm in writing that they will prepare and submit a paper Form SS-4 before you pay for an EIN add-on.

ZenBusiness includes EIN filing on Pro and Premium. Same caveat — ask support directly whether their EIN service covers a responsible party with no SSN or ITIN, because the bundled price assumes the fast online route.

LegalZoom is the weakest fit. Its own guidance notes that the online federal tax ID application requires the business to be located in the US or a US territory, which is exactly the constraint that pushes foreign owners to the fax and mail route. LegalZoom is a strong brand for US small businesses with an attorney question; it is not a specialist in non-resident onboarding.

None of the three gives you a US business address by default, and all three leave the bank account to you. That combination — no EIN specialist, no address, no banking help — is why founders abroad usually end up paying more in total with a budget filer than with a service built for their situation. Compare with our doola review before deciding.

Check ZenBusiness’s plans · Check LegalZoom’s plans

The EIN problem, stated plainly

If you have no SSN or ITIN, you cannot use the IRS online EIN assistant. Form SS-4 goes in by fax or mail, with “Foreign” entered as the responsible party’s tax identification number. The IRS says faxed applications are generally processed within about four business days and mailed ones in about four weeks; in practice non-resident applications often take considerably longer, and a rejection restarts the clock.

You can do this yourself at no cost. Our step-by-step is how to get an EIN without an SSN. Paying a provider is reasonable — you are buying a correctly completed form and someone to follow up — but paying a provider whose workflow assumes an online application is how people lose two months.

Who should pick Bizee

• You want the lowest total cost over two to three years.
• You are willing to click “no thanks” repeatedly at checkout.
• You handle your own EIN, or you have confirmed their paper SS-4 process.

Who should pick ZenBusiness

• You want a guided interface and everything on one dashboard.
• You want fast filing without thinking about it.
• You will cancel the compliance subscription before it renews if you do not want it.

Who should pick LegalZoom

• You want a household-name brand and the option of attorney consultations.
• You have a US address and a taxpayer ID, or a US-resident partner on the filing.
• The recurring registered agent premium does not bother you.

FAQ

Are these really the same service underneath?

No, but the formation step is close to identical: they submit your articles of organization to the state. The differences are registered agent pricing, what is bundled, and how well they handle a founder with no US taxpayer ID.

Which has the fewest upsells?

ZenBusiness’s flow is the tidiest to navigate; Bizee’s is the most aggressive but also the cheapest to actually leave with. LegalZoom sits in between and costs the most to maintain.

Should a non-resident use any of them?

You can, and Bizee in particular is cheap. But once you add an EIN service, a business address and banking help, a provider built for non-residents usually wins on total cost and on fewer failed steps.

What happens if I just stop paying the registered agent?

Your LLC falls out of good standing with the state and can eventually be administratively dissolved. Always appoint a replacement agent before cancelling.

The call

If you are a US resident, or a non-resident who is comfortable filing your own SS-4 and arranging your own address, take Bizee for the lowest three-year cost. If you want the nicer dashboard and will manage renewals, ZenBusiness is a fair pick. LegalZoom earns its premium only if you actually use the legal advice.

If you are outside the US and want the EIN, address and agent handled together, read our doola review first — it is a different product for a different problem.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your situation with a CPA or attorney who works with foreign-owned US entities.