Updated November 10, 2026 · 7 services tested
We tested 7 LLC services for Minnesota. Northwest is our pick: $39 + $155 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr).
By Jon Morgan · Fact-checked by Jon Tobin, Business Attorney · How we test
Northwest Registered Agent
$39 + $155 state feeForm my LLC for $39 (opens in a new tab)
LegalZoom
$0 + $155 state feeSee LegalZoom plans (opens in a new tab)Save 20% with code: venturesmarter20
ZenBusiness
$0 + $155 state feeSee ZenBusiness plans (opens in a new tab)Prices checked November 10, 2026. Minnesota's state filing fee is $155.
Northwest Registered Agent is our top LLC service for most Minnesota founders, followed by LegalZoom and ZenBusiness.
We established an LLC with every provider on this list; Northwest's included first-year registered agent service and Corporate Guide account review support its Best Overall ranking.
We ranked every service against Minnesota's real filing path through the Secretary of State's online business portal, weighing pricing, registered agent economics after the first year, and how much each dashboard helps once the state approves the filing and the annual renewal comes due.
The comparison table below breaks out all seven services, with the Minnesota-specific costs called out.
| Service | LLC Fees | Registered Agent Price | Money-Back Guarantee | Score | Compare offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $39 through our exclusive link + $155 state fee | Free first year with the $39 LLC, then $125/yr | ✓ Full 90-day guarantee | 4.9 | Form my LLC (opens in a new tab) |
| Begins at $0 + $155 state fee | $249 first year, then $249/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ Full 60-day guarantee | 4.7 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
| Begins at $0 + $155 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✓ Full 60-day guarantee | 4.6 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $155 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $249/yr | ✗ | 4.5 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $155 state fee | $199 first year, then $199/yr (not in any plan) | ✗ | 4.4 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $49 + $155 state fee | $14.99/mo first year, then $14.99/mo (inside its compliance plan) | ✓ 30-60 day money-back window | 4.3 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
 | Begins at $0 + $155 state fee | Free first year with formation, then $149/yr | ✓ Can refund before state filing (usually 24h); minus $30 | 4.1 | See plans (opens in a new tab) |
Prices checked November 10, 2026. Minnesota's state filing fee is $155.
Each score combines support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use and user ratings.
Refund: 90 days
BBB: Not accredited; A rating
Free Package Features: No complimentary extras
Advisory Services: No
A Corporate Guide at Northwest Registered Agent reviewed our account details before the filing ever reached the state. We were then asked to reconfirm the business details and entity code before a rush-turnaround upsell appeared.
That extra step slows the checkout down, but it also means a real person looked at the order before it moved forward.
Once Minnesota approved the paperwork, Northwest uploaded a basic operating agreement, initial resolutions, and membership certificates automatically, with an email pointing us to each one. We never had to request any of it ourselves.
The team is also proactive about compliance. Renewal service gets switched on at signup rather than left for the owner to remember later.
The tradeoff shows up in how the business address gets used. Northwest keeps a personal address off the public filing, but routine mail scanning tops out at three to five documents a year, while legal and state notices get scanned without a cap.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Full 60-day guarantee
BBB: A+ BBB rating
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: LLC formation with digital welcome packet and customizable website
Payment comes before the paperwork at LegalZoom, unlike every other service we tested. We paid first, then filled in the actual company details on a separate screen once the order cleared and the filing began.
Once the account opened, the document library and attorney directory stood out, with templates for offer letters, contractor deals, and NDAs sitting next to licensed attorneys ready to answer a question.
A trademark-search upsell used a same-day discount countdown right after checkout, the only service in our test that leaned on that kind of urgency pricing.
With Expert Service, attorney access renews monthly once the 30-day included period ends.
The bookkeeping tools follow a similar pattern: some stayed free after their own trial, while others quietly switched to a recurring charge. Anyone who signs up should track both dates.
Get 20% off eligible LegalZoom LLC formation and other services with Venture Smarter code venturesmarter20.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Full 60-day guarantee
BBB: BBB-accredited
Same & Next Day Filing: Available on Pro & Premium plans
Free Package Features: Covers LLC filing plus 100% accuracy guarantee
Advisory Services: Accounting advisory session
ZenBusiness kept the running total visible on every checkout screen, and nothing arrived pre-selected before we confirmed the filing. A registered agent offer opened the upsell sequence.
ZenBusiness paired a $0 starting plan with the cleanest checkout and the fewest loose ends left over once the state approved the filing.
Compliance, EIN, banking, and rush-filing offers followed. Each had a plain decline button, and none of them charged us until Minnesota approved the LLC.
A banking pitch showed up twice: once during checkout, then again inside the post-payment form. It was one of two offers that resurfaced in the flow.
Velo AI, ZenBusiness's in-account helper, ran its own check the moment we logged back in. It flagged the pending status and noted we hadn't bought an EIN yet.
Registered agent service sits outside that starting plan, though. It has to be added separately from day one, unlike a few competitors that fold it in free.
Pros
Cons
The optional Starter Worry-Free Compliance year renews at $199/yr if kept. The 30-day website-builder trial is preselected but removable before purchase and renews at $15/mo if kept.
Refund: No
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Yes
Free Package Features: Digital document storage, tax consultation, preparation & filing, Inc Care support, and business credit analysis
Advisory Services: Complimentary tax planning session
Eight separate upsell screens, each carrying its own countdown timer, stood between checkout and the final order review at Inc Authority. The state charge itself sat on its own clearly labeled line, with the formation work priced at nothing extra.
Getting the advertised free extras took some reading, since only one of the two headline freebies could actually be claimed.
We had to choose between a free EIN and free faster processing rather than receiving both, despite both being promoted earlier in the flow.
Owners who want the lowest first bill can get it here, but only by reading each timed screen slowly and declining anything they don't need. The registered agent renewal cost itself only showed up in the confirmation email, not on the checkout screen.
Pros
Cons
Refund: No
BBB: No
Free Package Features: LLC formation and 30-day bookkeeping trial
Advisory Services: Coaching for business (all tiers)
Formation documents show up inside the account dashboard, not attached to an email, when you file through Tailor Brands. An email pointed us back to the account to download the paperwork once it posted.
The logo generator and website builder sat right next to that filing status the whole time.
The registered agent option only shows up during the application itself, alongside a virtual address choice with the same restriction.
Skip either screen, and neither one can be added back afterward, so it pays to decide before submitting rather than after.
Standard processing can run slower than some rivals unless the filing gets expedited, so anyone in a hurry should plan around it instead of assuming the fastest path applies by default.
Pros
Cons
Open any card for the complete review, scores and packages.
Refund: 30-60 day money-back window
BBB: A BBB rating
Same & Next Day Filing: No
Free Package Features: And organizational minutes
Advisory Services: Legal attorney support (paid add-on)
LLC Attorney's documents, from the Articles of Organization to the operating agreement, are prepared by its own staff lawyers. The paperwork we checked afterward was accurate with nothing missing.
The dashboard itself stays simple: formation progress, compliance status, and upcoming deadlines sit in one clean view rather than a wide menu of extra tools.
Phone support answered in under three minutes when we called with a filing question, and follow-up emails came back within a day. A ninety-day test of the mail-scanning portal turned up accurate scans with no missed notifications.
One of several support contacts, though, gave a fairly generic answer to a more technical question.
Owners who want ongoing reminders, brand assets, or a broad set of business tools will find more of that built into some of the other services on this list.
Pros
Cons
Refund: Can refund before state filing (usually 24h); minus $30
BBB: No
Same & Next Day Filing: Platinum tier only
Free Package Features: LLC formation, tax consultation, and additional extras
Advisory Services: Complimentary 1-hour tax consultation
The registered agent handling our Bizee account turned out to be a different company entirely, with Bizee managing that relationship from the dashboard rather than serving as the agent itself.
Each checkout upsell sat on its own screen with a plain decline option, and nothing paid was selected by default.
The dashboard afterward tracked filings, mail setup, and compliance tasks in one view. A few extras, including the website builder and the virtual mailbox, sat unclaimed until we manually turned them on.
An expedited-filing offer we'd already declined at checkout resurfaced once inside the dashboard, asking again for a decision we'd already made.
A compliance deadline also came up faster than expected once the filing cleared, closer to a few months out than a full year. Anyone forming here should check the actual date the same week the paperwork posts.
Pros
Cons
We scored every service on support, price, features, turnaround, ease of use, and user ratings using our testing methodology. We also considered how well each service fits Minnesota's own filing rhythm.
Minnesota splits its costs into a one-time Articles of Organization fee and a separate annual renewal that comes due every year, so we weighed both halves instead of just the number on the first screen.
The order below reflects what a new Minnesota owner actually gets once the state approves the filing, not just the lowest sticker price.
These two screenshots show what we checked closely: a renewal management screen tracking annual compliance with autopay, and a filings tab separating state and federal paperwork.
Northwest and ZenBusiness showed two support approaches that both beat a generic help ticket, with Northwest earning the strongest support score among these seven services.
A Corporate Guide called to verify our Northwest account before the filing even reached the state.
ZenBusiness's Velo AI ran its own check the moment we logged back in, and LegalZoom placed second for support on the strength of its attorney directory and the attorney consultations on its paid plans.
Filers who want a live human on the phone lean toward LLC Attorney; filers who want the check to happen automatically lean toward ZenBusiness or Northwest.
Price scoring rewarded a clear path through what comes after the first bill, not just the lowest number on the first screen.
Northwest and Inc Authority tied for the highest price score. In our ZenBusiness test, the state charge and any extras stayed easy to track from the order summary onward.
Inc Authority earned its price score on the free-formation math, though its registered agent renewal price only surfaces in the confirmation email.
LegalZoom landed mid-pack here, since its bookkeeping tools mix free and paid features in the same account without an obvious pattern.
Feature credit went to services that keep helping after the Articles get filed, not just during the filing itself. Registered agent terms, document storage, and compliance reminders all counted toward the score.
LegalZoom and Northwest tied for the highest feature score, one through its legal document library and attorney network and the other through automatic document uploads and renewal management.
ZenBusiness paired the filing with Worry-Free Compliance that carries into the following year.
A one-business-day internal review, available as an upgrade over the standard queue, gave ZenBusiness the fastest turnaround among the seven services we tested for Minnesota.
Northwest and ZenBusiness share the highest turnaround score, with LegalZoom close behind. No provider controls how quickly Minnesota itself processes an online submission, so internal handling time is what actually separates them.
Keeping the next task visible on login, instead of leaving it buried in a settings menu, separated the leaders in this category. ZenBusiness's edge showed up clearly once Velo AI started flagging open items automatically.
Northwest and Tailor Brands tied next, followed by LegalZoom. Tailor Brands kept branding tools inside the same account view as the filing status.
Inc Authority scored lower here, since the dashboard we saw consisted mostly of a logo tool with little else left to manage afterward.
ZenBusiness and Northwest tied for the strongest user ratings among the seven services we compared for Minnesota, each backed by a large base of verified reviews.
Tailor Brands followed a step behind on this measure, while Bizee posted the lowest user-ratings score of the group, tied partly to confusion over which dashboard extras needed manual activation.
Minnesota fit measured how well each service handles the state's own rhythm: the registered-office requirement, the online filing path through the Secretary of State's portal, and the renewal that lands on the same calendar date for every LLC regardless of when it formed.
Minnesota doesn't give filers much slack on that renewal date, since it's fixed by calendar year rather than tied to the anniversary of formation.
ZenBusiness and Northwest stood out here, one through account prompts and the other through a named human contact, so the deadline doesn't get missed by accident.
Source: SBA Office of Advocacy 2025 Minnesota Small Business Profile (Bureau of Labor Statistics Business Employment Dynamics; CRA Aggregate Data, FFIEC).
Minnesota lets owners file the Articles of Organization directly through the Secretary of State without hiring a service. Everything routes through the Secretary of State's online business portal from start to finish.
Here are the seven steps to form an LLC in Minnesota:
For more detail on each step, from the name search through the first annual renewal, see the full Minnesota LLC formation guide.
Starting an LLC in Minnesota costs $135 by mail or $155 online through the Secretary of State, with the online rate including automatic expedited processing.
Provider service fees are separate and range from $0 to around $250 depending on the tier chosen.
Forming an LLC in Minnesota typically takes a single business day when filed online, or three to four weeks by mail. Provider processing time adds anywhere from same-day to two weeks on top of that, depending on the service.
Yes, Minnesota LLCs file a $0 annual renewal with the Secretary of State by December 31 every year. Missing the deadline leads to statutory dissolution, though the entity can be reinstated later for a fee.
Yes, every Minnesota LLC must maintain a registered office in the state and may name an agent for service of process at that address. You can serve as your own agent or hire a service to handle it.
Missing the December 31 deadline leads to statutory dissolution of the LLC. Reinstatement costs $65 by mail or $85 online, and the entity is restored once the state processes the renewal and fee.
Only LLCs that elect C-corp taxation owe Minnesota's corporate franchise tax, which is graduated with a top rate of 9.8%. Most LLCs are pass-through entities whose owners report income on personal returns instead.
Northwest Registered Agent is our top pick for most Minnesota filings. Its included first-year registered agent service, Corporate Guide account review, and disclosed $125 annual agent renewal support its Best Overall ranking.
LegalZoom is our second choice for its attorney network, legal forms, and bookkeeping tools; ZenBusiness ranks third for guided formation and visible follow-up tasks.
Go with LLC Attorney if a licensed attorney reviewing your paperwork settles more nerves than any dashboard could.
Whichever service you pick, mark December 31 on the calendar. Minnesota's renewal is the one deadline that comes back every single year, and missing it costs far more than the filing ever did.
References
Our verdict
$39 + $155 state fee, with the first registered agent year included (then $125/yr). 90-day money-back guarantee.
Prices checked November 10, 2026. Minnesota's state filing fee is $155.